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Emerging Adulthood
A Theory of Development From the Late Teens Through the Twenties

Jeffrey Jensen Arnett

University of Maryland College Park

Emerging adulthood is proposed as a new conception of it had risen to 25 for women and 27 for men (U.S. Bureau of
development for the period from the late teens through the the Census, 1997). Age of first childbirth followed a similar
twenties, with a focus on ages 18-25. A theoretical back pattern. Also, since midcentury the proportion of young
ground is presented, Then evidence is provided to support Americans obtaining higher education after high school has
the idea that emerging adulthood is a distinct period de risen steeply from 14% in 1940 to over 60% by the mid-1990s
mographically, subjectively, and in terms of identity explo (Arnett & Taber, 1994; Bianchi & Spain, 19961). Similar changes
rations. How emerging adulthood differs from adolescence have taken place in other industri alized countries (Chisholm &
and young adulthood is explained. Finally, a cultural con Hurrelmann, 1995; Noble, Cover, & Yanagishita, 1996).
text for the idea of emerging adulthood is outlined, and it is
specified that emerging adulthood exists only in cultures These changes over the past half century have altered
that allow young people a prolonged period of independent the nature of development in the late teens and early twenties
role. exploration during the late teens and twenties. for young people in industrialized societies. Be cause marriage
When our mothers were our age, they were engaged .... They and parenthood are delayed until the mid twenties or late
at least had some idea what they were going to do with their twenties for most people, it is no longer normative for the late
lives .... I, on the other hand, will have a dual degree in majors teens and early twenties to be a time of entering and settling
that are ambiguous at best and impractical at worst (English into long-term adult roles. On the contrary, these years are
and political science), no ring on my finger and no idea who I more typically a period of frequent change and exploration
am, much less what I want to do .... Under duress, I will admit (Arnett, 1998; Rindfuss, 1991).
that this is a pretty exciting time. Sometimes, when I look out
In this article, I propose a new theory of development
across the wide expanse that is my future, I can see beyond
the void. I realize that having nothing ahead to count on means from the late teens through the twenties, with a focus on ages
I now have to count on myself; that having no direction means 18-25. I argue that this period, emerging adulthood, is neither
forging one of my own. (Kristen, age 22; Page, 1999, pp. 18, 20) adolescence nor young adulthood but is theoreti cally and
empirically distinct from them both. Emerging adulthood is
distinguished by relative independence from social roles and
from normative expectations. Having left the dependency of
years from the late teens through the twenties are childhood and adolescence, and having not yet entered the
F or most young
years people in
of profound industrialized
change countries,During
and importance. the this
enduring responsibilities that are nor mative in adulthood,
time, many young people obtain the level of education and emerging adults often explore a vari ety of possible life
training that will provide the foundation for their incomes and directions in love, work, and world views. Emerging adulthood
occupational achievements for the remainder of their adult work is a time of life when many differen! directions remain possible,
lives (Chisholm & Hurrelmann, 1995; William T. Grant when little about the future has been decided for certain, when
Foundation Commission on Work, Fam ily, and Citizenship,
the scope of independent exploration of life's possibilities is
1988). It is for many people a time of frequent change as
greater for most people than it will be at any other period of the
various possibilities in love, work, and worldviews are explored
life
(Erikson, 1968; Rindfuss, 1991). course.
By the end of this period, the late twenties, most people have
For most people, the late teens through the midtwen
made life choices that have enduring ramifications.
ties :are the most volitional years of life. However, cultural
When adults later consider the most important events in their influences structure and sometimes limit the extent to
lives, they most often name events that took place during this
period (Martin & Smyer, 1990), Sweeping demographic shifts
have taken place over the past half century that have I thank the following colleagues for their comments on drafts of this article:
made the late teens and early twenties not simply a brief period Jack Brunner, James Cot& Shirley Feldman, Nancy Galambos, Lene Arnett
of transition into adult roles but a distinct period of the life Jensen, John Modell, John Schulenberg, David Skeel, Dor othy Youniss, and
course, characterized by change and exploration of possible James Youniss.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Jef
life directions. As recently as 1970, the median age of marriage frey Jensen Arnett, Department of Human Development, University of
in the United States was about 21 for women and 23 for men; Maryland, 3304 Benjamin Hall, College Park, MD 20742. Electronic mail may
by 1996, be sent to arnett@wam.umd.edu.

May 2000 • American Psychologist Copyright 2000 469

by the American Psychological Association, Inc. 0003,(166X/00/$5.00 Vol.
55. No. 5,469-480 DOI: 10.1037//0003-066X.55.5.469
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which adult commitments and responsibilities are delayed

