Although it is widely acknowledged that emerging adulthood is experienced differently by various groups, few studies have directly examined the theoretical features of emerging adulthood in vulnerable subpopulations of low-income young people in the United States. This study addressed this gap by exploring the salience of the five features proposed in emerging adulthood theory—identity exploration, instability, feeling in-between, sense of self-focus, and optimism for the future—for cross-systems youth. Two samples from prior qualitative studies of young people age 18–24 who had experienced homelessness, child welfare involvement, and/or educational disadvantage were combined for the analysis (N = 50). We noted important divergences and nuances in the ways in which the theoretical features resonated with the sample. For example, most participants sought financial stability and independence, rather than identity and career exploration. The findings speak to the importance of further research to establish features of emerging adulthood in diverse populations.

尽管人们普遍认识到新兴成年在不同群体中的经历不同，但是很少有研究直接检查了美国低收入年轻人的弱势人群中新兴成年的理论特征。这项研究通过探索新兴成人理论提出的五个特征的显着性来解决这一差距，这些特征是对跨系统年轻人的认同探索，不稳定，中间感觉，自我专注感和对未来的乐观。结合先前对18-24岁的年轻人进行定性研究的两个样本，他们经历了无家可归，儿童福利受累和/或受教育程度不利的情况（N= 50）。我们在理论特征与样本产生共鸣的方式中注意到了重要的分歧和细微差别。例如，大多数参与者寻求财务稳定性和独立性，而不是身份和职业探索。这些发现表明，进行进一步研究以建立多样化人群中成年期特征的重要性。