Relative Age in the Transition to Adulthood

RELATIVE AGE IN THE TRANSITION TO ADULTHOOD Monica Kirkpatrick Johnson, Justin Allen Berg and Toni Sirotzki ABSTRACT In order to build a better understanding of age identity in the transition to adulthood, this study examines variation in young people’s selfunderstandings of their relative age. We examine both role transitions and character qualities and how their relationships to relative age vary by chronological age, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Based on a national sample of 18–28-year-olds, we find that Blacks feel relatively older and Asian Americans feel relatively younger than others their age. While the former is attributable to family background differences, the latter is a function of the later timing with which Asian Americans make major adult role transitions. Both roles and character qualities are associated with relative age, though the strength of association varies by chronological age, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. To some degree, roles and character qualities also act as substitutes for one another – one becomes more important in the absence of the other. Overall, the study demonstrates that young people’s self understandings of their relative age are grounded in socially structured experience.

Constructing Adulthood: Agency and Subjectivity in Adolescence and Adulthood Advances in Life Course Research, Volume 11, 287–316 Copyright r 2007 by Elsevier Ltd. All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 1040-2608/doi:10.1016/S1040-2608(06)11011-4

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As one of the most fundamental ascribed social statuses, age, and its multifaceted social meanings have attracted considerable attention from scholars. Specific efforts to understand age identity and subjective perceptions of age and aging have been an important part of this tradition since the 1960s (Settersten & Mayer, 1997). The lion’s share of this research, however, has focused on the later years of the life course (Logan, Ward, & Spitze, 1992). Until now, few studies have focused on subjective understandings of age among those undergoing the transition to adulthood (Shanahan, 2000), a time of great change in the life course in which identity exploration is a central focus. Moreover, minimal research on any age group has focused on how subjective experiences of the life course differ by social location, despite the known heterogeneity of the life course (Settersten & Mayer, 1997). Viewed demographically, the transition to adulthood has changed dramatically over the past century. Changes over the past several decades in the economy and in educational investments have lengthened the transition to adulthood (Furstenberg, Kennedy, McCloyd, Rumbaut, & Settersten, 2003; Fussell & Furstenberg, 2005). The timing and ordering with which young people assume adult social roles, including leaving the parental home, finishing school, entering the labor force, marrying, and becoming a parent, has also become more variable (Fussell & Furstenberg, 2005; Mortimer & Aronson, 2000). Youth navigate this transition in increasingly diverse and possibly more self-directed ways (Buchmann, 1989; Coˆte´, 2000; Shanahan, 2000). A more individualized transition to adulthood could heighten the role of social psychological resources and dispositions (Mortimer, 1996), rendering self-understandings such as age-related identities more important in understanding the transition. Moreover, the transition to adulthood varies markedly for youth from different racial and socioeconomic backgrounds (Hogan & Astone, 1986; Mahaffy, 2003; Shanahan, 2000). Working class and minority youth often do not have the same luxury as White middle and upper class youth to explore different credentials and career options for extended periods. We know little about how young people feel during this transitional period, especially about their subjective perceptions of age and how they may compare among young people from different racial/ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. We also know little about whether the major experiences of the transition to adulthood, including role transitions and related personal development, affect subjective age perceptions and whether they do so similarly across these dimensions of social location. The purpose of this study is to examine young people’s self-understandings of their relative age as grounded in socially structured experience. Drawing upon national

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survey data from 18 to 28-year-olds, we investigate the connections between young people’s subjective age, the role transitions and character qualities that signal movement toward adulthood, and variation by social location. In doing so, we connect the largely demographic literature on the transition to adulthood with the subjective aging literature that has focused on older ages, and bring a much needed focus on heterogeneity to the study of subjective aging.

