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Today's young adults often leave their parents' home later, or return more often, extend their educations longer, delay marriage, and change jobs more frequently than their parents' generation. The factors affecting these changes range from economic conditions, to changing views and norms, to a changing portrait of this generation, the most diverse culturally in many generations. Below is a snapshot of how all these threads are woven together to shape the transition to adutlhood. The links in the box to the right of each section are seminal papers by Network members.
MARRIAGE AND FAMILY
No
where do we see such a fundamental
shift than in this generation’s
views on marriage and family. Youth today are delaying marriage
and family longer, and often believe it’s necessary to
have all one’s ducks in a row (education completed, career
well established, money saved
for a house, etc.) before marrying.
They also view potential partners in a much more romantic
ideal. They are looking for that
soulmate, someone who will be
the ying to their yang. They are also less willing to
give up their independence. Whereas past generations
typically viewed marriage as you + me = us, today’s
youth see it as you + me = you
and me.
These views and trends differ depending on region of
the country and socioeconomic status. Low-income youth
are delaying marriage but not childbearing. Likewise,
rural young adults with few aspirations for college look
more like the 1950s ideal: married by 23 and a child
by 24.
Delaying marriage and childbearing, however, may not
be a bad thing. Fast
starters—those who bypass education, get a
job, and marry early—often end up floundering economically.
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EDUCATION
With the
shifting economy, the
demand by employers for education and the earnings of college
graduates have never been higher. But,
the costs of higher education have also
been rising. Many lower and middle-income youth stretch
college out as they intermittently
drop out to work and save, or they take fewer classes while
working part-time. More youth (of all
income brackets) live at home during
or between college and a job or a graduate
degree. Although college costs are increasing, the
return to education has never been greater, and therefore college
is one of the best investments youth can make. [Click here for a chart by MDRC on the earnings premium of a college]
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THE ECONOMY AND THE JOB MARKET
A
logical assumption is that the
economy and the job market are forcing the delay
in reaching “adulthood” by
making it more difficult to find and
keep a high-paying job. Yet the Network finds that neither is
a primary factor contributing to the “failure to launch”—except
for certain groups.
As the economy shifts from a manufacturing to a knowledge
and service economy, more workers move from job to job
before settling into a long-term relationship with a
single employer. Gone
is the company man. More young adults are working
part-time, with few fringe benefits. Yet, young adults
seem to have adjusted to the flux. Some, in fact, find
that the best way to garner a wage increase is to move
from one firm to another.
Some
youth are more likely to live in their parents’ home
when their labor market prospects are dim, but
others live at home even when they have a job.
Aspirations for careers have also changed. Young adults
today want higher-status
jobs, yet at the same time, their interest in demanding
or interesting jobs is on the decline, as is their interest
in jobs that contribute to society.
Wages have taken a hit for males with no high
school degree, especially
for African American men. These men are less able
to support a family on their own wages. Yet
we find that overall wage stagnation explains only a
small portion of the delayed transition.
The cost of living (especially housing in some
parts of the country) may price many out of independence,
yet again, housing
costs explain only part of the shift. Higher housing
costs, however, may mean it takes a little longer to
get into that first house. In fact, we spoke with many
youth who say they prefer to live with their parents
while they save for a down payment, rather than “throwing
money away” on rent.
That said, those in the lower economic rungs are feeling
the pinch of a changing labor market—often without
the family financial support to fall back on--which
is a worrisome harbinger of growing income inequality.
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DEBT AND MATERIALISM
Among this generation
is a frequent topic of concern.
Young adults, some argue, are crushed
by mortgage, school loans, and credit
card debt. However,
as the Network finds, the story
of debt and the transition to adulthood
is more complex than meets the eye. Only about
half of young adults carry debt,
and debt loads have neither changed dramatically
over the years nor appear especially
burdensome for the typical consumer.
