Issue of Emerging Adulthood - Essay Example

The concept of development was exclusively associated with childhood and adolescence but has today been appreciated as a lifelong journey. As such, it has been observed that the development stage of between late teenage to the twenties, precisely from age 18 to 26, present a distinct transition, thus christened emerging adulthood (Arnett, 2000). It is recognized as a distinct period from the preceding adolescent stage and the subsequent young adulthood stage. The emerging adulthood postulate aims at providing a way to conceptualize development among young people in modern society.

According to Weiten (2010), the emergence of this development stage is informed by the changes in demographic trends, including delayed marriage and parenthood, increased financial independence barriers and lengthier engagement in higher education among others. One way to understand the changes in this development stage would be to consider Erikson’s psychosocial theory. According to Erik Erikson (1903 – 1994), a personality theorist, people face a crisis of psychosocial dilemma at each stage in life (Weiten, 2010).

This psychosocial dilemma refers to a conflict that exists between personal impulses and their respective social world. By resolving each of these dilemmas, there arises a balance between the person and society. A series of successful results in healthy development and satisfaction in life whereas unfavorable outcomes throw people off-balance, making it difficult to handle future crises.Emerging adulthood according to Erikson entails a conflict between intimacy and isolation. This stage would be characterized by the need for intimacy, including the need to share deep friendship or meaningful love with others.

It is a period that largely involves the exploration of relationships. Erikson’s theory refers to intimacy as being able to care about other people and share experiences with them. As observed by Weiten (2010), a majority of emerging adults would rank marriage and perfect family as critical goals in adulthood. In order to move to the next stage, there would be a need for emerging adults to form committed relationships. Successful resolution of emerging adulthood challenges leads to openness and empathy.

Even so, sexual involvement or marriage does not guarantee intimacy with many relationships remaining unfulfilling. The sense of isolation, resulting from the failure to establish intimacy, could be a cause for future difficulties.By appreciating the existence of a development stage between adolescence and adulthood, Erikson set the stage for other theorists to explore the emerging adulthood development stage. One such theorist is Jeffrey Jensen Arnett who considered emerging adulthood as a distinct development period, different from adolescence and young adulthood preceding and following it respectively.

Thus, Arnett (2000) evaluated this development stage using five features that distinguish this developmental stage. First, Arnett (2000) considers emerging adulthood as the age of identity explorations. This is the period where people explore varied possibilities in life, particularly those regarding work and love, aimed at setting the foundation for adult life. In search of their identities, these emerging adults get to understand what they would want in life. Secondly, Arnett considers emerging adulthood as the age of instability due to the explorations that make the period highly stimulating.