Theories Of Emerging Adulthood

There comes a time is everyone’s life when they reach the point where they are no longer considered children, but adults. This transition from a child into a young adult is often referred to as the "coming of age;” which is different in everyone, since experiences different circumstances during this stage. According to Eric Erikson, there are eight different social stages a person must go through as they mature. Each stage has a positive and negative outcome. One of these includes stage 5 where it is reached when an adolescent is going through puberty where their body is changing and they are just trying to come to figuring out who exactly they are. In addition to Erikson’s idea, Arnet adds another idea called Emerging Adulthood. This idea

This stage coincides with puberty or adolescence. Reaching this unique age of adolescent years consist of reaching their ego identities and avoiding role confusion. The adolescent is strictly troubled with how they appear to others, adolescent and peers. Young people struggle to belong and to be accepted and affirmed, and yet also to become individuals by answering the question that seems so focused in this stage; who Am I and What Can I Be? In itself this is a big dilemma. Erikson calls this the “Identity Crisis." Each stage that came before and that follows has its own 'crisis', but even more so now, for this marks the transition from childhood to adulthood. Identity means essentially how a person sees themselves in relation to their world. It's a sense of self or individuality in the context of life and what lies ahead. Ego identity as previously mentioned is knowing who you are and how you fit in with the rest of the society. It involves you receiving all you have to learn regarding life and yourself and shape it into a combined character, one that your society finds meaningful. We see some high school students mingling themselves with groups known to be meticulous thereby, teens may be involved in critical activities that impact their successful overcoming stage 5. The inability to settle on a school or occupational identity is disturbing. Role Confusion is the negative perspective - an absence of identity - meaning that the person cannot see clearly or at all who they are and how they can relate positively with their environment. On the other hand, successful overcoming of stage 5 comes their sense of: of self-confidence and self-esteem necessary to freely associate with people and ideas based on merit, loyalty, social and interpersonal integrity, discretion, personal standards and dignity, pride and personal