Executive functions (EFs)-the higher level cognitive abilities that enable us to control our own thoughts and actions-continue to develop into early adulthood, yet no longitudinal study has examined ...their stability during the important life transition from late adolescence to young adulthood. In this twin study (total N = 840 individuals from 424 families), we examined the stability of individual differences in 3 EF components across a 6-year period, from approximately age 17 years (Wave 1) to 23 years (Wave 2). Specifically, we address the following questions: (a) How stable are individual differences in multiple EFs across this time period? and (b) What (genetic and/or environmental) influences affect stability and change in EFs? Results indicated that individual differences in EFs are quite stable across this 6-year period (phenotypic latent variable correlations ranged from 0.86 to 1.0). However, there was evidence for change, particularly in the factor common to multiple EFs (Common EF). Multivariate twin models suggested that stability was due almost entirely to high genetic correlations across time; there was no new genetic variance at Wave 2. Change in Common EF was due to small but significant nonshared environmental influences at Wave 2 (15%). The results suggest that individual differences in EFs are quite heritable and stable by late adolescence, yet are still sensitive to environmental influences.
Abstract Adulthood has traditionally been defined by the attainment of socio-demographic milestones such as career, marriage, and parenthood, but these milestones are increasingly delayed or have ...become inaccessible for young people today. As a result, young people are likely to experience a discrepancy between their expectations for and their actual reality of adulthood, which can negatively affect their well-being and psychological development. To systematically study contemporary definitions of and attitudes towards adulthood, we assessed a sample of 722 UK adults with an age range from 18 to 77 years on: (a) subjective adult status, or the extent to which people feel like adults; (b) attitudes towards adulthood, or whether people think adulthood is a positive time of life; and (c) the characteristics that people use to define adulthood today. We found that most participants felt adult and had positive attitudes towards adulthood. Our participants defined adulthood predominantly through psychological characteristics, for example “Accepting responsibility for the consequences of my actions” (endorsed by 80% of the sample), rather than by socio-demographic milestones which were endorsed by only 22–40% of participants. Both subjective adult status and attitudes towards adulthood were significantly associated with older age and the attainment of the socio-demographic milestones of marriage and parenthood. Regression analyses revealed that having a positive attitude towards adulthood was the strongest psychological predictor of subjective adult status, accounting for 10% of the variance. This suggests that fostering positive attitudes towards adulthood may help improving the well-being of contemporary adults.
Studying abroad provides excellent opportunities for growth, but can also bring new uncertainties and risks. In this exploratory study, female international students studying in the U.S. (n=29) ...responded to open-ended questions designed to understand better the types of risks they experience and the ways they respond. Inductive content analysis identified a set of five thematic categories: a) social risk, b) danger risk, c) daily task risk, d) self-development risk, and e) isolation risk. Students reported dealing with these uncertainties through a combination of weighing risks through information and trusting others, playing it safe at times, but pressing forward in other situations to make the most of opportunities.
A systems perspective explains dynamics of human flourishing based on the relations between its constituents. Using cross-sectional data from emerging adults (ages 18-29) in 10 countries (N = 7221), ...this study explored the interrelatedness among constituents of flourishing - happiness & satisfaction with life, mental & physical health, meaning & purpose, character & virtue, close social relationships, and financial & material stability - within and across countries. Each country's sample was characterized by a unique flourishing network, although there were similarities. Except for financial & material stability, all constituents were positively related across samples. Financial & material stability showed the highest cross-country heterogeneity in its relations. Happiness & satisfaction with life and meaning & purpose showed the strongest interrelations. A higher level of one constituent was associated with lower network connectivity. This systems perspective extends existing knowledge about the conceptualization of flourishing and how people can be supported to achieve and maintain complete well-being.
Trajectory of Nostalgia in Emerging Adulthood Wang, Yuqi; Wildschut, Tim; Sedikides, Constantine ...
Personality & social psychology bulletin,
04/2024, Volume:
50, Issue:
4
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
We examined the change and stability of nostalgia in emerging adulthood. We followed 327 students through their 4 university years with six assessments. Nostalgia demonstrated moderate rank stability ...(r = .25–.79). A Trait-State-Occasion model analysis indicated that the stable trait component, slowing-change trait component, and state component explained 37% to 43%, 10% to 27%, and 29% to 49% of variation in nostalgia on specific occasions, respectively. Longitudinal multilevel analysis revealed that the mean nostalgia level declined across university years. Greater intensity of negative life events at the start of university was associated with higher initial nostalgia and slower decline of it, while the emotion intensified when experiencing more negative life events. Nostalgia in emerging adulthood displays moderate stability, with negative life events contributing to the shape of its trajectory.
