Adulthood Vs Early Adulthood

1860 Words8 Pages
Human development is a concept that has been researched and explored by many scholars and experts for centuries throughout human history. By the fact that human development begins at a cell-level, it is evident that there are numerous stages, which people go through between childhood and maturity. During these stages, people change and acquire other traits in terms of behavior and character. Additionally, they able to cope with certain environmental conditions as a result of adaptive features and abilities, acquired through human development. The study of adult development is, one might say, in its infancy. It has been taken seriously in the human sciences for only the past 30 years or so. The term adulthood spans the spectrum from what society designated as the beginning of maturity at the age of 18 to the end of life. In examining adulthood, it is useful to differentiate between what is considered "early adulthood versus middle and "late adulthood as there are changes and challenges unique to each era of the individual 's life (Mackenzie & O’Toole, 2011). the ages between 20 and 40 years are generally considered young adulthood, an age where optimal reasoning prevail physical functioning and intellectual relationships and major decisions regarding significant career choice are often contemplated and made, and a keen sense of identity prevails (Papalia, Cameron, & Feldman, 1996: Cech & Martin 2002). We have conducted two interviews with two volunteer participants in