while the role experimentation that began in adolescence
continues and in fact intensifies.
Another theoretical contribution can be found in the
work of Daniel Levinson (1978). Levinson interviewed men at
midlife, but he had them describe their earlier years as well,
and on the basis of their accounts he developed a theory that
included development in the late teens and the twenties. He
called ages 17-33 the novice phase of devel opment and
argued that the overriding task of this phase is to move into
the adult world and build a stable life struc
ture. During this process, according to Levinson, the young
person experiences a considerable amount of change and
instability while sorting through various possibilities in love
and work in the course of establishing a life structure.
Levinson acknowledged that his conception of the novice
phase was similar to Erikson's ideas about the role exper
imentation that takes place during the psychosocial mora
torium (Levinson, 1978, pp. 322-323).
Perhaps the best-known theory of development in the
Jeffrey late teens and the twenties is Kenneth Keniston's theory of
Jensen Arnett youth. Like Erikson and Levinson, Keniston (1971) con
ceptualized youth as a period of continued role experimen
tation between adolescence and young adulthood. How ever,
Keniston wrote at a time when American society and some
which emerging adults are able to use their late teens and Western European societies were convulsed with highly
twenties in this way, and not all young people in this age visible youth movements protesting the involvement of the
period are able to use these years for independent explo United States in the Vietnam War (among other things). His
ration. Like adolescence, emerging adulthood is a period of description of youth as a time of "tension between self and
the life course that is culturally constructed, not universal and society" (Keniston, 1971, p. 8) and "re fusal of socialization" (p.
immutable.
9) reflects that historical moment rather than any enduring
I lay out the theoretical background first and then present characteristics of the period.
evidence to illustrate how emerging adulthood is a distinct More importantly, Keniston's (1971) application of the
period demographically, subjectively, and in terms of identity term youth to this period is problematic. Youth has a long
explorations. Next, I explain how emerging adulthood can be history in the English language as a term for childhood
distinguished from adolescence and young adulthood. Finally, generally and for what later became called adolescence (e.g.,
I discuss the economic and cul tural conditions under which Ben-Amos, 1994), and it continues to be used popu larly and
emerging adulthood is most likely to exist as a distinct period by many social scientists for these purposes (as reflected in
of the life course. terms such as youth organizations). Keniston's choice of the
The Theoretical Background ambiguous and confusing term youth may explain in part why
the idea of the late teens and twenties as a separate period of
There have been a number of important theoretical contri life never became widely accepted by developmental scientists
butions to the understanding of development from the late after his articulation of it.
teens through the twenties. One early contribution was made However, as I argue in the following sections, there is good
by Erik Erikson (1950, 1968). Erikson rarely dis cussed empirical support for conceiving this period--proposed here
specific ages in his writings, and in his theory of human as emerging adulthood--as a distinct period of life.
development across the life course he did not in clude a
separate stage that could be considered analogous to Emerging Adulthood Is Distinct
emerging adulthood as proposed here. Rather, he wrote of Demographically
development in adolescence and of development in young
adulthood. However, he also commented on the prolonged Although Erikson (1968), Levinson (1978), and Keniston
adolescence typical of industrialized societies and on the (1971) all contributed to the theoretical groundwork for
psychosocial moratorium granted to young people in such emerging adulthood, the nature of the period has changed
societies "during which the young adult through free role considerably since the time of their writings more than 20
experimentation may find a niche in some section of his years ago, As noted at the outset of this article, demo graphic
society" (Erikson, 1968, p. 156). Thus, Erik son seems to have changes in the timing of marriage and parenthood in recent
distinguished--without naming--a pe riod that is in some ways decades have made a period of emerging adult hood typical
adolescence and in some ways young adulthood yet not for young people in industrialized societies.
strictly either one, a period in Postponing these transitions until at least the late twenties

