Emerging Adulthood Stage - Essay Example

New scholars such as Hendry and Kleop view growth as dynamic and nonlinear; it is a continuous process that changes every time. It was not until the 20th century that the term ‘adolescence’ was born to capture this age of pure confusion, need for identity, and self-seeking and for many, an era of self-seeking, breaking rules and hearts along the way until finally, a solid character is born. Adolescence is taken as a stage in life where one transits from childhood and into adulthood and this is dependent on social, environmental, educational, and community responsibility changes around the individual at this stage.

Emerging adulthood shows the need to understand it as a special stage that is influenced by industrialization, the need for higher education, and constant job changes by persons in this age. Arguments for this phase are a) The term perfectly describes the age between late teens and early twenties) Changes from adolescence and into adulthood for persons living in industrialized and growing economies mark a new kind of life….where you get a job! c) Most of the teenage phases such as identity crisis had been delayed due to educational pursuits, now its higher education, and in a few years, a new need to be romantically involved with someone, and getting married comes in, two crisis in one!d) It is incorrect to state that most of the development occurs in the later stages of life.

In the current age, development occurs to individuals at different stages and it's irreversible, so they live and deal with the effects (positive or negative), therefore, we cannot lock in identity development in one stage, and it is a lifetime process. e) Generalizations of emerging adulthood may discount some social and cultural factors that are important for growth; therefore, putting emerging adulthood as a stage may give a wrong impression of wayward exploration that has negative social implications.

As a result, the adulthood stage is very long and dramatic with a period where you need to get higher education, get out of one relationship and into another in the course of changing jobs and moving houses then getting married(18-37). In addition, you are having kids and raising them, holding a stable job, and being content with yourself (37-the 60s), there was a need to develop a phase where events such as identity explorations, self-confusion, feeling in-between, and a world of possibilities, making independent decisions and being responsible could fit in, hence, the emergence of adulthood.

Although the above features are not universal due to the arguments stated above. Theorists have emphasized the role played by industrialization that has created a more individualized society and, thus, stripped off institutions such as family, religion, and education of their powers. Individuals are left to make their own decisions and lessons in life, for better or worse, and that is why people due to its relevance to their lifestyles quickly accept emerging adulthood. Youth in Europe, America, Asia, and parts of Africa are used to these issues; they can easily relate!

This transition age group of 18-25 has earned a whole stage to themselves. It is as long as childhood, as dramatic and complicated as teenage and adolescence, and has responsibility and independence in decision making, just like the adult stage! The emerging adults also differ depending on the socioeconomic setup there are brought up in. For thsetupsed in a liberal, educated, financially healthy, loving, responsible, and open-minded environment, adjust pretty fast and become responsible and achieve a lot in their lives by their late twenties and early thirties and there is a big transition from their character in teenage life and their present life.

Those that do not make it to transition smoothly are under a lot of pressure in their life. This comes from their friends, school, work, and love life and they eventually end up breaking down mentally due to stress or seeking other stress-relieving measures such as alcohol, substance abuse, promiscuity, and overdependence on their parents for support e.g. 29-35yr olds never move out.