Dimensions of Emerging Adulthood in Pakistan: A Demographic Profile

Emerging adulthood is generally believed to be experienced by young people in Western industrialized nations and limited research has been conducted in Eastern low-income countries. The purpose of the current study was to examine emerging adulthood and its five dimensions in the cultural context of Pakistan, including (a) to explore whether Pakistani young individuals perceive themselves as full adults or feel in-between, (b) to identify perceived emerging adults and how they differ from perceived adults in terms of their demographic characteristics. A sample (N = 738) with the age range of 18-25 years was selected. Both male (52.2%) and female (47.8%) university students were approached. The Inventory of Dimensions of Emerging Adulthood (IDEA) (Reifman et al., in Journal of Youth Development, 2(1): 37-48, 2007) was used. Results revealed that the majority of the sample considered themselves as adults. However, a significant percentage of participants (43.4%) identified as perceived emerging adults. The results indicated that emerging adults significantly differ in dimensions of emerging adulthood based on their demographic traits, i.e., age group, working status, native town, residence, and monthly family income. The findings offered evidence that culture has an impact on emerging adulthood. Pakistan's unique cultural and social factors were discussed as possible reasons for the distinctive findings.