Body, Mind, and
Social World
KEYPoints
- Emerging adulthood (roughly ages 18 to 25) is a new period of development,
characterized by later marriage and more education, as well as robust good
health.
- Sexual impulses and reproductive health reach a peak during emerging adulthood,
although the birth rate tends to be much lower today than in previous
centuries. Many nations are below the replacement rate of 2.1 births per woman.
- During emerging adulthood, risk taking is prevalent, sometimes constructively
and sometimes not. Edgework and violent death both increase, especially in men.
- Drug abuse and addiction increase during emerging adulthood; social norms
are powerful influences on drug use.
KEYPoints
- Experience as well as maturation advance cognition in emerging adulthood.
Young adults are better able to combine emotions and rational analysis.
- Stereotype threat appears when emotional fears overwhelm cognition. This selfhandicapping
prejudice is common among many groups, but it may be overcome.
- Over the years of college, students gradually become less inclined to seek absolute
truths from authorities and more inclined to draw their own conclusions.
- In every nation, the sheer number of college students has multiplied, and their
goals and backgrounds have become more diverse. Despite all the changes,
college education still seems to advance intellectual development during
emerging adulthood.
KEYPoints
- Personality patterns are evident lifelong, in part because genes and early childhood
are influential. Nonetheless, emerging adults may modify some traits and
develop others that were not evident in earlier years.
- For most people, emerging adulthood is a happy time, as the various transitions
increase a sense of well-being.
- The diathesis–stress model of psychological disorders suggests that genetic
vulnerability, past experiences, and current stresses combine to cause serious
psychological problems in some people.
- A minority of emerging adults are disabled by severe depression, anxiety disorders,
and schizophrenia.
KEYPoints
- Identity achievement is often not attained until adulthood.
- Two aspects of identity often take time to achieve: ethnic identity and vocational
identity. Many people do not select a career or find a job they like until age 25
or later.
- Intimacy needs are strong during emerging adulthood. Friendships, romances,
and family all help young adults meet these needs.
- Far fewer emerging adults marry today than in earlier decades. Cohabitation
has become much more common.
Cultural and National Differences
Emerging adulthood is a new period of development, characterized
by later marriage and more education. Age variations are
apparent; nonetheless, ages 18 to 25 can be described as a distinct
period worldwide.
All the body systems function optimally during these years;
death from disease is rare. Homeostasis helps emerging adults feel
strong and recover quickly from infections and injuries.
The sexual-reproductive system functions especially well during
emerging adulthood, the time of peak fertility. However, most
people this age do not yet want to become parents. Sexual activity
before marriage is accepted by most young adults.
One consequence of changing sexual mores is an increase in
sexually transmitted infections; they are much more common
now than in earlier generations because many young adults have
several sexual relationships.
Risk taking increases during emerging adulthood, with edgework
particularly attractive to young men, who are more likely to
die violently than are young women.
Drug and alcohol abuse increases during emerging adulthood;
these years are the most common period for addiction. However,
most emerging adults are not drug abusers: knowledge of this fact
may deter drug abuse,
Cognitive Maturity
One hallmark of adult thought is the ability to combine emotions
and rational analysis. This ability is particularly useful in responding
to emotionally arousing situations, as when childhood
prejudices or stereotype threats are still present.
Stereotype threat can affect people of all ages and cultures, but
it is particularly likely to slow down cognition when a person
worries that other people might be biased in their assessment of
his or her abilities.
Many more students of all backgrounds and nationalities
attend college currently than in former decades. Despite many
cohort differences, college students not only gain skills and
future career advances but also become less inclined to seek
absolutes from authorities and more inclined to make their own
decisions.
Personality Patterns
Personality patterns change in emerging adulthood, but continuity
is also apparent. Many emerging adults find an appropriate
combination of education, friendship, and achievement that improves
their self-esteem.
The rates of some forms of psychopathology, including substance
abuse, anxiety disorders, depression, and schizophrenia, rise
during emerging adulthood. As the diathesis–stress model of mental
illness predicts, the seeds of these disorders are planted early in
life, but the stress of young adulthood may produce mental health
disorders.
Identity and Intimacy
The process of identity achievement continues from adolescence
through emerging adulthood. In a diverse, modern society,
ethnic and vocational identities are particularly difficult to
achieve. Most young adults seek an identity that differs from that
of their heritage, and take much longer to settle on a career than
their parents did.
Close friendships are common during emerging adulthood,
typically including some opposite-sex as well as same-sex friendships.
Romantic love is complex, involving passion, intimacy, and
commitment. Many emerging adults have a series of sexual relationships,
hooking up and cohabiting before establishing an intimate
partnership in marriage.
Family support is needed lifelong. In emerging adulthood,
this often means that parents pay college costs and contribute in
other ways to their young-adult children’s independence. Total
separation from family is unusual and impairs young adults’
achievement. Everywhere, members of families have linked lives.
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