Abstract
This study explored the roles and psychological experiences identified as defining adult moments using mixed methods with a racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically diverse sample of young adults both enrolled and not enrolled in college (N = 726; ages 18-35). First, we evaluated results from a single survey item that asked participants to rate how adult they feel. Consistent with previous research, the majority of participants (56.9%) reported feeling “somewhat like an adult,” and older participants had significantly higher subjective adulthood, controlling for other demographic variables. Next, we analyzed responses from an open-ended question asking participants to describe instances in which they felt like an adult. Responses covered both traditional roles (e.g., marriage, childbearing; 36.1%) and nontraditional social roles and experiences (e.g., moving out of parent’s home, cohabitation; 55.6%). Although we found no differences by age and college status in the likelihood of citing a traditional or nontraditional role, participants who had achieved more traditional roles were more likely to cite them in their responses. In addition, responses were coded for psychological experiences, including responsibility for self (19.0%), responsibility for others (15.3%), self-regulation (31.1%), and reflected appraisals (5.1%). Older participants were significantly more likely to include self-regulation and reflected appraisals, whereas younger participants were more likely to include responsibility for self. College students were more likely than noncollege students to include self-regulation and reflected appraisals. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
Introduction
Traditional markers of adulthood, including marriage, parenthood, financial independence, and home ownership have become increasingly elusive to many young adults in the United States (Arnett, 1998; Arnett & Tanner, 2006; Settersten, Furstenberg, & Rumbaut, 2005). In the early 1970s, over 75% of women and 65% of men had met these traditional milestones, whereas fewer than half had done so in 2000 (Furstenberg, Kennedy, McLoyd, Rumbaut, & Settersten, 2004). Arnett coined this new, protracted developmental stage “emerging adulthood,” a period of postponed markers and extended exploration (Arnett, 1998, 2000). According to Arnett (1998), emerging adulthood has resulted from sociocultural and economic factors that have made it possible and, in some cases, even desirable, to delay traditional adult roles.
In the current study, we explored self-perceptions of adulthood. Drawing on a large, diverse sample of young adults between the ages of 18 and 35 (N = 726), including both college students (n = 517) and young adults who were neither attending nor had graduated from college (n = 209), we first replicated findings that the majority feel “in-between” adolescence and adulthood. We then used an open-ended question to solicit incidences in which participants “really felt like an adult,” and coded for the traditional and nontraditional roles and experiences, as well as aspects of psychological development evident in their responses. Lastly, we investigated variation by age and college status for traditional and nontraditional roles and psychological experiences to explore how young adults’ subjective experiences of adulthood relate to developmental maturity and context.
Background
Subjective Adulthood
Although some individuals move seamlessly from feeling like an adolescent to incorporating an adult self-identity, much research in the last decade suggests an “in between,” or “not quite adult” status period for those aged 18 to 25 (Arnett, 2000). Indeed, it is not until the late 20s or even early 30s that many young people consider themselves to be full-fledged adults (Arnett, 2000; Fadjukoff, Kokko, & Pulkkinen, 2007). Furthermore, not all adults who have achieved traditional markers of adulthood necessarily feel like adults, and many who have not achieved these milestones do consider themselves to be adults (Arnett, 1997). As social definitions of adulthood become more fluid, it is increasingly difficult to define adulthood.
Defining Adulthood: Traditional Versus Nontraditional Markers
The most common way that young adults’ definitions of adulthood have been explored is through their endorsement of roles and experiences that they feel “must be achieved before a person can be considered an adult” (e.g., Arnett, 1998, p. 302; 2001, p. 135). Items on this scale have been organized into five subscales: individualism (e.g., “accept responsibility for the consequences of your actions”), family capacities (e.g., “capable of caring for children”), norm compliance (e.g., “avoid drunk driving”), legal/chronological transitions (e.g., “reached age 18”), and role transitions (e.g., “have at least one child”). Arnett consistently has found that young adults emphasize three criteria reflective of individualism: responsibility for one’s self, independent decision making, and financial independence. Moreover, individualistic criteria were most commonly endorsed across adolescents (13-19 years), emerging adults (20-29), and young-to-midlife adults (30-55 years; Arnett, 2001).
Subsequent research has provided insight into how a broader array of youth, both nationally and internationally, conceptualizes adulthood. In these studies, individualistic criteria have also been consistently ranked as the most important to achieving adulthood. For example, in his study of an ethnically and racially diverse sample of young adults in the United States, Arnett (2003) found that European Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latinos all endorsed items reflecting greater independence as the most important markers of adulthood. Other studies have yielded similar findings, with individualistic attributes emerging as the key criteria for adulthood among young adults in Israel (Mayseless & Scharf, 2003), Argentina (Faccio & Miccoci, 2003), the Czech Republic (Macek, Bejcek, & Vanícková, 2007), China (Nelson, Badger, & Wu, 2004), India (Seiter & Nelson, 2010), and Romania (Nelson, 2009).
