Counseling Emerging Adults in Transition: Practical Applications of Attachment and Social Support Research

Abstract

Today’s emerging adults (i.e., individuals between the ages of 18 and 29 in industrialized nations) navigate multiple significant life transitions (e.g., entering career life), and do so in a rapidly changing society. While these transitions pose psychological difficulties, a growing body of research has identified attachment and social support as two notably salient protective factors in emerging adulthood. The purpose of the present paper is to inform counseling work with emerging adult clients, particularly those in the midst of one or more transitions. This purpose is important given that the concept of emerging adulthood represents a relatively recent phenomenon that the counseling community has been slow to acknowledge. Specifically, this paper will review literature pertaining to emerging adulthood, attachment, and social support, and it will use this literature to provide clinicians with practical recommendations for counseling emerging adults.

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