Psychometric evaluation of the inventory of dimensions of emerging adulthood (IDEA) in China.

Background/Objective: Emerging adulthood (EA, age range between 18 to 29 years) is an important developmental stage that is characterized by marked social and psychological changes. Currently, its developmental features are quantified by the Inventory of the Dimensions of Emerging Adulthood (IDEA) but a validated Chinese version of this questionnaire (IDEA-C) is lacking. Thus, this research, which consists of two consecutive studies, aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of the translated IDEA in a Chinese sample of emerging adults. Method: Firstly, a forward-backward translation of the IDEA-C scale was conducted. Item analysis and exploratory factor analysis were performed in Sample 1a (n = 2438), followed by structural validity test in Sample 1b (n = 2461). Concurrent validity and internal consistency were evaluated in Sample 1(n = 4899). Finally, test-retest reliability was tested in Sample 2 (n = 185). Then, the second study aimed to test the factor structure proposed by study 1 in the non-student sample (n = 2200) by confirmatory factor analysis. In addition, the second study also investigated whether the attainment of college education influenced the EA experience of non-student emerging adults in China. And the association was examined between the socioeconomic status of emerging adults and the subscales of IDEA. Results: In the college sample, the IDEA-C scale presented a four-factor structure different from the original five-factor structure (χ2(190)=1116.84, p < 0.001; CFI = 0.97; TLI = 0.96; SRMR = 0.039; RMSEA = 0.050 [90%CI=0.047-0.052]). In addition, IDEA-C exhibited good internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's alpha >0.77), test-retest reliability (r>0.49, p < 0.01) and concurrent validity. And the CFA in non-student sample also showed an adequate fit indices (χ2(158) =710.10, p < 0.001, TLI=0.93, CFI=0.94, SRMR=0.038, RMSEA=0.04 [90%CI=0.037-0.040]) and an adequate internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha >0.64) and test-retest reliability (r>0.43, p < 0.01). Conclusion: The results of the present study confirmed that the Chinese version of the IDEA is found to be valid for measuring psychological characteristics of EA in Chinese-speaking samples of emerging adults.

It's not fiction if you believe it: How imaginary worlds are derived from imaginary realities.

Imaginary worlds are not a consequence of humans' exploratory tendencies as argued in the target article but a recent spinoff of a strong human tendency to create imaginary realities, that is, versions of how the world works that are fabricated (although we believe they are real) in order to allow us to believe we understand it and can control it.

What American psychology needs most is the majority world: Reply to Webster et al. (2021).

Webster and team's (2021) extension of our analysis to look at more journals over a longer time period suggests a slightly quicker trend away from Americanness in psychological journals than we found. However, they make a purely binary distinction between American and not American and do not address whether the change they document includes the most relevant increase in representation: that from the majority world. Overall we concur that the pace of change is slow and that our science would be benefited by increased attention to internationalization. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

The neglected 95% revisited: Is American psychology becoming less American?

The field of psychology prides itself on being a data-driven science. In 2008, however, Arnett brought to light a major weakness in the evidence on which models, measures, and theories in psychology rest. He demonstrated that the most prominent journals in six subdisciplines of psychology focused almost exclusively (over 70% of samples and authors) on a cultural context, the United States, shared by only 5% of the world's population. How can psychologists trust that these models and results generalize to all humans, if the evidence comes from a small and unrepresentative portion of the global population? Arnett's analysis, cited over 1,300 times since its publication, appears to have galvanized researchers to think more globally. Social scientists from the United States have increasingly sought ways to collaborate with colleagues abroad. Ten years later, an analysis of the same 6 journals for the period of 2014 to 2018 indicates that the authors and samples are now on average a little over 60% American based. The change is mainly due to an increase in authorship and samples from other English-speaking and Western European countries. Thus, it might be said that 11% of the world's population is now represented in these top psychology journals, but that 89% of the world's population continues to be neglected. Majority world authors and samples (4-5%) are still sorely lacking from the evidence base. Psychology still has a long way to go to become a science truly representative of human beings. Several specific recommendations are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Rethinking adult development: Introduction to the special issue.

This is the introduction for the special issue of American Psychologist titled "Rethinking Adult Development: New Ideas for New Times." It highlights the main themes of the special issue and discusses the implications of current trends for future directions. Entry to adult family and work roles now comes later than ever before. More adults than in the past remain single, or coupled but "child-free," and fertility rates have declined, so that caring for children no longer dominates the entirety of adult life. The "knowledge economy" of today takes greater educational preparation and skill development but makes work more cognitively challenging and potentially rewarding than in the past. Adults not only live longer than ever before but are healthier for longer. Likely future trends include greater presence and involvement of grandparents and great-grandparents in children's lives and greater involvement in paid and unpaid work past age 60. Questions and challenges include continuing changes in the nature of family and work arrangements, as well as time devoted to electronic media use. Altogether, the study of adult development presents a great array of fascinating and important questions for psychological research with implications for interventions and policy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Established adulthood: A new conception of ages 30 to 45.

