Counseling Emerging Adults

Emerging adulthood is a term coined by Arnett (2000, 2015) that describes the stage of development between adolescence and young adulthood for individuals between the ages of 18-25 years in industrialized countries worldwide. Described as a “process rather than an event or string of social transitions” (Tanner, Arnett, & Leis, 2009, p. 38), emerging adulthood is a developmental stage that exhibits the following five dimensions: increased possibilities/optimism as emerging adults focus on hope and transformation; identity exploration in order to explore the question, “Who am I?”; feeling in-between as they no longer readily identify with adolescents nor with adults; instability with regard to relationships, vocation, and place of residence; and self-focus as emerging adults experience limited obligations of time and commitments to others as compared to other life stages (Arnett, 2015). Although these characteristics exist in other life stages, they are noted to be most distinctive during emerging adulthood (Milevsky, Thudium & Guldin, 2014).