Emerging Adulthood: The Winding Road from the Late Teens through the TwentiesRecently the lives of people from age 18 to 29 have changed so dramatically that a new stage of life has developed, emerging adulthood, that is distinct from both the adolescence that precedes it and the young adulthood that comes in its wake. Rather than marrying and becoming parents in their early twenties, most people in industrialized societies now postpone these transitions until at least their late twenties, and instead spend the time in self-focused exploration as they try out different possibilities in their careers and relationships. In Emerging Adulthood, Jeffrey Jensen Arnett identifies and labels, for the first time, this period exploration, instability, possibility, self-focus, and a sustained sense of being in limbo. An increasing number of emerging adults emphasize having meaningful and satisfying work to a degree not seen in prior generations. Marrying later and exploring more casual sexual relationships have created different hopes and fears concerning long-term commitments and the differences between love and sex. Emerging adults also face the challenge of defending their non-traditional lifestyles to parents and others outside their generation who have made much more traditional choices. In contrast to previous portrayals of emerging adults, Arnett's research shows that they are particularly skilled at maintaining contradictory emotions--they are confident while still being wary, and optimistic in the face of large degrees of uncertainty. As the demographics of American youth, the American workplace, and adulthood continue to evolve, Emerging Adulthood is indispensable reading for anyone wanting to understand the face of modern America. |
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Page 13
... child, to be loved and provided for, who needs time and attention. An employer, in a job and a field they are committed to and want to succeed in, who holds them to standards of progress and achievement. It is only in between, during ...
... child, to be loved and provided for, who needs time and attention. An employer, in a job and a field they are committed to and want to succeed in, who holds them to standards of progress and achievement. It is only in between, during ...
Page 16
... children who are above average. In one national survey of 18–24-year-olds, nearly all—96%—agreed with the statement “I am very sure that someday I will get to where I want to be in life.”28 The dreary, dead-end jobs, the bitter divorces ...
... children who are above average. In one national survey of 18–24-year-olds, nearly all—96%—agreed with the statement “I am very sure that someday I will get to where I want to be in life.”28 The dreary, dead-end jobs, the bitter divorces ...
Page 19
... child , but most people in their thirties have at least one child . The list could go on . The point should be clear . Emerging adulthood and young adulthood should be distinguished as two separate periods . “ Young adulthood ” is ...
... child , but most people in their thirties have at least one child . The list could go on . The point should be clear . Emerging adulthood and young adulthood should be distinguished as two separate periods . “ Young adulthood ” is ...
Page 20
... child by their very early twenties. However, today, with school extending longer and longer for more and more people and with the median ages of marriage and parenthood now in the late twenties, referring to the years between ...
... child by their very early twenties. However, today, with school extending longer and longer for more and more people and with the median ages of marriage and parenthood now in the late twenties, referring to the years between ...
Page 22
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Contents
3 | |
2 What Is It Like to Be an Emerging Adult? Four Profiles | 27 |
A New Relationship With Parents | 47 |
4 Love and Sex | 73 |
5 Meandering Toward Marriage | 97 |
Twists and Turns | 119 |
More Than a Job | 143 |
Religious Beliefs and Values | 165 |
Four Case Studies | 189 |
What Does It Mean to Become an Adult? | 207 |
Notes | 229 |
References | 247 |
Index of Names | 259 |
General Index | 263 |
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Emerging Adulthood: The Winding Road from the Late Teens through the Twenties Jeffrey Jensen Arnett No preview available - 2004 |
Common terms and phrases
adolescence African Americans Arnett Asian Americans becoming an adult believe better boyfriend career Catholic Cathy Guisewite chapter child childhood Chinese American choice church cohabitation collectivism collectivistic commitment course decide deists divorce dreams early twenties enter college entering marriage especially ethnic group experience father friends goals Goldscheider graduate happy high school hope identity explorations important Internet dating kids kind late teens late twenties Latinos leaving home less living at home look love partners Lynn Johnston major marriage and parenthood married McJobs mean mother move parents divorced person Popenoe & Whitehead possible premarital premarital sex reach emerging adulthood reached adulthood relationship religious beliefs responsibilities rience self-focused sexual sexual intercourse sexual revolution social someone stressful teens and early There’s things transition to adulthood values young adulthood young women