470 May 2000 • American Psychologist

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leaves the late teens and early twenties available for ex moving back into their parents' home and then out again at
ploring various possible life directions. least once in the course of their late teens and twenties
An important demographic characteristic of emerging (Goldscheider & Goldscheider, 1994). Frequent residential
adulthood is that there is a great deal of demographic changes during emerging adulthood reflect its exploratory
variability, reflecting the wide scope of individual volition quality, because these changes often take place at the end
during these years. Emerging adulthood is the only period of of one period of exploration or the beginning of another (e.g.,
life in which nothing is normative demographically (Rindfuss, the end of a period of cohabitation, entering or leaving
1991; Wallace, 1995). During adolescence, up to age 18, a college, or the beginning of a new job in a new place).
variety of key demographic areas show little variation. Over
95% of American adolescents aged 12-17 live at home with School attendance is another area in which there is
one or more parents, over 98% are unmarried, fewer than substantial change and diversity among emerging adults.
10% have had a child, and over 95% are enrolled in school The proportion of American emerging adults who enter higher
(U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1997). education in the year following high school is at its highest
By age 30, new demographic norms have been established: level ever, over 60% (Bianchi & Spain, 1996).
About 75% of 30-year-olds have married, about 75% have However, this figure masks the expanding diversity in the
become parents, and fewer than 10% are enrolled in school years that follow. Only 32% of young people ages 25-29 have
(U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1997). completed four years or more of college (U.S. Bureau of the:
In between these two periods, however, and especially Census, 1997). For emerging adults, college educa tion is
from ages 18 to 25, a person's demographic status in these often pursued in a nonlinear way, frequently com bined with
areas is very difficult to predict on the basis of age alone. work, and punctuated by periods of nonatten dance,. For
The demographic diversity and unpredictability of emerg ing those who do eventually graduate with a four year degree,
adulthood is a reflection of the experimental and ex ploratory college is increasingly likely to be followed by graduate
quality of the period. Talcott Parsons (1942) called school. About one third of those who graduate with a
adolescence the roleless role, but this term applies much bachelor's degree are enrolled in postgraduate edu cation
better to emerging adulthood. Emerging adults tend to have the following year (Mogelonsky, 1996). In European countries
a wider scope of possible activities than persons in other age too, the length of education has become extended in recent
periods because they are less likely to be con strained by decades (Chisholm & Hurrelmann, 1995).
role requirements, and this makes their demo graphic status Overall, then, the years of emerging adulthood are
unpredictable. characterized by a high degree of demographic diversity and
One demographic area that especially reflects the ex instability, reflecting the emphasis on change and ex ploration.
ploratory quality of emerging adulthood is residential sta tus. It is only in the transition from emerging adult hood to young
Most young Americans leave home by age 18 or 19 adulthood in the late twenties that the diversity narrows and
(Goldscheider & Goldscheider, 1994). In the years that follow, the instability eases, as young people make. more enduring
emerging adults' living situations are diverse. choices in love and work. Rindfuss (1991) called the period
About one third of emerging adults go off to college after high from ages 18 to 30 "demograph ically dense" (p. 496)
school and spend the next several years in some combination because of the many demographic transitions that take place
of independent living and continued reliance on adults, for during that time, especially in the late twenties.
example, in a college dormitory or a frater nity or sorority
house (Goldscheider & Goldscheider, 1994). For them, this is
a period of semiautonomy (Gold scheider & Davanzo, 1986)
Emerging Adulthood Is Distinct
as they take on some of the responsibilities of independent Subjectively
living but leave others to their parents, college authorities, or Emerging adults do not see themselves as adolescents, but
other adults. About 40% move out of their parental home not many of them also do not see themselves entirely as adults.
for college but for independent living and full-time work Figure 2 shows that when they are asked whether they feel
(Goldscheider & Goldscheider, 1994). About two thirds they have reached adulthood, the majority of Americans in
experience a period of cohabitation with a romantic partner their late teens and early twenties answer neither no nor yes
(Michael, Gagnon, Laumann, & Kolata, 1995). Some remain but the ambiguous in some respects yes, in some respects
at home while attending college or working or some no (Arnett, in press). This reflects a subjective sense on the
combination of the two. Only about 10% of men and 30% of part of most emerging adults that they have left adoles cence
women remain at home until marriage (Goldscheider & but have not yet completely entered young adulthood (Arnett,
Goldscheider, 1994). 1994a, 1997, 1998). They have no name for the period they
Amidst this diversity, perhaps the unifying feature of the are in--because the society they live in has no name for it--so
residential status of emerging adults is the instability of it. they regard themselves as being neither adolescents nor
Emerging adults have the highest rates of residential change adults, in between the two but not really one or the other. As
of any age group. Using data from several cohorts of the Figure 2 shows, only in their late twenties and early thirties
National Longitudinal Study, Rindfuss (1991) de scribed how do a clear majority of people indicate that they feel they have
rates of residential mobility peak in the mid twenties (see reached adulthood. How ever, age is only the roughest
Figure 1). For about 40% of the current generation of emerging marker of the subjective transition from emerging adulthood
adults, residential changes include to young adulthood. As

May 2000 ° American Psychologist 471

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Figure '1
Residential Change by Age, 1998
50

45

40

35

30

and.-

¢~ 25
O

the.. 20

15

10

0 k- +m bm F I

10-14 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-44 45-54 55+

Age
Note. Data are from "Geographic Mobility: March 1997 to March 1998," by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2000, Current Population Reports (Series P-20, No.
520), Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

illustrated in Figure 2, even in their late twenties and early thirties, nearly
one third did not feel their transition to adulthood was complete.

Figure 2
One might expect emerging adults' subjective sense of ambiguity in
Subjective Conceptions of Adult Status in Response to the Question, Do You
Feel That You Have Reached Adulthood? attaining full adulthood to arise from the demographic diversity and
instability described above. Per haps it is difficult for young people to feel
they have reached adulthood before they have established a stable
residence, finished school, settled into a career, and married (or at least
committed themselves to a long-term love relationship). However, perhaps
surprisingly, the research evidence indicates strongly that these
demographic transi tions have little to do with emerging adults' conceptions
of what it means to reach adulthood. Consistently, in a variety of studies
with young people in their teens and twenties, demographic transitions
such as finishing education, set tling into a career, marriage, and parenthood
rank at the bottom in importance among possible criteria considered
necessary for the attainment of adulthood (Arnett, 1997, 1998, in press;
Greene, Wheatley, & Aldava, 1992; Scheer, Unger, & Brown, 1994).

The characteristics that matter most to emerging adults in their

Note. N = 519. Data are from Arnett (in press). subjective sense of attaining adulthood are not demographic transitions
but individualistic qualities of

