Becoming an adult is a life-cycle transition signified by multiple markers (Hogan and Astone 1986). These include the completion of education, the establishment of an independent residence, the attainment of economic self-sufficiency, marriage, parenthood, permission to vote and serve in the military, and the entry into full-time work. These multifaceted, objective markers of adult status, variability in the ages at which they occur, and differences in both preadult and adult roles, make the character of this transition variable across societies, historically relative, and subject to diverse interpretations and subjective meanings. Each new generation's experience of transition to adulthood is somewhat unique, dependent on the particular economic, political and social currents of the time (Mannheim 1952). Institutional contexts (cultural, social, educational, economic) determine the pathways through which the transition to adulthood occurs, as well as the competencies that enable successful adaptation to adult roles.

In addition to the formal markers of...