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Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

2014

Emerging adulthood

Articles 1 - 11 of 11

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

How Technology Interacts With Emerging Adulthood Psychosocial Developmental Tasks: An Examination Of Online Self-Presentation And Cell Phone Usage, Samantha Lynn Gray Dec 2014

How Technology Interacts With Emerging Adulthood Psychosocial Developmental Tasks: An Examination Of Online Self-Presentation And Cell Phone Usage, Samantha Lynn Gray

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation outlines three distinct, yet interrelated, projects aimed at understanding the role of technology in relation to emerging adulthood developmental tasks: individuation & identity development. The first paper provides a context for understanding the developmental tasks of emerging adulthood, and the role that technology may serve in relation to those developmental tasks. This brief review of the literature on emerging adulthood developmental tasks provides a solid theoretical background and history for the theoretical premises proposed for the respective studies included in this dissertation. The second project is an empirical investigation that seeks to understand how the task of identity …

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What Do You Want To Accomplish In The Next 10 Years? The Goals Of Emerging Adults, Joshua J. Turner, Joe D. Wilmoth, Tommy M. Phillips Oct 2014

What Do You Want To Accomplish In The Next 10 Years? The Goals Of Emerging Adults, Joshua J. Turner, Joe D. Wilmoth, Tommy M. Phillips

Journal of Human Sciences and Extension

Emerging adulthood is a period characterized by transition. Individuals in this stage of development find themselves in between adolescence and young adulthood, faced with consequential decisions related to their educational attainment, career trajectory, and the overall direction of their life course. This study focused on the goal-setting behavior of emerging adults. Data were collected through interviews with individuals between the ages of 18 and 25 (N = 91). It was expected that the goals of this group would be oriented toward more individualistic pursuits, with less emphasis placed on more collectivistic goals. It also was anticipated that interviewees would have …

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Associations Between Family And Interpersonal Processes And Emerging Adult Marital Paradigms: Does Adult Attachment Mediate?, Todd M. Jensen, Brian J. Willoughby, Thomas B. Holman, Dean M. Busby, Kevin Shafer Oct 2014

Associations Between Family And Interpersonal Processes And Emerging Adult Marital Paradigms: Does Adult Attachment Mediate?, Todd M. Jensen, Brian J. Willoughby, Thomas B. Holman, Dean M. Busby, Kevin Shafer

Faculty Publications

Current research on predictors of marital attitudes highlights the importance of family and interpersonal processes, yet fails to identify which factors are more important and whether there are mediators that help to conceptually simplify the process by which such attitudes are influenced. We examine the influence of family-of-origin quality and past romantic relationships on three specific marital paradigms, as well as the mediating role adult attachment may play in these associations. We used a sample of 1,210 single heterosexual males (23 %) and females (77 %), age 18–30 years, who took the READY assessment. Results indicated that family-of-origin quality, attachment …

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Aging Out Of Foster Care, Johanna K.P. Greeson, Allison E. Thompson Aug 2014

Aging Out Of Foster Care, Johanna K.P. Greeson, Allison E. Thompson

Johanna K.P. Greeson, PhD, MSS, MLSP

The transition from adolescence to adulthood is a significant developmental stage. When foster youth age out of the child welfare system, they are at risk of having to transition without family support. This chapter applies the life course perspective to describe the theoretical and contextual foundation that explains the hardships foster youth experience when emancipated from the US child welfare system. Next, the theoretical basis for natural mentoring among foster youth is explored using the resiliency perspective to frame the discussion. Then, current research on natural mentoring among foster youth is reviewed. Implications are drawn for US child welfare practice, …

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Five Dimensions Of Emerging Adulthood: A Comparison Between Students, Nonstudents, And College Graduates, Jennifer Renée Zorotovich Aug 2014

Five Dimensions Of Emerging Adulthood: A Comparison Between Students, Nonstudents, And College Graduates, Jennifer Renée Zorotovich

Doctoral Dissertations

U.S. census data suggests that young people today are entering marriage (U. S. Census Bureau, 2011) and parenthood (U. S. Census Bureau, 2012) later than young people in previous decades. Delayed trajectories have led researchers to reconsider the nature of development from adolescence to adulthood and has given way to the construct of emerging adulthood (Arnett, 2000a). Although this construct has been largely embraced by contemporary scholars, questions remain about the universality of emerging adulthood and whether or not it accurately captures the experiences of young people who do not pursue postsecondary education as well as those who have transitioned …

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Sexual Possible Selves In Emerging Adulthood, Kristin Michelle Anders Aug 2014