472 May 2000 • American Psychologist

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character (Arnett, 1998). Specifically, the two top criteria school (Montemayor, Brown, & Adams, 1985; Waterman,
for the transition to adulthood in a variety of studies have 1982) and that identity development continues through the
been accepting responsibility for one's self and making late teens and the twenties (Valde, 1996; Whitbourne &
independent decisions (Arnett, 1997, 1998; Greene et Tesch, 1985).
al., 1992; Scheer et al., 1994). A third criterion, also The locus on identity issues in emerging adulthood can
individ ualistic but more tangible, becoming financially be seen in the three main areas of identity exploration: love,
indepen dent, also ranks consistently near the top. work, and worldviews. Identity formation involves trying out
The prominence of these criteria for the transition to various life possibilities and gradually moving toward making
adulthood reflects an emphasis in emerging adulthood on enduring decisions, in all three of these areas, this process
becoming a self-sufficient person (Arnett, 1998). During begins in adolescence but takes place mainly in emerging
these years, the character qualities most important to be adulthood. With regard to love, Amer ican adolescents
coming successfully self-sufficient--accepting responsibil ity typically begin dating around ages 12 to 14 (Padgham &
for one's self and making independent decisions--are being Blyth, 1991). However, because any seri ous consideration
developed. Financial independence is also crucial to self- of marriage is a decade or more away for most 12- to 14-
sufficiency, so it is also important in emerging adults' year-olds, young people view the early years of dating as
conceptions of what is necessary to become an adult. Only primarily recreational (Roscoe, Dian, & Brooks, 1987). For
after these character qualities have reached fruition and adolescents, dating provides compan ionship, the first
financial independence has been attained do emerging experiences of romantic love, and sexual experimentation;
adults experience a subjective change in their developmen however, their dating relationships typi cally lasl only a few
tal status, as they move out of emerging adulthood and into weeks or months (Feiring, 1996), and few adolescents
young adulthood. For most young people in American expect to remain with their "high school sweetheart" much
society, this occurs some time during the twenties and is beyond high school, In emerging adulthood, explorations in
usually accomplished by the late twenties (Arnett, in press). love become more intimate and serious. Dating in
Although emerging adults do not view demographic adolescence often takes place in groups, as adolescents
transitions as necessary for attaining adulthood, it should pursue shared recre ation such as parties, dances, and
be noted that parenthood in particular is often sufficient for hanging out (Padgham & Blyth, 1991). By emerging
marking a subjective sense of adult status. Parenthood
adulthood, dating is more likely to take place in couples, and
ranks low in young people's views of the essential criteria
the focus is less on recreation and more on exploring the
for adulthood for people in general, but those who have had
potential for emotional and physical intimacy. Romantic
a child tend to view becoming a parent as the most impor
tant marker of the transition to adulthood for themselves relationships in emerging adulthood last longer than in
adolescence, are more likely to include sexual intercourse,
(Arnett, 1998). The explorations that occur in emerging
and may include cohabitation (Michael et al., 1995). Thus,
adulthood become sharply restricted with parenthood, be
in adolescence, explorations in love tend to be tentative and
cause it requires taking on the responsibilities of protecting
transient; the implicit question is, Who would I enjoy being
and providing for a young child. With parenthood, the focus
with, here and now?
of concern shifts inexorably from responsibility for one's self
In contrast, explorations in love in emerging adulthood tend
to responsibility for others.
to involve a deeper level of intimacy, and the implicit
Emerging Adulthood Is Distinct for question is more identity focused: Given the kind of person
I am, what kind of person do I wish to have as a partner
Identity Explorations through life?
A key feature of emerging adulthood is that it is the period With regard to work, a similar contrast exists between
of life that offers the most opportunity for identity explo the transient and tentative explorations of adolescence and
rations in the areas of love, work, and worldviews. Of course, the more serious and focused explorations of emerging
it is adolescence rather than emerging adulthood that has adulthood. In the United States, the majority of high school
typically been associated with identity formation. students are employed part-time (Barling & Kelloway, 1999).
Erikson (1950) designated identity versus role confusion as Although adolescents often report that their work experiences
the central crisis of the adolescent stage of life, and in the enhance their abilities in areas such as manag ing their time
decades since he articulated this idea the focus of research and money (Mortimer, Harley, & Aronson, 1999), for the
on identity has been on adolescence (Adams, 1999). How most part their jobs do not provide them with knowledge or
ever, as noted, Erikson (1950, 1968) clearly believed that experience that will be related to their future occupations
industrialized societies allow a prolonged adolescence for (Greenberger & Steinberg, 1986; Steinberg & Cauffman,
extended identity explorations. If adolescence is the period 1995), Most adolescents are employed in ser vice' jobs--at
from ages 10 to 18 and emerging adulthood is the period restaurants, retail stores, and so forth---in which the cognitive
from (roughly) ages 18 to 25, most identity exploration takes challenges are minimal and the skills learned are few.
place in emerging adulthood rather than adolescence. Adolescents tend to view their jobs not as occupational
Although research on identity formation has focused mainly preparation but as a way to obtain the money that will
on adolescence, this research has shown that iden tity support an active leisure life--paying for compact discs,
achievement has rarely been reached by the end of high concerts, restaurant meals, clothes, cars, travel, and

