Changes in flourishing from adolescence to young adulthood: An 8‐year follow‐up

Abstract

Most research on mental health among adolescents and young adults concentrates on understanding mental illness. However, mental health is more than the absence of mental illness. Among adolescents and young adults, positive mental health-a combination of emotional, social and psychological well-being-is related to higher prosocial behaviour, school integration and self-concept. However, much of the research on positive mental health among young adults has been with college students. Limited research has examined the presence and correlates of positive mental health, or flourishing, among a nationally representative sample of US young adults. This study extended from another researcher's original examination of positive mental health among US adolescents to describe the prevalence of flourishing among these same individuals in young adulthood. Our sample included 1090 individuals from the 2011 Panel Study of Income Dynamics Transition into Adulthood Supplement. Univariate and bivariate tests were used to describe the prevalence of flourishing during young adulthood and changes from adolescence to young adulthood. We used multivariable logistic regression to examine the relationships among indicators of healthy development and flourishing. Results suggest that flourishing improved during the transition into young adulthood and that targeting factors like life skills and civic engagement may enhance flourishing.

Increasing character strength knowledge, interest, and skill: preliminary evidence for a collaborative and multimethod assessment procedure

“…Developmentally, these students are classified as emerging adults and are in the process of forming and solidifying their personal identities ( Arnett, 2015 ). Considering strength-based development clearly coincides with identity growth ( Walker et al, 2016 ; Palmer et al, 2023 ), emerging adults appear to be a well-suited group to benefit from strength assessment interventions.…”

“…development clearly coincides with identity growth (Walker et al, 2016;Palmer et al, 2023), emerging adults appear to be a well-suited group to benefit from strength assessment interventions.…”

Lifestyle Habits in Elementary and High School Education Students: A Systematic Review

“…Adolescence is a period of human development between childhood and adulthood in which a large number of physical and psychological changes occur, which will mark people's adult lives (Melguizo-Ibáñez et al 2021). It is characterised as beginning between the ages of 11-12 years and concluding between the ages of 18-20 years (Palmer et al 2022) with the most notable changes being growth spurts, maturation of primary sexual characteristics (reproductive-related), and the appearance of secondary sexual characteristics (non-reproductive signs of maturation) (Palmer et al 2022).…”