Comparison of Adulthood Criteria Endorsed by Emerging Adults and Their Parents in Greece: A Mixed-Method Study

Abstract

Although there is extensive research on the adulthood criteria endorsed by emerging adults, there is very limited evidence on the comparison between emerging adults and their parents regarding this issue. Moreover, in these comparison studies, only quantitative methodology was used. Therefore, the present study uses a mixed-method design to investigate similarities and differences in the prevalence of the endorsed adulthood criteria between emerging adults and their parents, between male and female emerging adults, and between fathers and mothers. Participants were 251 emerging adult students, aged 18.0 to 25.9 (M = 19.9; 50.2% females), and 341 parents of these emerging adults, aged 33.6 to 61.9 (M = 50.4; 58.4% mothers). They completed the Markers of Adulthood Scale and named the three criteria that they considered most important for a person to be considered an adult. An inductive-deductive coding scheme was used. The analyses exhibited a high consensus between emerging adults and their parents in the endorsement of adulthood criteria. Only criteria related to Independence and to the Self were reported more frequently by emerging adults than their parents. A strong agreement between genders in both age groups was also found. The contribution of this study is twofold. First, it supports the idea that in Greece adulthood is a construct that is largely shared by emerging adults and their parents. Second, it illustrates how a mixed-method design can complement quantitative studies and extend their findings.

Keywords:

• Adulthood criteria
• emerging adults
• parents
• mixed-method study
• Greece

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the research assistants who aided in data collection, Anastasia Spyrou for her contribution in data coding, the university students and their parents who participated willingly in our research in the difficult times of the COVID-19 lockdowns, two anonymous reviewers and Prof. N. S. Mounts, the Associate Editor, for their constructive comments.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

The authors reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

Notes on contributors

Georgios Vleioras

Georgios Vleioras is an Assistant Professor of Developmental Psychology at University of Thessaly, Greece. He completed his PhD in Developmental Psychology at the University of Groningen in 2005. His research interests include identity, the transition to adulthood, and the role of parents in their children’s development.

Evangelia P. Galanaki

Evangelia Galanaki is a Professor of Developmental Psychology and Director of the Psychology Laboratory at the Department of Pedagogy and Primary Education, School of Education, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece. Her research interests include emerging adulthood, transition to adulthood, solitude, and loneliness.