7 Young Adulthood 173
Another developmental task of young adulthood is finding one’s place in
an adult world. As Arnett (2004) argues persuasively, young adulthood is not a
chronological age so much as the time when one completes the tasks of EA. That
means that the explorations of identity have given way to a consistent identity,
work and housing have stabilized, and the young adult has become more able
to focus on others, feel secure in his or her independence, and is able to look for-
ward toward future goal attainment (Arnett, 2007). Adults in their mid-20s to late
30s tend to be goal oriented and future oriented—their sense of time is projected
forward with an attitude that everything is possible (Oktay & Walter, 1991).
Social Development
Adulthood is being redefined as emerging adults are extending the time it
takes to leave the parental home, marry, and choose a career. For this reason,
we suggest that the ages of young adulthood now span from the mid-20s to
the early 40s in keeping with Arnett’s (2007) description of the movement from
EA to young adulthood.
Social expectations of parenthood are often part of young adulthood.
The average age of first-time motherhood increased from 21.4 to 25.0 years
(3.6 years) between 1970 to 2006 (Matthews & Hamilton, 2009). The higher
proportion of women having their first birth at age 35 and over is the most sig-
nificant factor contributing to this change. More adults remain unmarried but
cohabitating and they may delay having children. Due to the growing number
of adults who remain unmarried but living together in committed heterosex-
ual, gay, lesbian, and transgendered relationships; marriage and child-bearing
are no longer the primary markers in the transition to young adulthood.
Losses Experienced by the Young Adult
Death Losses
The death of a parent is off-time in young adulthood and challenging due to a
lack of peers with whom to share and gain support. Loss of a spouse or part-
ner in early adulthood is even more challenging. Most deaths experienced by
young adults are off-time and unexpected.
Death of a Parent
The death of a parent can be quite traumatic for a young adult as she or he
does not expect a parent to die during this life phase. Young adulthood is often
the first time an individual consciously experiences the death of a loved one
and when a parent dies, young adults often do not have a cohort with whom
to share feelings and reactions. The lack of social support can lead to compli-
cated mourning for the young adult. Young adults who lose a parent may be
reluctant to work on the developmental task of intimacy with a partner due to
fear of losing that loved one. A young adult may also become more of a pseudo
adult in order to cope with the loss of a parent from whom the young adult
is still separating. In some cases, the young adult takes over some of the roles
that the deceased parent held in the family. For a young adult, this reaction can
