Adolescence And Adulthood Analysis

In the modern era, categorising the period between ‘adolescence’ and ‘adulthood’ is fraught with difficulties. Social and economic changes have caused a shift in when young people are reaching the traditional ‘adult’ milestones (Drewery & Claiborne 2014), yet this does not mean that adolescence is lasting longer. Human services generally refer to the ages of 18-25 as ‘youth’, while theorists generally describe people aged in their 20’s as ‘young adults’ (Drewery et al 2014). Arnett (2004) refers to this period as ‘emerging adulthood’: this stage holds increasing independence and as such is not an extension of adolescence, though is not quite ‘young adulthood’ as the traditional measures such as marriage and parenthood are being reached later …show more content…
Erikson traditionally placed identity formation as a key feature of adolescence, however noted that in industrial societies there is the possibility of a ‘psychosocial moratorium’: the freedom to experiment and explore identity, a process which can extend beyond the rigid categories of adolescent development into emerging adulthood and beyond (Arnett 2004). Within a continually changing world, the clear cut lines of development noted by early theorists need some revision and flexibility, and it is becoming more apparent that identity exploration and development is a key feature of emerging adulthood (Arnett 2004). //Early theories existed in a time when life was more predictable, when the majority of people followed the same life script (Cãotâe 2000). In the current context, people entering adulthood have fewer cultural restrictions on the way they live their lives, as well as fewer normative patterns to follow (Cãotâe 2000). Traditional gender norms, familial and romantic relationships as well as social institutions have experienced massive de-structuring (Cãotâe 2000), and this has resulted in an abundance of choice for people entering adulthood. While this stage may be stereotypically characterised as frivolous and free from responsibilities, it is in fact a challenging road, full …show more content…
Whilst adolescence is typically seen as time of conflict with parents, this tends to shift during emerging adulthood into a more positive relationship (Arnett 2004). Moving out of the familial home, a key milestone for this period, appears to greatly influence this change. Studies have found that emerging adults who live independently have a more positive relationship with their parents compared to those who remain at home (Arnett 2004). This is due to numerous factors: living independently can provide a greater appreciation for all that parents do, as well as allow young people to have contact with their family when they want to, rather than when they have to (Arnett 2004). However, it is important to note that this is not necessarily the experience of all emerging adults: cultural and familial expectations of the path to adulthood vary greatly (Drewery et al 2014).//The sexual revolution of the 1960’s and 70’s, second wave feminism and newfound reproductive rights had a great impact on the parents of Gen Y, and the effect of this can be seen in the expectation of emerging adults to explore relationships and postpone marriage and parenthood