A closer look suggests these findings might be more nuanced then they appear. For example, although participants in India and China have endorsed individualistic criteria related to maturity, researchers have argued that their responses may be indicative of more collectivist values (Nelson et al., 2004; Seitler & Nelson, 2010). In addition, although participants endorsed individualistic criteria when listed alongside other transitions, roles, and experiences, it is not clear that they would have spontaneously described or reported these criteria. For instance, although some research suggests a diminishing importance of traditional roles as benchmarks of adult status, a qualitative study of Canadian 25- to 29-year-olds found that most participants still mentioned traditional adult roles in response to the interview question, “Do you have the impression of being an adult?” (Molgat, 2007). This suggests that more open-ended interviews might yield a different breakdown of roles that youth associate with adulthood.
In contrast, Arnett (1998) supplemented his checklist approach with structured interviews in which participants described the ways in which they had, and had not, reached adulthood, and found that young adults emphasized the individualistic criteria of accepting responsibility for oneself, making independent decisions, and financial independence in both. It is possible that the consistency in the results stemmed from the way the interview question was phrased. That is, in formulating their responses, young adults might have drawn upon their definitions of adulthood, rather than on experiences in which they felt a subjective sense of adulthood. In our study, we expanded upon Arnett’s work by asking participants to describe a specific event in which they felt like an adult. By investigating the roles and responsibilities represented in these events, we provide a different lens into subjective experiences of adulthood.
In a similar vein, by analyzing participants’ responses, we aimed to achieve greater insight into the psychological experience of becoming an adult. Scholars have noted psychological capacities that could facilitate adaption in the transition to adulthood, including flexibility (Blatterer, 2007), agency (Côté & Bynner, 2008; Schwartz, Côté, & Arnett, 2005), and social competence (Chung, Little, & Steinberg, 2005). The confluence model of age identity (Johnson, Berg, & Sirotski, 2007), for example, suggests that role transitions coincide with the accumulation of psychological qualities. That is, the subtle, intangible aspects of psychological development occur as young adults accumulate more concrete transitions and responsibilities. Psychological development, in turn, might also drive the achievement of traditional milestones. Yet research to date has not adequately explored young adults’ accounts of psychological development and the ways in which psychological growth accompanies subjective adulthood.
Of course, these processes are likely to be shaped by individuals’ age and life circumstances. Older participants have been consistently more likely to report feeling like adults (e.g., Arnett, 2001); however, their greater subjective adulthood could be due in part to their greater likelihood of having achieved traditional markers of adulthood (Cohen, Kasen, Chen, Hartmark, & Gordon, 2003). There are also documented age differences in definitions of adulthood. For example, Arnett (2001) found that 20- to 40-year-olds were more likely to cite norm compliance (e.g., avoiding use of illegal drugs), and less likely to cite biological transitions (e.g., being capable of bearing children), than teenagers. However, little is known about whether there is variation by age and psychological experiences in the markers and roles that contribute to youths’ subjective adult identity.
Along similar lines, there might be variation in subjective experiences of adulthood among youth who attend 4-year colleges and those who do not. This body of research is limited, however, as few studies include noncollege youth, referred to as the “Forgotten Half” in the United States (William T. Grant Foundation Commission on Work, Family, & Citizenship, 1988) and as the “Missing Majority” in China (Nelson & Chen, 2007). Findings to date, however, suggest that non-college-enrolled young adults experience higher levels of subjective adulthood than their college student counterparts (Luyckz, Schwartz, Gossens, & Pollock, 2008; Reitzle, 2006), perhaps because they have taken on more traditional roles (Reitzle, 2006) and have greater responsibilities for themselves and others (e.g., Ahituv & Tienda, 2004; Reitzle, 2006). Others have argued that college can provide a psychosocial moratorium, affording unique opportunities for adult identity and psychological development (Schwartz, p. 205; Seiter & Nelson, 2010). It is thus important to compare and represent the perspectives of noncollege youth who might be experiencing less of an economic buffer and less scaffolding and direction historically provided by institutional educational contexts.
The Current Study
In this study, we used mixed-methods to explore a racially and ethnically diverse sample of college and noncollege young adults’ feelings of subjective adulthood. In addition to completing a survey question, participants were asked to describe an instance in which they “really felt like an adult.” This latter approach is a departure from previous list-based methods and interviews asking more broadly about criteria for adulthood and the ways in which participants have, and have not, achieved them. Our method was designed to elicit a range of specific, descriptive instances of feeling adult in order to capture the traditional and psychological markers associated with subjective adult experiences. Consistent with previous research, we expected that older and noncollege participants would be more likely to endorse feeling like an adult. Likewise, although all participants were expected to describe a range of psychological experiences associated with feelings of adulthood, older and noncollege participants’ experiences were expected to reflect more traditional roles.
