Thursday, July 17, 2008

Young Adulthood

An individual experiences a great deal of change in early adulthood. What are some of the psychosocial developments that occur in early adulthood? Cite references.

An individual experiences a great deal of change during early adulthood. Many psychological researchers have theories about stage development, and the psychosocial changes that occur in individuals at various ages. For many generations and in many cultures, marriage was the marker of adulthood. However, in recent years the markers of adulthood have become less concrete and seem to focus less on marriage and more on personal growth, responsibility, fulfilling employment and self exploration.

Erik Erikson, often referred to as an “ego psychologist,” studied human development throughout the lifespan. He developed stages of psychosocial development, each of which are marked by conflict that can be resolved by an important life event. Harder (2002) says that the Erikson gained insight from studying the Sioux Indians on a reservation, and “became aware of the massive influence of culture on behavior… He felt the course of development is determined by the interaction of the body (genetic biological programming), mind (psychological), and cultural (ethos) influences.” From this standpoint, Erikson created eight stages from birth to death. Berk (2004) notes that from Erikson’s perspective, adults have three main stages, each of which “brings both opportunity and risk- ‘a turning point for better or worse.’” According to Berk, Erikson believes that the most prominent psychological issue of early adulthood, which occurs from ages 18 to 35, is known as intimacy and solidarity versus isolation. Berk states that intimacy versus isolation is “reflected in the young person’s thoughts and feelings about making a permanent commitment to an intimate partner.”

Harder (2002) further explains Erikson’s young adulthood stage. She states that during this stage, our most important relationships occur with romantic partners and friends. She says,
As we try to find mutually satisfying relationships, primarily through marriage and friends, we generally also being to start a family, though this age has been pushed back for many couples who today don’t start their families until their late thirties. If negotiating this stage is successful, we can experience intimacy on a deep level. [However], if we’re not successful, isolation and distance from others may occur. And when we don’t find it easy to create satisfying relationships, our world can begin to shrink as, in defense, we can feel superior to others.

Much like Erikson, Levinson, as sited by Berk (2004), has a theory of the life structure, which is the underlying design of an individual’s life. He says that in early adulthood, the life structure consists “of relationships with significant others individuals, groups and institutions. The life structure can have many components, but usually only a few, having to do with marriage/family and occupation, are central.” Scollon (2006) notes that Freud believed the two most prominent roles that adults experience are work and love. Scollon sites studies which show that “increases in martial satisfaction correlated with increases in well-being and effective functioning and decreases in anxiety over time.” When Freud, Erikson and Levinson developed their theories, romantic relationships and marriage were obviously a highly important step in living a fulfilling adult life.

In contrast to Freud, Erikson and Levinson’s theories on the importance of marriage for becoming a young adult, currently many individuals are not starting families until they are in their late thirties, and so this stage has to be updated accordingly. Arnett (1998) notes that anthropologists have found that in most cultures, mainly
traditional non-Western cultures, view marriage as the even that “marks the transition from boy to man and from girl to woman.” He notes that this was also true in most Western cultures until very recently. He conducted studies and notes that other studies have indicated modern day young adult Americans consider “the preeminent criteria for the transition to adulthood are the individualistic character qualities of accepting responsibility for one’s self and making independent decisions, along with becoming financially independent; marriage, in contrast, ranks very low.” Currently, this generation of young adults in America “rejects marriage and other role transitions as essential markers of adulthood, in favor of criteria that are distinctly individualistic.” It is clear that this current generation values independence on an emotional and financial level as a more significant marker of adulthood than significant romantic relationships/marriage.

Schlegel (1998) reviews Arnett’s work and says that the old markers of transition into adulthood are no longer are valid. This creates confusion for young adults, and those who participated in Arnett’s research “were not sure whether they were or were not adults.” Schlegel (1998) continues to say,
Nevertheless, widely held public opinion probably agrees with the respondents that there is no single status-transition marker the way marriage used to be for most people. If pressed, some might say that graduation from college, or getting a full-time job, or some other major event, is at least equivalent to marriage as a status-transition marker. The respondents who had children saw the birth of a child, in retrospect, as moving them into adulthood. This is also a marker in some traditional societies, where adulthood is assumed in steps- marriage, the birth of one or more children- rather than in one fell swoop.
The current transition into young adulthood has become more complex in recent years than it was in the past. It occurs in steps, such as getting a good job, becoming financially independent, getting married and or having children. This has lengthened the young adulthood stage and made the transition into it more gray than black and white.

