Perceptions of Adulthood: What Does it Mean to be Grown-Up?Springer Science and Business Media LLC -
Megan Wright, Sophie von Stumm
AbstractAdulthood has traditionally been defined by the attainment of socio-demographic milestones such as career, marriage, and parenthood, but these milestones are increasingly delayed or have become inaccessible for young people today. As a result, young people are likely to experience a discrepancy between their expectations for and their actual reality of adulthood, which can negatively affect their well-being and psychological development. To systematically study contemporary definitions of and attitudes towards adulthood, we assessed a sample of 722 UK adults with an age range from 18 to 77 years on: (a) subjective adult status, or the extent to which people feel like adults; (b) attitudes towards adulthood, or whether people think adulthood is a positive time of life; and (c) the characteristics that people use to define adulthood today. We found that most participants felt adult and had positive attitudes towards adulthood. Our participants defined adulthood predominantly through psychological characteristics, for example “Accepting responsibility for the consequences of my actions” (endorsed by 80% of the sample), rather than by socio-demographic milestones which were endorsed by only 22–40% of participants. Both subjective adult status and attitudes towards adulthood were significantly associated with older age and the attainment of the socio-demographic milestones of marriage and parenthood. Regression analyses revealed that having a positive attitude towards adulthood was the strongest psychological predictor of subjective adult status, accounting for 10% of the variance. This suggests that fostering positive attitudes towards adulthood may help improving the well-being of contemporary adults.
Psychometric Properties of the Greek Inventory of the Dimensions of Emerging Adulthood (IDEA): University Student Perceptions of Developmental FeaturesSpringer Science and Business Media LLC - Tập 23 - Trang 226-244 - 2016
Sophie Leontopoulou, Dimitris Mavridis, Artemis Giotsa
Emerging adulthood, the transitional period from adolescence to adulthood, differs demographically and is associated with the cultural and socioeconomical environment one lives in. Its key dimensions have been explored in many countries including the USA through the IDEA instrument (Reifman et al. in J Youth Dev 2(1):1–12, 2007). Five dimensions have been identified and associated with specific items. In this paper, we aim to measure the psychometric properties of the IDEA used to measure key developmental features associated with emerging adulthood in Greece. A total of 592 University Humanity and Science students, both male (29.3 %) and female (70.7 %), aged 18–30 years were asked to complete a questionnaire battery including the IDEA and a set of demographic questions. We used structural equation modeling to identify factors underlying the IDEA. We identified three factors, which we named “Identity exploration/Feeling in-between,” “Experimentation/Possibilities/Self-focused” and “Negativity/Instability.” The first two factors appeared to be more prominent in our sample, while evidence of negativity and instability was limited among the study participants. Further analyses assessed the impact of demographic characteristics of participants on the above three factors. Age, gender and type of studies appeared to exert some influence on the perception of main features of emerging adulthood. Further research linking the criteria to the developmental features characterizing this distinct age group is required in order to unveil the intricacies of the phenomena of emerging adulthood in Greece.
Resilience in Times of Economic Boom and Bust: A Narrative Study of a Rural Population Dependent upon the Oil and Gas IndustrySpringer Science and Business Media LLC - Tập 28 - Trang 149-161 - 2020
Hamideh Mahdiani, Jan Höltge, Linda Theron, Michael Ungar
How do residents of small towns that depend on oil and gas extraction or processing industries withstand economic boom and bust cycles? To answer this question, this article reports on a narrative analysis of residents’ life stories gathered from 37 adults of a small town on the Canadian prairies dependent on the oil and gas industry, employing the theories of narrative inquiry and narrative identity. Participants aged 30 to 76 were interviewed and their experiences of living in an unstable economy that is dependent mostly on a single resource extraction industry were explored. Specifically, we asked participants about the effect of economic change on factors related to resilience like family interactions, work choices, educational pathways, and the quality of their social lives. Our analysis of adult narratives looked for patterns in the relationship between risk exposure, promotive and protective factors at multiple systemic levels (individual, relational, cultural), and functional outcomes such as individual coping, community cohesion, and social and economic sustainability. Results show that a strong identity, in particular expressions of personal agency, communion, and engagement in meaning making are contributing factors to adult resilience in a context of economic change. Our results also highlight how positive attitudes towards a better future may inadvertently undermine the need for residents of oil and gas-dependent towns to commit to economic diversification and other potential resilience-promoting strategies.
The Structure of Grandparental Role MeaningSpringer Science and Business Media LLC - Tập 10 - Trang 1-11 - 2003
Bert Jr. Hayslip, Craig E. Henderson, R. Jerald Shore
The present study explored the viability of Kivnick's 5-factor model of grandparental meaning (Kivnick, 1983), wherein this model was tested and subsequently refined on a sample of traditional grandparents (N = 102), and then cross-validated using a sample of custodial grandparents (N = 101). The data suggested that Kivnick's model of grandparental meaning was untenable in both grandparent samples. Instead, a single-factor model was supported in both samples. This suggests that grandparental meaning is best understood without regard to Kivnick's distinctions (Kivnick, 1983). This may reflect a cohort effect in the meaning of grandparenting, as evidenced in the diversity of roles into which grandparents are thrust, increased role confusion, as well as the idiosyncratic manner in which grandparents are often forced to define their roles in today's society.
