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This qualitative interview study explored and examined the transitions surrounding emerging adulthood within the family from the parents' perspective. Interviews conducted with a purposive sample of parents (N=59) revealed the perceived difficulties parents have in "letting go" of their grown-up children, and in acknowledging their developing autonomy; and demonstrated a range of perceived parental strategies in response to young people's growing independence. The significance of these intertwined elements of perceived dependency, emotional tensions, and interactive behaviours for relationships in the family, and the implications for "emerging adulthood", was discussed.

This paper examined the concept of emerging adulthood as proposed by Arnett, in a purposive sample of Welsh young people (n=38) aged 17-20 years who were working or unemployed (i.e. not in higher education). In this exploratory study, young people were questioned about their lifestyles and their perceptions of "being adult" in semi-structured interviews lasting about 40 minutes. Results indicated that Arnett's emerging adulthood stage held good for only one subgroup of those interviewed. Other developmental trajectories to adulthood were noted. Further, many claimed to perceive themselves as adult and to be perceived by others as adult. The value of Arnett's stage theory to young people in a European society was discussed in the light of present findings, and an alternative approach was offered. (Contains 3 figures.)

Uses Abel and McQueen's (1992) theoretical framework of resources, orientations, and behaviors, to examine social class influences on adolescent socialization in Sweden, Germany, and Great Britain. Finds that lifestyle socialization in adolescence is social-class based, but allows for transitional variations within social-class boundaries. Elements of social class are powerful and pervasive in relation to resources and behaviors. (Author/KB)

This qualitative interview study set out to gauge older citizens' perceptions of reasons for willingly entering retirement, or, alternatively, resisting it, by examining the retrospective views of 45 adults (aged 62 to 94 years) in Norway who had already crossed the retirement threshold. Interviews were taped, transcribed and analysed (separately) by the two authors. Findings, extrapolated from the interview data, demonstrated an array of interacting factors influencing individual pathways into retirement and adjustments to various retired life-styles. Furthermore, three broad themes were identified; namely, 'there is life beyond work'; 'work as a life-style'; and 'there is not much left to live for' with individually different routes within these. Importantly, it became clear that these pathways were initiated long before retirement. Given the range of influencing factors and of the psychosocial resources shown by the participants, it was proposed that future research should focus more innovatively on interactive, ecological approaches with a longer time-span perspective., Present-day Western societies are undergoing rapid social changes and demographic shifts, making developmental transitions and signposts more problematic. Older adults, experiencing transitions towards retirement, with accompanying possibilities of opportunity and [...]

This study looks at young people's accounts of life in communities in rural northern Scotland, and considers in what ways affective and social aspects of community are bound up with well-being, over and above young people's concerns for the future, rural youth transitions, and out-migration. Interviews were held with 15-18 year-olds in four study areas (16 groups, N = 60+) and a parallel survey of 11-16 year-olds was conducted in eight study areas (N = 2400+). Themes to emerge from the interviews included: opportunities locally, the future and staying on, as well as local amenities and services; but older teenagers also spoke at length about their social lives, family and social networks, and their community, both as close-knit and caring and as intrusive and controlling. Rural communities were seen as good places in childhood, but not necessarily for young people. In parallel with that, the survey data paints a picture where feelings of support, control, autonomy, and attachment were all associated with emotional well-being. Importantly, links between emotional well-being and practical, material concerns were outweighed by positive identifications of community as close-knit and caring; and equally, by negative identifications as intrusive and constraining, where the latter was felt more strongly by young women. Certainly, beliefs about future employment and educational opportunities were also linked to well-being, but that was over and above, and independently of, affective and social aspects of community life. Additionally, migration intentions were also bound up with sense of self and well-being, and with feelings about community life; and links between thoughts about leaving and community life as controlling and constraining were, yet again, felt more strongly by young women. Thus, gender was a key dimension affecting young people's feelings about their communities with significant implications for well-being, and out-migration. The study illustrates the importance of understanding the experiences young people have of growing up in rural areas, and how they evaluate those experiences: particularly, how life in rural communities matters for young people's well-being; and especially, for young women.

Financial insecurity and discrepancies in parental and social values can have grave consequences for family life, most specifically for pre-adolescent girls. A longitudianl study was undertaken on 12-year-old children in Albania to ascertain this phenomenon. It was seen that parental antagonism toward the daughter impacted directly on her interpersonal skills. Conversely, the more reticent she grew the more wrath she incurred from her parents.