Method
Procedures
This study drew on data from an ongoing, larger investigation of adaptive capacities thought fundamental to the transition to adulthood (Dillon, Lowe, McLoyd, & Rhodes, 2009). Participants were students at an urban university as well as noncollege young adults who were neither attending nor had graduated from a 4-year university. Students (n = 625) were recruited through introductory and advanced psychology classes during the fall 2007, spring 2008, and fall 2008 semesters, as well as through tables at a central location on campus. On completing the survey, student participants were compensated with either extra credit or US$10. Noncollege young adults (n = 265) were recruited through the Craigslist web site for the same metropolitan area as the university. Participants responded to a survey advertisement, indicating their age (18- to 35-years-old) and college status (i.e., whether they were attending or had graduated from a 4-year university). Eligible participants were provided information on how to complete the study, and were sent US$10 compensation upon completion of the survey. For participants’ convenience, the survey could be completed online or in paper form. Two versions of the survey were administered. The first, completed by 357 students and all of the noncollege young adults, assessed adaptive capacities, demographic characteristics, and relevant outcomes (e.g., mental health indices). The second, completed by 268 students, consisted of a trimmed-down set of adaptive capacity items, and the same demographic characteristics and outcome measures. In the current study, we drew on measures included in both versions of the survey and participants from whom we have complete data (N = 726, 81.6%).
Measures
Subjective adult status
Participants were asked to indicate the extent to which they feel like an adult “most of the time.” The item was rated on a 3-point scale, with the response options (1) not at all like an adult, (2) somewhat like an adult, and (3) entirely like an adult. This item was selected from a larger measure of subjective adulthood in various contexts (e.g., with friends, at school) as a global assessment of adult status (Shanahan, Porfeli, & Mortimer, 2005).
Defining adult experience
In an open-ended question, participants were asked to describe an instance in which they “felt like an adult.” This item emerged from discussions among the MacArthur Network on the Transition to Adulthood and Public Policy on how to better understand subjective adult identity. After an initial review of participants’ responses, the two primary authors independently created lists of the traditional and nontraditional social roles represented. These lists were then combined, eliminating redundancies, and notes on the types of responses that should be included under each category were made. As the coding process progressed, the researchers communicated about additional nontraditional social roles that emerged and updated the coding list accordingly. A total of six traditional roles (e.g., marriage, employment) and 19 nontraditional social roles (e.g., moving out of parents’ home, cohabitation) were created (Table 2). Next, the researchers separately coded for whether each participants’ adult instance included each of the traditional and nontraditional social roles. Once the preliminary coding was complete, the researchers reached consensus on common differences and separately completed a second round of coding. A third rater resolved the remaining discrepancies (an average of 3.0 cases per category, range: 0 to10; average κ = .96, range: 0.86 to 1.0).
The researchers also created codes for psychological experiences evident in the data. Again, independent lists were created and consolidated into a total of 12 categories. Coding proceeded as above, with a third coder resolving discrepancies (an average of 7.8 discrepancies per category, range: 3 to 12; average κ = .86, range: .76 to .96). The 12 psychological experience categories were condensed into four overarching categories based on theoretical relationships (Table 2). The overarching code, Self-Regulation, was made up on the following individual codes: Perspective, Perceived Competence, Adaptability, Decision Making, Self-Control, Assertiveness, Personal Strength, and Future Orientation. These codes were combined based on their utility in setting and working toward long-term goals. Likewise, two individual codes, Others’ Perspectives and Receiving Respect, were combined into the overarching code Reflected Appraisals because both involved deriving a sense of adulthood through relationships with others.
Participants
Demographic characteristics for the full sample and college and noncollege young adult subsamples are listed in Table 1. The majority of participants (73.2%) were female and there was considerable racial and ethnic diversity in the sample: 60.5% identified as White, 12.4% as Black or African American, 13.9% as Asian or Pacific Islander, 6.5% as “Other” race, and 6.7% as multiracial; 11.6% identified as being of Hispanic ethnicity. Nearly 20% (19.6%) reported being first generation immigrants to the United States, 24.6% second generation (one or both parents born outside of the United States), and 55.7% third generation immigrants or later (both parents born in the United States). The mean age of participants was 22.9 years (SD = 4.4, range: 18-35). In terms of traditional adult roles attained, 12.8% were married, 21.6% were parents, 12.7% worked full-time, and 37.1% owned a home.
Demographic Characteristics of Full, College, and Noncollege Samples
Note: For variables with more than one category (i.e., race, immigrant status, mothers’ highest level of education, adult roles attained), post hoc tests using contrast coding were computed following a significant omnibus test. All significance values were Bonferroni-corrected for multiple tests.
p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.
We tested for differences between the 726 participants included in the study and the 164 who were dropped, using a Bonferroni correction for multiple tests. Those included were significantly younger, t(176.34) = 9.08, p < .001 (equal variances not assumed), and were also less likely to have completed three of the four traditional markers of adulthood: they were less likely to be married (χ2 = 11.08, p < .05), to be parents (χ2 = 23.30, p < .001), and to own a home (χ2 = 9.21, p < .05). Also of note are differences between the college student and noncollege samples (Table 1).
Results
Subjective Adult Status
For the full sample, 37.9% reported feeling “entirely like an adult,” 56.9% “somewhat like an adult,” and 4.3% not at all like an adult in their everyday lives. These rates varied for the college and noncollege subsamples. For the college subsample (n = 517), 32.2% reported feeling “entirely like an adult,” 62.7% “somewhat like an adult,” and 4.5% “not at all like an adult.” In contrast, for the noncollege sample (n = 209), 52.7% reported feeling “entirely like an adult,” 43.5% “somewhat like an adult,” and 3.8% “not at all like an adult.” Noncollege students had greater subjective adulthood than college students, t(361.56) = 4.49, p < .001, equal variances not assumed, and older participants had significantly greater subjective adulthood than younger participants (r = .27, p < .001). However, in a linear regression with age and college status, as well as additional demographic variables (sex, race, ethnicity, immigrant status, maternal education, and total traditional adult roles fulfilled) included, age was significant (β = .16, p < .001), whereas college status was not. In addition, participants who fulfilled more traditional adult roles had significantly higher subjective adulthood (β = .16, p < .001), and Asian participants had significantly lower subjective adulthood than non-Asian participants (β = −.19, p < .05).
