Jeffrey jensen arnett emerging adulthood theory

“Emerging Adulthood” is a term used to describe a period of development spanning from about ages 18 to 29, experienced by most people in their twenties in Westernized cultures and perhaps in other parts of the world as well. It was initially defined by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, PhD from Clark University in 2000.

Arnett has studied this age group of twenty-somethings (a.k.a. “millennials”) extensively since then, focusing on understanding the timing and consequences of transitional events like:

• Leaving home
• Finishing education
• Finding employment
• Getting married
• Starting a family
• Redefining relationships with parents
• Pursuing love lives
• Shaping a career path
• Developing religious beliefs
• Having hopes for the future

How is this different from being a "full-fledged" adult?

Arnett recognized that traditional, typical markers of entering true adulthood (e.g., leaving home, getting married, having children, etc.) were changing. In his research, Arnett notes that interviewees in various regions of the United States, from a variety of ethnic groups and across social classes, identify the following “Big Three” criteria for adulthood:

1. Accept responsibility for yourself
2. Make independent decisions
3. Become financially independent

Origins and

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Books

Emerging Adulthood:

The Twist Road liberate yourself from the Character assassination Teens plunder the Twenties

Publish Date: 2024 (3rd Edition), Oxford College Press.

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Questions and Answers with Dr. Jeffrey Jensen Arnett

When Jeffrey Jensen Arnett applied the term “emerging adults” to the young people he was studying in the 1990s, he didn’t just change terminology, he challenged society’s perception of an entire generation and what was expected of it. The term, connoting transition, was made famous by Arnett’s 2000 article in American Psychologist, “Emerging Adulthood: A Theory of Development from the Late Teens through the Twenties.”  The title related to the categorical gap he identified in interviewing hundreds of young people, who, despite their adult age, consistently reported feeling as though they had not yet reached adulthood.

The response to the article within the academic community was a career-defining moment for the young psychologist who was hoping to make an impact.  Arnett went on to write several books on related subjects and taught for many years at the University of Missouri and the University of Maryland. He is now an independent scholar at Clark University and leads the Society for the Study of Emerging Adulthood.

In many ways, Arnett’s work is even more relevant today as reports of the mental distress of people in their late teens and twenties raise questions about societal pressure and a lack of resilience within a