Abstract
This chapter addresses the diversity of the transition to adulthood and the significance of this variation for early adult well-being; the circumstances and consequences of parental support during this period; psychological vulnerability during the transition to adulthood; and finally, institutional changes to facilitate youth’s transition from school to work. Recent findings are reported from the Youth Development Study, a longitudinal prospective study of a community sample of 9th graders, followed through their mid-thirties. These findings suggest that pathways of transition to adulthood that reflect the timing and sequencing of role configurations marking adult status influence both health and socioeconomic attainment; that parental financial and residential support provides critical scaffolds and safety nets as youth navigate the increasingly prolonged transition to adulthood; and that unemployment, and the ensuing financial dependence it brings, can threaten youth’s self-efficacy. The considerable work-related difficulties faced by young people who start, but do not finish, college indicates the need for both greater support to help students complete 4-year college degrees and the upgrading of community college and vocational certification programs to encourage more youth to enter these institutions and obtain these alternative credentials.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arnett, J. J. (2004). Emerging adulthood: the winding road from the late teens through the twenties. New York: Oxford University Press.
Danziger, S., & Ratner, D. (2010). Labor market outcomes and the transition to adulthood. The Future of Children, 20, 133–158.
Elder, G. H., Jr., Gimbel, C., & Ivie, R. (1991). Turning points in life: the case of military service and war. Military Psychology, 3, 215–231.
Eliason, S. R., Mortimer, J. T., Vuolo, M. & Tranby, E. (2007). Pathways to adulthood, subjective timing, and adult identity: normative age grading revisited. New York, NY: American Sociological Association.
Grabowski, L. S. (2006). “It still don’t make you feel like you’re doin’ it”: welfare reform and perceived economic self-efficacy. Journal of Poverty, 10, 69–91.
Gregg, P. (2001). The impact of youth unemployment on adult unemployment in the NCDS. The Economic Journal, 111, F626–F653.
Knapp, L. G., Kelly-Reid, J. E, & Ginder, S. A. (2010). Enrollment in postsecondary institutions, Fall 2008; Graduation rates, 2002 & 2005 cohorts; and Financial statistics, Fiscal Year 2008 (NCES 2010–152). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education.
Lee, J. C., & Mortimer, J. T. (2009). Family socialization, economic self-efficacy, and the attainment of financial independence in early adulthood. Longitudinal and Life Course Studies, 1, 45–62.
Mortimer, J. T. (2003). Working and growing up in America. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Mortimer, J. T., & Kim, M. (2010, July). Unemployment and self-efficacy during the transition to adulthood: a prospective longitudinal study. Paper presented at the World Congress of Sociology, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Mortimer, J. T., Kim, M., Zhang, F., & Baiocchi, A. (2010, September). Pathways of transition to adulthood and early adult well-being. Paper presented at the Inaugural Meeting of the Society for Longitudinal and Life Course Studies. Cambridge, U.K: Clare College.
Neumark, D. (2002). Youth labor markets in the United States: shopping around vs. staying put. Review of Economics and Statistics, 84, 462–482.
Norris, F. (2010). In global unemployment, A sea of young faces. New York Times, April 16.
Salmela-Aro, K. (2010, September). A study demands-resources model of study burnout and engagement. Paper presented at the Society for Longitudinal and Life Course Studies Inaugural Conference. Clare College, Cambridge.
Swartz, T. T., Kim, M., Uno, M., Mortimer, J. T., & O’Brien, K. (2011). Safety nets and scaffolds: parental support in the transition to adulthood. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 73, 414–429.
Uno, M., Mortimer, J. T., Kim, M., & Vuolo, M. (2010). “Holding on” or “coming to terms” with educational underachievement: a longitudinal study of ambition and attainment. New Directions for Research on Child and Adolescent Development, 130, 41–56.
Vuolo, M., Mortimer, J. T., & Staff, J. (2010, July). Using a latent life path approach to assess variation in the school-to-work transition. Paper presented at the XVII World Congress of Sociology, Gothenberg, Sweden.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Mortimer, J.T. (2012). Transition to Adulthood, Parental Support, and Early Adult Well-Being: Recent Findings from the Youth Development Study. In: Booth, A., Brown, S., Landale, N., Manning, W., McHale, S. (eds) Early Adulthood in a Family Context. National Symposium on Family Issues, vol 2. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-1436-0_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-1436-0_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-1435-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-1436-0
eBook Packages: Behavioral ScienceBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)