Defining Adult Experiences
Although there was variation in subjective adulthood among the participants, all were able to describe an instance in which they “really felt like an adult.” We coded these instances for whether they included traditional or nontraditional roles as well as whether they evidenced various aspects of psychological development. In supplementary analyses (not shown), we found that participants with a higher subjective adulthood were significantly more likely to have described instances including a traditional adult role, whereas there were no differences by subjective adulthood in nontraditional roles and psychological experiences. Descriptions of each traditional role, nontraditional social role, and psychological experience are listed in Table 2, along with an exemplary defining adult experience, the frequency in the full sample, and the kappa statistic of interrater reliability for each category. We note here that total percentages exceed one hundred because multiple codes were applied to most instances (M = 1.89, SD = 1.28, range: 0-8).
Descriptions, Exemplary Quotes and Frequencies for Traditional Roles, Nontraditional Social Roles, and Psychological Experiences
Traditional and nontraditional social roles
As shown in Table 2, 36.1% of participants listed a traditional role and, of the traditional roles, employment experiences were the most commonly cited (22.0% of all adult instances). More than half (55.6%) of participants listed a social experience not representative of the traditional markers of adulthood. Of the nontraditional social roles, financial responsibilities for self (20.8%), moving out or living with friends (12.9%), school experiences (12.1%), and taking care of younger people (11.4%) were the most commonly cited.
Regression analyses were conducted to determine whether there were differences in the frequency of traditional and nontraditional roles in participants’ responses by the two key demographic characteristics of interest, age and college status. Covariates for other demographic variables (sex, race, ethnicity, immigrant status, maternal level of education, and total number of adult roles completed) were also included. A Bonferroni correction for the number of regression analyses was applied to reduce the risk of Type I error. As shown in Table 3, neither age nor college status was a significant predictor of whether participants endorsed either traditional or nontraditional social roles. Of the other demographic variables included, there was only one significant finding: participants who had fulfilled more traditional adult roles were more likely to have included them in their responses (p < .01).
Results of Logistic Regression Analyses Predicting Traditional Roles, Other Social Role Experiences, and Psychological Experience Themes
Note: Analyses included controls for other demographic variables (dummy codes for female sex, race, and ethnic groups, and immigration status; mothers’ highest level of education and traditional roles achieved were included as continuous variables). Significance values were Bonferroni-corrected for multiple tests.
p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.
Qualitative findings
A noteworthy phenomenon in our qualitative coding was the emergence of nontraditional roles that were not on our original list. These represented social experiences not apparent in the existing literature but that participants nonetheless cited as salient markers of adulthood. First, we added a code for driving-related experiences, such as getting one’s license or driving with other people in the car. Some participants (1.5%, n = 11) referred to these experiences not only as markers of personal accomplishment and responsibility for others but also as a concrete milestone dividing their child and adult selves. Second, we added a code for immigration experiences (1.0%, n = 7). All participants citing immigration experiences were, not surprisingly, first generation immigrants and 4.7% of first generation immigrants cited such experiences. Immigration experiences tended to represent either independence from one’s family, increased responsibility within the family, or a stressful adjustment to a new cultural context.
Similarly, 8.0% (n = 58) of participants cited stressful life events in their adult instances. These experiences, which included bereavement, accidents, victimization, and war experiences, propelled participants into fulfilling adult roles or coping with intensely negative emotions. Some of these instances were quite poignant. For example, a 19-year-old White female college student wrote, “When my grandmother died in my arms and I had to be brave and tell her it was okay to go.” Two participants wrote about the death of their pets, which we had not expected and yet that previous research has indicated as a highly stressful event (e.g., Gosse & Barnes, 1994).
Psychological experiences
Also in Table 2 are lists of the psychological experience codes, the percentage of participants whose defining adult experience was coded with each, exemplary quotes, and kappa statistics of interrater reliability. Over half of the adult instances (54.0%) were coded as representing some type of psychological experience. Psychological experiences often fell into four thematic categories: Responsibility for Self (19.0%), Responsibility for Others (15.3%), Self-Regulation (31.1%), and Reflected Appraisals (5.1%). Table 3 shows the results of regression analyses looking at differences in the frequency of the psychological themes by age and college status, controlling for other demographic variables and including Bonferonni corrections for multiple tests. We found that the responses of younger participants were more likely to be coded as indicating Responsibility for Self, whereas older participants’ responses were more likely to be coded as indicating Self-Regulation and Reflected Appraisals, controlling for college status and other demographic variables. The responses of college students were more likely than those of noncollege students to be coded as indicating Self-Regulation and Reflected Appraisals, controlling for age and other demographic variables. Of the other demographic characteristics included in the analysis (not shown in Table 3), there was only one significant difference: the responses of female participants were more likely than those of male participants to be coded as indicating Responsibility for Others (p < .05). In the qualitative analysis below, we include quotations that represent the range of responses within each psychological code, and reflect upon statistically significant differences by age and college status.
