11.3 Psychosocial Development

A theme of human development is that continuity and change are evident throughout a lifetime. In emerging adulthood, the legacy of early development is apparent amidst new achievement. As you remember, Erikson recognized this ongoing process in describing the fifth of his eight stages, identity versus role confusion. The identity crisis begins in adolescence, but it is not usually resolved then.

Identity Achieved

Erikson believed that the outcome of earlier crises provides the foundation for each new stage. He associated each stage with a particular virtue and type of psychopathology, as shown in TABLE 11.2. He also thought that earlier crises could re-emerge, taking a specific form at each stage. The identity crisis is an example.

Worldwide, adults ponder all five arenas of identity—religious, sex/gender roles, political, ethnic, and vocational—trying to reconcile plans for the future with beliefs acquired in the past. Their new cognitive abilities, combining emotional and rational thinking, aid in identity integration and achievement. Now we will focus specifically on ethnicity and vocation, two identities that were described in Chapter 10 but that are especially significant in emerging adulthood.

Just Like Me Emerging adults of every ethnicity take pride in their culture. In Japan, adulthood begins with a celebration at age 20, to the evident joy of these young women on Coming of Age Day, a national holiday.

ISSEI KATO/REUTERS

Ethnic IdentityIdentity development, especially the development of ethnic and racial identity, now continues long past adolescence (Whitbourne et al., 2009). This extended search is often the result of new challenges that emerging adults face.

The most basic challenge is how to identify oneself amidst a multi-ethnic society. In Canada, just over one-quarter of 15- to 24-year-olds are of Aboriginal, African, Caribbean, Arabic, Asian, or Latino heritage (Statistics Canada, 2006). Many of them identify as Canadians but also as something else, as they have parents or earlier ancestors who come from different ethnic backgrounds.

Whether one’s heritage is mixed or not or considered minority or not, ethnicity is a significant aspect of a person’s identity (Phinney, 2006). During late adolescence and early adulthood, people are more likely to be proud, or at least accepting, of their ethnic background than younger adolescents are (Worrell, 2008).

More than any other age group, as they leave their childhood homes to enrol in colleges or universities or to find work, emerging adults have friends and acquaintances of many backgrounds. Typically, they have both positive and negative experiences related to their ethnic background, developing a strong sense of ethnic identity—true for college and university students of every group (Syed & Azmitia, 2010).

It may be a mistake if emerging adults either assimilate (accepting the host culture, rejecting their native heritage) or become alienated (isolated and antagonistic). Those who resist both assimilation and alienation fare best: They are most likely to maintain their ethnic identity, deflect stereotype threat, and become good students (Rivas-Drake & Mooney, 2009).

University or college classes, especially in history, ethnic studies, and sociology, attract many emerging adults who want to learn more about their culture. In addition, extracurricular groups help solidify identity because students encounter others of similar backgrounds who confront the same issues, as well as youth of other backgrounds as they join teams, political committees, special interest groups, and so on.

Vocational IdentityEstablishing a vocational identity is considered part of growing up, not only by developmental psychologists, but also by emerging adults themselves (Arnett, 2004). As already noted, many young adults go to college or university to prepare for work. Emerging adulthood is a critical time for the acquisition of resources—including the education, skills, and experience needed for career and family success (Tanner et al., 2009).

Preparation for lifetime work may include taking temporary jobs. Between ages 18 and 27, the average U.S. worker holds eight jobs, with college-educated workers changing jobs more often than those who are less educated (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2011). This illustrates the exploration that is part of the identity search. Another way to explore is to take vocational aptitude tests, or a variety of courses, or to use Holland’s six categories (first mentioned in Chapter 9) to figure out how one’s personal preferences mesh with a considered vocation (Holland, 1997) (see Figure 11.6).

FIGURE 11.6 Happy at Work John Holland’s six-part diagram is used to help jobseekers realize that income and benefits are not the only goals of employment. Workers have healthier hearts and minds if their job fits their personal preferences.

