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JOHN HOUGHTONADULTHOOD
Becoming an adult is a life-cycle transition signi-
fied by multiple markers (Hogan and Astone 1986).
These include the completion of education, the
establishment of an independent residence, the
attainment of economic self-sufficiency, marriage,
parenthood, permission to vote and serve in the
military, and the entry into full-time work. These
multifaceted, objective markers of adult status,
variability in the ages at which they occur, and
differences in both preadult and adult roles, make
the character of this transition variable across
societies, historically relative, and subject to di-
verse interpretations and subjective meanings. Each
new generation’s experience of transition to adult-
hood is somewhat unique, dependent on the par-
ticular economic, political and social currents of
the time (Mannheim 1952). Institutional contexts
(cultural, social, educational, economic) determine
the pathways through which the transition to adult-
hood occurs, as well as the competencies that
enable successful adaptation to adult roles.In addition to the formal markers of transi-
tion, there are clearly recognized prerogatives of
adult status (e.g., smoking, alcohol use, and sexu-
ality) that are widely frowned upon or legally
prohibited when engaged in by minors. Youth’s
engagement in these ‘‘problem behaviors’’ can be
attempts to affirm maturity, gain acceptance by
peers, or to negotiate adult status (Jessor and
Jessor 1977, p. 206; Maggs 1997). Finally, there are
even more subtle, subjective indicators of adult-
hood—for example, the development of ‘‘adult-
like’’ psychological orientations or the acquisition
of an adult identity. Considering oneself as an
adult may or may not coincide with the formal
markers of transition.There has been a trend in the United States
and Western Europe toward earlier assumption of
full adult civil rights (e.g., the age at which it is legal
to vote or to marry without parental consent) from
the age of twenty-one to eighteen (Coleman and
Husen 1985). Youth must be age eighteen to vote
in France, Germany, Great Britain, and the United
States, but must be twenty to vote in Japan (The
World Factbook 1998).Within countries, legal restrictions on the age
at which certain events can occur, signifying adult-
hood to a greater or lesser degree, vary depending