EMOTIONAL AND

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
IN EARLY ADULTHOOD
DR. SEMA EREL
A GRADUAL TRANSITION: EMERGING
ADULTHOOD
• the transition to adult roles has become so delayed and prolonged
• a new transitional period extending from the late teens to the mid‐ to late‐twenties,
called emerging adulthood
UNPRECEDENTED EXPLORATION

Arnett
• Emerging adulthood is a distinct life stage (ages ~18–25), marked by exploration and
delayed adult responsibilities
• Most parents and emerging adults themselves do not view this age group as fully adult.
• Young people in this stage often show uncertainty in
• life goals,
• identity,
• romantic preferences,
• may engage in risk-taking behaviors
• Sufficient economic resources explore education, work, personal values, and lifestyles
more deeply than in adolescence

• Many college students follow nonlinear educational paths, including changing majors or
pausing studies for work or service programs
• These experiences broaden attitudes, values, and self-concept, leading to increased self-
awareness and self-esteem
• Identity development involves two key processes:
• Exploration in breadth: Considering various options
• Exploration in depth: Evaluating and reflecting on existing commitments

• Students tend to cycle between making and reassessing commitments; this dual-cycle
model supports identity growth.
• Strong identity commitments are linked to higher well-being, academic success, and
better emotional/social adjustment.
• Lack of commitment or exploration (identity diffusion)
• poor adjustment, anxiety, depression, and risky behaviors

• The concept of personal agency—having self-efficacy, purpose, and determination—is

crucial for successful identity development
RISK AND RESILIENCE IN EMERGING ADULTHOOD

• Disappointments and Adjustments: Emerging adults often face disappointments in

love and work that may require them to adjust or radically change their life paths

• Risks: They continue to engage in risk behaviors such as unprotected sex, substance
use, and hazardous driving
• School Engagement: These risks are linked to reduced school engagement (e.g.,
attending classes and completing assignments), potentially hindering their ability to
acquire necessary life skills

• Negative Life Events: Exposure to multiple negative life events (family conflict,
abusive relationships, academic/employment difficulties, financial strain) can undermine
development, even for those with a strong childhood foundation.
• Supportive Environments
• Having supportive family, school, and community environments !!
• Optimism and success in transitioning to adulthood are more common among those with
access to these resources

• Successful Transition
• Longitudinal studies show that personal attributes and social supports (e.g., completing
education, forming stable relationships, finding a good job, and volunteering) foster a successful
transition to adulthood
Parental Influence
• Supportive Parent–Emerging Adult Relationship: A secure,
affectionate bond where parents balance connection and separation
promotes positive outcomes (e.g., favorable self-esteem, identity
development, academic achievement, and well-being).
• Excessive Parental Control: Overly controlling parents, including
those who intervene excessively or withdraw love in response to
dissatisfaction, are linked to poor adjustment (e.g., low self-esteem,
identity confusion, anxiety, and risky behaviors).
• Helicopter Parenting: Some parents exhibit "helicopter
parenting", where they hover excessively out of concern for their
child’s well-being.
ERIKSON’S THEORY

• What is the name of the crisis in this stage?

INTIMACY VERSUS ISOLATION

The challenge is to form a mutually gratifying, intimate relationship, but most young
adults are still grappling with identity issues.
Intimacy requires sacrificing some independence and redefining one's identity to
incorporate both partners’ values and interests.
Many young adults in their late teens and early twenties often feel unready for a
permanent commitment.
Maturity and Balancing Intimacy:
• Maturity involves balancing the desire for self-determination with the need
for intimacy.
• Without intimacy, young adults face loneliness and self-absorption, negative outcomes
in Erikson's early adulthood stage.
OTHER THEORIES OF ADULT PSYCHOLOGICAL
DEVELOPMENT
• Levinson’s Seasons of Life
• Adult development as a sequence of qualitatively distinct eras
• The life structure: the underlying design of a person’s life, consisting of relationships with
significant others—individuals, groups, and institutions

• Vaillant’s Adaptation to Life

• confirmed Erikson’s stages but filled gaps between them
• After focusing on intimacy concerns in their twenties,the one turned to career consolidation
in their thirties.
 THE SOCIAL CLOCK

• age‐graded expectations for major life events, such as beginning a first job, getting
married, birth of the first child, buying a home, and retiring
• Become flexible
• When parents expect their young‐adult children to attain adult milestones on an
outdated schedule → tensions
• Young adults may also feel distressed because
their own timing of major milestones is not widely shared by
their contemporaries
CLOSE
RELATIONSHIPS
• ROMANTIC LOVE
• Selecting a mate
• The components of love
• Passionate love: intense sexual
attraction
• Companionate love: warm, trusting
affection and caregiving
FRIENDSHIPS

• Adult friends are usually similar in age, sex, and SES → common interests, experiences,
and needs
• Same-sex friendships
• Other-sex friendships
THE FAMILY LIFE CYCLE

• a series of phases characterizing the development of most families around the world
• Leaving home
• Joining of families
• Marital Roles
• In egalitarian marriages, partners relate as equals, sharing power and authority.
• Both try to balance the time and energy they devote to their occupations, their children, and their
relationship.
• Traditional marriages?
PARENTHOOD

• The decision to have children

• financial circumstances, personal and religious values, and health condition

• Transition to parenthood
• constant caregiving, added financial responsibilities, and less time for the couple’s relationship
• troubled marriages usually become even more distressed after childbirth
THE DIVERSITY OF ADULT LIFESTYLES

• Singlehood
• not living with an intimate partner—has increased in recent years, especially among young
adults
• more young-adult men than women are single;
but
• women are far more likely than men to remain single for many years or their entire life.
• Cohabitation
• refers to the lifestyle of unmarried couples who have a sexually intimate relationship and who
share a residence.
• For some couples, cohabitation serves as preparation for marriage
• Childlessness
• involuntarily childless
• voluntarily childless
• Divorce and remarriage
• different expectations of family life and few shared interests, activities, or friends
• maladaptive communication patterns

• On average, people remarry within four years of divorce, men somewhat faster than
women
CAREER DEVELOPMENT

• Establishing a career
• Many women, had discontinuous career paths—ones that were interrupted or deferred by
child rearing and other family needs
• Over half of adults in their twenties with bachelor’s or graduate degrees do manage to enter
their chosen field
• Initial experiences can be discouraging → gap between their expectations and reality