Young adults who had participated in a college program in which they learned to deliberate were compared with a matched sample from the same college who did not participate. Interview and survey ...responses to questions about citizenship and communication about politics were analyzed. Ten years after their graduation, the students who learned to deliberate during college had more complex conceptions of citizenship and its responsibilities compared to their 2005 classmates in the matched cohort. They also expressed more willingness to engage in political talk across differences. The study suggests that when emerging adults have extended experience deliberating about potentially divisive policy issues, they develop cognitive and communicative skills that equip them to navigate the diverse socio-political world that they now inhabit. Thus, we argue that education for democracy in the 21st century should include instruction in deliberative practice.
As a multidimensional stressor, the COVID-19 pandemic posed a significant threat to mental health, with studies showing younger age groups to be particularly vulnerable. Thus, this study aimed to ...monitor mental health, potential risk/protective factors, and pandemic-related variables among young university students during the pandemic.
Students of the University of Greifswald (M age = 23.0 years, 73.9% female) participated in five cross-sectional online surveys in December 2020 (
= 1,127), March 2021 (
= 760), June/July 2021 (
= 531), December 2021 (
= 1,226), and December 2022 (
= 814). Sociodemographic data, depression and anxiety severity, loneliness, quality of life, coping strategies, resilience, self-esteem, and emotion regulation were measured. First, results from December 2020 were compared to pre-pandemic normative data. Second, the time course during the pandemic was analyzed. Third, linear models were calculated to examine the influence of risk and protective factures on depression and anxiety severity.
Higher levels of depression, anxiety, and loneliness, as well as lower levels of self-esteem, physical and mental health, social relationships and well-being were found in December 2020 compared to pre-pandemic. Levels of depression and anxiety severity peaked in December 2022. Female sex, loneliness, and previous mental treatment showed associations with higher depression and anxiety severity, while higher self-esteem, resilience and use of reappraisal strategies appeared to act as protective factors.
The study indicates the pandemic's detrimental impact on students' mental health and quality of life. Identified risk and protective factors provide guidance for tailored prevention and treatment, as well as the design of measures for future pandemics and other crisis.
Eating disorders (EDs) during the transition to adulthood can derail social, psychological, and vocational development. Effective treatment is of paramount importance, yet young adults' treatment ...needs are typically less well met than those of adolescents. In recent years, there has been a considerable shift in how developmental psychologists understand the transition to adulthood, with this life-phase reconceptualized as "emerging adulthood" (EA) (~18-25 years). Engagement with burgeoning developmental research is likely key to providing more effective care for young people experiencing EDs.
To review ED research which has utilized the concept of EA, and to assess the usefulness of this concept for ED research and practice.
A systematic scoping review was conducted in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines for scoping reviews. Three databases (Psychinfo, PubMed, Embase) were searched for papers which explicitly focused on EDs during EA. No restrictions as to publication type, language, study design, or participants were applied. Included studies were assessed for developmental "informedness," and findings were qualitatively synthesized.
Thirty-six studies (
= 25,475) were included in the review. Most studies used quantitative methodologies, were cross-sectional in design and focused on identifying psychological and social factors which contribute to etiology of EDs. Many studies (
= 22) used well-defined samples of emerging adults (EAs); few studies (
= 8) included developmental measures relevant to EAs. Findings indicate that whilst factors implicated in EDs in adolescence and adulthood are relevant to EAs, EA-specific factors (e.g., identity exploration) may also contribute. Conventional ED services and treatments present difficulties for EAs, whilst those adapted to EAs' needs are feasible, acceptable, and more effective than treatment-as-usual. Directions for future research and clinical implications are discussed.
Existing research indicates that the EA concept is relevant for understanding EDs during the transition to adulthood, and ED services should implement adaptations which exploit the opportunities and overcome the challenges of this developmental stage. EA is currently an underused concept in ED research, and future engagement with the developmental literature by both researchers and clinicians may be key to understanding and treating EDs during transition to adulthood.
