Identity Exploration and Emerging Adulthood
Arnett(2000) suggested that in adolescents' identity exploration, it is more transient and tentative. (Arnett, 2000). Adolescent dating is recreational in nature, involving group activities. They are still exploring their identity before asking the question "Given the kind of person I am, What kind of person do I wish to have a partner through life?" (Arnett, 2000, p. 473). With increasing opportunities to pursue higher education and greater delays in marriage and childbirth (Arnett, 2007), there is now more time, beyond adolescence, for activities and reflections surrounding self-definition and identity development. (Kose, Papouchis& Fireman). When adolescents start to develop the cognitive skill to understand others feeling and what they are thinking, also known as theory of mind. This helps adolescents to develop their own sense of self and their own way of perceive the world. It is normal for adolescents to feel personal fable. It is what drives them to develop their own sets of skills to understand others thoughts and feelings. And this also triggers their ability to seek out their own identity. Arnett(2000) argues that as the age of adulthood had been moved back and the age of becoming an adult is getting older than the past. There is more time for the adolescents to explore themselves more. He thought that his period of exploration seems that perspective-taking skills are being sharpened most dramatically. Personal fable also helps adolescents transition from exploring one self to seeking extended experimentation, particularly in relationships, during the transition of young adulthood. Elkind though thought that the extension period for identity exploration and less pressure to take on typical adult roles teens are special and invulnerable, but are not feeling on center stage as often felt by the adolescents. (Elkind et al., Lapsley et al., 1989). As an example, some young adults might still have the feeling that they are special inside and invulnerable, but they are less likely to engage in risky behaviors. Some current findings suggest that increases in personal fable ideation are associated with increases in identity and cognitive formal operations, particularly among this young adult age group. Increase in personal fable ideation, feelings of invulnerability, among emerging adults may explain the heightened level of maladaptive behaviors among this group. For example, studies might explore how faulty thinking, particularly personal fable ideation, is related to risk behavior and how interventions can be tailored to address the type of thinking if leading to harmful out comes for the young adults(18–25 years old). Apparently inconsistent findings might be resolved by improvements in ways of measuring individual differences in the personal fable. Young adults have to be able to cope with identity crisis at the same time knowing that personal fable is driving them to risky behaviors. If young adults do not cope with the inner conflicts, they will be likely to involve in risk-behaviors. Current research indicates that the age of emerging adulthood may extend later than previously thought, and the personal fable also appears to persist into emerging adulthood. The persistence of the personal fable could contribute to continued risk-taking behavior even though that age group physically appears to to be adult.
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