May 2000 • American Psychologist 473

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so forth (Bachman & Schulenberg, 1993; Shanahan, Elder, adults examine and consider a variety of possible world
Burchinal, & Conger, 1996; Steinberg & Cauffman, 1995). views. By the end of their college years they have often
In emerging adulthood, work experiences become more committed themselves to a worldview different from the one
focused on preparation for adult work roles. Emerg ing adults they brought in, while remaining open to further mod ifications
begin to consider how their work experiences will lay the of it.
groundwork for the jobs they may have through adulthood. In Most of the research on changes in worldviews during
exploring various work possibilities, they explore identity emerging adulthood has involved college students and
issues as well: What kind of work am I good at? What kind of graduate students, and there is evidence that higher educa
work would I find satisfying for the long term? What are my tion promotes explorations and reconsiderations of world
chances of getting a job in the field that seems to suit me views (Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991). However, it is nota ble
best? that emerging adults who do not attend college are as likely
Emerging adults' educational choices and experiences as college students to indicate that deciding on their own
explore similar questions. In their educational paths, they try beliefs and values is an essential criterion for attaining adult
out various possibilities that would prepare them for different status (Arnett, 1997). Also, research on emerging adults'
kinds of future work. College students often change majors religious beliefs suggests that regardless of educa tional
more than once, especially in their first two years, as they try background, they consider it important during emerging
on possible occupational futures, discard them, and pursue adulthood to reexamine the beliefs they have learned in their
others. With graduate school becoming an increasingly families and to form a set of beliefs that is the product of their
common choice after an undergraduate degree is obtained, own independent reflections (Arnett & Jensen, 1999; Hoge,
emerging adults' educational explora tions often continue Johnson, & Luidens, 1993).
through their early twenties and mid twenties. Graduate Although the identity explorations of emerging adult
school allows emerging adults to switch directions again from hood make it an especially full and intense time of life for
the path of occupational preparation they had chosen as many people, these explorations are not always experi enced
undergraduates. as enjoyable. Explorations in love sometimes result in
For both love and work, the goals of identity explo disappointment, disillusionment, or rejection. Explora tions in
rations in emerging adulthood are not limited to direct work sometimes result in a failure to achieve the occupation
preparation for adult roles. On the contrary, the explora tions most desired or in an inability to find work that is satisfying
of emerging adulthood are in part explorations for their own and fulfilling. Explorations in worldviews sometimes lead to
sake, part of obtaining a broad range of life experiences rejection of childhood beliefs without the construction of
before taking on enduring--and limiting-- adult responsibilities. anything more compelling in their place (Arnett & Jensen,
The absence of enduring role com mitments in emerging 1999). Also, to a large extent, emerging adults pursue their
adulthood makes possible a degree of experimentation and identity explorations on their own, with out the daily
exploration that is not likely to be possible during the thirties companionship of either their family of origin or their family to
and beyond. For people who wish to have a variety of romantic be (Jonsson, 1994; Morch, 1995). Young Americans ages
and sexual experiences, emerging adulthood is the time for 19-29 spend more of their leisure time alone than any persons
it, because parental surveillance has diminished and there is except the elderly and spend more of their time in productive
as yet little nor mative pressure to enter marriage. Similarly, activities (school and work) alone than any other age group
emerging adulthood is the time for trying out unusual work under 40 (Larson, 1990).
and educational possibilities. For this reason, short-term Many of them see the condition of the world as grim and are
volun teer jobs in programs such as Americorps and the pessimistic about the future of their society (Arnett, 2000b).
Peace Corps are more popular with emerging adults than Nevertheless, for themselves personally, emerging adults are
with persons in any other age period. Emerging adults may highly optimistic about ultimately achieving their goals. In one
also travel to a different part of the country or the world on national poll of 18- to 24-year-olds in the United States
their own for a limited period, often in the context of a limited (Hornblower, 1997), nearly all--96%-- agreed with the
term work or educational experience. This too can be part of statement, "I am very sure that someday I will get to where I
their identity explorations, part of expanding their range of want to be in life."
personal experiences prior to making the more enduring
Other Notable Findings on Emerging
choices of adulthood.
Adulthood The three areas outlined
With regard to worldviews, the work of William Perry above--demographics, subjective perceptions, and identity
(1970/1999) has shown that changes in worldviews are often explorations--provide the most abundant information on the
a central part of cognitive development during emerg ing distinctiveness of emerging adulthood. However, evidence is
adulthood. According to Perry, emerging adults often enter available from other areas that suggests possible lines of
college with a worldview they have learned in the course of inquiry for future research on emerging adulthood. One of
childhood and adolescence. However, a college education these areas is risk behavior.
leads to exposure to a variety of different world views, and in Although there is a voluminous literature on adolescent risk
the course of this exposure college students often find behavior and relatively little research on risk behavior in
themselves questioning the worldviews they brought in. Over emerging adulthood (Jessor, Donovan, & Costa, 1991), the
the course of their college years, emerging prevalence of several types of risk behavior peaks not

474 May 2000 ° American Psychologist

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during adolescence but during emerging adulthood (ages in the early twenties during the role hiatus of emerging
18-25). These risk behaviors include unprotected sex, most adulthood, declines steeply and sharply following mar riage,
types of substance use, and risky driving behaviors such as and declines further following the entry to parent hood. The
driving at high speeds or while intoxicated (Arnett, 1992; responsibilities of these roles lead to lower rates of risk
Bachman, Johnston, O'Malley, & Schulenberg, 1996). behavior as emerging adulthood is succeeded by young
Figure 3 shows an example for binge drinking. adulthood.
What is it about emerging adulthood that lends itself to Research on family relationships among emerging
such high rates of risk behavior? To some degree, emerging adults has also been conducted. For American emerging
adults' risk behaviors can be understood as part of their adults in their early twenties, physical proximity to parents
identity explorations, that is, as one reflection of the desire has been found to be inversely related to the quality of
to obtain a wide range of experiences before settling down relationships with them. Emerging adults with the most
into the roles and responsibilities of adult life. One of the frequent contact with parents, especially emerging adults
motivations consistently found to be related to partici pation still living at home, tend to be the least close to their parents
in a variety of types of risk behavior is sensation seeking, and to have the poorest psychological adjustment (Dubas &
which is the desire for novel and intense experi ences Petersen, 1996; O'Connor, Allen, Bell, & Hauser, 1996). In
(Arnett, 1994b). Emerging adults can pursue novel and European studies, emerging adults who remain at home
intense experiences more freely than adolescents be cause tend to be happier with their living situa tions than those who
they are less likely to be monitored by parents and can have left home; they continue to rely on their parents as a
pursue them more freely than adults because they are less source of support and comfort, but they also tend to have a
constrained by roles. After marriage, adults are con strained great deal of autonomy within their parents' households
from taking part in risk behavior by the responsi bilities of (Chisholm & Hurrelmann, 1995).
the marriage role, and once they have a child, they are Thus, for emerging adults in both the United States and
constrained by the responsibilities of the parenting role. In Europe, autonomy and relatedness are complementary
one example of this, Bachman et al. (1996) used longitudinal rather than opposing dimensions of their relationships with
data to show how substance use rises to a peak their parents (O'Connor et al., 1996).