None of this is guaranteed to make vocational choice easy. For most emerging adults, “the process of identifying with society’s work ethic, the core of this issue [identity achievement] in Erikson’s scheme, continues to evolve throughout early adulthood” (Whitbourne et al., 2009). The young worker is not yet climbing, rung-by-rung, a chosen career ladder.

Many developmentalists wonder whether achieving a single vocational identity is still possible and desirable. Especially for young people, hiring and firing sometimes seems disconnected from education, skills, or aspirations. Commitment to a particular career may limit rather than increase vocational success.

Flexibility seems especially needed for the current generation. Sébastien LaRochelle-Côté, labour statistician from Statistics Canada, reported that young people tend to experience difficulty in finding employment in the aftermath of recessions. They are also at a higher risk for job losses than older people are (LaRochelle-Côté & Gilmore, 2009; Fong, 2012). For example, in 2009, about 5.2 million Canadians between the ages of 18 to 31 experienced employment instability (LaRochelle-Côté, 2013). According to LaRochelle-Côté (2013) some of the reasons for their instability included

• being employed in temporary jobs (part-time or full-time) (56 percent)
• working in a permanent job but in a part-time capacity (26 percent)
• being unemployed, out of the labour force, and not attending school (19 percent).

Recent recessions have affected a disproportionate number of younger workers in terms of job loss. In 2012, the unemployment rate of youths aged 15 to 24 was 14.3 percent compared with a rate of 6 percent for workers aged 25 to 54 and for those 55 and older (Bernard, 2013).

Personality in Emerging Adulthood

Continuity and change are evident in personality as well as identity (McAdams & Olson, 2010). Of course, the genetic roots of temperament and the early childhood influences on personality endure. If self-doubt, anxiety, depression, and so on are present in childhood and adolescence, they are often still evident years later. Traits present at age 5 or 15 do not disappear by age 25.

Yet personality is not static. After adolescence, new characteristics may appear and negative traits diminish. Emerging adults make choices that break with the past. This age period is now characterized by years of freedom from a settled lifestyle, which allows shifts in attitude and personality.

A crucial factor found in many studies is whether the person thrives in high school and college or university. This is affected by personality, but also affects personality (Klimstra et al., 2012). In other words, college or university success can improve personality.

Same Situation, Far Apart: Connecting with Their Generation Neither of these young women considers her job a vocation, but both are gaining useful skills and knowledge. The DJ (left) mixes music for emerging adults who crowd thousands of clubs in China to drink, dance, and socialize; the Apple Store employee (right) works to meet the booming young-adult demand for the latest and greatest in technology.

STR/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
REUTERS/SHANNON STAPLETON

Increasing HappinessPsychological research finds both continuity and improvement in attitudes. For example, one longitudinal study found that 17-year-olds who saw life in positive terms maintained their outlook as time went on, while those who were negative often changed for the better (Blonigen et al., 2008). Another longitudinal study of 3912 U.S. students indicated that those who lived away from home showed the largest gains in well-being, but all were happier than they had been in high school (Schulenberg et al., 2005).

This positive trend of increasing happiness has become more evident over recent decades, perhaps because young adults are more likely to make their own life decisions (Twenge et al., 2008). Logically, one might expect that the many stresses and transitions of emerging adulthood would reduce self-esteem, but that is not what the research finds. For instance, a team of researchers followed 404 young adults in western Canada, repeatedly surveying them from ages 18 to 25. These emerging adults reported increasing self-esteem over time (Galambos et al., 2006). Although psychopathology may also increase during these years, most emerging adults do not develop serious disorders (Twenge et al., 2010). Instead, most enjoy their new maturity and independence.

