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“What a View!”: Associations Between Young People’s Views of the Late Teens and Twenties and Indices of Adjustment and Maladjustment

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine differences in how young people view the period of life from the late teens to the mid-to-late twenties and how different perspectives of the time period may be differentially associated with indices of adjustment and maladjustment. Participants included 772 college students in the United States with an average age of 19.51 years (SD = 1.69). The majority of participants were female (69 %), White (69 %), and not living at home (90 %). Five factors were identified reflecting different views of what the time period should be about including risk-taking (e.g., a time to drink and get drunk), uncertainty (e.g., a time of confusion), role preparation (e.g., a time to prepare to marry and be a parent), possibilities (e.g., a time of optimism and fun), and stress (e.g., a time of high pressure). Each view of emerging adulthood was differentially linked with indices of adjustment (e.g., prosocial behaviors, school engagement) and maladjustment (e.g., binge drinking, depression).

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Acknowledgments

The authors express appreciation to the instructors and students at all Project R.E.A.D.Y. data collection sites for their assistance and to Stephanie Luster for her administrative assistance on the project. We are also grateful for the grant support of the Family Studies Center at Brigham Young University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Family Life, Brigham Young University, 2086 JFSB, Provo, UT, 84602, USA

    Larry J. Nelson, Brian J. Willoughby & Laura M. Padilla-Walker

  2. Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ, USA

    Adam A. Rogers

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  1. Larry J. Nelson
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  2. Brian J. Willoughby
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  3. Adam A. Rogers
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  4. Laura M. Padilla-Walker
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Correspondence to Larry J. Nelson.

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Nelson, L.J., Willoughby, B.J., Rogers, A.A. et al. “What a View!”: Associations Between Young People’s Views of the Late Teens and Twenties and Indices of Adjustment and Maladjustment. J Adult Dev 22, 125–137 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10804-015-9206-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10804-015-9206-5

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