Arnett's Theory Of Emerging Adulthood

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J. J. Arnett argues his theory about a developmental stage individuals go through of 18-25 year olds as a new concept, (Arnett, 2000, pp. 469). He describes emerging adulthood as being a sustained period of time where this age group, as mentioned previously, explores their roles preceding being an adult. These movements can include events similarly by taking longer than previous years to get married and have children, moving back in with their parents at a point during this age span, exploring self-identities, not feeling like an adult and feelings of self-failure. James E. Cote, who is a previous colleague of Arnett argues the opposite about this concept being an unexperienced developmental stage Arnett calls, “Emerging Adulthood”. Cote states …show more content…

184). Other than the occupational identity lasting longer, Arnett has failed to demonstrate his claims of a prolonged identity in the form of empirical evidence. A prolonged professional occupation may be because in the recent decade individuals have opportunity in attaining loans and grants to achieve a formal education by graduating college. Furthermore, decent jobs available today require or suggest a college degree of their applicants and future employees, which lead the positions available to be competitive, thus leaving people to pursue a master’s level or doctoral degree for improved successes in the workforce. Nevertheless, the “emerging adult” age group seems to adjust their focus on their education rather than settling down in marriage and starting a family. Cote expresses Arnett’s focuses on his claims of development on the parameters and timing of their first marriage, (Cote, 2014, pp. 179). Researchers may speculate Arnett comes to his conclusion based on the prolonged time it takes for a person to achieve their professional long term occupation. However, these two entities could be tied together, where one factor impacts the other which prolongs an individual’s professional …show more content…

Arnett may not be inaccurate as he explains the differences in young adults today as previous generations based on the timing roles take place, nonetheless suggesting it as a novel universal stage causes concern globally. As mentioned in Cote’s 2014, Dangerous Myth of Emerged Adulthood, Arnett’s theory cannot be correct for all 18-29 year olds, nor did Arnett explore other countries across different demographics or non-college students, (L. Drew, Emerging Adulthood lecture, August 26th, 2015). Young adults appear to bounce around the workforce, however it could be because young adults are accepting employment they are not favorable of to aid them through college where at that point they can inevitably find the career they intend on keeping, opposed to Arnett’s reasoning for this to be “identity explorations,” (Cote, 2014, pp. 184). Arnett’s theory may be plausible for a selection of people in industrialized societies where their behavior can be seen as prolonging their “adulthood”. For example, young adults not feeling like an adult and who search for self-exploration, on the other hand perhaps he should consider a innovative term other than a developmental stage in life universally, (Arnett, 2000, pp. 479).

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