Control across the life span: A model for understanding self-directionSpringer Science and Business Media LLC - Tập 3 - Trang 93-108 - 1996
Donald W. Tiffany, Phyllis G. Tiffany
A comprehensive four-factor interactive model on physical, psychological, and environmental processes related to the sense of control is presented for adult development with an emphasis on later life. The four experienced components are (1) control from within oneself, (2) control over oneself, (3) control over the environment, and (4) control from the environment. Control over oneself and over the environment measure self-directed control, while control from within oneself and from the environment measure nonself-directed control. Coping (a bidimensional control scale) measures control from powerlessness and suicide to overcontrolling. Findings confirm a significant loss of coping in an older cohort group from a white, rural sample composed primarily of single subjects with low coping representing a significant drop in self-directed behavior. A discussion of the relationship between self-direction and health in the older cohort group follows.
Predictors of Satisfaction Among College-Educated African American Women in MidlifeSpringer Science and Business Media LLC - Tập 10 - Trang 113-125 - 2003
Sandra S. Tangri, Veronica G. Thomas, Martha T. Mednick, Kimya S. Lee
There has been little theorizing or empirical research on satisfaction among African American women at midlife. This study addresses this gap by examining predictors of satisfaction in 3 cohorts (N = 202) of midlife college-educated African American women. Specifically, 3 domains of satisfaction were examined: overall life satisfaction, personal satisfaction, and work satisfaction. Results revealed that the women were highly satisfied with their work situation, their personal life, and generally with how their life had turned out so far. Overall life satisfaction was predicted by the women's perceptions of personal control, role quality, household burden, and their cohort status. Work satisfaction was best predicted by the women's sense of personal control and role quality. Lastly, household burden and physical well-being emerged as significant predictors of personal satisfaction. Implications of the findings and recommendations for future research are offered.
Predicting Personality Stability Across the Life Span: The Role of Competence and Work and Family CommitmentsSpringer Science and Business Media LLC - Tập 5 - Trang 73-83 - 1998
John A. Clausen, Constance J. Jones
Longitudinal studies suggest modest continuity in personality from adolescence to early adulthood and greater continuity over successive periods during the adult years. However, individual differences in personality stability do exist. We discuss potential sources of personality change, especially as they relate to development, role assumption and commitment, and loss of roles and commitments. Then, using data from the Intergenerational Studies, we employ measures of competence and of work and family commitments, assessed both in high school and adulthood, to predict personality stability from high school to early and late adulthood. Results indicate that personality stability can be successfully predicted with such measures. Greater personality stability is found for those determined to be more “planfully competent,” but additional family and work role variables also increase predictive power, in some instances. Using two alternate measures of competence—one from the California Q-sort and the other from the California Psychological Inventory—we replicated the finding that men with more disorderly careers show less personality stability, and that women who have experienced more divorces show less personality stability.
Attachment in Context: The Role of Demographic Factors Among Indonesians from Three Ethnic GroupsSpringer Science and Business Media LLC - Tập 23 Số 3 - Trang 163-173 - 2016
Dewi, Zahrasari L., Halim, Magdalena S., Derksen, Jan
This study examined attachment in Indonesia, one of the fourth most populous countries in the world. We applied the Indonesian version of the Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ) on 1313 Indonesians from three ethnically diverse samples (404 Bataks, 430 Minangkabau, and 479 Javanese). We assessed demographic factors which consist of the roles of the living-with-family experience (M = 19.58 years), age (M = 24.34 years old), sex (man = 43.4 %), and ethnicity in attachment dimensions development. Pearson’s correlation analyses revealed negative correlations between the living-with-family experience as well as age and the two attachment dimensions, Need for approval and confirmation by others and Preoccupation with relationships. Group comparison analyses found significant differences for the five scales of ASQ among sex and ethnic groups. We also found a significant main effect of age and ethnicity on some of the ASQ scales.
Emerging Adults’ Outlook on the Future in the Midst of COVID-19: The Role of Personality ProfilesSpringer Science and Business Media LLC - Tập 29 - Trang 108-120 - 2022
Majse Lind, Emily Mroz, Shubam Sharma, Daniel Lee, Susan Bluck
Classic lifespan developmental theory describes emerging adulthood and the transition to adulthood as important periods for thinking about one’s future life trajectory. Today, youth are facing far-reaching changes to daily life due to COVID-19. This may have negative effects on their future outlook, and the extent of such effects may be related to personality. This study examined emerging adults’ (N = 195, Mage = 20.58, SD = 3.98) multidimensional personality profiles in relation to the extent that they hold a positive outlook on their future at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Quantitative and brief narrative measures of future outlook were collected. Hierarchical cluster analysis and Latent Profile Analysis revealed two clear personality profiles, labeled Reflectors (n = 106) and Forgers (n = 89). Forgers demonstrated robust personality characteristics indicative of psychologically ‘pushing forward’ through pandemic-related challenges. Reflectors demonstrated more pandemic reactivity including higher stress but also more psychological integration of the pandemic experience into their sense of self. In terms of future outlook, Forgers reported a positive and expansive outlook on the future across multiple measures. In contrast, Reflectors held more negative, restricted views of what future life might hold. Results are discussed in terms of the role of multi-level personality in dictating emerging adults’ future perspectives in the wake of life challenges. Ideas are presented about how to best support young people as they transition into the future, into adulthood, while grappling with the challenges of the pandemic.