Features of Flemish Emerging Adults and their Association with Demographic Markers

Abstract

As the Inventory of Dimensions of Emerging Adulthood (IDEA) was developed to assess features of emerging adulthood, international differences have been observed between emerging adults over the world. To assess the IDEA’s applicability to emerging adults in Flanders, a Dutch translation was administered to 489 participants between 17 and 26 years old, and exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed. Important latent factors in the version used in the United States of America, such as focus on others, were not observed. Four subscales were created to reflect psychological features of our sample, combining elements of both Arnett’s theory of emerging adulthood and neo-Eriksonian theories of identity development. A new subscale, reflecting commitment and responsibility, was more present in older participants and employed participants, and associated with well-being. Finally, results suggested that employment, as well as place of residency, and romantic relationships significantly influence psychological development during young adulthood.

Keywords

• emerging adulthood
• young adult
• flanders
• development
• factor analysis
• adolescent
• identity