Worrisome Children Grow UpThe research just cited about rising self-esteem came from several studies of North American youth. However, similar conclusions can be drawn from a European longitudinal study that began with 4-year-olds who were high in one or the other of two traits known to have strong genetic roots: shyness and aggression. These 38 children were extremely shy or aggressive at age 4 and continued to exhibit those undesirable traits throughout childhood. This is not surprising because the same genetic, familial, and cultural influences that were present at age 4 were present every later year (Asendorpf et al., 2008).

By early adulthood, those early traits were still evident, but neither was as extreme nor debilitating as earlier. Continuity could be seen, especially for those who had been aggressive 4-year-olds. At age 25, they had more conflicts with their parents and friends. They were more likely to have quit school—two-thirds had dropped out of high school, compared with one-third of their non-aggressive peers. By age 23, half had been arrested at least once, another sign of their aggressive temperament.

Yet, unexpectedly, these aggressive emerging adults had as many friends as their average peers did. They sought more education and rated themselves as quite conscientious. Their arrests were usually adolescent-limited, for minor offences: Only one had been sent to prison, and only one other had been arrested several times.

A closer examination of their school records found that behaviour, not ability, caused their childhood teachers to fail them. That proved harmful; many had to repeat grades. In high school, they were older than their classmates, often rebelled against restrictions and assumptions, and ultimately quit. But they still enjoyed learning and were intellectually capable.

That explained some seemingly surprising outcomes: As emerging adults, most of the formerly aggressive children were developing well, with social and vocational lives that were normal for their cohort. Many had put their childhood problems behind them; some were employed and others had enrolled in college or university.

As for those formerly shy 4-year-olds, outcomes were good. Evidence of their earlier temperament was that they were cautious, reserved adults. For example, they were slower than average to secure a job, choose a career, or find a romance. However, there were few signs of internalizing problems (Asendorpf et al., 2008). The participants were neither more anxious nor more depressed than their peers, and their self-esteem was similar. They had many friends and saw them often. Their delayed employment and later partnership were in keeping with the patterns of successful emerging adults. The shyness that was considered a handicap in childhood had become an asset in adulthood.

Serious Psychological DisordersThe general trends toward better health and rising self-esteem do not mean that every emerging adult is healthy and happy, however. Indeed, the rate of emotional disorders also rises toward the end of adolescence and in the first years of adulthood (Kessler et al., 2007).

The most troubling increase is in schizophrenia, rare before the mid-teens but showing a peak of new cases diagnosed at about age 21. Men are more likely to develop this disorder than women. Schizophrenia is certainly partly genetic and biochemical, but both physiological maturation and psychological stresses cause this increase in diagnosis in emerging adulthood.

A combination of medical and psychological interventions can reduce the impairment, but consequences of the disorder may remain throughout life. Those who are not diagnosed with schizophrenia but who have schizoid symptoms—such as distorted thinking, lack of energy, and flat affect (i.e., not particularly happy or sad at various experiences)—are at higher risk of later psychological disorders (Rössler et al., 2011). After age 30, however, few people are newly diagnosed with this disorder: Emerging adulthood is the usual time when symptoms become overpowering.

Severe anxiety and depression are not unusual during adolescence and emerging adulthood, especially for young women. The anxiety that is particularly likely to be diagnosed at about age 20 is social phobia, the fear of other people. Without treatment, anxiety and depression restrict an emerging adult’s later development, as they make it much more difficult to succeed in college or university or to find a mate.

Many believe that ongoing psychological vulnerability, combined with the need to establish one’s own identity apart from the family, is the reason why many mental illnesses become more pronounced in adolescence and emerging adulthood (O’Neil et al., 2011), though there are certainly biological causes as well (Trudeau et al., 2012). Family communication and guidelines during adolescence can reduce the rate of these internalizing disorders. As a result of their more positive mental health, individuals will be less likely to drop out of school and more likely to have higher attainment levels, which in turn can lead to higher income. On the other hand, mental illness is linked to an increased risk of certain physical health problems, such as chronic respiratory conditions and heart disease (Canadian Mental Health Association (Ontario), 2009; Himelhoch et al., 2004; McIntyre et al., 2006).