Emerging adulthood is the youth trajectory characterized by self-focus, identity exploration, feeling between adolescence and adulthood, instability, and experimentation. This trajectory was first ...identified in industrialized individualistic countries with gender equality and technological progress. To measure transition to adulthood, the Inventory of the Dimensions of Emerging Adulthood (
) was created. Although emerging adulthood is considered universal, adaptations of the questionnaire across the 12 countries show different patterns, and its cross-cultural invariance has been underinvestigated. This study tests
in three collectivistic countries - Armenia, China, and Russia. The sample consisted of 868 students (total male - 152, total female - 716) aged 18 to 29 years old. We tested the questionnaire separately in the three countries to check that this model fits, but we failed to prove it. After that we used a factor-analytic approach to find a common version for the three countries. We got a five-factor correlated model in accordance with the theory, but it was reduced from 31 items to 21, and three items moved to other factors. Finally, we provided measurement invariance and reached configural level. To test the narrower facets of factors we used multi-group alignment and found that variances in six parameters differ, mainly in Instability. Despite the difference in the questionnaire items, we proposed a common model for three countries that we called questionnaire IDEA-collectivistic countries (IDEA-CC).
The literature on family support has focused on adult caregivers and, more recently, on young caregivers. However, the issue of young adult caregivers (YACs; 18-25 years old) remains largely ...unexplored. A large majority of these young adults are students. In a higher education setting, this research aimed to distinguish YACs from young adults dealing with an ill loved one and young adults not having to deal with an ill loved one to explore their health and wellbeing. The sample consisted of 681 young adult students (Age = 20.95; SD age = 1.89; 78.85% female). All participants completed a self-report questionnaire asking about their health and well-being. The results showed that although YACs do not have more health problems, they have more psychological distress than their non-caregiver peers. This research sheds light on the health and wellbeing issues of YACs and highlights the importance of providing them with better support, particularly in the pursuit of their studies. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)
► Mechanisms and determinants of identity development and separation–individuation. ► Parents and children as interrelated, dynamic identity systems. ► Motivational characteristics of parents as ...determinants of flexibility in parenting. ► Integrative patterns of optimal/problematic identity development in p–c relationships. ► Implications of a conceptual integration for quantitative and qualitative research.
Identity development and separation–individuation in parent–child relationships are widely perceived as related tasks of psychosocial maturation. However, a dynamic, developmental perspective that explains how intra-personal change in identity evolves from transactions between parents and children is not sufficiently represented in the literature. In this article, a selective literature review of psychological approaches to identity development and separation–individuation is presented with a focus on how the role of parents has been covered by approaches to identity development and on how general mechanisms of identity change could be filled with content by processes of separation–individuation. Afterwards, dynamics of identity development and separation–individuation are integrated based on the conceptualization of parents and children as two interrelated identity systems. Specifically, it is illustrated how interpersonal differences in long-term related changes in identity formation, identity evaluation, autonomy, and separateness and attachment between parents and children, could be explained by parent–child transactions in the transition between childhood and adolescence and between adolescence and emerging adulthood. Finally, implications of an integrative perspective for future empirical research are discussed.
Higher education students in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields are actively engaged with coursework, and their emotional maturity may be underdeveloped. The aim of ...this qualitative study was to investigate whether interactive art-making can provide a potential space for STEM undergraduates to experience play and freely explore themselves. We introduced the mutual squiggle and story-making method (MSSM), an art-based method wherein a practitioner collaborates with a participant to create art, followed by semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis of the interview transcripts from seven STEM undergraduates revealed four themes: personal joy and fulfillment, interaction as a pivotal aspect of play, acknowledging appropriate compromises, and a non-play experience. Our findings suggest that the potential space created by MSSM can help STEM students navigate play through picture-making and storytelling experiences. Practitioners who conduct art-making with clients should be aware that they are being observed by participants and exhibit playful attitudes. This study sheds light on lowering the barrier to seeking help among STEM students. Further studies involving different academic disciplines as target groups are required. Policymakers should be aware of the importance of positive emotions aroused in play for STEM undergraduates to seek psychological support.
•Highlighting the emotional development of emerging adulthood.•Engaging students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).•Introducing Mutual squiggle and story-making method (MSSM).•The potential space created by MSSM helped STEM students navigate play.
Tertiary education can be stressful for many young people, who consistently report high levels of distress. The issue has major implications for campus health services and mental health policymaking ...more widely. The present study proposes to map student counseling services in Europe.
The sample of institutions was sourced, using standardized data extraction, from the European Tertiary Education Register (ETER). Then, each institution's website was analyzed for information about the availability of student counseling centers and the services provided. Data extracted from the ETER database were: ETER ID, national identifier, institution name, English institution name, number of students, legal status (in English), institution category (in English), and institutional website. Data extracted from institutions' websites concerned the availability of students' psychological centers and the services provided. Analyses were carried out using the SPSS Statistics software package (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, United States), version 26.
Overall, it was found that most institutions do not provide mental health counseling services for their students. Institutions of medium dimensions showed a higher probability of reporting students' psychological centers than small institutions. Moreover, private institutions and public institutions were more likely to report having such centers, while private government-dependent institutions were less likely. Universities of applied sciences and universities were more likely to report having them, while other institutions were less likely. Regarding provision according to geographic area, compared to Northern Europe, every other European region was less likely to report featuring such centers. Most institutions reported offering counseling, career counseling, or not otherwise specified psychological services, but only a small number reported providing services such as psychotherapy, psychiatric services, or counseling for learning-specific disabilities.
It is critically important to catalog European data on student counseling centers and services, to encourage tertiary education institutions to invest in such services as key sites for mental health promotion. Indeed, professionally trained staff and the possibility of long-term treatment options would go a long way in supporting students who might not otherwise have access to treatment.
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