Transition to Adulthood The Future of Children, Vol. 20, No. 1, Spring 2010, Vol. 20, No. 1, Spring 2010. A Collaboration of The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and The Brookings Institution.
“Todays young people are taking longer to leave home, attain economic independence, and form families of their own than did their peers half a century ago. Rather than reaching the milestone of adulthood at age eighteen or twenty-one, as happened during the mid-1950s, some young Americans today are well into their thirties before they attain that goal today. The lengthened transition not only burdens parents who need to be providing for their own retirement, but is a potent source of social stratification. The forces behind the lengthening transition employers reluctance to hire young people without educational credentials. the longer time it is taking many young adults to finish their postsecondary education, longer life spans, shifting sexual attitudes and practicesare unlikely to change any time soon. The question for policy makers is whether families and the social institutions that have successfully educated, trained, and supported young adults are up to the task today. Not surprisingly, researchers find that existing institutions work much better for affluent young adults than they do for most others, leaving the playing field for young adult development sharply tilted. Contributors to this volume examine some of the institutions that house and serve young adultshigher education, the workplace, the community, the military, and, for a group of especially vulnerable youth, the juvenile justice, foster care, and related systems. The contributors review research that assesses how well these institutions support today’s young adults in their quest for education, economic independence, family
formation, and civic responsibility. They also suggest policies to make these institutions more effective.”
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