It is important to acknowledge that mental health and mental illness are not the opposite of each other; when mental health increases, mental illness does not necessarily decrease (Keyes, 2007). Instead, individuals who believe they have a purpose in life, good relations with others, experience personal growth, feel a sense of belonging, and can contribute to society have positive mental health. This will provide individuals with meaningful and productive lives, regardless of whether they have mental illness or mental health problems (Keyes, 2007; Pape & Galipeault, 2002).

PlasticityIn the research just discussed as well as in other research, plasticity is evident. Personality is not fixed by age 5, or 15, or 20, as it was once thought to be. Emerging adults are open to experiences (a reflection of their adventuresome spirit), which allows personality shifts and eagerness for more education (McAdams & Olson, 2010; Tanner et al., 2009). The trend is toward less depression and more joy, along with more insight into the self (Galambos et al., 2006; McAdams et al., 2006).

Going to college or university, leaving home, paying one’s way, stopping drug abuse, moving to a new city, finding satisfying work and performing it well, making new friends, committing to a partner—each of these might alter a person’s life course. Each of these is more common from ages 18 to 25 than at any other time of life. The feeling of self-efficacy builds with each successful accomplishment, giving people the confidence and courage to modify whatever destructive traits they may have.

Total transformation does not occur since genes, childhood experiences, and family circumstances affect people all their lives. Nor do new experiences always result in desirable changes. Cohort may be important: Perhaps rising self-esteem as reported in longitudinal research reflects historical conditions at the end of the twentieth century. Perhaps the current economic downturn may soon cause the self-esteem of the average emerging adult to fall. But there is no doubt that personality can shift after adolescence.

Increased well-being and maturation may explain another shift: Emerging adults seem to become less self-centred and more caring of others (Eisenberg et al., 2005; Padilla-Walker et al., 2008). This can be seen as the foundation of the next psychosocial stage of development.

Intimacy

In Erikson’s theory, after achieving identity, people experience the sixth developmental crisis, intimacy versus isolation. This crisis arises from the powerful desire to share one’s personal life with someone else. Without intimacy, adults are lonely and isolated. Erikson explains:

The urge for social connection is a powerful human impulse, one reason our species has thrived. Other theorists use different words (affiliation, affection, interdependence, communion, belonging, bonding, love) for the same human need.

There is no doubt that all adults seek friends, lovers, companions, and partners. Having close friends in early adulthood correlates with close relationships earlier in life and helps in other aspects of current life—including the ability to do well in college or university (Pettit et al., 2011).

All intimate relationships (friendship, family ties, and romance) have much in common—both in the psychic needs they satisfy and in the behaviours they require (Reis & Collins, 2004). Intimacy progresses from attraction to close connection to ongoing commitment. Each relationship demands some personal sacrifice, including vulnerability that brings deeper self-understanding and shatters the isolation caused by too much self-protection. As Erikson explains, to establish intimacy, the emerging adult must

According to a more recent theory, an important aspect of close human connections is “self-expansion,” the idea that each of us enlarges our understanding, our experiences, and our resources through our intimate friends and lovers (Aron et al., 2005). Without that, we are not only lonely, we are also likely to get sick, feel tired, and eat and drink too much (Cacioppo & Cacioppo, 2012; Miller, 2011).

Contemporary emerging adults often gain friends as they transition from their childhood family and move away from their neighbourhood to their adult community. This leads to wider social networks and expanded understanding, one reason for the adult cognition explained earlier. Intimacy needs remain; the way they are satisfied differs. A specific example is the use of social networking, texting, email, video chatting, and so on. Although older adults once thought that technology would lead to social isolation, the opposite seems more likely: Most emerging adults connect often with many friends, face to face and online. The result is emotional health and well-being. As one study concludes, social networking sites help youth maintain psychosocial connections with their peers in a mobile world (Manago et al., 2012).

