Chapter 17: Highlights in the Journey to Adulthood

Different ages are given in a timescale column on the left and correspond to different sets of data. Each age is labeled with a text as follows.

Age 18 is labeled Graduate from High School. A dotted line leads from an illustration of a mortarboard cap to a pie chart titled Ethnicity of U. S. High School Graduates. In that pie chart, 52 percent are White, 24 percent Hispanic, 13 percent Black, 3 percent Asian, and 3 percent Other. 

Another occurrence of Age 18 is labeled Get to Vote. Next to an illustration of a checkmark in a ballot box is a bar graph titled Voting Age. Ages for voting rights in different countries are as follows: Brazil (16), Austria (16), France (18), Mexico (18), and Japan (20).

Age 18 to 19 is labeled Enroll in College. From an illustration of a textbook a line leads to a horizontal bar graph titled In the United States. For women the datum is 54, and for men the datum is 42.1.

Age 21 is labeled Legal Drinking Age (U. S.). From an illustration of a martini glass a waveform leads to a graphical bar chart titled Legal Age to Buy Alcohol. In Germany the age is 16 for beer and wine only, in China and Mexico the age is 18, and in Iceland the age is 20.

Age 22 is labeled Move out of Parents’ House. Next to an illustration of a briefcase is a bar chart showing the percent of 18 to 24 year olds living independently (not on a college campus). In the U. S., it is 40 percent for men and 60 percent for women. In Finland, it is 65 percent for men and 80 percent for women. In Italy, it is about 5 percent for men and 10 percent for women. In France, it is about 35 percent for men and 40 percent for women.

Another occurrence of Age 22 is labeled Cohabitate for the First Time, and a line connects an illustration of a house to another showing the average age for cohabitation in the United States. For women, it is 21.8 years, and for men, it is 22.5 years.

Another occurrence of Age 22 is labeled Have a job. Next to this is a bar graph showing the U. S. Unemployment rate for different educational attainment by years for those over 25 years of age. The data are as follows (year – H S degree, Some college, and Bachelor’s degree or more): 2008: 6, 4.8, 2.5; 2010: 10, 8.5, 4.2; 2012: 8.2, 6.2, 4; 2014: 6, 5, 3; 2016: 5, 4, 2.3; and 2018: 4, 3.8, 2.

Age 23 is labeled First Child – Women. A pink graphic of a baby that leads to a chart indicating the average age of first children. The average age of women is as follows: U S Average (23), Black (21.1), White (24), Asian (26.8), and Hispanic/Latinx (21.5).

Age 24 is labeled Earn a college degree, and a graphic of a diploma leads to a pie chart showing U. S. graduation rates by ethnicity. The data are as follows: White (64.1 percent), Hispanic (13.5 percent), Black (10.5 percent), Asian/Pacific Islander (7.7 percent), Two plus races (2.6 percent), American Indian/Alaska Native (0.5 percent).

Age 26 is labeled First Child – Men, and a blue graphic of a baby leads to the same chart as noted above with respect to age of first birth. The average age of men is as follows: U S Average (25.5), Black (23.7), White (26.2), Asian (30), and Hispanic/Latinx (24.2).

The final two Ages are Age 28 (First Marriage – Women) and Age 30 (First Marriage – Men). Both show a graphic of a wedding cake and a bar graph titled Median Age of First Marriage in the United States. The data for different years are as follows, Age in Years (Men, Women): 1958 (22.6, 20.2); 1968 (23.1, 20.8); 1978 (24.2, 21.8); 1988 (25.9, 23.6); 1998 (26.7, 25.0); 2008 (27.6, 25.9); 2018 (29.8, 27.8).