The emergence of ‘emerging adulthood’: The new life stage between adolescence and young adulthood

Abstract

Theoretical and empirical understanding of development during the first stage of adulthood has undergone contemporary revision. Arnett (2000; 2004; 2006) introduced the theory of emerging adulthood to describe an extended period of development between adolescence and young adulthood, typically extending from ages 18-25. Central to the theory is the tenet that emerging adulthood is a distinct period of development, different from the stage of adolescence that precedes it and the young adult period that follows. The theory of emerging adulthood stresses the psychological and subjective experiences of individuals aged 18-25, characterizing the age period as one of identity explorations, feeling ‘in-between’, instability, self-focus, and possibilities. The distinctive features of the 18-25 age period call for an apposite term conferring the distinctiveness of the stage. Correspondingly, terms that include the years 18-25 as a non-distinct stage of development – late adolescence, post-adolescence, youth, young adulthood, the transition to adulthood – are inadequate descriptors of this unique stage of development (Arnett 2000; 2004).

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