TY - JOUR
T1 - Does College Matter for Emerging Adulthood? Comparing Developmental Trajectories of Educational Groups
AU - Mitchell, Lauren L.
AU - Syed, Moin
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015, Springer Science+Business Media New York.
PY - 2015/11/1
Y1 - 2015/11/1
N2 - Critics of emerging adulthood theory have suggested that it only applies to college students, but this assertion has largely gone untested. The purpose of the present study was to compare developmental trajectories of non-students versus college-educated youth in theoretically relevant domains of work, love, and financial independence. Using data from the Youth Development Study (N = 1139, 49.6 % female, 63.3 % White, 10.9 % Southeast Asian, 1.5 % Other Asian, 8.6 % Black, 5.3 % Mixed Race, 4.0 % Latino, 0.8 % Native American), latent growth curve models were fitted to chart each group’s development, from ages 14 to 30. Different trajectories were revealed for hours worked, children, and financial dependence on parents, spouses, and government aid. No differences were found in employment rates, marriage rates, or financial dependence on own income. These results provide a clearer picture of emerging adulthood for non-students, and highlight problems with generalizing college student research to all emerging adults.
AB - Critics of emerging adulthood theory have suggested that it only applies to college students, but this assertion has largely gone untested. The purpose of the present study was to compare developmental trajectories of non-students versus college-educated youth in theoretically relevant domains of work, love, and financial independence. Using data from the Youth Development Study (N = 1139, 49.6 % female, 63.3 % White, 10.9 % Southeast Asian, 1.5 % Other Asian, 8.6 % Black, 5.3 % Mixed Race, 4.0 % Latino, 0.8 % Native American), latent growth curve models were fitted to chart each group’s development, from ages 14 to 30. Different trajectories were revealed for hours worked, children, and financial dependence on parents, spouses, and government aid. No differences were found in employment rates, marriage rates, or financial dependence on own income. These results provide a clearer picture of emerging adulthood for non-students, and highlight problems with generalizing college student research to all emerging adults.
KW - Educational groups
KW - Emerging adulthood
KW - Non-students
KW - Transition to adulthood
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U2 - 10.1007/s10964-015-0330-0
DO - 10.1007/s10964-015-0330-0
M3 - Article
C2 - 26199078
AN - SCOPUS:84943351839
SN - 0047-2891
VL - 44
SP - 2012
EP - 2027
JO - Journal of Youth and Adolescence
JF - Journal of Youth and Adolescence
IS - 11
ER -