Religious Attachment and the Sense of Life Purpose among Emerging Adults

Julian Culver; Melinda Lundquist Denton

doi:10.3390/rel8120274

Emerging Adults’ Conceptions of Purpose and the Good Life: A Classification and Comparison

Youth & Society ◽

10.1177/0044118x15602918 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 50 (6) ◽

pp. 715-733 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Perry L. Glanzer ◽

Jonathan P. Hill ◽

Jessica A. Robinson

Keyword(s):

Emerging Adults ◽

Good Life ◽

The Good Life ◽

Life Purpose ◽

Future Goals ◽

Personal Experiences ◽

Future Vision

To understand the purpose acquisition of young emerging adults (18-23), scholars claim we need to learn the types of purposes to which they are committing and how they conceptualize purpose differently from other related concepts such as future goals and the good life. To address these issues, we examined interviews with 229 young emerging adults about their life purpose, future goals, and conceptions of the good life. Although the interviewees’ purposes and future goals fit within shared categories of achievement, relationships, religion, and moral concerns, important differences also emerged. While one fourth of the sample lacked purpose, no one lacked a vision for the good life or future goals. Moreover, their future vision of the good life focused more on individualistic concerns such as happiness, material acquisitions and personal experiences with family being the only communal interest.

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A Longitudinal Study of Mental Health in Emerging Adults

Swiss Journal of Psychology ◽

10.1024/1421-0185/a000132 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 73 (3) ◽

pp. 135-141 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Monica S. Bachmann ◽

Hansjörg Znoj ◽

Katja Haemmerli

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Longitudinal Study ◽

Emerging Adults ◽

Poor Mental Health ◽

Need Satisfaction ◽

Computer Assisted ◽

Consistency Model ◽

Negative Effect ◽

The Cross ◽

Health Model

Emerging adulthood is a time of instability. This longitudinal study investigated the relationship between mental health and need satisfaction among emerging adults over a period of five years and focused on gender-specific differences. Two possible causal models were examined: (1) the mental health model, which predicts that incongruence is due to the presence of impaired mental health at an earlier point in time; (2) the consistency model, which predicts that impaired mental health is due to a higher level of incongruence reported at an earlier point in time. Emerging adults (N = 1,017) aged 18–24 completed computer-assisted telephone interviews in 2003 (T1), 2005 (T2), and 2008 (T3). The results indicate that better mental health at T1 predicts a lower level of incongruence two years later (T2), when prior level of incongruence is controlled for. The same cross-lagged effect is shown for T3. However, the cross-lagged paths from incongruence to mental health are marginally associated when prior mental health is controlled for. No gender differences were found in the cross-lagged model. The results support the mental health model and show that incongruence does not have a long-lasting negative effect on mental health. The results highlight the importance of identifying emerging adults with poor mental health early to provide support regarding need satisfaction.

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Contribution of Demographics, Sociological Factors, and Media Usage to Verbal Aggressiveness

Journal of Media Psychology Theories Methods and Applications ◽

10.1027/1864-1105/a000115 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 26 (2) ◽

pp. 92-102 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Jack Glascock

Keyword(s):

Emerging Adults ◽

Peer Influence ◽

Video Game ◽

Rap Music ◽

Verbal Aggression ◽

Hierarchical Regression ◽

Music Listening ◽

Verbal Aggressiveness ◽

Media Usage ◽

Sociological Factors

Given the increasing relevance of verbal aggression in today’s society, the goal of this study was to assess the relative contributions of potential demographic and sociological factors. Emerging adults were surveyed, and the data were analyzed using correlations and hierarchical regression. While television viewing, video game playing, and music listening were positively correlated with verbal aggression, only (rap) music listening remained significant when demographic and other sociological influences were factored in. Overall, the hierarchical regression analysis found religiosity, parental and peer influence, quality of neighborhood, sex, and media usage (listening to rap music) to be significant contributors to verbal aggression among emerging adults. Male participants reported more verbally aggressive behavior than women, and African Americans reported more verbal aggression than White respondents. While media usage seems to play a significant, but relatively small role, other demographic and sociological factors such as gender, neighborhood, religion, peers, and parents appear to be major contributors in the development of verbal aggression among emerging adults.

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