New Horizons in Research on Emerging and Young Adulthood

Abstract

In this chapter I present some ideas about the future of the fi eld of emerging adulthood. First, I explain my reasons for coining "emerging adulthood," focusing on the vast changes that have taken place in the nature of the 18-24 age period over the past century. Next, I propose some new areas of inquiry for the years to come. These include exploring the next developmental stage beyond emerging adulthood -young adulthood -which I suggest is distinguished by role immersion . I also advocate greater exploration of the many paths through emerging adulthood. Within countries, variations by social class and ethnicity are notable. Between countries, there are many potential variations in the experience of emerging adulthood in Europe and Asia. Perhaps most compelling of all in the decades to come will be to examine the birth of emerging adulthood in developing countries, as those countries move increasingly toward the demographic patterns that have led to a new life stage of emerging adulthood in economically developed countries: longer and more widespread education and later ages of entering marriage and parenthood.

Swedish 18‐year‐olds' identity formation: Associations with feelings about appearance and internalization of body ideals

“…18-year olds in Sweden are on the threshold of emerging adulthood, the period that follow late adolescence and that start as people leave upper secondary education (Arnett, 2000(Arnett, , 2012. Besides from leaving school, moving out of the parents' house-hold is an event in the near future for most 18-year-olds in Sweden (Statistics Sweden, 2008).…”

Future-oriented or present-focused? The role of social support and identity styles on ‘futuring’ in Italian late adolescents and emerging adults

“…Recent studies in this area (Arnett 2012) argue that the commitment to these tasks extends itself into new phase of development called emerging adulthood, 1 particularly for youth in Western societies. Identity exploration, experimentation with many possibilities, self-focusing, and instability are characteristic of the period of life between adolescence and adulthood (Arnett 2000).…”

“Being Stuck between Two Worlds” – Identity Configurations of Occupational and Family Identities

“…Young adults, roughly between age 30 and 40 (Arnett, 2012), often face new experiences, contexts, and changing life circumstances that may challenge their sense of identity (Kroger, 2015;McAdams & Zapata-Gietl, 2015;Syed, 2010). Identity development during this time often involves the adoption of new roles in the identity domains of occupation, romantic relationships, and parenthood (Arnett, 2012;Gyberg & Frisén, 2017).…”