In today's Western societies, the transition to adulthood is prolonged, creating a separate developmental phase between adolescence and adulthood referred to as "emerging adulthood". Following from this general delay in adult commitment-making, a considerable number of emerging adults continues to live in the parental household. The…

In contemporary research on autonomy development, autonomy has been defined as independence (vs. dependence) or as self-endorsed (vs. controlled) functioning. Analogously, perceived parental autonomy support involves either perceived parental promotion of independence (PI) or perceived parental promotion of volitional functioning (PVF). The…

In the West it is not until the mid-20s or 30s people reach an adult status. Becoming an adult signifies being independent from others (especially from parents) and learning to stand alone as a self-sufficient person. This study investigates whether the attainment of such individual qualities are affected by emerging adults' living circumstances.…

This study compares hope in street youth, former street youth, and school youth (aged 12-18) in Tanzania. Responding to Snyder's hope theory, the author argues that not only personal agency but also the stability of living context (street, shelter, home) shapes hopefulness. Employing qualitative and quantitative analyses, the author presents a…

Italian emerging adults stay at home with their parents until they marry. Being involved in a romantic relationship may be considered one precursor of the success of the transition to adulthood. In this study, 92 dating and 84 nondating emerging adults were compared on when they left the parental home and their future plans. They were also…

A delay in the end of the adolescent period, and hence the onset of common adult roles, is a trend in most of today's Western industrialized societies. Related to this fact, in recent years emerging adulthood has been proposed as a distinct developmental period between adolescence and young adulthood. Typical normative markers of adulthood are…