Chronological and subjective age in emerging adulthood: The crossover effect

Manish K.

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Chronological and subjective age in emerging adulthood: The crossover effect

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Abstract

The focus of this analysis is to analyze the research paper "Chronological and subjective age in emerging adulthood: The crossover effect" by Nancy Galambos, Pamela Turner and Lauree Tilton-Weaver (2005). Firstly, I shall provide an overview of the study and its claims and evaluate the claims made in context of other literature pertaining to emerging adulthood.

The research paper explores the relationship between chronological age and subjective age in emerging adulthood. Galambos, Turner and Tilton-Weaver (2005) utilized predictors of variability in subjective age among a sample of 190 university students (which comprised 140 females and 50 males) aged 17 to 29. The sample completed questionnaires assessing their subjective age, psychosocial maturity, number of role transitions, financial dependence, economic pressure and alcohol abuse.

Introduction
The results of the study
The literature pertaining to the transition from childhood to adulthood
Diverging views regarding the dominance socio-economic background factors
The transition points
The positive aspect of the research study
The wide age range in Montepare and Lachman's research
Linearity as a basis
Highlighting the correlation of physical factors in causality
The variety of literature
The variances in criteria in emerging adulthood
Conclusion
Bibliography

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[...] New directions for child and adolescent development: Exploring cultural conceptions of the transition to adulthood (pp.78-89). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Galambos, N. L., Barker, E.T., & Tilton-Weaver, L. C. (2003b). Who gets caught at maturity gap? A study of pseudomature, immature and mature adolescents. International Journal of Behavioural Development 253-263. Galambos, N. L., Turner, P. K., & Tilton-Weaver, L. C. (2005). Subjective Age in Emerging Adulthood: The Crossover Effect. Journal of Adolescent Research. 20: 538. Greenberger, E., & Sorenson, A. B. (1974). Toward a concept of psychosocial maturity. Journal of Youth and Adolescence 329-358. Hubley, A. [...]

[...] Subjective age traits. Research on Aging 494-496. Mayseless, O., & Scharf, M. (2003). What does it mean to be an adult? The Israeli experience. In J. J. Arnett & N. L. Galambos (Eds). New directions for child and adolescent development: Exploring cultural conceptions of the transition to adulthood (pp.345-371). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Montepare, J.M., & Lachman, M. E., (1989). You are only as old as you feel: Self Perceptions of age, fears of aging, and life satisfaction from adolescence to old age. [...]

[...] As such, the research study attempts what it refers to as a cross sectional study posing the following research questions: At what chronological age in emerging adulthood does crossover to a younger subjective age occur, and is the relationship between chronological age and subjective age a linear or non-linear function? 2. After accounting for the relationship between chronological and subjective age, to what extent do two possible markers of movement towards adulthood, psychosocial maturity and role transitions, explain variation in the subjective ages of emerging adults? [...]

[...] Therefore, “cultural difference in what it means to be an adult could well affect the turning point from an older to a younger subjective age and perhaps even whether the turning points exists at all”(p.553). Nevertheless, it raises important wider issues for future research, for example the research study poses the question: instance, is the denial of a youth phenomenon stronger earlier in emerging adulthood? What are the psychological and social correlates of this pattern?” (p.551) and that “understanding the sources of interindividual differences in subjective age at various chronological ages in emerging adulthood holds many possibilities for future research” (p.551). [...]

[...] As such, it is submitted that the interrelationship between these factors must be considered in any contemporary research regarding the relationship between subjective and chronological age and the crossover effect. The positive aspect of the research study is that it refers to the extensive body of literature pertaining to emerging adulthood and expressly acknowledges the interplay of complex socio-economic and psychosocial factors in emerging adulthood. Moreover, the diverging views are evident in the research study's literature review, whereby the paper refers to Arnett's (2004) view that: “Emerging adulthood is characterized by a diversity of life situations with respect to education, work, and romance: experimentation with different behaviors and identities; and subjective perceptions of oneself as not having reached adulthood” (p.539). [...]

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