Emerging Adulthood in a European Context

Rita Žukauskienė is a full professor of psychology at the Institute of Psychology, Mykolas Romeris University in Vilnius, Lithuania. She is author (or co-author) of 7 books, and over 160 journal articles with a focus on studying individual developmental pathways from childhood to adolescence and to emerging adulthood. She is currently leading a longitudinal project, "POSIDEV", examining positive youth development from adolescence to emerging adulthood.

"There is no single, clear-cut path to adulthood and nowhere is the diversity of paths more apparent than in Europe. This book provides an eye-opening examination of the complex factors (e.g., culture, educational structures, belief systems, family values, economies, political histories) impacting the lives of emerging adults within a variety of European countries as they make their way through the third decade of life. It marks a huge step forward in our scholarly understanding of the transition to adulthood in Europe."– Larry J. Nelson, School of Family Life, Brigham Young University, USA

• PART I: INTRODUCTION AND CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS 1. The experience of Being an Emerging Adult in Europe, R. Žukauskienė 2. Emerging Adulthood, Early Adulthood and Quarter-Life Crisis: Updating Erikson for the 21st Century, O. Robinson PART II: EXPERIENCING THE TRANSITION TO ADULTHOOD 3. What Does it Mean to be an Adult? Importance Assigned to Criteria for Adulthood in Italian Emerging Adults, Crocetti, E. & Tagliabue, S. 4. What Does It Mean to Be an Adult? Perceptions of adulthood among Lithuanian Emerging Adults, Vosylis, R. Kaniušonytė, G., Raižienė, S. 5. Experiencing the Transition to Adulthood in Germany: Including Emerging Adults of the "Forgotten Half", Seiffge-Krenke, I. 6. The Transition to Adulthood in Turkey: Views from College Students and Working Individuals, Doğan, A.,Vural Yüzbaşı, D. & Demir, M. PART III: TRAJECTORIES AND DIVERSE PATTERNS IN THE TRANSITION TO ADULTHOOD 7. Becoming an Adult in Portugal: Negotiating Pathways between Opportunities and Constraints, Saraiva, L.M. & Matos, P. M. 8. Emerging Adulthood in Finland, Katariina Salmela-Aro, K., Sortheix, F., Ranta, M. 9. Swedish Emerging Adults’ Sense of Identity and Perceptions of Adulthood, Wängqvist, M. & Frisén, A. 10. Emerging Adults in the Czech Republic: Views Into and Across Different Domains of Life, Macek, P., Ježek,S., Lacinová, L., Bouša, O., Kvitkovičová, L., Neužilová Michalčáková, R., & Širůček, J. PART IV: CLOSING SUMMARY 11. Emerging Adults in Europe: Common Themes, Diverse Paths, and Future Directions, J.J. Arnett