Chapter 17 Introduction

Emerging Adulthood: Biosocial Development

  • Growth and Strength
    • Strong and Active Bodies
    • A VIEW FROM SCIENCE: Ages and Stages
    • Bodies in Balance
    • Staying Healthy
  • Sexual Activity
    • Then and Now
    • Opinions and Problems
  • Psychopathology
    • Multiple Stresses of Emerging Adults
    • Mood Disorders
    • Anxiety Disorders
    • Schizophrenia
  • Taking Risks
    • OPPOSING PERSPECTIVES: Brave or Foolish?
    • Drug Abuse
    • Social Norms
    • Implications of Risks and Norms

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WHAT WILL YOU KNOW?

  1. Why do emerging adults want sex but not marriage?

    The sexual-reproductive system is at its most efficient during emerging adulthood. Orgasms are more frequent, and testosterone is higher for both sexes at age 20 than at age 40. Attitudes toward premarital sex and single motherhood are changing; only about one-fourth of emerging adults disapproved of premarital sex. Their bodies want sex, but their minds know they are not ready for marriage and parenthood.

  2. Why are emerging adults unlikely to go to doctors for checkups?

    Emerging adults avoid medical professionals unless they are injured or pregnant. Thirty percent of this age group in the United States has no usual source of medical care. Perhaps as a result, the average emerging adult sees a health professional once a year. One-fifth of all young men do not see a doctor or other health professional even once. Emerging adults tend to ignore their health problems, and are careless about preserving their good health.

  3. Why would anyone risk his or her life unnecessarily?

    Many emerging adults bravely, or foolishly, risk their lives. Destructive risks are numerous, including having sex without a condom, driving without a seat belt, carrying a loaded gun, and abusing drugs. The attraction of an adrenaline rush is one reason. The rate of risk-taking is much higher in males than females, for social and biological reasons. Young men vie for status among other males and for female attention by showing off, and it is hard for them to walk away from a real or perceived challenge. Young men’s hormones, energy, and brain development need an outlet. Rough and extreme sports are popular outlets, filled with risk.

  4. How can drug abuse among college students be reduced?

    Drug abuse occurs whenever a person uses a drug that is harmful to physical, cognitive, or psychosocial well-being. Being with peers, especially for college men, seems to encourage many kinds of drug abuse. The social norms approach uses surveys to make students aware of the true prevalence of drug use among their classmates. When survey results are reported and college students realize that most of their classmates avoid binge drinking and refuse drugs, they are more likely to follow these social norms.

“How does it feel to be your age?” Elissa asked me at my birthday dinner.

“I don’t feel old,” I said, “but the number makes me think that I am.”

“Twenty-five is old, too,” Sarah said. (She had turned 25 two weeks earlier.)

We laughed, but we all understood. Although 18 or 21 was once considered the beginning of adulthood, age 25 has become the new turning point. By about age 18, the biological changes of adolescence are complete: A person is literally “grown up.” But many people do not consider themselves adults (which is what Sarah meant by old) until age 25 or later.

As this chapter explains, emerging adults share particular biosocial characteristics. Their bodies are ready for hard work and reproduction. However, physical growth now allows dangerous risks, and sexual maturation could mean baby after baby. As bodies mature and health improves, new vulnerabilities appear, all described in this chapter.