Figure 3
Rates of Binge Drinking (Five or More Alcoholic Drinks in a Row) in the Past Two Weeks at Various Ages
50

45

40

35

•O• 30

¢... ( 1)
25th

Q.. 20

15

10

t t--

13-14 15-16 17-18 19-20 21-22 23-24 25-26 27-28 29-30

Age

Note. Data are from "Transitions in Drug Use During Late Adolescence and Young Adulthood," by J. G. Bachman, L. D. Johnston, P. O'Malley, and J.
Schu[enberg, in Transitions Through Adolescence: Interpersonal Domains and Context (p. 118), by J. A. Graber, J. Brooks-Gunn, and A. C. Petersen (Eds.),
1996, Mahwah, N J: Erlbaum. Copyright 1996 by Erlbaum. Used with permission. Data also available at http://www.moniloringthefuture.org/data/99data/pr99tlc.pdf.

May 2000 • American Psychologist 475

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These findings provide a foundation for research into transition took place at that age. Education ended earlier,
development during emerging adulthood. Of course, much work began earlier, and leaving home took place later.
more work remains to be done on virtually every aspect of Marriage and parenthood did not take place for most people
development during this period. To what extent do emerg ing until their early twenties or midtwenties (Arnett & Taber,
adults rely on friends for support and companionship, given 1994), which may have been why Hall designated age 24 as
that this is a period when most young people have left their the end of adolescence. (Hall himself did not explain why he
families of origin but have not yet entered mar riage? To what chose this age.)
extent are the explorations of emerging adulthood different for In our time, it makes sense to define adolescence as
men and women? Do emerging adults have especially high ages 10-18. Young people in this age group have in common
rates of media use, given that they spend so much time alone? that they live with their parents, are experiencing the physical
These and many other questions about the period await changes of puberty, are attending secondary school, and are
investigation. Establishing emerging adulthood as a distinct part of a school-based peer culture. None of this remains
developmental period may help to promote this research. normative after age 18, which is why it is not adequate simply
to call the late teens and early twenties late adolescence. Age
18 also marks a variety of legal transi tions, such as being
Why. Emerging Adulthood Is allowed to vote and sign legal documents.
Not Adolescence
It is widely known that the scientific study of adoles cence Although some scholars have suggested that the late
began with the publication of G. Stanley Hall's two-volume teens and early twenties should be considered late ado
magnum opus nearly a century ago (Hall, 1904). What is less lescence (e.g., Elliott & Feldman, 1990), for the most part
widely known, however, is that in Hall's view adolescence scholars on adolescence focus on ages 10-18 as the years of
extended from age 14 to age 24 (Hall, 1904, p. xix). In adolescent development. Studies published in the major
contrast, contemporary scholars generally consider journals on adolescence rarely include samples with ages
adolescence to begin at age 10 or 11 and to end by age 18 higher than 18. For example, in 1997, 90% of the studies
or 19. The cover of every issue of the Journal of Research on published in the Journal of Research on Adolescence and the
Adolescence, the flagship journal of the Society for Research Journal of Youth & Adolescence were on samples of high
on Adolescence, proclaims that adolescence is defined as "the school age or younger. College students have been the focus
second decade of life." What happened between Hall's time of many research studies, but most often as "adults" in social
and our own to move scholars' conceptions of adolescence psychology studies.
earlier in the life course? Sociologists have studied the late teens and the twenties for
patterns of demographic events viewed as part of the
Two changes stand out as possible explanations. One transition to adulthood (e.g., Hogan & Astone, 1986; Rindfuss,
is the decline that has taken place during the 20th century in 1991). However, few studies have recognized the late teens
the typical age of the initiation of puberty. At the beginning of through the twenties as a distinct devel opmental period.
the 20th century, the median age of menarche in Western
countries was about 15 (Eveleth & Tanner, 1976). Because
menarche takes place relatively late in the typical sequence
Why the Forgotten Half Remains
of pubertal changes, this means that the initial changes of
Forgotten
puberty would have begun at about ages 13-15 for most In 1987, a distinguished panel of scholars and public policy
people, which is just where Hall designated the beginning of officials was assembled by the William T. Grant Founda tion
adolescence. However, the median age of menarche (and by and asked to address the life situations of young people who
implication other pubertal changes) de clined steadily between do not attend college after high school, especially with respect
1900 and 1970 before leveling out, so that now the typical age to their economic prospects. They produced an influential and
of menarche in the United States is 12.5 (Brooks-Gunn & widely read report entitled The Forgotten Hal/? Non-College-
Paikoff, 1997). The initial changes of puberty usually begin Bound Youth in America (William T.
about 2 years earlier, thus the designation of adolescence as Grant Foundation Commission on Work, Family, and Cit
beginning with the entry into the second decade of life. izenship, 1988), which contained an analysis of the circum
stances of the "forgotten halt"' and a set of policy sugges
As for the age when adolescence ends, the change in tions for promoting a successful transition from high school to
this age may have been inspired not by a biological change work.
but by a social change: the growth of high school atten dance Over a decade later, the forgotten half remains forgot
that made high school a normative experience for adolescents ten by scholars, in the sense that studies of young people
in the United States. In 1900, only 10% of persons ages 14-17 who do not attend college in the years following high school
were enrolled in high school. How ever, this proportion rose remain rare. Why did the Grant commission's widely acclaimed
steeply and steadily over the course of the 20th century to report not inspire more enduring schol arly attention to young
reach 95% by 1985 (Arnett & Taber, 1994). This makes it people not attending college in this age period? One reason
easy to understand why Hall would not have chosen age 18 is practical. Studies of college students are ubiquitous
as the end of adolescence, because for most adolescents of because college students are so easy to find--most scholars
his time no significant who teach at colleges or universities

