emerging adulthood

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

a developmental stage proposed by Jeffrey Arnett to describe the period between approximately ages eighteen and twenty-five in industrialised societies, characterised by identity exploration, instability, self-focus, a sense of being in-between, and a feeling that life holds unlimited possibilities; Arnett argued that this stage is distinct from both adolescence and adulthood because of delayed commitments to marriage, parenthood, and stable employment that have become normative in many societies; the concept has been influential in developmental psychology but also contested by researchers who question its cultural universality given that it most accurately describes the experiences of young people in affluent, educated populations