NCJ Number
219316
Journal
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 36 Issue: 6 Dated: August 2007 Pages: 813-823
Date Published
August 2007
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This study examined adolescents’ conceptions of what makes an adult within a sample of adolescents from divorced families.
Abstract
Findings were consistent with previous studies where independence was endorsed as the most important criteria for adulthood. The reason for this may be the adolescents’ experience with parental divorce. Interdependence was found to be the second most commonly mentioned category in the study, such as commitment to others and relationship skills. However, role transitions, such as marriage were considered more significant than in previous research. In studying adolescents’ perceptions of what makes an adult, Arnett’s 2003 criteria-of-adulthood was used and included independence, interdependence, role transitions, norm compliance, biological transitions, chronological transitions and family capacities. The study extends the research questions: (1) to what extent do Arnett’s categories represent the perceptions of adolescents from homes of divorce; (2) how do the present study results compare to Arnett’s 2001 sample of adolescent responses; and (3) are there unique categories that do not fit into Arnett’s existing measure. The study captured what young people believed they had to look forward to in the future, and it may help researchers begin to understand what influences young adults’ choices/goals. Tables, figure, references