Sexual Possible Selves In Emerging Adulthood, Kristin Michelle Anders

Masters Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to explore sexual-focused possible selves and strategies in a sample of undergraduate students at a large southeastern university. Sexual possible selves (SPS) address individualized expectations and fears regarding sex, along with the associated behavioral strategies used to attain or avoid these expected or feared selves. To date, there are no studies that examine the SPS of emerging adults. This study aims to fill this gap by examining the content of first year students’ SPS and behavioral strategies, and by considering whether SPS vary by sex, romantic relationship (RR) status, and indicators of socioeconomic status. …

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Communication, Romantic Reconciliation, And Emerging Adulthood: A Relational Dialectics Study, Ashley M. Poole Jul 2014

Communication, Romantic Reconciliation, And Emerging Adulthood: A Relational Dialectics Study, Ashley M. Poole

Communication & Theatre Arts Theses

Building on the extant research of on-again/off-again (on-off) romantic relationships, the current thesis focused on building upon past findings by utilizing a unique theoretical methodology in an emerging demographic. A sample of 22 emergent adult (ages 18-29) participants who were currently in or had recently experienced an on-off relationship completed face-to-face interviews discussing communicative processes during romantic reconciliation. The primary purpose of this thesis was to identify and define discursive struggles found within on-off relationships during reconciliation attempts, and understand how they are used between partners to give meaning to the terms "on" and "off" as a precursor to restructuring …

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Healthy Transitions To Family Formation, Erin Kramer Holmes, Geoffrey Brown, Kevin Shafer, Nate Stoddard Apr 2014

Healthy Transitions To Family Formation, Erin Kramer Holmes, Geoffrey Brown, Kevin Shafer, Nate Stoddard

Faculty Publications

Current demographic trends in the United States suggest that emerging adults delay marriage (Vespa, 2014), nonmarital cohabitation is the norm among this age group (National Marriage Project, 2012), and premarital sex—including noncommitted hooking up (Garcia, Reiber, Massey, & Merriwether, 2012)—is widely accepted (Pew Research Center, 2014). These trends collide with consistently high divorce rates (Amato, 2010; Cherlin, 2010), where up to one-third of emerging adults grow up in stepfamilies (Copen, Daniels, Vespa, & Mosher, 2012). Aside from high divorce rates, the United States is experiencing what some demogra- phers term “the great crossover,” whereby unmarried parenthood is overtaking married parenthood …

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The Complexity Of Quest In Emerging Adults’ Religiosity, Well-Being, And Identity., Kaye V. Cook, Cynthia N. Kimball, Kathleen C. Leonard, Chris Boyatzis Jan 2014

The Complexity Of Quest In Emerging Adults’ Religiosity, Well-Being, And Identity., Kaye V. Cook, Cynthia N. Kimball, Kathleen C. Leonard, Chris Boyatzis

Faculty Journal Articles

The construct of quest as measured by the Quest Scale raises complexities that this study addressed with online surveys measuring religiosity, ego identity, and well-being of graduates from two Christian colleges. Intrinsic questers (those above the scale midpoint in intrinsic and quest scores but below the extrinsic midpoint) made up over half of those high in intrinsic religiosity and did not differ in Christian orthodoxy, religious identity, religious coping, or well-being from the pure intrinsics (those high in intrinsic religiosity). Indiscriminately pro-religious questing individuals (those high in intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity and quest) were less religious and showed poorer coping …

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Exercise Behavior Patterns In Emerging Adulthood: An Exploration Of Predictor Variables From Self-Determination Theory And Transtheoretical Model, Chad R. Johnson Jan 2014

Exercise Behavior Patterns In Emerging Adulthood: An Exploration Of Predictor Variables From Self-Determination Theory And Transtheoretical Model, Chad R. Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

During the transition from childhood to adulthood, young people establish patterns of behavior and make lifestyle choices that affect both their current and future health (NCHS, 2010). Emerging adulthood – a new conception of development for the period from the late teens through the twenties – focuses on individuals ages 18-25 who did not have a child, own a home, or have sufficient income to be fully independent (Arnett, 2000). Very little is known about social influence, motivational mediators, and motivation on exercise behavior within this developmental period. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the influence of …

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Exploring The Selfie Phenomenon : The Idea Of Self-Preservation And Its Implications Among Young Women, Amy J. Nguyen Jan 2014

Exploring The Selfie Phenomenon : The Idea Of Self-Preservation And Its Implications Among Young Women, Amy J. Nguyen

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

The purpose of this study is to explore how female users identify the act of uploading selfies as an expression of external affirmation or as an act of empowerment in terms of redefining beauty standards that are reinforced in society. In addition, this study attempts to provide a foundation for understanding the selfie phenomenon and its relationship to perceived sense of self-worth in young women from the usage of Instagram. As the literature review indicates, there is a lack of research presented on the user's emotional state in relation to using Instagram. Thus, the most appropriate research design for this …

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