Am I an Adult yet? – Developing an Adult Identity in Emerging Adulthood.

Abstract

This study explored emerging adults’ identity development, with the aim of understanding how they develop their personal identity of becoming an adult. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 participants about their personal experiences of becoming an adult. In a reflexive thematic analysis, I developed four themes: Measuring up to adulthood, Taking adult actions, Facing the unknown and Reflecting to grow. The themes showed that identity development was carried out in comparison to societal expectations of adulthood and that taking adult actions to establish independence, claiming responsibility and acknowledging one’s self-competence contributed to a sense of becoming an adult. Moreover, emerging adults experienced future uncertainties and struggled emotionally on their journey of becoming adults, which hindered them in identifying as adults. However, they made meaning out of these struggles and grew personally by reflecting on their past. The findings show that emerging adults perceived becoming, rather than being, an adult as part of their identity.