Romantic PartnersLove, romance, and commitment are all of primary importance for emerging adults, although many specifics have changed. One dramatic change in Canada is that most people in their 20s are not married: The proportion of adults who are single, as well as the average age of marriage, have been rising for the past 30 years. For women in Canada, the average age at first marriage has increased from 22.5 years in 1972 to 29.1 years in 2008. For Canadian men over the same period, the average age went up from 24.9 years to 31.1 years (Employment and Social Development Canada, n.d.[c]). Most emerging adults are postponing, not abandoning, marriage.

Observers note two new sexual interaction patterns. One is “hooking up” (when two people have sex without any interpersonal relationship), and the other is “friends with benefits” (when two people are friends, sometimes having sex, but not in a dating relationship). Sometimes casual sex is a step toward a more serious relationship. As one U.S. sociologist explains, “despite the culture of divorce, Americans remain optimistic about, and even eager to enter, marriages” (Hill, 2007).

The relationship between love and marriage is obviously not only a personal one. It reflects era and culture, with three distinct patterns evident (Georgas et al., 2006):

1. In about one-third of the world’s families, love does not bring about marriage; parents do. They arrange marriages that will join two families together.
2. In another one-third of families, adolescents meet only a select group, for example, people of the same ethnicity, religion, or social class. If they decide to marry someone from that pre-selected group, the man asks the woman’s father for “her hand in marriage.” For these couples, parents supervise premarital interactions, usually bestowing their blessing. That was a traditional pattern: If parents did not approve, young people parted sorrowfully or eloped.
3. The final pattern is relatively new, although it is the dominant one in developed nations today. Young people socialize with hundreds of other young people, mostly unknown to their parents. They sometimes hook up, they sometimes develop serious relationships, but they often do not marry until they are able, financially and emotionally, to be independent.

Suggesting “one-third” for each of these patterns is a rough approximation. In former times, most marriages were of the first type; young people almost never met anyone unknown to their parents or thought of marrying without advance approval (Apostolou, 2007). Currently, in developing nations, practice often blends the first two types. For example, most brides in modern India believe they have a choice, but many meet their future husbands shortly before the wedding via parental arrangement. The young man or woman can veto the match, but they rarely do so (Desai & Andrist, 2010).

Parents are peripheral for the last one-third. A young person’s choices tilt toward personal qualities observable at the moment—physical appearance, personal hygiene, personality, sexuality, a sense of humour—and not to qualities more important to parents, such as religion, ethnicity, or long-term stability.

For Western emerging adults, love is considered a prerequisite for marriage. Once love has led to commitment, sexual exclusiveness is expected. A survey asked 14 121 adults of many ethnic groups and sexual orientations to rate (on a scale from 1 to 10, 10 being the highest) how important money, race, commitment, love, and faithfulness were for a successful marriage or a serious long-term relationship (Meier et al., 2009). Faithfulness was the most important of all (rated 10 by 89 percent) and love was almost as high (rated 10 by 86 percent). By contrast, most thought being the same race did not matter much (57 percent rated it very low, at 1, 2, or 3). Money, while important to many, was not nearly as crucial as love and fidelity.

This survey was conducted in North America, but emerging adults worldwide now share similar values. For instance, emerging adults in Kenya also reported that love was the prime reason for sex and marriage; money was less important (S. Clark et al., 2010). The international question is whether love precedes marriage, as most Westerners believe, or follows it, as was expected in the past.

Love and EthnicityIn 2006, 3.9 percent of all married and common-law couples in Canada were in mixed unions, that is, the partners were from different ethnocultural backgrounds. This marked a 33 percent increase in mixed-union couples from 2001, an increase due at least in part to the influx of immigrants over the same period.

Much in Common Emerging adults seek partners who are like them. These two Canadians, Josh and Hui, are of Chinese ancestry. They share an understanding of cultural expectations, including food preferences, jokes, and sayings.

