Souls in Transition by Christian Smith

I have been reading a book about Americans after high school and before they assume full adult function and responsibility. I think this is a land mark book to help us understand the confusing world in which we live.

This book presents a study of what happens to the religious and social orientation and characteristics of people transitioning into adulthood from adolescence—it looks at people at the age of 18-23.

The book notes that there are four new determining factors in the development of young people during these years—factors that have not been present in America previously:
a. The dramatic growth of higher education.
b. Delay of marriage.
c. Changes in the American and global economy that undermine stable, lifelong careers and replace them with lower job security, frequent job changes, and an ongoing need to approach careers with a variety of skills, maximal flexibility and readiness to retool as needed.
d. Parental willingness to extend the educational careers of their children even into the 30’s with monetary subsidies. It is the average behavior of parents of this age group to spend $38,340 on each child over the 17 year period from 18 to 34 in order to help them accommodate to adult requirements.

The features marking this stage of emerging adulthood are intense identity exploration, instability, a focus on self, feeling in limbo or in transition or in between, and a sense of possibilities, opportunities, and unparalleled hope. These are often accompanied by feelings of transience, confusion, anxiety, self-obsession, melodrama, conflict, disappointment, and sometimes emotional devastation.