Book Chapter

From twenties to thirties

Sheila Panchal, Panchal, Sheila

2011

Overview

This chapter will focus on two key transition points that occur within early adulthood. The first will be termed the 'early 20s' transition throughout, which often represents the shift from the academic to the working world, typically leaving college or university, in the 21-24-year age range. The second is the 'turning 30' transition, which concerns those in the 25-35-year age group. These two distinct transition points have been identified as key developmental turning points (e.g. Levinson, 1986) and are influenced by today's social and cultural landscape. In the popular literature, both of these transition points have been referred to as the 'quarter-life crisis' (Barr, 2004; Robbins and Wilner, 2001), implying a reflection point in the same vein as the mid-life crisis. A Common Purpose (1994) report indicated that 83% of respondents believe that there is such a thing as the quarter-life crisis, where they and their peers think about what they want from life. However, other research challenges these views: for example, Dunn and Merriam (1995) found no persuasive evidence for Levinson's 'Age-Thirty Transition' in a large sample of adults.

• Publisher: Routledge
• ISBN: 0415473594, 9780415473590, 9780415473606, 0415473608