Department of Psychology
Jeffrey Jensen Arnett
2010 Media Events
Don't get caught up in a quarter-life crisis
Red & Black (U of Georgia) 11/8/2010 …It seems I've always had a plan for life.
After college, I quickly transitioned into adulthood… A recent New York Times
article by Robin Marantz Henig entitled, What Is It About 20-Somethings?" posed
the question, Why are so many people in their 20s taking so long to grow up?"
Henig says young people today are forestalling the beginning of adulthood.
Henig's article cites research by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, a psychology professor
at Clark University, which outlines the 20s as a distinct life stage called
'emerging adulthood.' " Arnett's work was also quoted in the newspaper of
Quinnipiac this week.
Women Talk:
Confusion in Options
RIA Novosti (News agency,
Russia) 10/12/2010 Columnist Svetlana Kolchik writes: … In a recent New York Times
magazine article, Jeffrey Jensen
Arnett, a psychology professor at Clark University in Worcester, Mass.,
explores the phenomenon of emerging adulthood" which, according to him, tends
to start somewhere in the early 20s and, if all goes well, should end in the
early 30s when some of the milestone life decisions such as choosing a career
and a partner are supposed to be made. …"
Not quite grown up
11/14/2010 Is generation Y's reluctance to rush through the rites of
passage from adolescence to adulthood a sign of self-indulgence or a sensible
response to an increasingly complex world? … Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, a psychology professor at Clark University in
Massachusetts, USA, is leading the movement to view the 20s as a distinct life
stage, one that has developed in response to cultural change, not simply the
lazy indecisiveness of an oft-maligned generation.
Recession shatters many young career dreams
Kansas City Star 11/20/2010 …Our wounded economy
has twentysomethings limping into the job market. Large numbers are out
of work. Even more look long and hard only to find jobs that don't
capitalize on their talents or pay much. … What complicates the hard
times for the young, said Clark University psychologist Jeffrey Arnett,
is that they haven't fully become adult. His studies of 'emerging
adulthood' — the slow process that doesn't see full maturity until about
30 — find that trouble landing work delays maturation and a healthy
sense of self-worth. …"
Emerging
adulthood
Walkingonair.org 9/30/2010 Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, research
professor, Department of Psychology, is interviewed on Walking on Air with
Betsy and Sal," a syndicated, one-hour talk radio program online and carried on
AM stations from California to Virginia. The audio is available in two parts: Emerging Adults part 1; Emerging Adults part 2.
The Peter Pan Generation
Fox Business News 9/28/2010
…According to Jeffrey Arnett,
a psychology professor at Clark University, there is a quiet revolution taking
place across the world in which people in their 20s are taking longer to settle
down. He calls it 'emerging adulthood' and has been studying the subject for
more than a decade, interviewing hundreds of 20-something-year-olds about how
and why their road to adulthood is a longer route than their parents. FOX
Business sat down with Arnett to discuss this phenomenon and what it means for
everyone's bottom line." The video and an expanded Q&A with Arnett are posted at
foxbusiness.com.
The new twenty-something generation
UWM Post (University of
Wisconsin/Milwaukee student newspaper) 9/27/2010 I can't get it out of my head.
This New York Times Magazine article from August, titled 'What Is It About 20-Somethings?' by
contributing writer Robin Marantz Henig – I can't escape it. But so it goes, I
suppose, when something is so candidly full of truths, it becomes unavoidable.
... Clark University Psychology Professor Jeffrey Jensen Arnett fronts
this movement, asserting that this new development should be viewed as a
distinct life stage: 'emerging adulthood.' "
Act your age! What, in the 21st century, does that mean?
The Independent (UK) 9/26/2010
...A US-based developmental psychologist, who is leading efforts to analyze the
new age groups, believes the twenties – which once saw adults married and
saddled with a family before even reaching the halfway mark – should be viewed
as the new life stage of 'emerging adulthood.' Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, a
professor of psychology at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, thinks
hitting 20 is no longer the gateway to becoming an adult, but is the start of a
"
Twentysomethings
WCVB TV CH5 Chronicle HD 9/22/2010 Clark University psychology research professor Jeffrey Jensen Arnett is
interviewed for the news magazine topic (intro): They stay in school longer,
enter marriage and parenthood later, and recently, due to the lousy economy,
have had a hard time getting out of their childhood bedrooms in the first place.
