Fear of growing up test how to#
Fear of growing up test series#

In the 26- to 35-year-old group, only about a third said “yes and no,” and that dropped to less than 10 percent for adults over 35. In Arnett’s research, the majority of 18- to 25-year-olds (about 60 percent) replied to the question of whether they felt like an adult with an ambiguous answer: in some ways, yes in other ways, no. At this fluid stage, there are many options available to a young person, and their life may undergo many different changes-in areas ranging from identity and worldview to geographic location, friend group, romantic partner, and work.Įmerging adulthood is a time when young people don’t feel totally grown up, but they don’t feel like kids either. Before they reach those goals, emerging adults exist in what Arnett described as an intermediate period between adolescence and adulthood (roughly ages 18 to 25). Only when these three criteria were achieved, he wrote, do young people make the transition to adulthood, and this typically happens in a person’s late 20s. Researcher and psychology professor Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, PhD, who coined the term emerging adulthood, zeroed in on two criteria that define the internal experience of becoming an adult:Īrnett also noted a third, more tangible, criteria: financial independence. These parameters for adulthood are too limited and too externally focused to truly describe what it means to become a full-fledged adult. But many people choose not to pursue one or more of these goals, and that doesn’t mean they’re not ready to be an adult.

Fear of growing up test series#

Traditionally, the young adulthood years have been defined by the achievement of a series of concrete goals: finishing one’s education, leaving home, finding work, finding a life partner, and having children. What Does It Mean to Make the Transition to Adulthood?

Fear of growing up test how to#

“I don’t want to be an adult,” “I don’t know how to adult,” and “I can’t handle adulting” are all common feelings among this age group. In 2022, with young adults suffering from high levels of depression, anxiety, collective trauma, and languishing, it’s natural for them to feel that they’re not prepared for adulthood. They still don’t feel like an adult: They’re not ready to make adult decisions, take care of their own practical needs, or support themselves financially. Plenty (maybe most) young people don’t feel ready to be an adult at 21. Just because a person has circled the sun a certain number of times doesn’t mean that they’re suddenly gifted with new levels of wisdom and clarity. It’s no wonder that young people are struggling with adulthood. A Pew Research Center survey conducted in late 2021 found that more than 70 percent of Americans think young adults today have a harder time than their parents’ generation when it comes to saving money, paying for college, and buying a home. It’s not just young people themselves who recognize the challenges of emerging adulthood.

For some young people, that can bring up an intense fear of adulting. In the United States, turning 21 not only grants young people permission to legally drink and smoke, it also marks the official transition to adulthood, and all the responsibilities and expectations that go along with that. Turning 21 can feel like crossing a line in the sand between adolescence and adulthood.

Fear of Adulting: I’m 21 But I Still Don’t Feel Like an Adult Reading Time: 7 minutes