Scollon (2006) says that finding a job that is fulfilling is a predictor of well-being in young adults. He states, “Subjective aspects of work also predict well-being in that satisfying and engaging employment predicts increases in positive emotion and decreases in negative emotion.” This further proves that independence has become an important part of the young adult’s psycho-social development. Berk (2004) sites Levinson by stating that at the beginning of young adulthood, many young adults develop a dream of how they see themselves in “the adult world that guides their decision making.” Levinson says that the more specific this dream is, the more meaningful “the individual’s structure building.” Men usually construct their dream about being “an independent achiever in an occupational role.” Women, on the other hand, often have “spilt dreams,” as they split their dream between their occupation and children. Levinson has found that for women, their “dreams tend to define the self in terms of relationships with husband, children and colleagues. Men’s dreams are usually more individualistic: They view significant others, especially wives, as vital supporters of their goals and less often see themselves as supporting other’s goals.” This evidence partially supports Arnett’s theory that marriage has become less important to young adults. It notes the gender differences in goals for young adulthood and how many contemporary women still view marriage as an important transition into and goal for young adulthood, whereas men are more focused on individualism and career.

Berk (2004) notes that the most common form of marriage in young adulthood is called “dual earner marriage, [where] both husband and wife are employed.” In a about one-third of dual earner marriages lies a moderate to severe amount of conflict from trying to balance family and work responsibilities, especially when the couple has children. Often times, young adults may feel “a sense of role overload, or conflict between work and family responsibilities.” This is a more prevalent issue for women and for those of low-socioeconomic status, as there may not be as many resources available and thus more stress when raising children. Dual earner marriages also present couples that have children with the issue less job flexibility, as decisions must now take both partners and children into consideration. Berk (2004) states that although dual earner marriages can cause conflict, “when couples cooperate to surmount these, they profit greatly from involvement in both work and family roles. Besides higher earnings and a better standard of living, a major advantage is women’s self-fulfillment and improvement well-being.” If young adults do choose to pursue both a career and a marriage and/or family, there many be stressful challenges, but generally the rewards can outweigh the stress in the long run.

Another important psychosocial development during young adulthood is identity exploration. Lefkowitz, Gillen and Shearer (2004) note that “recent work suggests that individuals engage in their most extensive identity exploration during emerging adulthood, [from ages 18 to 25], rather than early adolescence.” This identity exploration often intensifies for individuals who move away from home to attend college. Many individuals are entering young adulthood decide to leave home for the first time and are experiencing life without the influence of their parents. Living away from home for the first time allows young adults to explore “many social, political, religious and interest-related activities.” Lefkowitz, Gillen and Shearer (2004) state that religiosity and sexuality are highly impressionable during this young adult stage of development. They also state that young adults are more sexually active than high school students, and are more accepting of casual sex. Dating at this age is also highly focused on sexual interactions.

Even though it has been noted that young adulthood is a time of identity exploration, older models of personality thought that personality growth/change only occurred in childhood and adolescence. Watson and Humrichouse (2006) say,
Once individuals reached adulthood, however, traits were viewed as essentially being set like plaster and highly resistant to change. As evidence has accumulated, however, it has become clear that a simple ‘plaster’ model fails to capture the complexities of personality development across the lifespan. In fact, recent findings have established that personality traits are not static constructs but rather show meaningful change well into middle age.
It is clear from the Lefkowitz, Gillen and Shearer’s (2004) research that young adults are still exploring their identities and developing their personalities. Also, huge life transitions such as landing a fulfilling career, forming close friendship relationships, getting married and having children can significantly change an individual’s personality traits. These experiences promote growth on many levels and can continue to do so, as Watson states, “well into middle age.”

In conclusion, it is apparent that young adulthood is a time of much transition. From leaving home for the first time, to seeking out and landing a fulfilling job, to possibly marrying and starting a family, young adulthood is a highly eventful time in an individual’s life. Marriage and family has become less important for contemporary young adults, whereas finding meaningful work has become more important. However, many young women still view marriage as a marker for becoming an adult, so there are differences in gender and role fulfillment. Regardless, whatever dream a young adult chooses to pursue in life, it is clear that young adulthood is stage of much challenging yet exciting psychosocial and personal development and growth.



Arnett, J.J. (1998). Learning to stand alone: The contemporary American transition to
adulthood in cultural and historical context. Human Development. 41(5-6), 295-
315.

Berk, L.E. (2004). Development Through the Lifepsan (3rd Ed). Pearson Education, Inc:
Boston.

Harder, A.F. (2002). The Developmental Stages of Erikson. Retrieved July 9, 2008,
http://www.learningplaceonline.com/stages/organize/Erikson.htm

Lefkowitz, E.S, Gillen, M.M, & Shearer, C.L. (2004). Religiosity, sexual behaviors and
sexual attitudes during emerging adulthood. Journal of Sex Research. 41(2),
150-159.

Scollon, C.N. (2006). Love, work and changes in extraversion and neuroticism over
time. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 91(6), 1152-1165.

Watson, D. & Humrichouse, J. (2006). Personality developing in emerging adulthood:
Integrating evidence from self-ratings and spouse ratings. Journal of Personality
and Social Psychology. 91(5), 959-974.

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