It is perhaps surprising that this generation, saturated as
they are by media and marketing, has
not seen a spike in consumerism. The
once-steady rise in materialism appears
to have peaked in the 1980s. Since then, Paris Hilton notwithstanding,
the desire to have the latest fashions
and keep up with the Joneses has declined to pre-1970s levels.
However, the priority placed on material wealth and major consumer
goods, such as homes, cars, and appliances, has remained steady
since the 1980s. |
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Although it’s impossible to pinpoint one or two
factors that drive this lengthening transition, it is
clear that youth, their parents, and the larger society
have changed. Norms, expectations, and even parenting
have helped to alter the landscape.
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CHANGING NORMS
Today’s
youth seem much freer to explore
options and take their time in settling down. Women
have a much wider menu of options today (from jobs to family),
and middle- and upper-class women
are often much more reluctant to settle down.
Finally, youths’ views
of their parents have changed. Whereas
once “the old man” was
someone to escape, today’s young adults often consider
their parents to be good friends. And
parents appear to have changed as well,
spending more time deeply involved in their children’s
lives.
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GREATER DIVERSITY
Today’s
young adults are the
most diverse in this country’s history. A
larger share of the population
is black, Hispanic, or
other race-ethnicities than ever before. More
are immigrants or second-generation
youth. This diversity
brings with it a wider
mix of cultural norms and practices,
including extended families,
financial responsibility for parents, and other differences
that can affect the transition to, and definition of, adulthood.
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Families are
increasingly called on for more support for a longer
period of time. This support takes the form of
both money and time, as well as extended health insurance
and other supports. But what does it mean for those
whose families cannot afford this commitment?
Social institutions: If families are unprepared
for this extended support, social institutions are even
less prepared. Independence is prized in America. Yet
if our institutional support for young adults relies
exclusively on the family’s good will, we are
likely to overtax the capacities of families while
we undernourish the next generation of workers, family
members, and citizens.
Civic Society: Civic participation is the backbone of democracy, strong communities, and an engaged and active public. Young adulthood
is a prime time for crystallizing civic responsibility and
political orientations.
Yet reports are that youth are more disconnected today, less trusting, and more cynical.Their confidence in the Supreme Court, the executive branch, the Congress, and the press has sunk precipitously. Their concept of a public has all but disappeared (see John Q Public: Connecting the Dots). So what does this mean for continued civic participation? How can governments and other institutions instill civic participation in young adults today?
Vulnerable youth: Youth with families
who can afford the extended transition to adulthood are
likely to benefit from it. However, those whose families
cannot afford to support them, or those who face other
barriers to a smooth transition, are likely to suffer. For vulnerable
populations (foster
care, mental
health, disabilities, juvenile or adult
corrections, and homeless
youth), the transition is rarely smooth as
major government support change dramatically on reaching
legal adulthood (often age 18 or 21). Others, such
as the growing numbers of minority men imprisoned,
will face a rough transition as they are shadowed in
the job market by a prison sentence.
Growing inequality: All of these factors—an
overtaxed family, underprepared social institutions,
and the above-noted basket of economic and social changes, point
to a growing inequality (see also Upward Mobility and Class in America).
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We often hear the media and others throwing up their hands
and saying, what’s wrong with kids today? However, the
Network’s research suggests this might not be the right
question.
Our interviews and research do not support increasingly popular
theories that the early adult years are an extended “moratorium,” an
avoidance of adulthood. Most youth today are not avoiding work,
lounging about on their parents’ dime, or living in fear
of commitment. To be sure, a subset of young adults may fall
into these categories. Yet so, too, do some older adults. Most
young people are striving toward adulthood— seeking responsibility,
negotiating autonomy, making commitments in education, work,
and family, finding ways to be involved in their communities,
and expressing concern about their futures and the futures of
our nation and world. Yet many are having a difficult time finding
their way, and it is taking them much longer to get there.
Therefore, the important question to ask is not, What’s
wrong with young people today? but How have changing social and
economic conditions combined to create a new life period? What
new capacities and skills do young people now need to navigate
this period successfully? How do institutions and policies need
to be revamped to smooth entry into and through adult life? |
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