The Time of Your Life: Emerging Adulthood Characteristics in a Sample of Romanian High-School and University Students

ABSTRACT The tenets of emerging adulthood are closely linked to changes imposed by the educational transition from high-school to university. Immersion in a new school context (university) seems to make personal perception on self, others, and the world, more focused on exploration and experimentation. In order to test these assumptions, we analyzed characteristics of emerging adulthood in a sample of Romanian high-school and university students. Firstly, we comparatively investigated gender (male versus female) and educational level (high-school versus university students) differences for emerging adulthood characteristics. Secondly, we analyzed how emerging adulthood characteristics are linked to an important well-being indicator, namely satisfaction with life, in the high-school student sample and respectively in the university student sample. KEYWORDS: emerging adulthood, well-being, development, Romania Emerging adulthood: A long(er) road to becoming an adult In an interesting twist of developmental "fate", though the world, both real and virtual, moves faster than ever before, a large part of today's youth grows up much slower. With unprecedented increases in life expectancy for European and North American countries (World Health Organization, 2012) and protective social and medical systems, the process of becoming an adult is more complex and extended. Hence, the long time between adolescence and adulthood becomes a developmental phenomenon in itself. In this context, the concept of emerging adulthood came as a necessary addition to a better understanding of developmental trajectories and transitions. Its main proponent, Jeffrey Jensen Arnett (2000), capitalized both on existing life-span research (Erikson, 1968; Havinghurst, 1972) and on demographic, socio-economic, educational, and cultural indicators that sustain a period of "emerging" from adolescence to fully fledged adulthood. Based on qualitative and quantitative research, five main characteristics of emerging adulthood were extracted (Arnett, 2000). They refer to amplified exploration of identities, increased level of perceived instability, heightened focus on one's self, augmented perception of opportunities for experimentation, and subjective perceptions of being "in-between" adolescence and adulthood (Arnett, 2000, 2007). The proposed age-frame for emerging adulthood initially encompassed 18 to 25 year olds (Arnett, 2000), but the upper limit has increased to 29 in revised models (Arnett, 2011). This is due to detected cross-cultural differences in patterns of educational paths, achievement of financial independence, marriage, child-birth, and active integration in the work force (for a detailed synthesis, see Arnett, 2011). In Europe, Buhl and Lanz (2007) observe that for Spain, Italy, Finland, Germany, and the Czech Republic patterns of development in emerging adulthood overlap that assumptions proposed by Arnett (2000, 2004), but each country has specific peculiarities. Biological transitions, like parenthood and stable employment, occur much later in European countries, compared to the United States (Arnett, 2011; Buhl & Lanz, 2007). A Mediterranean model of emerging adulthood is counterpoised to a northern European model (Buhl & Lanz, 2007). The Mediterranean model relies on strong-knit family systems, which offer emotional, financial, and residencial support to youth (Scabini, 2000). Family is the cornerstone of personal development. Stable emotional intimate relations (a romantic partner) are an important indicator of entering adulthood, especially in Italian girls (Lanz & Tagliabue, 2007). The northern European model focuses on a more complex pattern of interactions and co-habitation with friends, colleagues, or life partners during emerging adulthood (Scabini, 2000). These interactions are beneficial for a quicker transition into adult roles. Also, employment occurs sooner for north Europeans, and transition from school to work is linked to increases in well-being (Buhl, 2007). …