AGE, ROLES, AND QUALITIES OF CHARACTER ASSOCIATED WITH SUBJECTIVE AGE Chronological age is not surprisingly a strong correlate of the age one feels (Kaufman & Elder, 2003; Logan et al., 1992). Still, differences between chronological and subjective age vary across the life course. People up through their twenties feel older, on average, than their chronological age, while those older feel younger, on average, than their age (Galambos, Turner, & Tilton-Weaver, 2004; Kaufman & Elder, 2003; Montepare, 1991). By the end of the transition to adulthood then, young people have gone from feeling younger to feeling older than their chronological age (Galambos et al., 2004). Relative age perceptions, or the extent to which people feel older or younger than others their chronological age, may reflect young people’s sense of their character and personal qualities, particularly those they associate with age. Considering what it means to be an adult specifically, Arnett (1997, 2000) recently argued that it is individualistic personal qualities that resonate with people as they think about adulthood. According to his research, adults are viewed as those who take responsibility for their actions, support themselves financially, and make their own decisions. During the transition to adulthood, those who perceive themselves to have attained those qualities ought to have an older relative age. Galambos and colleagues (2004) found that similar indicators of psychosocial maturity (adaptive functioning and socioemotional competence – the ability to function independently, communicate and interact well with others, and the capacity for social responsibility) correlated with older relative ages among Canadian college students. How old one feels is also a product of social experience. Indeed, subjective age is thought to be strongly influenced by the experience of role transitions. For example, evidence from older populations indicates that role transitions such as retirement affects the age one feels (Kaufman & Elder, 2003).

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Normative expectations for age-appropriate role transitions are also involved (Neugarten, Moore, & Lowe, 1965; Settersten, 2003). Transitioning to grandparenthood ‘‘early’’ is associated with feeling older than one’s chronological age (Kaufman & Elder, 2003). The little research done on younger age groups also points to the importance of major role transitions. Seeing oneself specifically as an adult is tied to several of the traditional adult transition markers, including leaving the familial home, working fulltime, marrying, and becoming a parent (Benson & Furstenberg, 2007; Shanahan, Porfeli, & Mortimer, 2005). Like the perception of having reached adult status, one’s sense of relative age during the transition to adulthood should also be strongly rooted in roles and role transitions. The most salient role transitions during this period of the life course include leaving home, completing school, entering fulltime work, marriage, and parenthood (Mortimer & Aronson, 2000; Shanahan, 2000). What is the subjective significance of these transition markers? Young people feel older or younger than their age peers based on comparisons with their peers’ development as well as abstract expectations for what one’s age group ought to be doing or feeling at this time of life. First, roles are obvious distinguishing features that can be used to situate oneself in terms of development relative to others of one’s age. Second, adult role occupancy and an adult-like sense of maturity, and other personal qualities associated with adulthood, are likely reciprocally related (Shanahan et al., 2005). More mature young people likely self-select into major adult roles, yet taking on such roles may foster maturity. Carrying out adult role behavior may also reveal to young people maturity they had developed but of which they had not yet become aware. Thus, having made a major adult role transition, young people may feel older than others of the same age who have not. Likewise, those not having made the transition may feel younger. Third, expectations about the timing of role transitions during this life stage should matter. Despite not holding strong disapproving views of off-time transitions, people do tend to hold expectations about the timing of major role transitions (Furstenberg et al., 2003; Settersten, 2003). Social clocks underlie the life course, and individuals are aware of their own timing in relation to them (Neugarten et al., 1965). To the extent that one’s role set deviates from these timing expectations, one might feel older or younger than one’s chronological age. Thus, for several reasons, young people who have experienced major role transitions that mark adulthood should feel older than others their age. Still it is likely that chronological age functions in another, more complex, fashion than described earlier. At younger ages during the transition to

