The concept of the transition to adulthood among Iranian emerging adults: A cultural and social perspective

This research aims to study the concept of adulthood and the impact of cultural andsocial variables on giving importance to adulthood markers among a sample ofIranian emerging adults. The research community consists of Tehran Universitystudents: 301 students (with an age range of 19-28) were selected by stratifiedrandom sampling and screening to participate in the research. Participants respondedto Demographic Information Questionnaire, Inventory of the Dimensions ofEmerging Adulthood (IDEA), Adulthood Markers Questionnaire, and ReachedVersion of Adulthood Markers Questionnaire. The data were analyzed by T Test,ANOVA test and Bonferroni post-hoc test. Findings of the research showed thatdemographic variables of gender, marital status, membership in ethnic subculturesare meaningfully affecting people's views on adulthood concept (P <0.05).Considering the importance of adulthood markers in Iranian culture, the findingsshowed that the participants regarded independence, interdependence, familycapacities, and norm compliance as the most important criteria of transition toadulthood (P <0.01), while giving less importance (lower than average) to thebiological transition and legal transition as the criteria of transition to adulthood.Finally, the students believed that by now the only markers of adulthood that theyhave reached are independence, interdependence and norm compliance. Accordingto their evaluations of themselves, their reach to the markers of adulthood ismeaningfully more than average (P<0.01); however they believed that their reach tothe markers of role transition is meaningfully less than average (P<0.01).