figure 14.16 Are you an “adult”? When asked if they felt they had “reached adulthood,” most Americans aged 18 to 25 did not answer either “no” or “yes.” They endorsed an ambiguous answer instead: “In some respects, yes; in some respects, no” (indicated by the “Yes and no” data in the graph). Their answers suggest that they are not yet in adulthood, but in a distinct developmental stage, emerging adulthood (Arnett, 2000).