Editing Adult (section)

==Social construction of adulthood==
In contrast to biological perspectives of aging and adulthood, social scientists conceptualize adulthood as socially constructed.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Settersten |first=Richard A. Jr. |title=Lives in time and place: the problems and promises of developmental science |date=2 December 2018 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-0-415-78421-4 |oclc=1121019775}}{{page needed|date=June 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Life course dynamics: trajectories and transitions, 1968-1980 |date=1985 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=0-8014-9323-4 |editor-last=Elder |editor-first=Glen H. |pages=23–49 |chapter=Perspectives on the life course |oclc=469306035}}</ref> While aging is an established biological process, the attainment of adulthood is social in its criteria. In contrast to other perspectives that conceptualize aging and the attainment of adulthood as a largely universal development, regardless of context, nation, generation, gender, race, or social class. Social scientists regard these aspects as paramount in cultural definitions of adulthood.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ryff |first=Carol D. |title=Gender and the life course |isbn=978-1-351-32902-6 |editor-last=Rossi |editor-first=Alice S. |pages=97–113 |chapter=The Subjective Experience of Life-Span Transitions |date=16 January 2018 |publisher=Routledge |oclc=1028167964}}</ref>

Further evidence of adulthood as a [[Social constructionism|social construction]] is illustrated by the changing criteria of adulthood over time. Historically, adulthood in the U.S. has rested on completing one's [[education]], moving away from the family of origin, and beginning one's career.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Arnett |first=Jeffrey Jensen |year=1998 |title=Learning to Stand Alone: The Contemporary American Transition to Adulthood in Cultural and Historical Context |journal=Human Development |volume=41 |issue=5/6 |pages=295–315 |doi=10.1159/000022591 |jstor=26763368 |s2cid=143862036}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Levinson |first=Daniel J. |title=The Seasons of a man's life |year=1979 |publisher=Ballantine Books |isbn=0-345-29727-X |oclc=9162079}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Shanahan |first=Michael J. |date=August 2000 |title=Pathways to Adulthood in Changing Societies: Variability and Mechanisms in Life Course Perspective |journal=Annual Review of Sociology |volume=26 |issue=1 |pages=667–692 |doi=10.1146/annurev.soc.26.1.667 |jstor=223461}}</ref> Other key historical criteria include entering a [[marriage]] and becoming a [[parent]]. These criteria are social and subjective; they are organized by gender, race, ethnicity, and social class, among other key identity markers. As a result, particular populations feel adult earlier in the life course than do others.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Arnett |first=Jeffrey Jensen |year=2003 |title=Conceptions of the Transition to Adulthood Among Emerging Adults in American Ethnic Groups |journal=New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development |volume=2003 |issue=100 |pages=63–76 |doi=10.1002/cd.75 |pmid=12955983}}</ref><ref name="Aronson, Pamela 2008">{{Cite journal |last=Aronson |first=Pamela |date=February 2008 |title=The Markers and Meanings of Growing Up: Contemporary Young Women's Transition From Adolescence to Adulthood |journal=Gender & Society |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=56–82 |doi=10.1177/0891243207311420 |pmc=2312095 |pmid=18418470}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Barrett |first=Anne E. |date=March 2003 |title=Socioeconomic Status and Age Identity: The Role of Dimensions of Health in the Subjective Construction of Age |journal=The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences |volume=58 |issue=2 |pages=S101–S109 |doi=10.1093/geronb/58.2.s101 |pmid=12646599 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Barrett |first=Anne E. |date=May 2005 |title=Gendered experiences in midlife: Implications for age identity |journal=Journal of Aging Studies |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=163–183 |doi=10.1016/j.jaging.2004.05.002}}</ref>

