Abstract
In 2000, Jeffrey Jensen Arnett (2000) published a seminal article in the American Psychologist followed by a book in which he proposed “a new theory of development from the late teens through the twenties” (p. 469). Coining the phrase “emerging adulthood,” he argued that in industrialized societies, economic and social changes of the late 20th century had led to an extended period of exploration for most. His ground breaking theoretical work led to paradigm shift (Kuhn, 2012) for developmentalists, a new academic society—the Society for Study of Emerging Adulthood (SSEA)—and a new journal—Emerging Adulthood—and even more importantly, launched innumerable conversations, debates, research, and indeed a new field.
A cross-cultural comparison of 186 non-industrialized cultures conducted by anthropologists, examined the dividing line between adolescence and adulthood, and found that in the majority of cultures, marriage marked this transition—occurring between 16 and 18 years of age for young women and 18 to 20 years of age for young men (Schlegel & Barry, 1991). In industrialized societies, sociologists argued that up to the middle of the mid-century, the dividing line between adolescence and adulthood was marked by five classic milestones: leaving home, completing school, entering the workforce, getting married, and children (Setterson & Ray, 2011). The demographic shifts in the characteristics of the population, along with the evolution of social norms and changing economic realities led to a surge in an interest in ways to reconceptualize this age of development, however.
Although sociologists tended to focus on issues of structural constraints and group differences of young adults, Arnett proposed that the field consider a new and distinct stage of life. Rather than being focused on the achievement of specific milestones, Arnett’s proposed a view of this life stage focused on identity development and process dimensions. He argued that the developmental tasks of emerging adulthood were to accept responsibility for oneself, to make decisions for oneself, and to become financially independent. Typically, emerging adults, although optimistic, reported being self-focused, feeling unstable, and feeling neither like an adolescent nor like an adult. Notably, Arnett’s initial theory was developed at the height of the economic boom of the 1990s.
In proposing his theory, Arnett astutely acknowledged that emerging adulthood was specific to industrialized societies. He suggested that the theory should be thought of in terms of “cultures rather than countries” (Arnett, 2000, p. 478), noting that members of certain minority groups may demonstrate shortened emerging adulthood phases. Arnett gave as an example, early marriage of Mormon girls within the United States but such is also the case for certain immigrant-origin groups within industrialized societies (Katsiaficas, Suárez-Orozco, & Dias, 2014)—consider, for example, rural Turkish origin girls in Amsterdam or Yemen origin girls in Detroit. He also recognized the role of socio-economic constraints in limiting the period (or option) of exploration as well as the urban and rural cultural split in the ways in which emerging adulthood may be enacted.
In proposing his theory, Arnett offered precisely what theory does best—laying the ground-work for new work. Theory is never the end product—it is the beginning of continued research and debates. The SSEA emerged out of these conversations as did Emerging Adulthood, published in association with SSEA. This international and interdisciplinary journal advances theory, methodology, and empirical research on development and adaptation of emerging adults between the ages of 18 and 29. The journal is a forum for clinical, developmental, and social psychology as well as “other social sciences such as anthropology, psychiatry, public policy, social work, sociology, public health, and post-secondary education” (Emerging Adulthood website, http://www.sagepub.com/journals/Journal202127).
In this issue, we present four articles that began their review process while Jeff Arnett was still the editor of the Journal of Adolescent Research—he served in this role from 2002 to 2013. These articles pay tribute to his fundamental contribution to the field.