Living

Adulthood Defined by Personality Change

You've graduated from college, gotten married and had children--is it safe to say you're an adult? Not necessarily, says one British researcher.

She found that for many people, "adulthood" is not defined as a passage through traditional events, but rather a change in personality and behavior. The findings are based on responses to questionnaires given to more than 1,300 men and women in the UK over 16 years of age.

The participants were divided roughly equally into four age categories: 16 to 20, 21 to 24, 25 to 30, and over 30. All were asked to identify those events in life that represent transition into adulthood--and to what degree they felt these indicators held true for them.

At the recent British Psychological Society meeting held in Blackpool, Ulph reported that certain time-honored measures of becoming an adult--such as entering marriage, finishing education, becoming a parent or leaving home--were thought of as no better than "slightly important."

Such indicators, she found, generally lost ground to more abstract definitions of growing up--such as having a sense of independence, emotional maturity or responsibility.

Regardless of age, the participants identified five important measures of adulthood:

1- accepting responsibility for the consequences of actions;

2- deciding on personal beliefs and values independently of parents or other influences;

3- achieving financial independence from parents;

4- becoming less self-oriented, and developing greater consideration for others;

5- avoiding drunk driving.

According to Ulph, this study has been the first of its kind to be conducted in Britain and that further research is needed. Meanwhile, she cautioned that just because some historically valued events might no longer be viewed as stepping-stones to adulthood does not necessarily mean that they are no longer of any importance to younger generations.