How emerging adults, broadly referring to those aged from 18 to 29 years old, fare in civic engagement, as compared with other adults is the focus of the present work. The work takes civic engagement to comprise prosociality in civil society, sustaining social institutions, and challenging institutions. Delineating a theoretical framework based on voluntaristic theory, the work expects to find differences in civic engagement due to the voluntaristic mechanisms of power realization, utilitarian optimization, normative conformity, and idealistic consistency maintenance in the emerging adult, as compared with the other. Using survey data from 25,878 Chinese adults in Hong Kong, the work illustrates that the emerging adult is higher than is the other in challenging social institutions, notably in terms radicalism and occupying protest. Moreover, the emerging adult is less prosocial in terms in community participation. Meanwhile, the emerging adult is not consistently different from the other in sustaining social institutions. The findings are crucial, given the control various background characteristics, including age, education, marriage, and employment. These findings are therefore useful for illustrating social forces postulated in voluntaristic theory for explaining civic engagement.

Flourishing in Emerging Adulthood highlights the third decade of life as a time in which individuals have diverse opportunities for positive development. There is mounting evidence that this time period, at least for a significant majority, is a unique developmental period in which positive development is fostered. Dr. Lene Arnett Jensen highlights the importance of this work in an engaging foreword, and chapters are written by leading scholars in diverse disciplines who address various aspects of flourishing. They discuss multiple aspects of positive development including how young people flourish in key areas of emerging adulthood (e.g., identity, love, work, worldviews), the various unique opportunities afforded to young people to flourish, how flourishing might look different around the world, and how flourishing can occur in the face of challenge. Most chapters are accompanied by first-person essays written by a range of emerging adults who exemplify the aspect of flourishing denoted in that chapter and make note of how choices and experiences have helped them transition to adulthood. Taken together, this innovative collection provides rich evidence and examples of how young people are flourishing as a group and as individuals in a variety of settings and circumstances. This unique resource will be useful to students, faculty, professionals, clinicians, and university personnel who work with young adults or who study development during emerging adulthood.

Fifteen years ago, Jeffrey Jensen Arnett proposed emerging adulthood as a new life stage at ages 18-29, one distinct from both the adolescence that precedes it and the young adulthood that eventually follows. Rather than marrying and becoming parents in their early 20s, most people in developed countries now postpone these transitions until at least their late 20s, spending these years in self-focused explorations as they try out different possibilities in their education, careers, and relationships. Since Arnett proposed his theory of emerging adulthood in 2000, it has turned into a full-fledged academic field, and the ideas have been applied in practical areas as well, such as mental health and education. The Oxford Handbook of Emerging Adulthood brings together for the first time the wealth of theory and research that has developed in this new and burgeoning field. It includes chapters by many prominent scholars on a wide range of topics, such as brain development, relations with friends, relations with parents, expectations for marriage, sexual relationships, media use, substance use and abuse, and resilience. The chapters both summarize the existing research and point the way to new prospects for research in the years to come.

Recently the lives of people from age 18 to 29 have changed so dramatically that a new stage of life has developed, emerging adulthood, that is distinct from both the adolescence that precedes it and the young adulthood that comes in its wake. Rather than marrying and becoming parents in their early twenties, most people in industrialized societies now postpone these transitions until at least their late twenties, and instead spend the time in self-focused exploration as they try out different possibilities in their careers and relationships. In Emerging Adulthood, Jeffrey Jensen Arnett identifies and labels, for the first time, this period exploration, instability, possibility, self-focus, and a sustained sense of being in limbo. An increasing number of emerging adults emphasize having meaningful and satisfying work to a degree not seen in prior generations. Marrying later and exploring more casual sexual relationships have created different hopes and fears concerning long-term commitments and the differences between love and sex. Emerging adults also face the challenge of defending their non-traditional lifestyles to parents and others outside their generation who have made much more traditional choices. In contrast to previous portrayals of emerging adults, Arnett's research shows that they are particularly skilled at maintaining contradictory emotions--they are confident while still being wary, and optimistic in the face of large degrees of uncertainty. As the demographics of American youth, the American workplace, and adulthood continue to evolve, Emerging Adulthood is indispensable reading for anyone wanting to understand the face of modern America.

This volume addresses important questions related to the well-being and quality of life of emerging adults during crisis periods. It discusses the particular challenges that emerging adults face during a global or local crisis, the psychosocial resources they mobilize to overcome them and to flourish, the well-being indicators pertinent to youth development across various life domains, and the strategies to promote positive youth development and well-being under conditions of crisis. The volume examines these questions from an international and interdisciplinary point of view, collecting contributions mainly from psychology, but also education, economics, and sociology. It includes novel quantitative and qualitative research, intervention studies, critical reviews, and conceptual chapters. This makes it an essential read for scholars of positive development in emerging adulthood under crisis, as well as a relevant and accessible source of information for discerning lay readers. The specific focus of the majority of contributions on the Covid-19 pandemic makes this volume highly topical. Its focus on both well-being dimensions and problems related to crises offers a deeper understanding of the cultural similarities and differences in individual and collective challenges and resources across world regions. The volume investigates various facets of well-being, including daily experiences, relationships, purpose and growth, learning activities, and achievements. Evidence derived from the contributions to this volume can prove valuable for handling future crises through targeted interventions and programmes in different contexts and life domains.