Contemporary experiences of and research on young adults today substitute more seemingly subjective criteria for adulthood which resonate more soundly with young adults' experiences of aging.<ref name="Aronson, Pamela 2008" /><ref>{{Cite book |title=On the frontier of adulthood: theory, research, and public policy |isbn=978-0-226-74890-0 |editor-last=Settersten |editor-first=Richard A. Jr. |pages=3–25 |chapter=On the Frontier of Adulthood: Emerging Themes and New Directions |date=15 April 2008 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |oclc=191752480 |editor-last2=Furstenberg |editor-first2=Frank F. |editor-last3=Rumbaut |editor-first3=Rubén G.}}</ref> The criteria are marked by a growing "importance of individualistic criteria and the irrelevance of the demographic markers of normative conceptions of adulthood."<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Shanahan |first1=Michael J. |title=On the frontier of adulthood: theory, research, and public policy |last2=Porfeli |first2=Erik J. |last3=Mortimer |first3=Jeylan T. |last4=Erickson |first4=Lance D. |isbn=978-0-226-74890-0 |editor-last=Settersten |editor-first=Richard A. Jr. |pages=225–255 |chapter=Subjective Age Identity and the Transition to Adulthood: When do Adolescents Become Adults? |date=15 April 2008 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |oclc=191752480 |editor-last2=Furstenberg |editor-first2=Frank F. |editor-last3=Rumbaut |editor-first3=Rubén G.}}</ref> In particular, younger cohorts' attainment of adulthood centers on three criteria: gaining a sense of responsibility, independent decision-making, and [[financial independence]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Arnett |first=Jeffrey Jensen |title=Emerging adulthood: the winding road from the late teens through the twenties |year=2014 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-992938-2 |oclc=945977734}}{{page needed|date=June 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Waters |first1=Mary C. |title=On the frontier of adulthood: theory, research, and public policy |last2=Carr |first2=Patrick J. |last3=Kefalas |first3=Maria J. |last4=Holdaway |first4=Jennifer |isbn=978-0-226-74890-0 |editor-last=Settersten |editor-first=Richard A. Jr. |pages=169–190 |chapter=Becoming Adult: Meanings and Markers for Young Americans |date=15 April 2008 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |oclc=191752480 |editor-last2=Furstenberg |editor-first2=Frank F. |editor-last3=Rumbaut |editor-first3=Rubén G.}}</ref>

[[Jeffrey Arnett]], a psychologist and professor at [[Clark University]] in Massachusetts, studied the development of adults and argues that there is a new and distinct period of development in between adolescence and adulthood. This stage, which he calls "[[Emerging adulthood and early adulthood|emerging adulthood]]", occurs between the ages of 18 and 25.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, PhD |url=https://www.apa.org/action/careers/improve-lives/jensen-arnett |access-date=2020-12-13 |website=apa.org |archive-date=2020-11-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201102110025/https://www.apa.org/action/careers/improve-lives/jensen-arnett |url-status=live }}</ref> Arnett describes these individuals as able to take some responsibility for their lives, but still not completely feeling like an adult. Arnett articulates five distinct features that are unique to this period of development: identity exploration, feeling in between, instability, self-focus, and having possibilities.<ref name=":0">{{Cite magazine |last=Munsey |first=Christopher |date=June 2006 |title=Emerging adults: The in-between age |url=https://www.apa.org/monitor/jun06/emerging |magazine=Monitor on Psychology |publisher=American Psychological Association |volume=37 |page=68 |access-date=2020-12-13}}</ref> Arnett makes it clear that these 5 aspects of emerging adulthood are only relevant during the life stage of emerging adulthood.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Arnett |first=Jeffrey Jensen |date=December 2007 |title=Emerging Adulthood: What Is It, and What Is It Good For? |url=https://srcd.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1750-8606.2007.00016.x |journal=Child Development Perspectives |language=en |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=68–73 |doi=10.1111/j.1750-8606.2007.00016.x |issn=1750-8592|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The first feature, identity exploration, describes [[Emerging adulthood and early adulthood|emerging adults]] making decisions for themselves about their career, education, and love life. This is a time of life when a young person has yet to finalize these decisions but are pondering them, making them feel somewhere in between adolescent and adult. This leads into a second feature of this phase of life—feeling in between. Emerging adults feel that they are taking on responsibilities but do not feel like a 'full' adult quite yet. Next, the instability feature notes that emerging adults often move around after their high school years whether that is to college, friends' houses, or living with a romantic partner, as well as moving back home with their parents/guardians for a time. This moving around often ends once the individual's family and career have been set. Tagging along with the instability feature is having self-focus. Emerging adults, being away from their parental and societal routines, are now able to do what they want when they want and where they want before they are put back into a routine when they start a marriage, family, and career. Arnett's last feature of emerging adulthood, an age of possibilities, characterizes this stage as one where "optimism reigns".<ref name=":0" /> These individuals believe they have a good chance of turning out better than their parents did.<ref name=":0" />