We're talking about the Millennial generation, 18 to 25 year olds who are very
different from their Baby Boomer parents."
Emerging Adulthood: What Is It About 20-Somethings?
TVO (Ontario Public Television)
9/20/2010 Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, research professor of psychology at Clark
University, is interviewed about his research on emerging adulthood on The
Agenda with Steve Paikin."
Hard times make it harder for everyone to grow up
Providence Journal 9/17/2010 …
Many of our young people, though, are sauntering. The reasons why were taken up
in an Aug. 22 New York Times magazine article, in which the author asks, 'What's
with these people in their 20s?' No snickering. Actual research on the subject
is being done. Leading the charge is Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, a psychology professor at Clark
University, in Worcester. He proposes that, in the transition to adulthood, a
new phase of human development is occurring."
Talking 'bout my generation of slackers
Columbia Spectator 9/13/2010
Do people in their 20s take too long to grow up? … No, no, no, and no. I am in
my 20s and strongly resent being told that I'm not working hard enough. We are
not putting off adulthood. … The New York
Times Magazine recently ran a 10-page spread discussing the state of
20-somethings. In this piece, Robin Marantz Henig overviews why it takes this
long for people in their 20s to reach what is commonly defined as 'adulthood.'
Henig draws on the work of Jeffrey
Jensen Arnett, a Clark University psychology professor, whose extensive
research has led him to label the 20s lifestage as 'emerging adulthood.'…"
20-somethings: NOT lazy, spoiled or selfish
OUPblog (Oxford University
Press) 9/10/2010 Jeffrey Jensen Arnett published this blog to expand on the ideas presented in the recent New York Times Magazine article on his
research, and to respond to stereotypes about emerging adults." He writes: How
do you know when you've reached adulthood? This is one of the first questions I
asked when I began my research on people in their twenties, and it remains among
the most fascinating to me. …"
Students delaying adulthood
Doane Line (Doane College, Neb.) 9/9/2010 Graduate school may not be the typical idea of Neverland, but it
is one of the major reasons this college generation has been accused of refusing
to grow up. … Jeffrey Jensen Arnett,
a psychology professor at Clark University cited in the Times article, said that
our generation had a more positive outlook about early adulthood than older
generations did. …"
Generation Y delays growing up, pursues different opportunities
The Daily Orange (Syracuse
University) 9/8/2010 In an August 2010 article in The New York Times, 'What Is
It About 20-Somethings,' reporter Robin Marantz Henig examines the possibility
that 20-somethings are taking a significantly longer time growing up and
reaching adulthood. … Henig writes of this new stage of adolescence as 'emerging
adulthood,' a term coined by psychology professor Jeffrey Jensen Arnett at Clark University."
Why 30 is the new 20
Toronto Star 9/8/2010 Today,
Hamlet would likely fit in among his fellow twentysomethings. According to new
psychological research, today's youth are delaying big milestones such as
marriage, career and children later than ever. … This has caught the attention
of a small but increasingly influential group of psychology experts who say we
should consider the period between the age of 18 and the late 20s as a new life
stage called emerging adulthood." It would be characterized by five features,
according to Clark University psychologist Jeffrey Arnett…"
Failure to Stay Launched: Boomerang Kids Moving Back Home
ParentDish 9/8/2010 …There's a good
chance your 20- or 30-something 'older' child could be returning to the nest. …
'Usually moving home is temporary and transitional,' Jeffrey Arnett, professor of
psychology at Clark University and author of 'Emerging Adulthood: The Winding
Road from the Late Teens through the Twenties' (Arnett Hardcover, 2004), tells
ParentDish. 'Despite the 'failure to launch' stereotype, few young adults want
to live at home because life is easy there and the rent is cheap.'…"
Are the
Twenties the New Teens?