Youth with LGBTQ+ parents may feel that their parents’ LGBTQ+ identity impacted their lives because of unique experiences such as LGBTQ+ family socialization. Guided by family systems, queer, and ...social constructionism theories, we explored this question via in-depth interviews with 49 youth (8 with minoritized gender identities and 25 with minoritized sexual identities) between 12 and 25 years old (Mage = 19.51, SD = 3.48) in the United States, and who had at least one LGBTQ+ parent. Using inductive thematic analysis, four themes were identified: (1) feelings of openness and acceptance toward the self; (2) feelings of openness and acceptance toward others; (3) feelings of openness and acceptance toward their family; and (4) perceptions of normalcy. Many endorsed these themes and reported that they felt this way specifically due to their parents’ LGBTQ+ identities. Youth were asked about their thoughts related to future families. These themes were considered in relation to their family formation (e.g., adoption; donor insemination). This research indicates that youth with LGBTQ+ parents may experience unique socialization about openness and acceptance in the context of their families. This research is important in informing culturally competent practice for other youth, parents, and those who serve LGBTQ+ parent families.
Life goals play a major role in shaping people's lives and careers. Although life goals have prior documented associations with occupational and other life outcomes, no prior studies have ...investigated associations between life goal
and occupational outcomes. Using two representative samples of Icelandic youth (Sample 1:
= 485, Sample 2:
= 1,339), followed across 12 years from adolescence to young adulthood, we examined life goal development and associations with educational attainment and a wide range of occupational outcomes. We found that life goals had relatively high rank-order and profile stability across the 12 years. Most life goals decreased in importance during the transition from adolescence to young adulthood, except for family- and community-related goals, pointing to a continued focus on building social relationships in young adulthood. We also found meaningful variation in change at the item level within certain goal domains. Furthermore, adolescent levels of life goals, as well as
in certain goals, predicted educational attainment and occupational outcomes in young adulthood. This suggests that life goals motivate career behaviors beginning at an early age and that subsequent changes in certain life goals also matter for educational and occupational outcomes. Dominance analyses revealed that education and prestige life goals were generally the strongest predictors of future outcomes. Overall, these results highlight the importance of life goal development in predicting later educational attainment and occupational outcomes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
Research has shown that empathy and emotional intelligence are two predictive factors associated with positive adaptation and resilience in emerging adulthood. However, it has not been well ...investigated how these two factors interact to link resilience. Based on previous research showing that empathy requires the development of emotional perceptiveness, that resilience is closely related to adaptive processes, and that emotional intelligence mediates the relation between emotional perceptiveness and adaptive processes, the present study hypothesized that emotional intelligence has a potential mediating role in the association between empathy and resilience. Data were collected from 788 college students (429 females and 359 males) at a university in China. Resilience was measured by the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). Empathy was measured by the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI). Emotional Intelligence was measured by the Emotional Intelligence Scale (EIS). The results showed that empathy significantly predicted resilience, and emotional intelligence fully mediated the association between empathy and resilience. These findings suggest that the cognitive ability to perceive, evaluate, and regulate emotions plays an important role in the resilience in emerging adults. Implications of cognitive approaches to resilience research in emerging adulthood are discussed.
