Psychology Dictionary of ArgumentsHome
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| Adulthood: Adulthood in psychology signifies the developmental stage following adolescence, marked by maturity, independence, and assuming adult roles and responsibilities. See also Adolescence, Aging, Responsibility, Developmental psychology._____________Annotation: The above characterizations of concepts are neither definitions nor exhausting presentations of problems related to them. Instead, they are intended to give a short introduction to the contributions below. – Lexicon of Arguments. | |||
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Psychological Theories on Adulthood - Dictionary of Arguments
Upton I 132 Adulthood/Psychological theories/Upton: unlike adolescence, which is usually heralded by the onset of puberty, adulthood has no obvious physical marker to announce its arrival. However, most people reach their final height at this age and our organs and body systems have also reached maturity (Wold, 2004)(1). In addition, there are cultural, social and psychological markers that help determine the shift to adulthood, (…) and these may differ across cultures. >Adulthood/Cultural psychology. Upton I 133 The process of moving from adolescence to adulthood is marked by continuity for most individuals: well-adjusted adolescents continue to be well-adjusted as adults and troubled adolescents become troubled adults (Schulenberg et al.. 2006)(2). It is now increasingly recognized that the transition into adulthood is a critical point in the lifespan (Arnett, 2004(3), 2006(4)). This, coupled with a growing trend for young people to delay their entry into the adult world, has led to the introduction of the term ‘emerging adulthood’ to describe the period between adolescence and adulthood (Arnett, 2004(3), 2006(4)). According to Kefalas et al. (2005)(5), the idea that adolescence can bridge the gap between child hood and adulthood no longer works in modern society, where the timing and sequencing of traditional experiences that represent the process of becoming an adult, such as leaving home, finishing school, starting work and getting married, having children, are more flexible than they used to be. Social norms and expectations in relation to all these processes have changed dramatically since the post-war years. Upton I 134 [The] need for longer education has meant that many young people delay their entry into the economic market, which leads in turn to financial independence being delayed until their early or mid-twenties for many young people today (Cohen et al., 2003)(6). This often means that young people are still living in the family home in their early twenties (Heath. 2008)(7). This increased dependency on parents for housing is a well-recognized feature of emerging adulthood. However, the reason for this dependency is not just financial. Even if they do go to university, students from working-class backgrounds are more likely than their middle-class peers to remain living at home with their parents (Patiniotis and Holdsworth. 2005)(8). It does seem from this that practical issues such as financial independence are an important part of feeling like an adult. However, other more cognitive factors, such as the ability to make independent decisions, have also been identified (Shulman and Ben-Artzi, 2003)(9). Sassler et al. (2008)(10) interviewed young adults who had recently returned to live in the family home and found that adulthood was perceived as a psychological state. According to this view, adulthood is reached once an individual feels able to assume responsibility for their actions and feels capable of interacting with other adults (especially their parents) as equals (Sassler et al. 2008)(10). 1. Wold, G (2004) Basic Geriatric Nursing. St Louis, MO: Mosby. 2. Schulenberg, JE and Zarrett, NR (2006) Mental health during emerging adulthood: continuity and discontinuity in courses, causes, and functions, in Arnett,JJ and Tanner,JL (eds)Emerging Adults in America: Coming of cl,ge in the 21st century. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. 3. Arnett, JJ (2004) Emerging Adulthood: The winding road from the late teens through the twenties. New York: Oxford University Press. 4. Arnett, 11(2006) Emerging adulthood in Europe: a response to Bynner. Journal of Youth Studies, 9: 111-23. 5. Kefalas, M, Furstenberg, F and Napolitano. L (2005) Marriage is More than Being Together: The meaning of marriage among young adults in the United States. Available online at www.transad.pop.upenn.edu/downloads/kefalasmarriagenorms.pdf (accessed 12 March 2011). 6. Cohen, LB and Cashon, CH (2003) Infant perception and cognition, in Lemer, R, Easterbrooks, A and Mistry, J (eds) Comprehensive Handbook of Psychology: Vol. 6, Developmental psychology. Part Two: Infancy (pp.65-89). New York: Wiley and Sons. 7. Heath, S (2008) Housing Choices and Issues for Young People in the UK. York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Available at www.ecotec.com/pdfs/2325 -young-people-housing.pdf 8. Patiniotis, J and Holdsworth, C (2005) ‘Seize that chance!’: Leaving home and transitions to higher Education’. Journal of Youth Studies, 8(1): 81-95. 9. Shuman, S and Ben-Artzi, E (2003) Age-related differences in the transition from adolescence to adulthood and links with family relationships. Journal of Adult Development, 10(4): 217-26. 10. Sassier, S, Ciambrone, D and Benway, G (2008) Are they really mama’s boys/daddy’s girls? The negotiation of adulthood upon returning to the parental home. Sociological Forum, 23(4): 670-98._____________Explanation of symbols: Roman numerals indicate the source, arabic numerals indicate the page number. The corresponding books are indicated on the right hand side. ((s)…): Comment by the sender of the contribution. Translations: Dictionary of Arguments The note [Concept/Author], [Author1]Vs[Author2] or [Author]Vs[term] resp. "problem:"/"solution:", "old:"/"new:" and "thesis:" is an addition from the Dictionary of Arguments. If a German edition is specified, the page numbers refer to this edition. |
Psychological Theories Upton I Penney Upton Developmental Psychology 2011 |
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