The Emily Rooney Show (WGBH
radio) 8/31/2010 Young adults are marrying, buying property, and starting
families later than ever before. Are people in their twenties just refusing to
grow up or are we experiencing an inexorable change in the timetable for
reaching adulthood? We're joined by
Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, research professor of Psychology at Clark
University and author of Emerging
Adulthood: The Winding Road from Late Teens through the Twenties and by
David D. Burstein, the 21-year-old founder and executive director of
Generation18."
Young and Free
Chattanooga Times Free Press 8/27/2010 …While passion projects are often points of pride, taking on an
alternative, entrepreneurial career path such as Glen's is not a realistic
prospect for the majority of people in their 20s and 30s …. However, with a
9.5-percent national unemployment rate and a trend toward people in their 20s
delaying marriage, the question arises: Is the notion of the traditional career
path waning? It certainly is more flexible," said Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, a
professor of psychology at Clark University in Worcester, Mass. I think people
still need to find a career path eventually, by 30 or so."
When do
you become a grown-up?"
Today (NBC) 8/24/2010 Psychology
Professor Jeffrey Jensen Arnett was interviewed on NBC's Today Show for the
segment, When do you become a grown-up?" Besides being featured in the most
emailed" New York Times story, which was referenced in media outlets ranging
from Psychology Today to the Daily Show with Jon Stewart," Arnett was also
interviewed on WNET TV (PBS) in New York, The Laura Ingraham Show, Seattle
public radio's "The Conversation with Ross Reynolds [Clark Class of '75]," and many others. The
topic has captured numerous mentions online among bloggers and in social media.
What is it about 20-somethings?
New York Times Magazine (cover feature) 8/22/2010… Jeffrey Jensen
Arnett, a psychology professor at Clark University in Worcester, Mass., is
leading the movement to view the 20s as a distinct life stage, which he calls
'emerging adulthood.' He says what is happening now is analogous to what
happened a century ago, when social and economic changes helped create
adolescence…." The landmark study
Adolescence," published in 1904 by Clark's first president, G. Stanley Hall, is
mentioned. This article was excerpted or referenced by numerous media, including Psychology Today, the Huffington Post, Globe & Mail (UK), the Daily Show with Jon Stewart,
The Daily Beast's Must Read
Cheat Sheet", Lemondrop.com, NDTV (New Delhi), and mire. The feature has sparked many online
blog-based and social media discussions.
Jeffrey Arnett / Clark University - Emerging Adulthood
WNET TV (PBS) New York 8/21/2010 Psychology professor Jeffrey
Jensen Arnett is interviewed about his research on emerging adults, on
One on One with Steve Adubato." The show discusses compelling, real life
stories and features political leaders, CEOs, television personalities,
professors, artists and educational innovators who each share their experiences
and accomplishments." The video is available
online.
'Emerging adulthood' new life stage?
Mynorthwest.com & KIRO - 710 AM (Seattle) 8/19/2010 There's a new term being used to
describe the age between adolescence and adulthood. Dr. Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, in
the Department of Psychology at Clark University, has dubbed the era between
your teens and adulthood 'emerging adulthood.' …" A link to the radio interview
is included: http://bit.ly/bkwmck.
The
Science of Roommates
The New York Times 7/25/2010
First-year roommates matter. Though they may go their separate ways sophomore
year, their reach can ripple throughout the college years and after. … 'Peer
pressure is intense in that first year of college, probably more intense than in
any other year of life,' says Jeffrey
Jensen Arnett, a research psychologist at Clark University and author of Emerging Adulthood: The Winding Road From
Late Teens Through the 20s. 'Everyone around you is a stranger and you want
to fit in,' he says."
Stalled on the road to security
Chicago Tribune 7/2/2010
The class of 2010 is hearing lots of stirring speeches about the end of a
journey. But for a wide swath of young people, earning a diploma or notching a
21st birthday won't be the culmination of anything. Their trajectories will
stall -- like Gleeson's -- or go in reverse as they move home, propped up by
parents. ... When does assistance turn into enabling? Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, a
psychology professor at Clark University in Worcester, Mass., and author of
Emerging Adulthood, said that knowing when to cut off aid is more art than
science." This article ran in several media, including the Arizona Republic 6/29).
