Developmental stage - Research Paper Example

Other areas include individualistic transition (such as decisions made based on one’s values and beliefs), biological transitions, legal transitions, and norm compliance (such as avoiding driving while drunk) (Arnett, 2001). Thus, the benefits of early adulthood (the transition to adulthood) include the following elements having a child, leaving home, getting married, entering the workforce, and completing school. Anthropologists believe that the focus for most cultures in the transition to adulthood is marriage.

Marriage is regarded as an event that joins two people together with their families in a relationship characterized by mutual obligations. The act of marriage marks the accomplishment of the adult status. Not only does it mark the attainment of adulthood, it also recognizes the true character qualities that must be created by the individual for him or her to be recognized as an adult. Marriage is the ultimate element in the transition to adulthood (Arnett, 2001). . For the female adolescent, the transition to adulthood entails caring for children and running the household.

For both genders, it is important that these capacities to be developed if they have to be considered to have transited to adulthood (Arnett, 2001). Despite these benefits, there are also many challenges in early adulthood, which include working hours, alcohol problems, and rising demand for education. Taking part in paid employment has been linked with several mental health benefits such as better general wellbeing, and lower rates of anxiety and depression. However, there are problems linked with alcohol and employment.

Thus, the problem has become a major challenge for an individual in early adulthood. Research indicates that employment has been linked with higher levels of alcohol abuse, alcohol dependence, and heavy drinking instead of being linked with lower levels of problems related to alcohol (Fergusson, Gibb, and Horwood, 2011). Research also indicates that there are higher rates of alcohol related problems and alcohol use among the employed adolescents than those who are not in the workforce. These rates are also linked to the number of hours the individual works; for instance, an individual who works for longer hours has high levels of alcohol-associated problems.

The problem is said to arise from the fact that there is premature exposure to the adult behaviors and environments among the adolescents thus encouraging precocious alcohol utilization (Fergusson, Gibb, and Horwood, 2011). In other words, there is a big challenge in coping with the new behaviors and environments for individuals in early adulthood. In order to get a good job, higher education or college education has become a necessity.