Responsibility for self
Taking greater responsibility for oneself was often evident in participants’ responses, with some participants reporting feeling like autonomous, independent decision makers, some admitting guilt when they made mistakes, and others recognizing that part of taking responsibility for oneself is asking for help when necessary.
Common among responses coded as representing Responsibility for Self were participants feeling “in charge” or “in control” of oneself. Consistent with the finding that younger participants were more likely to have instances indicative of Responsibility for Self, this feeling was achieved through taking on new responsibilities or entering into novel traditional or nontraditional roles. One of the college students, an 18-year-old White female, described moments of increased personal responsibility during the previous summer:
The day I bought my first car. I did it all by myself. That same summer I applied to college and worked everything out about my plans: my job and school, all by myself, without my parents. It made me feel grown up, in charge.
In other instances, this sense was derived from having to take action in stressful or uncontrollable situations. A 26-year-old, Black female college student described how she achieved a sense of control after being able to make her own medical decisions:
The one instance when I felt like an adult was when I was hit by car while crossing the street. When I got to the hospital, after they checked the results, I was told to stay overnight and the decision was up to me whether I wanted to leave or not. At that moment I felt like I had control over my life.
Other participants felt a sense of responsibility as they began to balance multiple roles independently, without the urging or instruction of others. For example, a 24-year-old Asian female college student described taking responsibility for herself in her daily life:
Well, I live on my own, so everything is my responsibility—to pay the bills, to cook, clean, etc. So I have to be responsible and learn to take care of myself, [and] can’t depend on others. To go to school or work, it’s all on me. I don’t have anyone to motivate me or anything. Sometimes, even though it’s difficult, I still have to push myself to do certain things because of course anyone would just want to relax at home but in best interest for my future there are certain tasks you just cannot ignore or avoid.
In this example, the participant achieved a sense of responsibility for herself, while also exercising the self-regulatory capacities described further below.
Responsibility for others
Participants’ defining adult instances also included evidence of taking responsibility for others in their lives. Opportunities to derive this sense came from a variety of contexts at different times throughout emerging adulthood, consistent with the lack of statistically significant differences in age or college status.
First, not surprisingly, the Responsibility for Others code was applied frequently to child-rearing experiences. An 18-year-old Latino male noncollege student, for example, described feeling like an adult when with his son:
[I feel like an adult] every time that I am around my son because, although I am still very young, I must watch him and take care of him and protect him from all dangers. Then that’s when I realize what my parents were trying to do to me all along.
Parenthood required this participant to take on more adult qualities and gave him greater perspective about his own parents. Similarly, other participants cited instances in which they were able to connect with their parents on a more adult level, even taking care of them or advising them. One participant, a 25-year-old White female college student, put this quite succinctly: “Being able to help my parents, emotionally and physically, instead of them having to help me.”
Responsibility for others therefore was not exclusive to instances of parenthood, and participants also described taking responsibility when helping peers. One of the college students, a 28-year-old White male, wrote,
I made sure that my friend’s bills were paid on time when she was fired from her job. It made me realize that I was responsible and mature enough to handle that for her because she is a good friend. It made me proud to be a man and accept responsibility.
Other participants reported feeling a sense of responsibility for others through their jobs. A 25-year-old White male noncollege student described this sense toward his supervisees and the company for which he works:
I recently took over as Director of Recruiting at my company. I am now responsible for seven people below me. I have to lead them in the right direction and can’t take a moment off. I am responsible now for the growth and success of this company.
As illustrated above, participants’ sense of responsibility to others was often not exclusive to a particular individual. Some participants reported feeling a greater responsibility to other people in general, their community, or even the country.
Other young adults described instances in which they were temporarily in the role of a parent, such as babysitting, teaching, or mentoring. Such experiences combined caring for a child and realizing the tremendous responsibility of being a parent. A 24-year-old Black female college student reflected on an experience in which she stepped in as the guardian for her nephew:
When I had to take my nephew to school, then had to attend a meeting with his teachers. At the meeting they gave me a brief description of how to his grades are, how he behaved in class and his interactions with the other students. Then I had to sign some forms as his guardian/parent. After I had to make sure he had all he was supposed to have, I held his hand took him home like my own child.
Clearly, responsibility for others as a defining feature of adulthood goes way beyond taking care of one’s own children. Young adults in our sample were able to derive this sense in a variety of contexts and relationships.
Self-regulatory capacities
Also common in participants’ instances were evidence of the different aspects of self-regulation. Together, such instances represented participants’ ability to be agentic—to set and work toward personal goals, persist in the face of obstacles, and maintain a positive outlook for the future. The empirical literature on self-regulation suggests that these capacities increase over emerging adulthood (e.g., Vukman, 2006), and likewise, in our sample older participants were significantly more likely to cite these capacities than their younger counterparts. In our analysis of the qualitative data, we noted participants’ growing awareness of these capacities as well as their reflections on how they had changed over time.
