Abstract
Objective:
In the last half century, life experiences between ages 18 to 29 have changed dramatically in industrialized societies In this review paper, “emerging adulthood” as proposed as a new life phase is conceptually investigated.
Method:
Articles was searched by the key words of “emerging adulthood”, “emerging adults”, “transition to adulthood”, and selected articles were reviewed and discussed
Results:
Instead of entering adulthood as marked by marriage and parenthood in their early twenties, most people now postpone these transitions at least until their late twenties. They try out different possibilities in love, worldview and work. Essentially, it seems a new developmental stage so called “emerging adulthood” has been emerged between adolescence and young adulthood. Emerging adulthood is suggested to exist only in cultures that postpone entry into adult roles and responsibilities. Therefore emerging adulthood is observed in settings where the age of marriage is high, different options exist and the proportion of young people attending higher education after high school, and postgraduate education are high.
Discussion:
It can be said that emerging adulthood could be normative life period in all over the world at least among certain life conditions in the next half century.
Keywords: Emerging adulthood, emerging adults, transition to adulthood