Dating for a decade? Young adults aren't rushing marriage
USA Today 6/22/2010
Relationships today are far different from the
whirlwind courtships that blossomed in the uncertain 1930s and '40s. …Although
breaking up and getting back together has been considered a bad sign… this
back-and-forth reflects a desire among some to keep their options open, experts
say. 'They may still have this feeling they don't want their possibilities
constricted,' says psychologist Jeffrey Arnett of Clark University in Worcester,
Mass., who studies emerging adulthood. This article ran in several other media
outlets across the country.
Any Job Better Than No Job?
New York Times - Room For
Debate blog 6/6/2010
Economists estimate that the U.S. needs to add more than 100,000 jobs a month
just to keep pace with new workers — high school and college graduates —
entering the market. In such a climate, should the new college graduates
consider jobs they might have rejected a few years ago? A recent Times Magazine
article by Judith Warner pointed out that some studies show young people just
out of college are turning down jobs that they don't like. In this economy, is
any job better than no job?..." Among expert commentary cited, is Why Shouldn't
They Take Their Time?" by Jeffrey
Jensen Arnett, research professor of psychology at Clark University and
the author of Emerging
Adulthood: The Winding Road from the Late Teens Through the Twenties."
The
Why-Worry Generation
New York Times Magazine 5/24/2010
For the past few years, it's been open season on Generation Y — also known as
the millennials, echo boomers or, less flatteringly, Generation Me. … And though
less than a quarter of seniors who applied for work had postgraduation job
offers in hand by late April (compared with 52 percent in 2007), many are still
approaching work with attitudes suited for a full-employment economy. 'Almost
universally they want to find a job that's not just a job but an expression of
their identity, a form of self-fulfillment,' says Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, a Clark
University psychology professor who interviewed hundreds of young people across
the economic spectrum for his book, 'Emerging Adulthood: The Winding Road From
the Late Teens Through the Twenties.' …"
Stalled on the road to security
Chicago Tribune 5/23/2010
… Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, a psychology professor at Clark University in
Worcester, Mass., and author of 'Emerging Adulthood,' said that knowing when to
cut off aid is more art than science. The key question: Is the support helpful
or counterproductive? 'Look for a plausible plan on how your child plans to move
themselves toward self-sufficiency,' Arnett explained. If your rudderless child
is intensely job-hunting, making contacts and searching Web sites it could be
smarter than taking a minimum-wage job. 'But if they're not going anywhere, it's
a drain on you and not good for them,' said Arnett, who is working on an advice
book for this phase, due out next year."
Debate rages over teen 'narcissism'
ParentCentral 4/21/2010 A fierce debate over whether today's teenagers are really
narcissistic, self-entitled slackers is ricocheting across academia. An analysis
of nearly a half-million high school students over 30 years by two
psychologists, including Dr. Kali Trzesniewski at the University of Western
Ontario, declared this month that the kids are all right… 'Oh, grow up!' snapped
Jeffrey Jensen Arnett of Clark University in Massachusetts. You're all missing
the point. Arnett's own theory is that the modern world has created a new stage
in life which he calls 'emerging adulthood,' – that period between schooling and
mortgage-kids-responsible job that even Boomers didn't have and are clearly
jealous of."
Students
reconnect with parents at break
Worcester Telegram and Gazette
A recent article discusses changes that a college
student returning home from break (and parents) might have to adjust to. It
really does require an adjustment from everybody," said Jeffrey Jensen Arnett,
research professor of psychology at Clark University and expert on emerging
adulthood. The child is not a child anymore. They have reached a new stage in
life. They are not an adult, but they are not an adolescent."
USA Today quoted psychology professor Jeffrey Jensen Arnett in the article, "Federally funded ad campaign holds up value of marriage." With a cynical attitude, Professor Arnett was one of the first to study emerging adulthood. "They take marriage very seriously. That is a very private journey, that search for the soul mate. I can't imagine they'd want the advice of a "