Perceptions of adulthood: What does it mean to be grown-up?

Adulthood has traditionally been defined by the attainment of socio-demographic milestones such as career, marriage, and parenthood. We sought to understand how contemporary adults define adulthood today, when these traditional milestones are often delayed or even out of reach. In a survey of 722 UK adults with an age range from 18 to 77 years, we found that adulthood was predominantly defined by psychological characteristics, for example “Accepting responsibility for the consequences of my actions” (endorsed by 80% of the sample), rather than by socio-demographic milestones (22-40% endorsement). We also found that holding positive attitudes towards adulthood was the strongest independent predictor of self-perceived adult status, independently accounting for 10% of the variance. Our findings suggest that fostering positive attitudes towards adulthood may constitute a pathway for improving mental health in contemporary adults.