6th Annual Judith Ramaley Celebration of Research and Creative Scholarship
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Poster #100 What is an Adult? An Analysis of Individual versus Transitional Criteria in Defining Adulthood April Schones Faculty Mentor: Aurea Osgood Over the past decade, the increase in focus on the entrance into adulthood has shown a changing definition of adulthood and a delay in its beginning for adolescents. Research suggests that individuals go through adulthood transitions, such as marriage and childbearing, before being considered an adult. Recent research on emerging adulthood suggests that the transition between adolescence and adulthood is more individualized than in the past. In this study, 464 undergraduate students at a mid-sized Midwestern University were surveyed about the delay into adulthood and on the criteria necessary for becoming an adult. The results from this study show that 92% of participants aged 22 and younger do not completely feel like an adult and consider both individualized and transitional criteria important in defining adulthood. |
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