Young Adulthood

Young adulthood is also known as “Early/Emerging” adulthood, which the time period of development from 18 to 25 years. It is a time of peak of psychological, physical and cognitive development, along with certain health issues. People in their early 20’s are mostly involved in Risky behaviors such as heavy alcohol consumption, reckless driving, fighting and drug usage……….But Why??

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) shows that scientists have performed experiments of  early adults brains and came to know that until a person reaches his/her mid-20s, his prefrontal cortex  is still rapidly and slowly changing.

Physical Maturation is complete, but weight and height (body growth) increases slightly. Along with that, reproductive system, motor skills, strength and lung systems are operating at their best. Young adults mostly face certain health issues such as fewer colds, less respiratory issues, asthma, mental health issues, and high blood pressure. There are many factors that contribute to these health factors, these are poor nutrition, lack of exercise, smoking, alcohol intake, drug addiction, unhealthy environment and genetic factors.

Cognitive development in Young adulthood mostly involves quantitative thinking since they have more knowledge as compared to adolescents. Moreover young adults follows logical, abstract and idealistic thinking. Creativity is another factor that is found in young adults that involves young adults to solve their problems, opens the mind, innovations and broadens our mind

Individuals have completed their education and are looking for a career. They have left behind the fantasies and unrealistic goals such as becoming a superhero as they tend to realize their reality. In short development in early adulthood involves balancing intimacy and commitment on one hand and independence and freedom on the other. Individuals are still forming their identity and gaining independence from their parents. They learn to make decisions for themselves without relying on anyone else. This development of autonomy has a huge impact for example adults who haven’t moved away from parental ties sufficiently. Along with this is the task of finding and developing a stable and intimate relationships with other individual. Also it should be kept in mind that these relationships are reworked throughout in life rather than simply at this stage