Adolescent substance use is linked with negative future outcomes (e.g., depression, anxiety, substance use disorder). Given that the brain undergoes significant maturation during adolescence, this ...developmental period may represent a time of particular vulnerability to substance use. Neuroimaging research has largely focused on heavy or binge patterns of substance use; thus, relatively less is known about the neural impact of a broader range of adolescent substance use. Characterizing the neural impact of a broader range of adolescent substance use may inform prevention and treatment efforts. The present study investigated relationships between adolescent substance use trajectories (i.e., alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis) and gray matter volume in young adulthood. Substance use was assessed in 1,594 participants at ages 11, 13, 16, and 19. Following the last assessment, 320 participants completed a single magnetic resonance imaging session to assess brain gray matter volume. Latent growth curve models were used to estimate growth parameters characterizing alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis use trajectories for each participant. These growth parameters (i.e., intercept, linear slope, and quadratic slope) were then used as predictors of gray matter volume. The gray matter volume of the hippocampus was positively associated with age 14 alcohol use (i.e., intercept) but not other trajectories (i.e., progression or acceleration) or substances (tobacco or cannabis). These results provide new insight into the neural impact of distinct adolescent alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis use trajectories, which may help to refine prevention and treatment efforts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
Adolescence and young adulthood are characterized by substantial sociodemographic, family, social, and personality changes that may influence loneliness. Although loneliness is a public health ...challenge, we know little about how loneliness develops during these periods. Our study addresses this lacuna by using 4-wave longitudinal data from 3,116 Norwegians aged 13 to 31 years, making use of questionnaire (key facets and correlates of loneliness) and register linkage information (midlife outcomes). Analyses revealed that when asking directly about feeling lonely and for emotional facets, loneliness increased from early adolescence to age mid-20s, whereas social facets of loneliness declined gradually and plateaued when people had reached their mid-20s. Several predictors operated consistently across loneliness facets, whereas others operated in facet-specific ways. To illustrate, perceiving one's parents as caring, having close friends, not leaving the parental home before age 18, and reporting more agency were each associated with less loneliness across assessment modes. In contrast, when asked directly, women reported more loneliness than men at all ages, whereas men reported more social loneliness. Finally, adolescents and young adults who reported feeling lonely and/or increased in loneliness were consistently at higher risk for disability and lower income in midlife, whereas other important midlife outcomes including education, labor market inclusion, and prescriptions of antidepressants exhibited facet-specific associations. Our study is the first to provide a comprehensive picture of loneliness development throughout the second and third decade of life and highlights the multidimensionality and multidirectionality of loneliness trajectories and correlates across adolescence and early adulthood.
The outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has dramatically changed our habits and routines. Uncertainty, insecurity, instability for the present and future, and reduced autonomy and ...self-directedness, are common feelings at the time of COVID-19. These aspects are very important during emerging adulthood. In spite of the fact that medical reports suggest that youth are less prone to experience COVID-19 infections, emerging adults might be at higher risk for their psychological adjustment. Emerging adults showed higher concerns about their role as a possible asymptomatic carrier than being positive with COVID-19 themselves. Both worries and concerns about COVID-19 and psychological maladjustment may be related to cultural factors. Individualism, collectivism, equality, and hierarchy seem to be meaningful perspectives to take into account. A total of 1183 Italian emerging adults were asked to fill out an online survey during the second week of the national lockdown in Italy. Results showed they reported an accurate perceived knowledge about COVID-19. At the same time, they showed higher worries and concerns about COVID-19 for their relatives, followed by more general/social worries. The lowest score included worries about COVID-19 related to themselves. State anxiety and stress levels were above the normal cutoff, confirming the challenges that emerging adults are facing during the pandemic. On one hand, emerging adults' collectivistic orientation was related to higher perceived risks of infection; on the other hand, it predicted lower psychological maladjustment, controlling for socio-demographic variables. The study suggests that to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and decrease levels of psychological maladjustment in emerging adulthood, individuals' cultural orientation such as the wish of sharing common goals with others, interdependence, and sociability, have to be emphasized and promoted as protective factors.
The present study explored the developmental trajectories and increased well-being of socially excluded young Israeli adult women participating in civic engagement peer groups. Twenty-one women ...participated in a qualitative longitudinal study design comprising 50 in-depth semistructured interviews at four assessment times. The interoperative phenomenological analysis approach revealed three main themes demonstrating a shift from survival to thriving. The first theme, "group connectedness," describes participants' positive feelings from participating in the group. The second theme, "exploring and practicing civic engagement," covers the gains in women's civic engagement abilities and definitions. The third theme, "From flaws to sparks," describes women's changes in mindset and their growing ability for reflection and making plans. The findings are discussed through the lens of the social justice paradigm to suggest a developmental model which sees developmental well-being as a human right. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
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