476 May 2000 • American Psychologist

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have ready access to them. Studying young people who are occupational path. The majority of people ages 18-25 are
not in college is more difficult because they are not readily unmarried, whereas the majority of people in their thirties
accessible in any institutional setting. Other ways of ob are married. The majority of people ages 18-25 are child
taining research participants in this age period must be less, whereas the majority of people in their thirties have
used, such as contacting community organizations or tak had at least one child. The list could go on. The point should
ing out newspaper ads, and these samples often have the be clear. Emerging adulthood and young adulthood should
liability of being nonrepresentative. The same conditions be distinguished as separate developmental periods.
apply to research on college students after they leave col It should be emphasized, however, that age is only a
lege. Few studies exist of young people in their midtwen ties rough indicator of the transition from emerging adulthood to
to late twenties, in part because they are not available in young adulthood. Eighteen is a good age marker for the end
any institutional setting. Notable exceptions to this rule of adolescence and the beginning of emerging adult hood,
include some excellent longitudinal studies (the National because it is the age at which most young people finish
Longitudinal Studies, e.g., Rindfuss, 1991; the Monitoring secondary school, leave their parents' home, and reach the
the Future studies, e.g., Bachman et al., 1996; O'Connor et legal age of adult status in a variety of respects.
al., 1996; Offer & Offer, 1975). However, the transition from emerging adulthood to young
However, the dearth of studies on young people in adulthood is much less definite with respect to age. There
their late teens and twenties is not due only to the difficulty are 19-year-olds who have reached adulthood--demo
of finding samples in this age group. It also arises from the graphically, subjectively, and in terms of identity forma tion--
lack of a clear developmental conception of this age group. and 29-year-olds who have not. Nevertheless, for most
Scholars have no clearly articulated way of thinking about people, the transition from emerging adulthood to young
development from the late teens through the twenties, no adulthood intensifies in the late twenties and is reached by
paradigm for this age period, so they may not think about age 30 in all of these respects.
young people at these ages as a focus for developmental Emerging adulthood differs both from adolescence and
research. Emerging adulthood is offered as a new para from young adulthood in that it is, to some extent, defined
digm, a new way of thinking about development from the by its heterogeneity. As noted, in emerging adult hood,
late teens through the twenties, especially ages 18-25, there is little that is normative. Emerging adulthood is very
partly in the hope that a definite conception of this period much a transitional period leading to adulthood, and different
will lead to an increase in scholarly attention to it. emerging adults reach adulthood at different points. Also,
the possibility of devoting the late teens and early twenties
Why Emerging Adulthood Is Not to explorations of various kinds is not equally available to all
Young Adulthood young people, and in any case, people vary in the degree
of exploration they choose to pursue.
But (some might object) is there not already a paradigm for
the years of the late teens and the twenties? Is that not what The heterogeneity of emerging adulthood represents
young adulthood is? The answer is no. There are a number both a warning and an opportunity for those who wish to
of reasons why young adulthood is unsatisfactory as a study this age period. The warning is to be cautious in
designation for this developmental period. making sweeping statements about emerging adults. Al
One reason is that the use of young adulthood implies most: always, such statements need to be qualified by men
that adulthood has been reached at this point. As we have tioning the heterogeneity of emerging adulthood. The op
seen, most young people in this age period would disagree pommity is that this heterogeneity makes emerging adult
that they have reached adulthood. They see themselves as hood an especially rich, complex, dynamic period of life to
gradually making their way into adulthood, so emerging study.
adulthood seems a better term for their subjective experi
ence. More generally, the term emerging captures the dy Emerging Adulthood Across Cultures
namic, changeable, fluid quality of the period.
Also, if ages 18-25 are young adulthood, what would Thus far, the focus of this article has been on emerging
that make the thirties? Young adulthood is a term better adulthood among young people in the West, especially in
applied to the thirties, which are still young but are defi nitely the United States. Is emerging adulthood a period of life that
adult in a way that the years 18-25 are not. It makes little is restricted to certain cultures and certain times? The
sense to lump the late teens, twenties, and thirties together answer to this question appears to be yes. For example,
and call the entire period young adulthood. The period from Schlegel and Barry (1991), in their comprehensive integra
ages 18 to 25 could hardly be more distinct from the thirties. tion of information on adolescence in 186 traditional non
The majority of young people ages 18-25 do not believe Western cultures, concluded that adolescence as a life
they have reached full adulthood, whereas the majority of stage is virtually universal, but that a further period between
people in their thirties believe that they have (Arnett, in adolescence and adulthood (youth, in the terminology they
press). The majority of people ages 18-25 are still in the used) existed in only 20% of the cultures they studied. In
process of obtaining education and training for a long-term the cultures in their sample, adulthood was typically signi
adult occupation, whereas the majority of people in their fied by entry into marriage, and marriage usually took place
thirties have settled into a more stable at about ages 16 to 18 for girls and at about ages 18 to 20

