NCJ Number
219781
Journal
Journal of Adolescent Research Volume: 22 Issue: 5 Dated: September 2007 Pages: 504-530
Date Published
September 2007
Length
27 pages
Annotation
Five external markers of adulthood; self-perceived adulthood at age 27; and identity achievement at ages 27, 36, and 42 were examined for 95 women and 94 men in a cohort of residents of Finland residents born in 1959.
Abstract
Self-perceived adulthood was not related to the external markers of adulthood, which were grouped into the two latent variables of timing of entering family life and timing of entering working life. Reaching adult family roles at an earlier age was in both men and women linked with higher identity achievement at age 27, which further preceded higher identity achievement at ages, 36 and 42. For men, an additional linkage emerged for identity achievement at age 42. The level and length of education correlated strongly with the age of the first vocational certification conferral, the age of starting full-time employment, and with identity achievement at ages 36 and 42. In women, self-perceived adulthood at age 27 was linked with a stronger sense of identity during adulthood. Thus, prolonged exploration and feeling "in-between" adolescence and adulthood still at age 27 did not support women's identity achievement. Reaching identity achievement by age 27 has been found to be beneficial to later social well-being. A delay or failure to enter the adult family roles was related to lower identity achievement. Those who were not able to find a partner and establish a relationship as early as their peers did not seem to benefit by prolonged possibilities for exploration. Instead, they were at risk of not achieving a coherent identity. Therefore, the current trend of postponing the transitions to adult family life is not apparently related to positive identity development. A prolonged time for education and searching for a full-time job, however, yielded positive effects on identity achievement. 3 tables, 3 figures, and 42 references