Two central life domains, love and work, are described as the focus of identity exploration in emerging adulthood. The present theoretical overview suggests an additional perspective. Current postmodern processes in Western industrialized countries set the stage for the saliency of a new developmental task in emerging adulthood: finding the meaningful life. This task is enacted in various domains of life including love and work. The pursuit in either domain is different in diverse cultures that ascribe different levels of importance and allow different levels of autonomy in each domain. Thus, a given domain may be more or less salient as a source of meaning in life. The studies in this special issue accord with this new viewpoint even though they were not conceptualized from this perspective. Current research has just begun to examine the search for meaningful life in emerging adulthood. Research is therefore called for to address this lacuna.

This study was based on the attachment-security hypothesis (H. Latty-Mann & K. E. Davis, 1996) that predicts that all individuals, regardless of attachment style, should demonstrate a preference for secure partners who are most likely to offer attachment security. It was therefore expected that with the transfer of attachment functions from parents, who are mostly not freely chosen as attachment figures, to other figures outside of the family of origin, individuals will try to establish secure relationships with these new figures and to assign them a high position in the attachment hierarchy. Participants were 149 Israelis (97 women and 52 men 20-72 years of age) and they completed questionnaires related to their attachment relationships and network. As expected, with age the attachment hierarchy included a higher proportion of chosen figures (r = .38, p < .05), and relationships with chosen figures were characterized by higher security and lower insecurity compared to relationships with nonchosen figures with moderate to high effect sizes. In addition, the higher the figure's level of importance and centrality in the hierarchy, the greater the level of security with that figure (low to moderate effect sizes). Results were discussed in light of attachment-security hypothesis and correction versus replication processes.

Purpose: Being diagnosed with autism has multiple implications for a person’s life and self-identity. Although learning about autism at a younger age is correlated with quality of life, only a few studies have addressed parental disclosure thereof. This study conceptualizes autistic adults' perspectives on parental disclosure. Methods: The methods combine grounded theory with the emancipatory research paradigm, drawing on autistic people's personal knowledge. Eighty-five autistic adults participated in six focus groups (51 male, 33 female, 3 non-binary; Mage = 25); and 41 autistic adults were interviewed (22 male, 17 female, 2 non-binary; Mage = 28). Results: Both focus groups and individual interviews addressed the way participants learned about their diagnosis from their parents, and their recommendations to other parents on how to disclose. Based on these findings, we developed the Why-When-How-What Model of Parental Disclosure. The participants viewed the diagnosis as validating their experienced otherness, helping them overcome shame, and promoting their self-understanding and self-advocacy skills. They recommended disclosure as soon as possible after diagnosis, and stressed the importance of gradual disclosure according to the child's abilities, and discussing how autism manifested in the child’s own life as a neutral or positive quality, rather than “autism” in general, and highlighting strengths. Finally, they recommended networking the child with other autistic individuals. Conclusion: Parental disclosure is an ongoing and spiral process. The proposed model contributes to post-diagnostic support for parents throughout.