May 2000 • American Psychologist 477

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for boys. This early timing of marriage allowed for a period of experience their late teens and twenties as a volitional period.
adolescence but not for a period of emerging adulthood. The young woman who has a child outside ot marriage at age
Emerging adulthood, then, is not a universal period but 16 and spends her late teens and early twenties alternating
a period that exists only in cultures that postpone the entry between welfare and low-paying jobs has little chance for
into adult roles and responsibilities until well past the late exploration of possible life directions, nor does the young man
teens. Thus, emerging adulthood would be most likely to be who drops out of school and spends most of his late teens
found in countries that are highly industrialized or postindustrial. and early twenties unem ployed and looking unsuccessfully
Such countries require a high level of edu cation and training for a job (Cote & Alla har, 1996). Because opportunities tend
for entry into the information-based professions that are the to be less widely available in minority cultures than in the
most prestigious and lucrative, so many of their young people majority culture in most industrialized countries, members of
remain in school into their early twenties and midtwenties. minority groups may be less likely to experience ages 18-25
Marriage and parenthood are typically postponed until well as a period of independent exploration of possible life
after schooling has ended, which allows for a period of directions (Morch, 1995). However, social class may be more
exploration of various relationships before marriage and for important than ethnicity, with young people in the middle
exploration of various jobs before taking on the responsibility class or above having more opportunities for the explorations
of supporting a child financially. Table 1 shows the median of emerging adulthood than young people who are working
ages of mar riage in a range of highly industrialized countries, class or below. Alternatively, it may be that explorations are
con trasted with the median ages of marriage in selected not fewer in the working class but different, with more empha
devel oping countries. sis on work explorations and less emphasis on education.

Although median marriage ages are typically calcu lated These are possibilities to be investigated.
on a countrywide basis, it should be noted that emerg ing In economically developing countries, there tends to be
adulthood is best understood as a characteristic of cultures a distinct cultural split between urban and rural areas.
rather than countries. Within some highly indus trialized Young people in urban areas of countries such as China and
countries, members of minority cultures may have cultural India are more likely to experience emerging adulthood,
practices that lead to a shortened period of emerg ing because they marry later, have children later, obtain more
adulthood or no emerging adulthood at all. For exam ple, in education, and have a greater range of occupational and
the United States, members of the Mormon church tend to recreational opportunities than young people in rural areas. in
have a shortened and highly structured emerging adulthood. contrast, young people in rural areas of developing countries
Because of cultural beliefs prohibiting premar ital sex and often receive minimal schooling, marry early, and have little
emphasizing the desirability of large families, considerable choice of occupations except agricultural work.
social pressure is placed on young Mormons to marry early Thus in developing countries emerging adulthood is often
and begin having children. Consequently, the median ages of experienced in urban areas but rarely in rural areas.
marriage and first childbirth are much lower among Mormons However, it should also be noted that emerging adult
than in the American population as a whole (Heaton, 1992), hood is likely to become more pervasive worldwide in the
and young Mormons are likely to have a much briefer period decades to come, with the increasing globalization of the
of exploration before taking on adult roles. world economy. Between 1980 and 1995, the proportion of
young people in developing countries who attended sec
Limitations in educational and occupational opportu ondary school rose sharply, and the median ages of mar riage
nities also influence the extent to which young people can and first childbirth rose in these countries as well (Noble et al.,
1996). As developing countries are becoming more integrated
into a global economy, there is an increas ing number of
higher-paying jobs in these countries, jobs that require young
Table 1 people to obtain higher education. At the same time, as
Median Marriage Age of Women in technology becomes increasingly available in these countries,
Selected Countries
particularly in agriculture, the labor of young people is
Industrialized Developing becoming less and less necessary for family survival, making
countries Age countries Age
it possible for many of them to attend school instead.
United States 25.2 Egypt 21.9
Canada 26.0 Morocco 22.3 These changes open up the possibility for the spread of
Germany 26.2 Ghana 21.1 emerging adulthood in developing countries. Economic
France 26.1 Nigeria 18.7 development makes possible a period of the independent role
Italy 25.8 India 20.0 exploration that is at the heart of emerging adulthood.
Japan 26.9 Indonesia 21.1 As societies become more affluent, they are more likely to
Australia 26.0 Brazil 22.6 grant young people the opportunity for the extended mor
Note. Data are from The World's Youth, by J. Noble, J. Cover, and M.
atorium of emerging adulthood, because they have no urgent
Yanagishita, 1996, Washington, DC: Population Reference Bureau. Copyright 1996 by need for young people's labor. Similarly, economic
the Population Reference Bureau. Reprinted with permission. development is usually accompanied by increased life ex
pectancy, and devoting years to the explorations of emerg

478 May 2000 • American Psychologist

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ing adulthood becomes more feasible and attractive when The' individualization of religious beliefs among people in their twen
ties. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for the
people can expect to live to be at least 70 or 80 rather than
Scientific Study of Religion, Boston, MA.
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