Early adulthood

Emerging adulthood is a hypothetical phase of the life span between adolescence and full-fledged adulthood which encompasses late adolescence and early adulthood, proposed by Jeffrey Arnett in a 2000 article in the American Psychologist. It primarily describes people living in developed countries, but it is also experienced by young people in urban wealthy families in the Global South. The term describes young adults who do not have children, do not live in their own home, or do not have sufficient income to become fully independent in their early to late 20s. Arnett suggests emerging adulthood is the distinct period between 18 and 25 years of age where adolescents become more independent and explore various life possibilities. Arnett argues that this developmental period can be isolated from adolescence and young adulthood. Emerging adulthood is a new demographic, is contentiously changing, and some believe that twenty-somethings have always struggled with "identity exploration, instability, self-focus, and feeling in-between". Arnett called this period "roleless role because emerging adults do a wide variety of activities and not constrained by any sort of "role requirements". The developmental theory is highly controversial within the developmental field, with developmental psychologists contested over the legitimacy of Arnett's theories and methods.

Coined by psychology professor Jeffrey Arnett, emerging adulthood has been known variously as "transition age youth", "delayed adulthood", "extended adolescence", "youthhood", "adultolescence", and "the twixter years". Of the various terms, "emerging adulthood" has become popular among sociologists, psychologists, and government agencies as a way to describe this period of life in between adolescence and young adulthood.

Compared to other terms that have been used which give the impression that this stage is just a "last hurrah" of adolescence, "emerging adulthood" recognizes the uniqueness of this period of life. Currently, it is appropriate to define adolescence as the period spanning ages 10 to 21. This is because people in this age group in the United States typically live at home with their parents, are undergoing pubertal changes, attend middle schools, high schools and college, and are involved in a "school-based peer culture". All of these characteristics are no longer normative after the age of 21, and it is, therefore, considered inappropriate to call the early twenties "adolescence" or "late adolescence". Furthermore, in the United States, the age of 18 is the age at which people are able to legally vote and citizens are granted full rights upon turning 21 years of age.

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