Between adolescence and adulthood, individuals begin to explore themselves mentally and emotionally in an attempt to figure out who they are and where they fit in society. Social technologies in the modern age have ushered in an era where these evolving adolescents must circumvent the negative pressures of online influences while also still trying to learn how to be utterly independent. Recent Advances in Digital Media Impacts on Identity, Sexuality, and Relationships is a collection of critical reference materials that provides imperative research on identity exploration in emerging adults and examines how digital media is used to help explore and develop one’s identity. While highlighting topics such as mobile addiction, online intimacy, and cyber aggression, this publication explores a crucial developmental period in the human lifespan and how digital media hinders (or helps) maturing adults navigate life. This book is ideally designed for therapists, psychologists, sociologists, psychiatrists, researchers, educators, academicians, and professionals.

Much of the world has access to internet and social media. The internet has quickly become a new hub for not only communication, but also community development. In most communities, people develop new cultural norms and identity development through social media usage. However, while these new lines of communication are helpful to many, challenges such as social media addiction, cyberbullying, and misinformation lurk on the internet and threaten forces both within and beyond the internet. The Research Anthology on Usage, Identity, and Impact of Social Media on Society and Culture is a comprehensive resource on the impact social media has on an individuals’ identity formation as well as its usage within society and cultures. It explores new research methodologies and findings into the behavior of users on social media as well as the effects of social media on society and culture as a whole. Covering topics such as cultural diversity, online deception, and youth impact, this major reference work is an essential resource for computer scientists, online community moderators, sociologists, business leaders and managers, marketers, advertising agencies, government officials, libraries, students and faculty of higher education, researchers, and academicians.

Sexuality in Emerging Adulthood provides a comprehensive overview of sexuality at the stage straddling adolescence and adulthood. The first section of the volume offers conceptualizations and foundational perspectives on sexuality in emerging adulthood, with topics including theory, developmental considerations, sexual behavior, sexual beliefs and attitudes, associations with romance, casual sex, and sexual orientation. The second section systematically examines contexts and socializing agents of sexual development, including parents, peers, media, and religion. The third section narrows in on the overarching theme of the series by addressing factors leading to flourishing and floundering in the area of sexuality during emerging adulthood, such as effects of early adversity, sexual health, sexual well-being, sexuality and mental health, and sexual assault. Accompanying seven of the chapters in the volume are brief scientific reports offering new related research. The volume also contains four method tutorials that discuss topics in sex research such as ethical considerations, recruitment and incentive strategies, and identity-affirming methods. Concluding with innovative new perspectives on the integration of sexual health promotion and sexual violence prevention, this volume is crucial reading for academic scholars and those working with and supporting emerging adults.

Journeys through Emerging Adulthood takes the reader on a tour of contemporary transitions to adulthood, reporting on the latest cross-national and cross-cultural research into young adulthood and separating fact from fiction about this important life phase. Alan Reifman shows how today’s youth are taking more time to enter traditional adult roles, and explores the benefits and disadvantages of this gradual emergence into adulthood. This essential textbook navigates the research that reveals the substantial variety in young people’s paths to adulthood. It covers the spectrum of the young adult experience, examining the influence that parents have on their grown children’s progress and identity as adults, and considering the impact of traditional milestones such as higher education, establishing a career, forming romantic relationships and becoming a parent. It examines key topics including mental health in emerging adults and the likelihood of substance abuse, and how young adults might reach out into the community through volunteerism, religious involvement and political activism. Each section includes examples and studies conducted in a range of countries, exploring how the journey to adulthood can vary according to cultural context as well as individual circumstance. The book affirms that while there is great variety in how one transitions to adulthood, there is no correct path, and most people fare well – or even thrive – in adulthood. Featuring end-of-chapter summaries, quizzes and activities, Journeys Through Emerging Adulthood provides an accessible yet comprehensive overview of this significant life stage, connecting fundamental psychological theories with modern social phenomena. Reifman’s text is essential reading for both undergraduate and graduate students of psychology, human development and sociology, as well as students and researchers of any discipline interested in the path to adulthood.

Ip uses Hong Kong as a case study in how the production of the desire for "the local" lies at the heart of global cultural economy. Perhaps more so than most places, the construction of a local identity in Hong Kong has come about through a complex interplay of neoliberalism, postcoloniality and reaction to the consequent anxieties and uncertainties. As its importance as an economic centre has diminished and its relationship with Mainland China has become more strained, its people have become more concerned to define a "Hong Kong" identity that can be defended from external threat. Ip analyses the working and reworking of power relations and modes of agency in this global city. A must read for scholars of Hong Kong politics and society as well as a fascinating case study for scholars of identity politics as a global phenomenon.