In developed countries, the years from Age 30 to 45 are, for many, the most intense, demanding, and rewarding years of adult life. During this period of the life span most adults must negotiate the intersecting demands of progressing in a chosen career, maintaining an intimate partnership, and caring for children. Successes or difficulties in meeting these simultaneous demands have the potential to profoundly influence the direction of a person's adult life. As such, we believe that it is of critical importance to better understand this developmental period that we call established adulthood. This article provides a new theoretical conceptualization of established adulthood, outlining its distinctiveness from emerging adulthood and midlife in terms of physical health, well-being, cognitive development, and the career-and-care-crunch of competing work and family responsibilities. We also consider variations in the timing and experience of established adulthood, including variations by gender and social class, and provide suggestions for future research. As economic and social arrangements continue to evolve, so too will this developmental period, providing fertile ground for developmental theory and research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Brief report: Danish emerging adults' conceptions of adulthood.

Four hundred Danish emerging adults ages 17-29 were surveyed regarding their conceptions of adulthood and their self-assessments of their adult status. A majority of the 17-24-year-olds and nearly half the 25-29-year-olds viewed themselves as being adults in some ways but not others. Participants reported feeling most adult when with co-workers or romantic partners, and least adult with mothers, fathers, or friends. The most widely-endorsed criteria for adulthood were accepting responsibility for one's self, making independent decisions, and becoming financially independent. Among the least-endorsed criteria were the traditional transition events of entering marriage and parenthood, as well as "avoid becoming drunk."

Emerging Adulthood: Developmental Period Facilitative of the Addictions.

Following adolescence and prior to young adulthood is a life developmental period that has been referred to as "emerging adulthood." This period of life involves an extended duration of learning and experimentation before settling into a career and stable relationship. Risky behaviors may be most tolerated or even promoted during emerging adulthood. Various substance and behavioral addictions are most likely to be realized during this period. Understanding what differentiates emerging adults that develop or do not develop full-blown addictions will assist in the creation of more efficacious prevention and cessation programs.

Oh, Grow Up! Generational Grumbling and the New Life Stage of Emerging Adulthood-Commentary on Trzesniewski & Donnellan (2010).

In this commentary on the article by Trzesniewski and Donnellan (2010, this issue), I focus on the question of why young people today are viewed so negatively, despite the lack of evidence that they are worse (or worse off) now than they were in decades past. I propose that an important reason is the rise of emerging adulthood as a new life stage in between adolescence and young adulthood. Emerging adulthood developed in part because young people enter adult roles of stable work, marriage, and parenthood later now than they did in the past, leading many older people to view them as "late" or selfish, and the new features of this new life stage are frequently misunderstood and misinterpreted. I emphasize that the rise emerging adulthood is not merely generational but is likely to be a permanent addition to the life course.

The myth of peer influence in adolescent smoking initiation.

The widespread belief that peer influence is the primary cause of adolescent smoking initiation is examined and called into question. Correlational and longitudinal studies purporting to demonstrate peer influence are analyzed, and their limitations described. Qualitative interview studies of adolescent smoking initiation are presented as depicting the more complex role of the peer context. Finally, a new model of the role of peers in smoking initiation is offered, with an emphasis on how adolescents' characteristics lead to the selection of their friends, who then provide a peer context that may or may not support smoking.

G. Stanley Hall's Adolescence: A centennial reappraisal introduction.

This article is an overview of the special issue "G. Stanley Hall's Adolescence: A Centennial Reappraisal." First, a brief biography of Hall is presented. Then each of the six articles in the special issue is summarized. Three of the articles are by historians and three are by psychologists, but all six articles integrate history and psychology.

G. Stanley Hall's Adolescence: Brilliance and nonsense.

G. Stanley Hall's two-volume work on adolescence is assessed from the perspective of modern psychology, 100 years after he published it. A surprising number of similarities exist between Hall's views of adolescence and our own, and several of those similarities are discussed here. Some of the most striking differences between Hall's views and the views of today's psychologists are also discussed, specifically, Hall's grounding of his beliefs about adolescent development in a Lamarckian evolutionary psychology that assumed the inheritance of acquired characteristics and memories; his views of sexuality, especially masturbation; and his claim that religious conversion is normative in adolescence. The cultural and historical context of Hall's views is then discussed, with an emphasis on how an awareness of the context of Hall's views can enhance our awareness of the context of our own views today.

Talk is cheap: the tobacco companies' violations of their own cigarette advertising code.

In two studies, adolescents and adults were shown a series of cigarette advertisements and asked to respond to a variety of questions concerning aspects of the Cigarette Advertising and Promotion Code, specifically, their perceptions of the ages of the models in the ads and of whether the ads depicted smoking as essential to sexual attraction or essential to success. For many of the ads, especially ads for brands most popular among youth, a majority of the participants perceived the models to be less than 25 years old. A majority also perceived many of the ads to depict smoking as essential to sexual attraction or essential to success. Thus, despite their public pledge, the tobacco companies routinely violate a variety of aspects of the Cigarette Advertising and Promotion Code.

The psychology of globalization.

The influence of globalization on psychological functioning is examined. First, descriptions of how globalization is occurring in various world regions are presented. Then the psychological consequences of globalization are described, with a focus on identity issues. Specifically, it is argued that most people worldwide now develop a bicultural identity that combines their local identity with an identity linked to the global culture; that identity confusion may be increasing among young people in non-Western cultures as a result of globalization; that some people join self-selected cultures to maintain an identity that is separate from the global culture; and that a period of emerging adulthood increasingly extends identity explorations beyond adolescence, through the mid- to late twenties.