This article examines the emotional work that young adult care leavers perform during their transition to adulthood. It is based on 30 biographical interviews with young adults (formerly) placed in care. Among researchers, social workers and policy makers, there is a need to understand what young people do about their feelings when they have been…

The experience of love plays an integral role in human development as adolescents transition into adulthood. However, little is known about whether early adults have a shared understanding about indicators of love in daily life in this transitional phase. Using Cultural Consensus Theory informed by developmental theory, this study examined whether…

Studies have demonstrated that being bullied in childhood may have long-term associations with lower psychological well-being in adulthood. However, although bullying incidents frequently target the victim's body and appearance, research has overlooked studying victims' long-term body image development and risk of engaging in disordered eating…

Background: Parental restrictive feeding and pressure to eat have been negatively associated with intuitive eating. However, parental feeding practices that promote intuitive eating are less understood. Purpose: To examine caregiver feeding practices that may promote intuitive eating and the moderating effect of gender. Method: A cross-sectional…

Pathways to diagnosis in adulthood are poorly understood. Even less is known about undiagnosed adults who believe they may be autistic. This mixed-methods online survey examined adults' journeys from initial concern to receiving the diagnosis. Quantitative findings showed the diagnostic process to be highly heterogeneous. Qualitative analysis…

There is a need for strengths-based intervention approaches for autistic youth during the transition to adulthood. In the current study, we explored parent perspectives about youth strengths during adolescence. We combined data from three studies which included semi-structured interviews about parents' perspectives on preparing for adulthood with…

We examined the dynamic interplay of depression symptoms, mattering (i.e., self-evaluation of importance or significance to others), and anti-mattering across four years of development in young adulthood (age 20-23; N = 452) using a cross-lagged panel model (CLPM). Support for a transactional model between anti-mattering and depression symptoms…

This paper investigates the transition planning for youth with disabilities living in foster care. Statutory regulations in South Africa contend that foster care lapses when young people reach the age of 18. It is however not certain how many of them are ready to navigate into an adult and independent lifestyle. This paper is concerned with the…

Objective: To assess whether adolescents who appeared in an after-school cooking nutrition programme (Teen Battle Chef) sustained healthful food behaviours in the ensuing years into young adulthood. Design: Interviews involving a short verbal survey assessing six health behaviours coded dichotomously and open-ended questions coded for themes…

Existing research focused on social role destabilization (historical increases in role instability) and destandardization (historical increases in variability of role instability) has primarily focused on discrete social roles during discrete periods of development. Building on this work, we applied a macro approach to elucidate the extent to…

The extent to which young people think about the future, called time perspective, and their affective view (positive/negative) was related to their current socioeconomic situation. Specifically, we assessed the relationship between the NEET condition and self-perception of adulthood and health and aimed to verify the moderating role of future-time…

Delayed trajectories into traditional adult roles have led researchers to reconsider the nature of development, giving way to emerging adulthood (Arnett, 2000a). Although largely embraced by many contemporary scholars, questions remain about the universality of emerging adulthood. The current study explored factors that predict the degree to which…

The mediators of real-world executive functions in autism during the transition into adulthood are mainly unknown. This study aimed to identify the mediators for the behavioral and cognitive domains of real-world executive functions in late adolescent and young adult autistic populations. We followed up 289 autistic children (aged 11.6 ± 3.8, male…

It is during their late teens and early twenties that most students attend a university or other institution of higher education. Biologically, these students are adults. However, studies show that there is a delay in maturing. Arnett (2000) introduced the term "emerging adulthood" in reference to the stage of life between adolescence…

School belonging, sometimes referred to as school belonging or school connectedness, involves dimensions like positive affect towards school, relationships with teachers, and feeling socially valued. Previous research points to immediate benefits for students' mental health and wellbeing; however, evidence on the potential long-term benefits of…