DEVELOPMENTAL TASKS OF YOUNG ADULTHOOD

Because of most of today’s undergraduate college students range between the age of eighteen and perhaps forty, we will address several areas of growth and development (defined as developmental tasks) that characterize the life of people in this age group.  When people sense that they are making progress in some or all of this areas, they are likely to report a sense of life satisfaction or, as we describe it, a sense of well-being.

Forming an Initial Adult Identity

For most of childhood and adolescence, most young people are seen by adults in their neighborhood or community as someone’s son or daughter.  With the onset of young adulthood, that stage has almost passed; both young people and society are beginning to look at each other in new ways.

As emerging adults, most young people want to present a unique identity to society.  Internally they are constructing perceptions of themselves as the adults they wish to be; externally they are formulating the behavioral patterns that will project this identity to others.

Completion of this first developmental task is necessary for young adults to establish a foundation on which to nurture identity during later stages of adulthood.  As a result of their experiences in achieving an initial adult identity, they will become capable of answering the central question of young adulthood:  “Who am I?” Most likely, many nontraditional-age students are also asking themselves this question as they progress through college and anticipate the changes that will result from completing a high level of formal education.

Establishing Independence

In contemporary society the primary responsibility for socialization during childhood and adolescence is assigned to the family.  For nearly two decades the family is the primary contributor to a young person’s knowledge, values, and behaviors.  By young adulthood, however, students of traditional college age should be demonstrating the desire to move away from the dependent relationship that has existed between themselves and their families.

Travel, peer relationships, marriage, military service, and, of course, college have been traditional avenues for disengagement from the family, although most undergraduates return home during summers.  Generally the ability and willingness to follow one or more of these paths will help a young adult establish independence.  Success in these endeavors will depend on the willingness to use a variety of resources.

Assuming Responsibility

The third developmental task in which traditional-age college students are expected to progress is the assumption of increasing levels of responsibility.  Young adults have a variety of opportunities to assume responsibility.  College-age young adults may accept responsibility voluntarily, such as when they join a campus organization or establish a new friendship.  Other responsibilities are placed on them when professors assign term papers, when dating partners exert pressure on them to conform to their expectations, or when employers require consistently productive work.  In other situations they may accept responsibility for doing a particular task not for themselves but for benefit of others.  As important and demanding as these areas of responsibility are, a more fundamental responsibility awaits young adults: the responsibility of maintaining and improving their health and the health of others.

Broadening Social Skills

The fourth developmental task of the young adult years is broadening the range of appropriate and dependable social skills.  Adulthood ordinarily involves “membership” in a variety of groups that range in size from a marital pair to a national political party or international corporation.  These memberships will require the ability to function in many different social settings and with a wide variety of people.

The college experience traditionally has prepared students very effectively in this regard, but interactions in friendships, work relationships, or parenting may require that they make an effort to grow and develop beyond levels they achieved by belonging to a peer group.  Young adults will need to refine a variety of social skills, including communication, listening, and conflict management.

Nurturing Intimacy

The task of nurturing intimacy usually begins in young adulthood and continues through midlife.  During this time it is developmentally important to establish one or more intimate relationships.  Most people in this age group are reviewing intimacy in its broadest sense as a deeply close, sharing relationship.  Intimacy may unfold in the context of dating relationships, close friendships, and certainly mentoring relationships.

Involvement in intimate relationships varies, with some people having many relationships and others having only one or two.  The number does not matter.  From a developmental standpoint, what matters is that we have others with whom to share our most deeply held thoughts and feelings as we attempt to validate our own unique approach to living.

Related Developmental Tasks of Young Adulthood

In addition to the five developmental tasks of young adulthood just described, two additional areas of growth and development seem applicable to 18- to 24-year-olds.  These include obtaining entry-level employment and the developing of parenting skills.

For at least the last sixty years, students in increasing numbers have pursued a college education in large part to gain entry into many occupations and professions.  Students of today certainly anticipate that a college degree will open doors for their first substantial employment or entry-level employment.

In many respects employment needs go beyond those associated purely with money.  Employment provides the opportunity to assume new responsibilities in which the skills learned in college can be applied and expanded.  Employment also involves taking on new roles (such as colleague, mentor, mentee, or partner) that may play an important part in the way we define ourselves for the remainder of our lives.  In addition, employment provides a new, more independent arena in which friendships (intimacy) can be pursued.  By no means least important, entry-level employment provides the financial foundation on which we can establish independence.

For many people, young adulthood mark the entry to parenthood, one of the important responsibilities anyone can choose to assume.  The multitude of decisions associated with this commitment will, naturally, shape the remainder of one’s life.  Examples of these decisions are whether to parent or not, and, if so, when to begin, how many children to have, what interval between children, and role parenting will play in the context of overall adulthood.  The ability to make sound decisions and to develop the skills and insights necessary to parent effectively may be the most challenging aspect of growth and development that confronts young adults.