Chronological and Subjective Age in Emerging Adulthood - Essay Example

Running Head CHRONOLICAL AND ICE AGE Chronological and ive Age in Emerging Adulthood The Crossover Effect Abstract The paper attempts to comprehend the convoluted relationship between the chronological and subjective age. It focuses on a study conducted, and how this study assists in deriving the crossover age. The paper elaborates on the methods and results of the survey and compares them to other survey results. It also puts forward certain prominent issues regarding emerging adulthood. Chronological and Subjective Age in Emerging Adulthood: The Crossover Effect Age has always been intricately related to an individual's social behaviour. As socially responsible citizens, we are expected to "act our age". In a completely hypothetical scenario, if people dint know their chronological age, how old would they feel That age, which is self perceived is precisely referred to as subjective age. The relationship between the chronological and subjective age has been a keen area of interest. Researchers have speculated that subjective age may be a motivational facet of identity, associated with a desire to be younger or older (Galambos, Kolaric, Sears,&Maggs, 1999). Subjective age also appears to be influenced by important social and autobiographical reference points (Montepare & Clements, 2001; Zebrowitz & Montepare, 2000) such as behaviours associated with legal status or social markers of chronological age. In an attempt to establish a relationship between the chronological and subjective age, a research was carried out. A sample of 190 university students (140 females, 50 males) ages 17 to 29 completed questionnaires assessing their subjective age, psychosocial maturity, number of role transitions, financial dependence, economic pressure, and alcohol use. Based on the results of these questionnaire, experts tried to locate the exact crossover point, where the subjective age exceeds the chronological age. It is important to locate the crossover point as it helps to acquire a proper understanding of the characteristics of emerging adulthood, and the changes in self perception accompanying it. The Method Followed As mentioned earlier, the study was conducted on 190 university students, falling between the age group of 17 to 29, the mean age of the sample being 21.87 years. The participants were judged on five different parameters- psychosocial maturity, number of role transitions, financial dependence on parents, economic pressure and alcohol use. Among these parameters, the former two are possible markers of adulthood while the latter two are barriers to its achievement. To have a better understanding of the study, it is imperative to comprehend the five parameters mentioned above. Psychosocial maturity is defined as an individuals' general level of adaptive functioning and socioemotional competence (Galambos & Costigan, 2003). It also takes into account various several other factors such as the ability to function independently, developed communication skills, and the capacity to shoulder social responsibility. Another criterion which was considered in the study was the number of role transition roles. This refers to the ease with which an individual can adapt a particular role according to the need of the hour. But experts believe that this particular feature isn't as important as is psychosocial maturity. While these two factors are representative of emerging adulthood, there are others which serve as barriers to maturity. Dependence on parents for financial assistance is one such factor. (Arnett, 1994). Economic pressure is another such criterion, which is intimately related to the first factor. As the name suggests, economic pressure refers to the difficulty associated with financial stressful conditions. (Conger, Rueter, & Conger, 2000). A higher level of economic pressure suggests that financial independence has not been achieved, which in turn is characteristic of a lower than expected subjective age. The last of these factors is the consumption of alcohol. In adolescents, alcohol consumptions confers a sense of adulthood as they are indulging in an otherwise forbidden activity (Galambos et al., 1999). But if overconsumption of alcohol continues well past adolescence into adulthood, it is a sign of immaturity for it suggests that the individual isn't capable of handling situations and is taking to alcohol for the same. For the measurement of subjective age, a separate set of parameters were chosen. Items were rated on a scale ranging from 1(a lot younger than my age) to 4 (the age I am) to 7 (a lot older than my age). Higher scores indicated an older subjective age. Results The study revealed that the subjective and chronological and subjective age shared a negative linear relationship. As the chronological age increases, the subjective age progressively decreases. While subjective age was associated mainly with psychosocial maturity, chronological maturity was correlated with nearly all the other factors. The crossover point, i.e. the point that marked the transition from an older to younger subjective age was calculated to be 25.5 years (Galambos, Turner, Tilton-Weaver, 2005) The results seem to coincide broadly with other studies conducted in the past. Just like the other studies, the average emerging adult in this sample felt slightly older than his or her chronological age (Montepare & Clements, 2001). Also, the crossover age was found to be close to the ones predicted by Montepare and Lachman (1989) study. One possible explanation for the higher subjective ages is the strong denial of youth. The subjects, who were all university students harboured strong desires to be mature, independent and responsible adults. The results also supported the assumption that psychosocial maturity was more important than the role transitions. This is also consistent with Arnett's study conducted in 1994. At the same time. one must not forget that the sample of the study was a fairly homogenous one, wherein the subjects hadn't even undergone many role transitions. Thus, it would be unfair to comment on their importance. The results of the study also proved that many assumptions regarding maturity and a higher subjective age were wrong. It was hypothesised that both economic pressure and financial dependence on parents were barriers to the attainment of adulthood. But such was not the case in reality. The same is applicable for the indulgence in alcohol factor. A considerable amount of variance in alcohol use among university students is explained simply by beliefs about the fun associated with drinking (Maggs, 1997). Though the study makes a sincere attempt to explore the complicated relationship between subjective and chronological age, it has its shortcomings. The participants of the study represent an extremely limited and homogenous section of the society, and it is rather unpractical to generalise the findings of such a sample. Also, the study does not categorise the sample population on the basis on gender, ethnicity or race; all of which can play crucial roles in emerging adulthood. It has now been accepted that ethnicity and culture may be associated with different conceptions of the transition to adulthood (Arnett& Galambos, 2003) As the issue being dealt with is very sensitive and intricate in nature, the studies need to have broader frameworks. An effort must be made to incorporate more intangible elements as factors. Though various studies have been conducted to understand the variance in human behaviour according to the age, there is still a long way to go. References Arnett, J. J. (1994). Are college students adults Their conceptions of the transition to adulthood. Journal of Adult Development, 1, 213-224 Arnett, J. J.,&Galambos, N. L. (2003). New directions for child and adolescent development: Exploring cultural conceptions of the transition to adulthood. San Francisco: Jossey- Bass Conger, K. J., Rueter, M. A., & Conger, R. A. (2000). Negotiating adolescence in times of social change. New York: Cambridge University Press Galambos, N. L., Kolaric, G. C., Sears, H. A., & Maggs, J. L. (1999). Adolescents' subjective age: An indicator of perceived maturity. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 9, 309- 337 Galambos, N. L., & Costigan, C. L. (2003). Emotional and personality development in Adolescence. Handbook of psychology: Vol. 6. Galambos, N.L., Turner, P.K., Tilton-Weaver, L.C. (2005). Chronological and Subjective Age in Emerging Adulthood: The Crossover Effect. Journal of Adolescent Research 2005; 20; 538 Maggs, J. L. (1997). Health risks and developmental transitions during adolescence. New York: Cambridge University Press Montepare, J. M., & Clements, A. E. (2001). "Age schemas": Guides to processing information about the self. Journal of Adult Development, 8, 99-108. Montepare, J. M.,&Lachman,M. E. (1989). "You're only as old as you feel": Self-perceptions of age, fears of aging, and life satisfaction from adolescence to old age. Psychology and Aging, 4, 73-78. Zebrowitz, L. A., & Montepare, J. M. (2000). "Too young, too old:" Stigmatizing adolescents and elders. In T. Heatherton, R. Kleck, & J. H. Hull (Eds.), The social psychology of stigma Read More