Growth and Development: Emerging Adulthood - Essay Example

Running Head: GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT Emerging Adulthood Client Inserts His/her Client Inserts Grade Client Inserts Emerging adulthood Emerging adulthood, according to Munsey (2006), is marked by the time from the end of adolescence to the young-adult age. Although many scholars argue that it is the age between 17 and 22 years of one’s life, Munsey highlights a period between ages 19 and 29. This notwithstanding, of dire interest for this study are the characteristics and/or features that define a person of this age. For Arnett (2010) and Munsey (2006), it is a transitional stage well described as an age of identity exploration, age of instability, age of self-focus, age of feeling in-between, and age of various possibilities. At this time, young people are mostly pursuing education, completing their academic studies and/or determining their adulthood destiny. They engage in a moment of deciding who they are and what they want out of school, work and love (Munsey, 2006). Their minds, in a confused progressive continuum, are unstable. For example, they are mostly torn between pursuing further education or settling and living with friends, romantic partner and working (Munsey, 2006). Separated from parent care and academic routines, young adults try to define their social niche in a particular society. The in-between feeling is marked by the stance where young adults claim that they are taking responsibility for themselves yet, from within, they do not feel completely like adults (Arnett, 2010; Munsey, 2006). While their minds are filled with constant optimism, expected adulthood outcomes are diverse. There is quite a wide array of differences between this period and adolescence and adulthood. Adolescents, to start with, are continuously under the care of parents and school mentors. As so, they virtually get everything that they required at their disposal. At the ages above 12 and 19, children are thus unable to differentiate between the achievements and motives of their parents and other adults from theirs (adolescents’). They thus engage in utopian optimism thinking that everything is possible. On the contrary, emerging adults have a taste of adulthood and thus engage in experimentation of adult experiences. In academics, despite following traits of say a predefined role model, young adults undergo differentiation process where their choice of say a course of study is governed by their abilities manifestation. They specifically tend to negate from their parents’ choices upon realization of who they are and what they want to be later in life. Needless to say, young adults exhibit cognitive development by realizing cultural trends, societal expectations and the sense of responsibility to the self. Complete adulthood (age above 25 years) is, on the contrary, is marked by full specialization and permanent social course or niche, free from experimentations and confusion of identity. Adults have remarkably established their permanent niche within a society and have a rigid course or channel by means of which their developmental goals are achieved. Before emerging adults turn into adulthood, as reiterated above, they undergo various developmental tasks. According to Eriskson’s theory “Intimacy versus Isolation”, emerging adults face difficult times, for instance, in establishing true friends and partners in their life (Pearsonhighered.com, 2012). According to Pearsonhighered.com, establishing a mutually gratifying close relationship is challenging. But this is rather easily countered when a person’s identity has fully developed. Well, development of personal identity in a society is quite another challenge of note. It results from cognitive development and realization of one’s truly manifested features of his or her capabilities, tastes and preferences (Munsey, 2006). According to Erikson’s theory, a secure identity fosters attainment of intimacy in a society and, importantly, commitment to personally meaningful values and goals prepares young adults for interpersonal commitments, which increase as early adulthood progresses (Pearsonhighered.com, 2012). For Erikson, self esteem index is largely determined by cognitive development of identity. During the ages of emerging adulthood, different levels of self esteem develop for different individuals and this development is a hidden challenge too. Wise choice and adoption of one’s values in a society marks the beginning of high self esteem which in turn determines one’s success in life both in physical appearance/environment and socially. Achievement in the said developmental tasks is an absolute necessity in one’s life. However, failure to for example define a cognitively developed personal identity in a society in which one dwells is not uncommon (Arnett, 2010). Repercussions are several. For example, a person may engage in late self-defining and maturation regime or may permanently experience disorientation of his or her values, dreams, goals and visions. Erikson’s theory above claims that, for example, indefinite identity of the self leads to making of completely wrong choices through a constant guesswork (Pearsonhighered.com, 2012). Wrong choices consequently are the roots of permanent and hardly reversible mistakes that form permanent scars in life. For example, following incomplete definition of identity and thus low self esteem, a young adult may, through a passively initiated sense of isolation, marry a mismatch partner. Anyhow, such a person has to live trying to tolerate previously done mistakes (Arnett, 2010). That is awful to say the least. Late development of the named tasks interferes with the supposedly smooth and streamlined life. Constant displacement of achievements in life becomes the way of life. For example, late marriages are common for individual who have never had a leg in marriage in the past. Arranged marriages are also common (Pearsonhighered.com, 2012). Personal inputs aside, cultural and family values and expectations plays a big role in defining an individual’s character and identity (Munsey, 2006). Young adults tend to confine themselves within the expectations brackets initially defined by their culture and/or family members. For instance, young adults acquire sexuality values from the teachings their parents provide or manifest (Pearsonhighered.com, 2012). In such a case, personal behavior as an adult becomes almost a reflection of parent’s behavior. Individuals in the ages of emergent adulthood are cognitively developing, experiencing and adopting values defined by the culture in which they are brought. In a culture where arranged marriages exist for instance, a young adult does not engage in search of a romantic partner and gets used to the cultural trend of waiting choices to be made on his or her behalf. Personal choices in this context are insignificant (Arnett, 2010). Similarly, family members and especially the parents tend to for instance choose ambitions of the child at his or her early ages. This affects the child later when he or she start to realize his or her strong areas in life and may feel that pursuing any other ambition will be mistaken (Arnett, 2010). However, there is always a personal choice and it always depends on the ability to balance between the society wishes and one’s wishes (Pearsonhighered.com, 2012). Depending on an individual, the delays presented by pursuance of tertiary education has an impact in emerging adults’ developmental process (Pearsonhighered.com, 2012). After secondary school, many of emerging adults are torn between pursuing further education and settling say in marriage; this is a sign of a confused state whereof decisions to settle maybe immature of one. According to Pearsonhighered.com (2012), additional periods in academics contribute a lot in one’s personality in terms of social responsibility and ability to make sound and well founded choices. This, in many countries and societies, is a critical period of cognitive development and specialization into forming permanent goals and definite control over the achievement of those goals. During this time, individuals engage in for instance sex education, career tutorials and application of theoretical knowledge into real life situations (Pearsonhighered.com, 2012). In the end, such individuals are ready to face life independently. List of references Arnett, J.J. (2010). Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: a cultural approach. (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. pp.1-336. Munsey, C. (2006). Emerging adults: The in-between age. American Psychological Association, 37(6). p.68. Pearsonhighered.com (2012). Emotional and Social Development in Early Adulthood. Retrieved http://www.pearsonhighered.com/showcase/berkexploring2e/assets/Berk_ch14.pdf 22/10/2012. Read More