One example of self-regulation came from a 34-year-old White female noncollege student, who described how she and her husband had become homeowners:
[I felt like an adult] during the purchase process of our first single family home. There is so much more thought and decision to the entire process than what you realize. I had to consider schools for my child and future children, location to shopping, highways, trains, airports, friends, family, etc. It was a really long, well-thought-out process, and it definitely wasn’t a decision that was made instantly (unlike when we first got married and bought our condo, we were really young and only really cared about how far it was from our jobs).
Notable here is how the participant contrasted this experience to others she had made previously, including her marriage, and related them to her “young” age, thereby implying that her decision-making abilities had evolved over time. Another participant, an 18-year-old Asian female college student, similarly reflected on her recent decision to buy a new car, and how her actions would have been different in the past:
I think I felt [most like an adult] when I was about [to] get a new car, but my mom told me that the insurance is too expensive, so I decided to just wait until later. I was able to put myself in my mom’s shoes and understood what was she trying to convey. If that happened before, I would only have thought about what I want and not others’ feelings. I think this was one of the situations I felt like I grew up a lot.
In this example, the participant’s greater perspective-taking abilities were evident. She was able to reflect on what her mother was thinking and use that information to inform her decision.
As with age, college status was a significant predictor of instances indicative of self-regulation. One possible explanation for this finding is that college participants drew upon these capacities in balancing their coursework with other responsibilities and stressors. For example, an 18-year-old White female college student described her efforts to regulate her negative emotions to fulfill her school responsibilities after a major stressor, the death of her father:
In August, my father passed away. I had previously made the decision to attend [the university] and had already signed the lease to my apartment. It was the hardest thing to have to leave my grieving family behind. I felt like an adult because I had a tough skin and knew that my father would still want me to pursue a college education. I didn’t just give up and take a semester off like I feel some people would have done in a similar situation. I focused my negative energy into my schoolwork. I had to cope with the loss of my father while still taking on the responsibilities of a full-time worker and college student. This helped me see how responsible and strong I can be in even such a tough situation.
Evident in the quote above was that, despite the stressful circumstances, the participant realized she had strengths that would serve her well in achieving future goals.
However, the contexts in which self-regulation was evident spanned beyond university settings. Participants described a growing sense of competence as they worked toward not only educational goals but also professional goals, which helped them maintain a positive future outlook. For example, one of the noncollege students, a 24-year-old White male, detailed an employment experience that made him feel optimistic and proud:
During a training session at work, we completed the seminar by having a challenge, where we would have to demonstrate our skills and be rated by points. Out of every individual in our entire organization, my partner and I scored the highest ever. I felt more assured of my position at work and my understanding of my job by knowing that I had done better than those who were 1, 2, or even 3 years older than [I am]. Things like this, professional advancement, make me feel the most like an adult.
Others reported that making plans for their future, and sacrificing short-term desires for the sake of long-term goals, made them feel like an adult. A 24-year-old Asian female noncollege student put it simply: “Working full time, saving every penny that I earn, and being in control of my finances. Planning and setting goals for my future.”
A sense of increasing future orientation was also apparent in other situations. For example, although some participants reported feeling most like adults when abusing alcohol or substances, others reported that giving up substance abuse for the sake of their future came with a greater sense of maturity. For illustration, a 20-year-old, White male college student wrote, “When I made the decision to enter a drug rehab program in the wilderness. I voluntarily chose to go because it was in the best interest for my future to quit drinking, and I needed help to do so.”
Overall, by exercising self-regulation, participants gained a sense of control over their future that increased their positive outlook and sense of mastery.
Reflected appraisals
The young adults in our sample also derived a sense of adulthood through the perspectives of others. As noted above, the responses of older participants were significantly more likely to include Reflected appraisals in their responses. It could be that older participants have faced more opportunities to see themselves through the eyes of others, have developed greater perspective-taking abilities, or simply appear older to those around them and are treated as such.
The other people in the instances coded for Reflected Appraisals covered a wide range, from strangers to family members. Often these examples represented relatively mundane events that took on a greater meaning to participants because they made them cognizant of their adult status. A 31-year-old White male from the noncollege sample recounted not being asked for identification at a bar and being addressed as an adult: “I walked up to the bar at an airport and was instantly served. He said phrases that contained ‘sir’ and I was offered a free cigarette.” Similarly, subtle comments from others carried messages that the participant was perceived as an adult. A 34-year-old White female noncollege student described realizing her adult status through a conversation with a younger acquaintance: “When a 22-year-old referred to me as being ‘old’ in conversation. It was a normal comment with no joke intended. I thought, ‘Wow, she’s just a kid and I am all grown up.’” Not only did this participant see herself as adult through the eyes of someone else, she also gained this sense through comparing herself to someone younger.
Other participants noted that, despite their young age, they perceived others as seeing them as adults because they were given respect. Employment was a common context for these types of responses. For example, in the noncollege sample, a 21-year-old White male described his interactions at his job:
I feel like an adult every day at work. I help manage one of the largest hotel properties in this part of the country. Guests always treat me with respect, although I am young, and my employer is always willing to let me progress.
