| New
& Views
- Jun, 1992 Issue |
Life On The Edge
Of Adulthood
...young adults struggling with the end of adolescence
By Deborah Scott, Enrollment Development
Hilltop
(714) 582-8761
They've been called
"boomerang kids, baby busters, and the twentysomething" generation.
Caught between the baby boomers and their babies, they are
unsung and hardly noticed. For the most part, many of them
possess only a hazy sense of their own identity. They have
trouble making decisions and have become rootless and noncommittal.
With few, if any, role models, they are postponing the future.
They pine for a past in which they believe issues were clear
and commitment was easy.
There are approximately
48 million young adults between the ages of 18-27 in America
today. We consider them our future, and yet the majority of
them are un-prepared for the present. "The majority of young
adults I see, while often bright and creative, are over-whelmed
by the challenges of growing up in an increasingly complex
world. I find that they will channel their frustrations in
self destructive directions such as academic problems, undisciplined
life styles, depression, drug and alcohol abuse, sexual acting
out, and family problems. If they have learning disabilities
and weak social skills, then their lack of positive self identity
increases. Unfortunately they often seem unable to develop
the necessary skills to live responsibly and independently,"
states Dr. James H. Powell, a California psychologist working
exclusively with this age group.
While young adults
struggle with growing up, their parents wrestle with their
children's inability to move out and live independently. Two-thirds
of 18-24 year old individuals live with their parents or other
relatives. In fact, more young people are living with parents
than at any time since the Depression. This hesitation about
moving on, is for some, the recognition that achieving the
life style they've grown up with may not be possible. In short,
the "American Dream" as painted by their parents and society
takes on a decidedly different hue.
Emotional growth
and emancipation issues are further complicated by academic
hesitancy. Young adults today are taking longer to finish
school. The tremendous pressure put on them by society, parents,
and peers to obtain a college education, results in many of
them pursuing some form of higher education. The highly competitive
nature of college today results in many of them dropping out.
Some will elect to "stop out" while others will "boomerang"
back home, much to the dismay of parents that are forced to
support them. This "boomerang" pattern is becoming increasingly
common for those young adults with identified learning disabilities.
According to Jayne Selby-Longnecker, a special education program
director for a private school for young adults in California,
"The programs, attention, and special education services available
to them as adolescents, while in existence at the college
level, can become somewhat harder to find, and sometimes less
available. When this is combined with the emotional and independence
issues many of them struggle with, there is serious potential
for failure and a strong recipe for disaster."
The question remains
of how best to help these young people and their families.
While resources that specifically serve this age group can
be hard to find, they do exist. Programs such as HILLTOP in
Southern California for emotional growth and emancipation,
and DYNAMY on the East Coast for those who want to "stop out"
for a year, are two examples. Additionally, individual programs
and professionals can also be found in communities around
the country. The solutions for this generation will not come
easily. Postponing the future in a fast paced global society
seems risky at best. Pining for the past may fade as the realities
of history come more sharply into focus. Preparation for the
present seems the only logical answer. To achieve that, they
will need help.
Copyright
© 1992, Woodbury Reports, Inc. (This article may be reproduced
without prior approval if the copyright notice and proper
publication and author attribution accompanies the copy.)
|