HUI XU

As you can see in Figure 11.7, mixed-union couples were most common among young adults (aged 25 to 34) and then among 15- to 24-year-olds. Japanese-Canadians had the highest rate of mixed-union marriages, at 74 percent, and Chinese-Canadians were among the lowest at 17.4 percent (Milan et al., 2010). Mixed-union couples are also common in the United States, where 15 percent of all marriages were officially counted as inter-ethnic (Passel et al., 2010).

FIGURE 11.7 Mixing It Up This chart clearly shows the development of two recent trends in Canada: The number of mixed-union couples is on the rise, and mixed unions are more common among young adults than any other age group. As immigration rates continue to go up, will these trends continue or change?

Source: Milan et al., 2010.

When it comes to romance, ethnicity may be a bond. The reasons for romances within groups involve not rejection of other groups so much as bonding with co-ethnics over matters of daily life—habits of speech, food preferences, jokes, and so on. People in inter-ethnic marriages bond for other reasons, for instance, because of political, religious, or economic values, which overcome their ethnic differences.

Thus, emerging adults usually choose mates like themselves. That is particularly true for South Asians and Chinese living in Canada (Milan et al., 2010). These two groups are the largest visible minority groups in Canada. As a result, these populations may have a higher likelihood of meeting with and interacting with people within the same group.

Finding Each OtherAs already explained, the traditional way to find marriage partners was through the parents, or within a very narrow social circle. But many of today’s emerging adults range far from home and would resist any parental matchmaking. Instead, they must find partners among many thousands of possible mates—not an unmixed blessing.

Many websites now allow people to post their photos and personal information on the Internet, sharing the details of their daily lives and romantic involvement with thousands of others. This seems to be a wonderful innovation, as “the potential to reach out to nearly 2 billion other people offers several opportunities to the relationship-seeker that are unprecedented in human history” (Finkel et al., 2012). Most emerging adults use such social networks, some of which pre-select potential mates (by religion, age, education, orientation, hobbies, and so on).

One potential problem with this is choice overload, when too many options are available. Choice overload increases doubts after a selection is made (people wonder if another choice would have been better). Some people, feeling overloaded, freeze; they are unable to choose (Iyengar & Lepper, 2000; Reutskaja & Hogarth, 2009). Having many complex options, such as partner selection, each requiring assessment of future advantages and disadvantages, makes choice overload likely (Scheibehenne et al., 2010). Successful matches require face-to-face interactions over time to discern compatibility, as was the case for couples before the Internet (Finkel et al., 2012).

It is logical that too many choices make marriage commitment difficult, but choice overload studies have not focused scientifically on mate selection. Instead, research has compared having a few choices or many when choosing jams, or cars, or apartments. It is possible that similar doubts might emerge if a person has too many possible mates, but more research needs to be done.

We already know one problem is that having too many choices slows down analysis. If people feel rushed, they are more likely to regret their choice later on (Inbar et al., 2011). This might be why couples slow down the selection process by postponing marriage and living together instead.

Cohabitation Toronto FC (Major League Soccer) player Danny Koevermans and his common-law wife Marijke are raising their two daughters together. Cohabitating couples are increasingly common in North America and in other countries around the world. Here, they enjoy family time on the boardwalk in Toronto.

VINCE TALOTTA/TORONTO STAR VIA GETTY IMAGES

Living TogetherA new form of mating for contemporary emerging adults is cohabitation, living together in a romantic partnership without being married. Marked national differences are apparent in acceptance and timing of cohabitation.

Currently, most emerging adults in Canada, the United States, northern Europe, England, and Australia live unmarried with a partner for at least a few months. Some think of their living together as a prelude to marriage, others as a test of compatibility, and still others as a way to have an intimate relationship while saving money. By contrast, in some regions—Sweden, France, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico among them—cohabitation is more often a substitute for, not merely a prelude to, marriage. In still other nations—including Japan, Ireland, and Italy—cohabitation is not the norm, neither as a prelude nor as an enduring state; in those areas, cohabitation is unusual.