Evident above is that, in letting their young adult employees advance, employers send the message that youth are capable of adult responsibilities.
A sense of adulthood through receiving respect from others also involved interactions with parents in which participants were treated differently than in the past, for example the first time they were left unsupervised or the first time they were allowed to take out the family car. A 22-year-old White female college student reported, “When my parents went on vacation and asked me to watch the house alone for the first time. I felt like an adult because they finally showed that they trusted me completely.” Other participants reported a sense of adulthood when their parents consulted them for guidance or advice. Participants gained a sense of pride in taking steps toward a more egalitarian relationship. An 18-year-old White male college student described this scenario:
My dad called me the other day to ask my opinion on a judgment call. I always go to my father for advice because I think he is a smart person and I was pleased that he wanted my advice on something in his life.
Notably, although college status was a significant predictor of instances including Reflected Appraisals, none of the above examples took place in a college context. Although this finding is worthy of further investigation, it is possible that perspective taking and personal reflection were developed through college coursework, or that young adults who enjoy exercising these skills are more likely to attend college.
Discussion
The purpose of this study was to provide an additional perspective on how young adults reach subjective adulthood. To date, the majority of studies on subjective adulthood (e.g., Arnett, 1994, 1998, 2001, 2003) have had participants select from a checklist of options what roles, markers, and experiences are necessary for a person to be considered an adult. In addition, interview approaches have asked about the ways in which respondents have, and have not, reached adulthood (Arnett, 1998). Both approaches have found that adulthood is most often defined by individualistic criteria. To further this body of research, we used a qualitative approach wherein participants described an instance in which they “really felt like an adult,” and coded their responses for traditional markers of adulthood (i.e., marriage, parenthood, educational attainment, home ownership, and employment) and nontraditional social roles (e.g., moving out of the parental home, financial responsibility, experiences at school) as well as experiences of psychological growth. The qualitative approach allowed for a more spontaneous generation of roles and experiences associated with subjective adulthood, access to a potentially broader range of criteria, and new insights into the complex ways in which youth come to see themselves as adults. Furthermore, in asking participants to describe specific experiences, rather than the ways in which they had reached adulthood more broadly, we aimed to provide a new perspective on the roles, responsibilities, and psychological qualities youth associate with adulthood.
The study also benefited from a large socioeconomically, racially, and ethnically diverse sample of young adults. Participants were ethnically and racially diverse college students from an urban university as well as a comparison sample of young adults from the same metropolitan area who were neither current students nor graduates of 4-year colleges. This is in contrast to the majority of the extant research on young adults, which has included predominantly college students (Osgood, Foster, Flanagan, & Ruth, 2005).
As in other studies of subjective adulthood, we first asked participants to indicate the extent to which they feel like adults in their everyday lives. For the full sample, concurrent with much of the research, the majority of participants indicated that they felt “somewhat like an adult.” However, there was some variation within the larger sample, with noncollege students and older participants more likely to consider themselves “entirely like an adult.” When we entered both variables, along with other demographic characteristics and the number of traditional adult roles achieved, age and traditional roles were significant predictors of subjective adulthood, whereas college status was not. Differences in subjective adulthood between the college and noncollege samples appears related to the latter group’s age and greater attainment of traditional markers of adulthood.
To shed light on the ways in which individuals come to see themselves as adults, we then conducted qualitative analysis of participants’ descriptions of instances in which they felt like an adult. Notably, all participants in the study were able to provide an adult instance, including those who reported feeling “not at all like an adult” in their everyday lives. Although approximately a third of participants listed traditional adult roles in their responses, more than half included nontraditional social roles. Moreover, in our regression analysis, we found no differences in the likelihood of including either traditional or nontraditional roles by age, college status, or any other demographic characteristic. These results provide further support for the notion that many individuals have moved beyond traditional roles alone in defining themselves as adults.
We did, however, find that young adults who had achieved more traditional markers of adulthood were more likely to include them in their responses, controlling for demographic characteristics. In this sense, our findings diverge from those of previous studies (e.g., Arnett, 2001), and suggest that traditional roles continue to be salient markers of adulthood for those who have achieved them. This divergence could reflect differences in methodology; that is, young adults might draw on different criteria for adulthood spontaneously, versus when given a list of options. Furthermore, the lists might not reflect all of the roles and experiences that actually provide a subjective sense of adulthood. Of course, participants were only asked to describe one instance and therefore we cannot discern all of the contexts in which they felt more or less like adults. Likewise, just because particular roles and experiences were not expressed, does not necessarily mean that they did not provide a sense of adulthood. Yet our methodology may have permitted an exploration of the roles and responsibilities that were most easily accessible and perhaps closest to their subjective experience.
In coding the data, we also noted subtle differences in the language young adults used when describing traditional versus nontraditional roles: whereas traditional roles were often cited as clear-cut markers of adulthood, nontraditional social roles were often cited with hesitation or qualifications, suggesting that their use may carry different meanings.
