Education Commons^™

Counseling Emerging Adult Clients: The Role Of Attachment Relationships In Promoting Well-Being And Positive Development, Joel A. Lane, Christina M. Schnyders

Counselor Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

Emerging adulthood refers to a stage of development between adolescence and adulthood, generally encompassing the 18-29 age range. Sweeping societal changes during the latter 20^th and early 21^st centuries have resulted in a markedly different subjective experience in emerging adulthood compared to prior generations of 18- to 29-year-olds. Prominent features of emerging adulthood include demographic instability, feeling in-between, self-focus, prolonged identity exploration, and possibilities. Emerging adulthood is considered to be a critical period for well-being and functioning: impulsivity, risk-taking behaviors, and psychiatric onset are elevated in this age range, presumably because emerging adults concurrently experience the freedom and …