The DOI matches its Crossref record; 66 of the 73 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties.
Abstract
Emerging adulthood is proposed as a new conception of development for the period from the late teens through the twenties, with a focus on ages 18-25. A theoretical background is presented. Then evidence is provided to support the idea that emerging adulthood is a distinct period demographically, subjectively, and in terms of identity explorations. How emerging adulthood differs from adolescence and young adulthood is explained. Finally, a cultural context for the idea of emerging adulthood is outlined, and it is specified that emerging adulthood exists only in cultures that allow young people a prolonged period of independent role exploration during the late teens and twenties.
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“Identity formation is often viewed as a key developmental task for adolescence and emerging adulthood, and a prerequisite for healthy adult functioning (Arnett, 2000; Erikson, 1968; 1950; Marcia, 1966; Meeus, 2011).”
From Implications of identity resolution in emerging adulthood for intimacy, generativity, and integrity across the adult lifespan. (2021) · cites this paper as Arnett, 2000
In the citing paper
“potentially due to increases in commitment to partner, cohabitation, and sharing of finances (Arnett, 2000).”
From Understanding the Role of Alcohol, Anxiety, and Trait Mindfulness in the Perpetration of Physical and Sexual Dating Violence in Emerging Adults. (2018) · cites this paper as Arnett, 2000
In the citing paper
“this study examines EAs (18–25 years), which is a theoretically and empirically distinct developmental time period (Arnett, 2000)”
From Understanding the Role of Alcohol, Anxiety, and Trait Mindfulness in the Perpetration of Physical and Sexual Dating Violence in Emerging Adults. (2018) · cites this paper as Arnett, 2000
In the citing paper
“Past research has demonstrated that each life stage exhibits its own unique trajectories, goals, and influences19,45–47, and activities can therefore differ from being of no impact, to being adaptive or maladaptive depending on which developmental period one examines46,48.”
From Windows of developmental sensitivity to social media (2022) · cites this paper as [45]
In the citing paper
“This period is characterised by change and exploration as they make enduring choices in love, work, and worldviews, which merits further scholarly attention.”
From Maladaptive Perfectionism, Disguised Distress, and Help Seeking in the Culture of 'Saving Face': Links to Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms among Asian Youth (2019) · cites this paper as Arnett, 2000
In the citing paper
“Arnett (2000) argued that 'emerging adulthood' is a distinct period in the life course of young people aged 18 to 25.”
From Maladaptive Perfectionism, Disguised Distress, and Help Seeking in the Culture of 'Saving Face': Links to Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms among Asian Youth (2019) · cites this paper as Arnett, 2000
In the citing paper
“These changes have resulted in a novel developmental stage, termed “emerging adulthood”, that starts in the late teens and expands through the 20s [1].”
In the citing paper
“Unfortunately, less than 30% of the affected students receive minimally adequate treatment [1, 5, 12].”
In the citing paper
“This is despite knowledge that sexual and romantic exploration are fundamental and valuable aspects of emerging adulthood (Arnett 2000) and are part of ' the college experience ' that many students seek (Wade 2017).”
From Coming Out Queer: Sexual and Romantic Exploration and Identity Development of LGBQ+ College Students (2025) · cites this paper as Arnett 2000
In the citing paper
“LGBQ+ students have a good reason to envision college as a valuable space for identity development as it coincides with emerging adulthood, a period of intense identity exploration by young adults aged 18 -25 (Arnett 2000).”
From Coming Out Queer: Sexual and Romantic Exploration and Identity Development of LGBQ+ College Students (2025) · cites this paper as Arnett 2000
In the citing paper
“While the process of emerging adulthood is not exclusive to those who attend college, in the last few decades, college has come to be seen as an incubator for this identity exploration in two ways (Arnett 2000).”
From Coming Out Queer: Sexual and Romantic Exploration and Identity Development of LGBQ+ College Students (2025) · cites this paper as Arnett 2000
In the citing paper
“These feelings of bonding and support may in-turn promote important developmental needs for the college student such as the development of increased autonomy, competence, and confidence (Arnett, 2000;Hill et al., 2023).”
From Daily Communication Between First-Year College Students and Their Parents: Associations With Perceived Relationship Positivity (2024) · cites this paper as Arnett, 2000
In the citing paper
“consistent with recent findings suggesting that frequent parent-initiated contact may be indicative of hyper-involvement (Wieland & Kucirka, 2020) and could impede the development of student autonomy and independence, important developmental tasks for emerging adults (Arnett, 2000).”
From Daily Communication Between First-Year College Students and Their Parents: Associations With Perceived Relationship Positivity (2024) · cites this paper as Arnett, 2000
In the citing paper
“Moreover, these age groups may be particularly vulnerable to the effects of media multitasking because important aspects of cognitive, academic and socioemotional skills continue to develop during this period (Arnett, 2000;Crone & Dahl, 2012;Steinberg, 2005).”
From The consequences of media multitasking for youth: A review (2015) · cites this paper as Arnett, 2000
In the citing paper
“Arnett proposed emerging adulthood as a phase of life between adolescence and full-fledged adulthood, with distinctive demographic, social, and subjective psychological features (6, 7).”
From Emerging Adulthood, a Pre-adult Life-History Stage (2020) · cites this paper as [6]
In the citing paper
“This life- history stage applies to individuals aged between 18 and 25 years, the period during which they become more economically independent by training and/or education.”
From Emerging Adulthood, a Pre-adult Life-History Stage (2020) · cites this paper as [6]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Arnett, J. J.
- Affiliations
- University of Maryland, College Park (US)
- Corresponding author
- Arnett, Jeffrey Jensen
- Venue
- American Psychologist
- Published
- 2000
- Volume
- 55
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 469-480
- ISSN
- 0003-066X (ISSN-L)
- 1935-990X
- OpenAlex
- W2012186625
- Semantic Scholar
- 4c7246df56eea108d50ecc0038ff89a28b3ab69f
- Cited by
- 16,843
- References
- 73
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1350 · 2025: 1296 · 2024: 1095 · 2023: 1067 · 2022: 1111 · 2021: 1184 · 2020: 1219 · 2019: 943 · 2018: 940 · 2017: 844 · 2016: 872 · 2015: 856 · 2014: 774 · 2013: 631 · 2012: 556
- FWCI
- 108.64
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- American Psychologist (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Clark Digital Commons (Clark University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Identity, Memory, and Therapy
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Ego Development and Educational Practices
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Keywords
- emerging adulthood, developmental theory, identity exploration, adolescence, early adulthood, cultural context of development, coming of age
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Psychology, Adolescent, Adult, Cross-Cultural Comparison, Female, Humans, Male, Personality Development, Role, Self Concept, Socialization
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