Our findings also broaden the range of less traditional social roles and experiences that carry a greater sense of adulthood. Previous researchers (e.g., Arnett, 2001; Nelson & Barry, 2005) have included many of the social roles cited by our participants, including moving out of the parents’ home and gradually taking on greater financial responsibility. We found additional, unexpected roles that demonstrate the diversity in experiences that provide a sense of adulthood. Driving, traveling independently, going to a bar, or merely dressing like an adult can all yield a greater sense of maturity. Stressful experiences also seem to provide an important context for adult development, perhaps pushing young adults to take on novel responsibilities or to exercise emergent psychological qualities.
Our methodology permitted an exploration of previously identified criteria for subjective adulthood while also taking into consideration the range of contexts and roles in which this development takes place. Over half of the participants cited psychological experiences, including responsibility for self; responsibility for others; self-regulation; and reflected appraisals in their defining adult instances. Approximately 20% of participants cited increasing responsibility for their own futures, a psychological experience evident in prior research (e.g., Arnett, 1997, 1998; Greene, Wheatley, & Aldava, 1992; Molgat, 2007). Younger participants were more likely than older participants to include increased responsibility for self in their responses. In our qualitative analysis, we noted that a sense of responsibility for oneself tended to stem from novel experiences (e.g., moving out of the parental home, balancing school and work for the first time). As young people take on new experiences and responsibilities, they begin to feel greater self-determination and self-reliance, which contributes to the experience of adulthood.
Also ranking high across studies of definitions of adulthood are criteria indicative of taking responsibility for other people, including becoming capable of taking care of children, and being less self-oriented and more concerned with the well-being of others (e.g., Arnett, 2000, 2003; Molgat, 2007). In our sample, descriptions of responsibility for others occurred for approximately 15% of participants. Interestingly, there were no age differences in the likelihood of such responses, which could be due to a range of diversity of experiences in which this psychological experience emerged. For example, a growing sense of responsibility for others was not exclusive to child rearing but also emerged in employment, tending to younger relatives, paying bills, and establishing more egalitarian relationships with parents.
More than 30% of participants also demonstrated increasing self-regulatory capacities in their defining instances. Such youth derived a sense of adulthood through planning for the future, making major decisions, and regulating their emotions and motivation as they strived toward long-term goals. Scholars have noted that these types of psychological resources could facilitate adaptation and progress in the transition to adulthood, particularly as related to staying regulated and directed enough to move forward in the life course (e.g., Côté & Bynner, 2008; Schwartz et al., 2005). We found these capacities were exercised in both traditional and nontraditional roles, suggesting that both carry the potential for developing a greater sense of adulthood. However, older participants were significantly more likely than younger participants to include self-regulation in their responses. This finding is consistent with research showing that self-regulatory capacities increase over emerging adulthood (e.g., John & Gross, 2004; Vukman, 2006). Likewise, college students were more likely than noncollege students to include self-regulation in their responses, which could reflect contextual influences in cognitive growth over the transition to adulthood (e.g., Bennett & Baird, 2006).
Lastly, approximately 5% of participants derived a sense of adulthood through reflected appraisals, or the eyes of others. This notion of reflected appraisals (Cooley, 1992) underscores that identity development is reciprocal and happens within a social context (Kerpelman et al., 1997; Burke, 1991). In such reflected appraisals, participants were able to see their growth, whether comparing themselves to younger peers or receiving newfound respect and trust from their elders. This suggests the relational aspect of achieving a sense of adulthood and the potential of relationships to provide signals that one has grown psychologically. We found that older participants and college students were more likely to include reflected appraisals in their responses, indicating increases over time and in a college context.
Limitations
It is important to note the limitations of this study. Although we sought to obtain a diverse sample, it is worth noting that participants were all from the same metropolitan area and there were systemic differences between participants who provided defining adult experiences and those who did not. Furthermore, it is likely that participants who responded to our online advertisement on Craigslist are not representative of all noncollege emerging adults. Therefore, the results of the study do not apply to all young adults and further research should explore the defining adult experiences in other populations.
Implications
Despite these limitations, the results of this study have implications for practitioners and researchers. Previous researchers have found that subjective adult identity is associated with a variety of mental health benefits, whereas, conversely, feeling that one has not achieved adulthood is related to depression, anxiety, and social maladjustment (e.g., Nelson & Barry, 2005). Practitioners can help young adults achieve a greater sense of adulthood, potentially offsetting these negative outcomes, by exploring their roles and relationships and identifying activities that might provide them with a greater sense of adulthood. For example, mentoring and other forms of community engagement can confer developmental benefits (e.g., Schulenberg, Bryant, & O’Malley, 2004). Lastly, simply asking young adults to describe instances in which they have felt like adults can help young adults reflect on the ways in which they have matured, despite the lack of more traditional milestones.
This work also has implications for research. By using this relatively vague, open-ended question, we were able to build upon previous research and gather new information about roles, contexts, and psychological processes anchored in described experiences from which youth derive subjective adulthood. Researchers could use this method to explore the transition to adulthood among other populations and over time. Researchers could also use measures of the psychological experiences found in this study to explore how they relate to subjective adulthood and interact with traditional and nontraditional social roles. Teasing out some of the reciprocal relationships among role transitions, psychological qualities, and perceptions of adult status empirically might permit a deeper understanding of the psychological growth that underlies a sense of adulthood.
Footnotes
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research was funded by the MacArthur Network on Transitions to Adulthood.