Challenging the Traditional View of Adulthood
For generations, reaching adulthood was marked by clear milestones like finishing school, getting a job, getting married, and having children. However, research by developmental psychologists like Jeffrey Arnett shows that these markers have become increasingly delayed in industrialized societies over the past few decades. This has led to the development of new models that better capture the evolving nature of adult life, moving away from a singular, rigid timeline.
Jeffrey Arnett's Five Features of Emerging Adulthood
Psychologist Jeffrey Arnett coined the term "emerging adulthood" to describe the period between the late teens and mid-twenties, roughly ages 18 to 25. He identifies five key features of this new developmental stage, which precedes what is traditionally known as young adulthood. These characteristics reflect a time of self-focused exploration and profound instability that many young people experience before settling down into more stable adult roles.
The Age of Identity Explorations
This stage is a time for young people to explore who they are in the context of love, work, and worldviews. They may try out different majors, jobs, or romantic partners to determine their path. This exploration is a crucial step toward forming a stable and confident sense of self, which was once thought to occur primarily during adolescence.
The Age of Instability
Marked by frequent changes, this period often includes moving between residences, changing jobs, and shifting relationships. For instance, it is not uncommon for a person in their early twenties to hold several different jobs as they search for meaningful and stable employment.
The Self-Focused Age
Before taking on the enduring commitments of marriage, family, and career, emerging adults have an opportunity to focus on themselves. This self-focus is not inherently selfish but serves the purpose of building the self-sufficiency needed for future roles and responsibilities.
The Age of Feeling In-Between
When asked if they feel they have reached adulthood, most people in this age range respond, "in some ways yes, in some ways no". They no longer feel like adolescents but do not yet feel fully like adults, occupying a transitional, in-between space.
The Age of Possibilities
Despite the instability, this is a highly optimistic time for most emerging adults. They feel a sense of broad possibilities for their future, believing they can turn their lives in a more positive direction than their parents' generation.
Robert Kegan's Five Stages of Adult Development
Harvard psychologist Robert Kegan presents an alternative model that focuses on the evolution of how we make meaning of our lives. His Constructive Developmental Theory outlines five stages, or "orders of consciousness," that describe our capacity for understanding and navigating complex relationships and self-concept. Most adults do not progress through all five stages, with different percentages of the population inhabiting each level.
- Stage 1: The Impulsive Mind (Early Childhood): The individual is ruled by impulses and reflexes, with little distinction between self and others.
- Stage 2: The Imperial Mind (Adolescence): The person's sense of self is ruled by their own needs and wishes. Others' needs are only relevant in how they serve the self. Kegan estimates about 6% of the adult population operates at this stage.
- Stage 3: The Socialized Mind (Majority of Adults): Identity is socially determined and based on the expectations of others (family, friends, culture). Approximately 58% of adults are in this stage.
- Stage 4: The Self-Authoring Mind (Midlife/Later): The individual develops a strong sense of self, based on internally authored values and standards, rather than solely by external expectations. About 35% of adults reach this stage.
- Stage 5: The Self-Transforming Mind (Rare): The individual is no longer defined by any single identity or value system and can hold multiple, even contradictory, perspectives. This stage is achieved by only about 1% of the adult population.
Comparison of Major Adult Development Theories
| Feature | Jeffrey Arnett's Emerging Adulthood | Robert Kegan's Constructive Developmental Theory | Erik Erikson's Psychosocial Stages (Adulthood) | Daniel Levinson's Seasons of Life (Men) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Focus | Distinctive stage between adolescence and young adulthood (ages 18-25). | Evolution of how we construct meaning and self-concept. | Social and emotional conflicts throughout the entire life span. | Eras and transitions marked by stability and crisis. |
| Number of Stages | Describes 5 key features of a single stage. | Proposes 5 stages of meaning-making. | Includes 3 stages of adulthood within an 8-stage life span model. | Divides life into eras and transitional periods. |
| Key Concepts | Identity exploration, instability, self-focus, feeling in-between, possibilities. | Moving from a subject to an object relationship with aspects of life (impulses, needs, relationships, self). | Psychosocial crises: Intimacy vs. Isolation (young adult), Generativity vs. Stagnation (middle adult), Integrity vs. Despair (late adult). | Life structure, stable periods, transitional periods, "the dream". |
| Age Specificity | Explicitly defines ages 18-25 as the emerging adulthood stage. | Describes stages not tied to specific chronological ages, with most adults not reaching the highest levels. | Connects specific psychosocial crises to young, middle, and late adulthood. | Identifies age-specific transition periods, like the Midlife Transition (ages 40-45). |
| Relevance | Explains delayed milestones and exploration in modern, industrialized societies. | Provides insight into deeper psychological growth and potential for continued learning throughout life. | Offers a broad, influential framework for understanding psychosocial challenges across the life span. | Historical model highlighting predictable transitions and crises, though criticized for age-bound rigidity and initial gender bias. |
The Non-Linear Path of Adult Development
The idea that adulthood is a fixed, five-stage process is misleading, as human development is far more complex and individualized. Modern psychological views recognize that people do not simply move through a universal, linear sequence. Instead, models like those from Arnett and Kegan show that adult development can be characterized by periods of exploration and consolidation, and is strongly influenced by social and cognitive factors rather than strict chronological age. Individuals can progress through various mental and social stages at different paces, or remain in one for many years, as their life experiences and personal choices dictate. This contemporary understanding offers a more flexible and realistic view of the multifaceted journey of adult life.
Conclusion
While a single, universally accepted model of "the 5 stages of adulthood" does not exist, several key psychological theories provide valuable frameworks for understanding adult development. Arnett's concept of emerging adulthood captures the unique experiences of young people in contemporary society, emphasizing identity formation and instability during their late teens and twenties. In contrast, Kegan's constructive developmental theory offers a deeper look at the evolution of an individual's meaning-making process, showcasing higher-level cognitive and emotional growth that can occur throughout the life span. Together, these perspectives highlight that the path to and through adulthood is not a one-size-fits-all process but a dynamic journey of self-discovery and adaptation.