In Canada in 2006, common-law couples made up 18.4 percent of all couples in the country. However, in Quebec, the cohabitation rate was much higher, at 34.6 percent. Not only was the Quebec rate higher than in any other Canadian province or territory, but it also far exceeded rates in many other countries, including Sweden, Finland, and New Zealand, where cohabitation is widely practised (see TABLE 11.3). Why is this so? According to a Statistics Canada report from 2007, the main reason may be historical:

Research from 27 nations finds that acceptance of cohabitation within the nation affects the happiness of those who cohabit. Within those 27 nations, among the married and cohabitants, demographic differences (such as education, income, age, and religion) affect happiness, as one might expect, but it is remarkable that national attitudes permeate such a personal experience (Lee & Ono, 2012).

Although there are practical reasons for cohabitation—it saves money and postpones commitment—no research from any nation has yet found that it improves psychosocial development later in life. Thus, the research suggests caution—that neither the popularity of cohabitation, nor the immediate happiness of those who move in together, is proof that cohabitation is beneficial over the long term.

Family Forces

It is hard to overestimate the importance of the family at any period of the life span. Although made up of individuals, a family is much more than the individuals who belong to it. In dynamic synergy, children grow, adults find support, and everyone is part of a family ethos that gives meaning to, and provides models for, hope and action.

Linked LivesEmerging adults are said to set out on their own, leaving their parents and childhood home behind. They strive for independence and postpone establishing new family commitments. From that one might conclude that they no longer need family support and guidance. However, this would be incorrect.

The data show that parents continue to be crucial for adult children—perhaps even more so now than for previous generations since fewer contemporary young adults have completed their education or have new families and high-paying jobs. They rely on their parents, who often are deeply concerned about their welfare.

All members of each family have linked lives, meaning that the experiences and needs of individuals at one stage of life are affected by those at other stages (Macmillan & Copher, 2005). We have seen this in earlier chapters: Each newborn affects every family member of every age, and growing children are affected by their parents’ relationship, even if the children are not directly involved in domestic disputes, financial stresses, parental alliances, and so on.

A strong linkage between emerging adults and their parents in the twenty-first century may seem counterintuitive, as emerging adults are striving for independence and cohort changes are notable. Nonetheless, many studies have found family congruence in attitudes, aspirations, and actions. As already noted, political and religious loyalties often link the generations. For instance, a detailed Dutch study found substantial agreement between parents and their adult children on issues that might, in theory, be contentious—such as cohabitation, same-sex partnerships, and divorce. Some generational differences appeared, but when parents were compared with their own children (not young adults in general), similar attitudes were apparent. Adult children who still lived with their parents (about one-fourth of the sample) were more likely to agree with their parents than were adults who lived apart from them, but all groups showed intergenerational convergence (Bucx et al., 2010).

Extensive research also confirms that family patterns persist, affecting every adult as well as every child. For example, early attachment between infant and caregiver influences that child’s future relationships, including friendships, romantic partnerships, and parenthood. Securely attached infants are more likely to become happily married adults; avoidant infants hesitate to marry. Some insecure infants marry early, but they are more likely to divorce. In addition, adults who were securely attached infants are more likely to have secure relationships with their own children. Of course, plasticity is evident throughout life; early attachment affects adult relationships, but it does not determine them.

National DifferencesIs living with parents as an emerging adult the key to strong relationships? Apparently, it depends on the economy and on the culture. Almost all unmarried young adults in Italy and Japan remain in their childhood home, and in those nations both generations seem content with that arrangement. Half of the young adults in England live with their parents, but friction often arises (Manzi et al., 2006).

