1. Coming of Age in the 21st Century
Individuals and Families: Diverse Perspectives
Unit 2: Chapter 3

2. At what age would you… Consider yourself an adult?
Expect to be living independently?
Start your career?
Get married?
Start a career?

3. Early Adulthood When does adulthood begin? By law in Canada, adulthood
begins at age 18
Definitions of adulthood vary in
various societies and cultures
Traditionally, adulthood occurred when young people separate from their parents to form an independent household
There have been changes in educational and employment conditions to affect the financial stability of young adults
Take time to create a definition of adulthood as it relates to your current societal expectations. If your culture differs greatly from your society, create another definition that would demonstrate your cultural expectations for adulthood. Imagine the consequences if these two definitions vary greatly.

4. Later Transitions
The transition from childhood to adulthood is occurring later for young men and women
“Failure to launch” was a common term used to describe this phenomenon
Barbara Mitchell (2006) calls the generation that moves in and out of their parent’s home the boomerang age
Because many adult roles depend on one’s ability to be financially independent, youth cannot accept these roles because they often require a stable income

5. Later Transitions
What theories do you think could explain this phenomenon?
Describe someone you know that would fit into the category of having failed to launch from their home of origin.
Provide examples that would result in having to move in and out of your parent’s home.

6. Explaining the Need for Later Transitions
Functionalists
Explain that this delay in the transition to adulthood is necessary to protect youth who are not fully socialized for adulthood in our society
Conflict Theorists
Argue that youth are exploited by a society that does not allow for their full participation in the workforce, so they are prevented from achieving independence
Can you think of any other theory that could be applied to explain the later transitions into adulthood?

7. Challenges in Early Adulthood
Coping with challenges of early adulthood depends on various factors.
Some challenges young adults face:
leaving home
forming new relationships
finishing post-secondary education
finding full-time employment
Provide examples from your own experiences that would explain some of these challenges. What are your expectations as you move from high-school to post-secondary education with respect to your friendships? What kind of a job do you expect to find when you finish school completely?

8. Challenges
Are you expecting changes in friendships as you transition through the stages of your life?
What type of job do you expect to find when your schooling is over?
Provide examples from your own experiences that would explain some of these challenges. What are your expectations as you move from high-school to post-secondary education with respect to your friendships? What kind of a job to you expect to find when you finish school completely?

9. Leaving Home
Young adults are currently leaving home later than their parents expected for a variety of reasons:
enjoy the security of home
may be responsible for taking care of a parent
may have established a good adult relationship with
parents
shortage of affordable housing
still in school
higher income parents can give a better life

10. Leaving Home
What might be some reasons that would keep you from moving out of your parents home?

11. Leaving Home
Different types of conflict in the home may lead young adults to leave earlier:
parents may demand too much
from them
parental conflict
divorce, especially if parents
remarry
lower income parents
At times other places seem like better options than continuing to live at home, and many adolescents will choose to move away from the family of origin.

12. Leaving Home
Getting married was, and may continue to be, the most common reason to leave home.
Women have always left home at an earlier age than men, possibly due to the fact that they marry older men.
Based on an analysis of the graph on page 85, at what age do men and women leave home at the rate of over 80%? Give reasons why the ages differ between 1971 and 2001 for both men and women.

13. Leaving Home
To leave home and successfully transition into adulthood depends on getting a steady income. And most people achieve this by working.
For many, working a full-time job is preceded by some form of post-secondary education or training/apprenticeship.

14. Education
Education was seen as a crucial factor for future success by the late 1900s
Children and youth were encouraged to stay and complete high school and attend post-secondary education
The expectation was that education would move youth ahead of their parents financially because they would be getting better paying jobs

15. Education
What expectations do your parents have about your post-secondary education?
Do they correlate with your own?
There are more options than just University or College. Take some time and explore what other options are available after leaving high school.

16. Education
A 2006 study showed that “a highly skilled and educated workforce is the single most important thing Canada needs to ensure its economic future”
How do highly skilled and educated workers ensure Canada’s economic success?

17. Working Youth wages are low and this encourages them to stay in school
1960s & 70s
The economy was thriving and people stayed in their well paying jobs longer
1980s & 90s
The economy changed with fewer jobs in agriculture and manufacturing and more in the service industries
2000s
As baby boomers retire there will be a greater need for educated and skilled workers to fill the vacancies

18. Unsuccessful Transition
Problems like homelessness can occur when the transition to adulthood isn’t successfully managed These problems reflect a young adult’s inability to cope with transitions and/or the lack of social supports available in Canadian society

19. Unsuccessful Transitions
What conditions might arise that would result in an unsuccessful transition?
At what point could homelessness become a threat?
Homelessness and other issues related to emerging adulthood will be explored in Chapter 5.