Early Adulthood in a Family Context

Graduation, full-time employment, independent living, marriage, parenthood—for decades this has been the idealized trajectory to adulthood. More recently, however, scholars, practitioners, and young adults themselves are recognizing the disconnect between long-held cultural scripts and current social and economic realities, as more young adults are following a wide range of pathways to adulthood.  

Early Adulthood in a Family Context provides insight on a contemporary cross-section of families that are diverse in terms of class, ethnicity, immigrant status, and economic circumstances. Focusing on family characteristics and dynamics that promote successful transitions to early adulthood, the book presents new theories, methodologies, and findings about the familial experiences and behaviors of young adults with their parents, partners, and offspring. Contributors also warn against oversimplified conclusions by emphasizing the variety of pathways to adulthood and recommending public policy supports for young adults. Included in the coverage: 

• Parental support and young adults’ well-being.
• Young adults in the digital world.
• Child well-being and the long reach of the family.
• Developmental shifts in romantic/sexual relationships from adolescence to young adulthood.
• Becoming a parent: social contexts of fertility during young adulthood.
• Young adult fertility in the context of economic disadvantage.

Early Adulthood in a Family Context brings current issues into clear perspective and deserves a wide audience among researchers, faculty, and students of human development and family studies, family sociology, and demography as well as policy makers and practitioners.