According to a recent Statistics Canada analysis of 2011 census data, 42.3 percent of Canadians aged 20 to 29 were living in their parents’ home, either because they had never moved out or because they had returned home. Adult children who move out of their parents’ home and then move back are referred to as boomerang children. There were some differences in those 20- to 29-year-olds who were living in their parents’ home, depending on age, gender, and region. For example, young men ages 20 to 24 were more likely to live with their parents (63.3 percent) as compared to young women (55.2 percent). In addition, Ontario had the highest proportion of young adults living with their parents in Canada, at 50.6 percent. Although the overall percentage has changed little since 2006, it represents a significant increase over previous decades: In 1991 the figure was 32.1 percent, and in 1981 it was 26.9 percent (Statistics Canada, 2013e) (see Figure 11.8).

FIGURE 11.8 Stay-at-homes Partly for economic reasons, partly because of cultural norms, the number of young people living in the parental home in Canada has been increasing over the past several decades. Although many more people in their younger twenties live at home, rates for those aged 25 to 29 have also gone up.

Source: Statistics Canada, 2013e.

Young adults live at home for various reasons, but primarily for financial or emotional support. This does not mean that the young people are the only ones to benefit from such an arrangement, since they often contribute in various ways to the household economy and the family’s sense of well-being.

Some North Americans believe that dependence on parents is not healthy for young adults. However, not all North Americans agree. As explained earlier, familism is a strong value among many cultures. Closer relationships between parents and their adult children are increasingly common and welcomed among North Americans of all ethnicities. As two experts in human development write, “with delays in marriage, more Americans choosing to remain single, and with high divorce rates, a tie to a parent may be the most important bond in a young adult’s life” (Fingerman & Furstenberg, 2012).

In order for relationships to stay strong, it is important that emerging adults and their parents share the same assumptions and guidelines. What those assumptions are often depends on culture. What is expected in, say, Cambodia, would be unacceptable in, say, Colombia. Chinese young adults expect their parents and friends to comment on their romantic partners; North American adults know they must not do so. Compared with their North American contemporaries, Chinese emerging adults are about twice as likely to stop dating someone if their parents disapprove (Zhang & Kline, 2009).

Living With Parents It is not unusual for emerging-adult children to live at home with their parents. Thierry, from Saint Lambert, Quebec, is seen here with his parents, Ian and Mireille. The arrangement provides many financial and family benefits.

RYAN REMIORZ/CP IMAGES

Cultural differences aside, parents encourage young adults in every nation to do well in school and to get good jobs, partly to make their families proud, partly so they will be able to care for their relatives when necessary, partly to help secure their own future, and partly so they can be satisfied in their own lives.

All Together NowWhen we look at actual lives, not the cultural ideal of independence or interdependence, all emerging adults have much in common, including close family connections and a new freedom from parental limits (Georgas et al., 2006). It is a mistake to assume that emerging adults in Western nations abandon their parents. Just the opposite: Some studies find that family relationships improve when young adults leave home (Smetana et al., 2004).

Same Situation, Far Apart: Dedication Is Universal The activities and clothing of these Acadia University students in their dorm room (left) and the young mother in the doorway of her Rajastan, India, home (right) are typical of emerging adults: These young women are all active, healthy, and working for their futures, within the norms of their cultures.

CP IMAGES/MACLEAN’S MAGAZINE/ANDREW TOLSON
PETE OXFORD / DANITADELMONT.COM

Regarding the overall experiences of emerging adults, this stage of life has many critical opportunities, since “decisions made during the transition to adulthood have a particularly long-lasting influence on the remainder of the life course because they set individuals on paths that are sometimes difficult to change” (Thornton et al., 2007). Fortunately, most emerging adults, like humans of all ages, have strengths as well as liabilities. Many survive risks, overcome substance abuse, combat loneliness, and deal with other problems through further education, friends, family, and maturation. If they postpone marriage, prevent parenthood, and avoid a set career (all characteristic of 18- to 25-year-olds) until their identity is firmly established and their education complete, they may be ready for joyful adult commitments and responsibilities.