SOCI 415 Chapter n/a: The Life Course R
Document Summary
Emerging adulthood: a theory of deveopment from the late teens through the ttwenties. American psychologist 469-580 emerging adulthood is a distinct period de- mographically, subjectively, and in terms of identity explo- rations. In this article, i propose a new theory of development from the late teens through the twenties, with a focus on ages 18-25. I argue that this period, emerging adulthood, is neither adolescence nor young adulthood but is theoreti- cally and empirically distinct from them both. Erikson rarely dis- cussed specific ages in his writings, and in his theory of human development across the life course he did not in- clude a separate stage that could be considered analogous to emerging adulthood as proposed here. Rather, he wrote of development in adolescence and of development in young adulthood. However, he also commented on the prolonged adolescence typical of industrialized societies and on the psychosocial moratorium granted to young people in such societies.
