What Alters the Experience of Emerging Adulthood? How the Experience of Emerging Adulthood Differs According to Socioeconomic Status and Critical Life Events

Abstract

The present mixed-methods study examined the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and the experience of emerging adulthood (EA). In Study 1, the associations among SES, EA, and critical life events (CLEs) were explored. CLEs were examined as a mediator between SES and EA in a German sample (N = 3,269). Participants’ educational attainment, SES, and occupation-related prestige were associated with the experience of EA. For example, lower SES was associated with higher perceived instability, with more experienced CLEs mediating this relationship. Lower SES was associated with a higher number of CLEs, which, for example, was related to more focus on others. In Study 2, interview data from emerging adults with low educational attainment who were engaged in vocational training (N = 12) were analyzed. In addition to reporting many CLEs, themes regarding their perception of their current life phase were established, indicating that low-SES youth experience aspects of EA as well. © 2019 Society for the Study of Emerging Adulthood and SAGE Publishing.

Keywords

Author Keywords

Mixed methods socioeconomic status emerging adulthood critical life events disadvantaged young adults

Index Keywords

Author Affiliations

Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Jena, Thuringen, Germany

Korea University, Seoul, South Korea

Funding & Acknowledgements

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG

Grant: SE 408/21-1

The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research was supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG; Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, SE 408/21-1).

German-Israeli Foundation for Scientific Research and Development, GIF

The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research was supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG; Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, SE 408/21-1).

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What Alters the Experience of Emerging Adulthood? How the Experience of Emerging Adulthood Differs According to Socioeconomic Status and Critical Life Events

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