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adulthood, more people continue to hold the student role and fewer have assumed the roles of full-time worker, spouse, and parent. As such, these transition markers are likely to play a stronger differentiating role in subjective age during this period than at older ages when adult roles are more commonplace. Thus, we expect the roles associated with feeling older for one’s chronological age will have stronger effects for those who are chronologically younger than they will for those who are chronologically older. Indicators of maturity and independence, in contrast, may have their strongest impact at older ages when people look beyond typical adult roles in order to assess relative age. Roles and personal qualities associated with adulthood may also substitute for one another as yardsticks in assessing relative age. In the absence of an adult role set, young people may look to their comparative sense of maturity or other adult character qualities as a means of identifying their relative age. For example, a sense of independence or maturity may play a stronger role in shaping relative age for young people who have not yet left the parental home or who have not married than for those who have. Thus, we expect that personal qualities will be more closely related to relative age among those who have not made adult role transitions compared with those who have.

RACE/ETHNICITY AND SOCIOECONOMIC BACKGROUND Pathways in the transition to adulthood are patterned by inequalities, and the age at which young people from different socioeconomic and racial/ ethnic backgrounds tend to make adult role transitions differs in important ways (Furstenberg, 2003). Opportunities for independence, particularly financial independence, also differ, as minorities and working class youth have an increasingly difficult time securing employment that provides a living wage (Aquilino, 1999; Furstenberg et al., 2003). Normative timetables for making major adult transitions also vary by social class. Less educated and less affluent individuals expect that young people will move through the major transition markers at earlier ages than do individuals with higher levels of education and those more affluent (Furstenberg et al., 2003; Settersten, 2003). Though the experience and normative timetable for role transitions differ in these ways, we know of no evidence indicating that the adult character qualities associated with adulthood, such as independence and maturity, differ along racial/ethnic or socioeconomic background groups. The following discussion therefore focuses on role transitions.

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Socioeconomic background strongly affects the timing of major role transitions. Young people from socioeconomically disadvantaged families are less likely to graduate from high school and attend post-secondary education than those from socioeconomically privileged families (Ingels, Curtin, Kaufman, Alt, & Chen, 2002; Sanderson, Dugoni, Rasinski, & Taylor, 1996), and thus leave school at younger ages. Young people from poor and working class families also leave home, marry, and have children at earlier ages than do middle class youth (Buchmann, 1989; Goldscheider & Goldscheider, 1999). Accordingly, we expect that young people from higher socioeconomic status families, who are less likely to have experienced these transitions, will feel younger for their age than those from less privileged families. Racial/ethnic group differences are also evident in the timing of major role transitions. Both Asians and non-Hispanic Whites are more likely to finish high school and attend post-secondary education than are Blacks and Hispanics (Ingels et al., 2002; Jacobson, Olsen, Rice, Sweetland, & Ralph, 2001; U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2002). Non-Hispanic Whites leave home at earlier ages than Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians (Goldscheider & Goldscheider, 1999). Though the routes through which Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians leave home differ, the average timing of leaving does not (Goldscheider & Goldscheider, 1999). Average age of first marriage is highest among Blacks, followed closely by Asians (Brown, Moore, & Bzostek, 2003). Whereas approximately 22% of Black and 29% of Asian 24–26-year-olds are married, over 36% of non-Hispanic Whites and 42% of Hispanics are married by this age (Brown et al., 2003). The timing of first births follows a somewhat different pattern. Blacks and Hispanics become parents for the first time at younger ages, and Asians at older ages, on average compared with non-Hispanic Whites (Brown et al., 2003). Thus, Asians stay in school at least as long as non-Hispanic Whites, and leave home, marry, and have children at older ages than non-Hispanic Whites. Accordingly, we expect Asians to feel relatively young for their age. For Blacks, some transitions occur earlier on average than non-Hispanic Whites and some occur later on average. We expect Blacks to feel relatively older for their age than non-Hispanic Whites, however, because Blacks leave school and become parents at earlier ages on average, and both of these transitions redefine one’s responsibilities in significant ways, especially with respect to one’s own parents. Much of the Black–White difference in relative age may be due to correlated socioeconomic status differences and controls for socioeconomic background may reduce the difference. Finally, we expect

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Hispanics to feel older compared with non-Hispanic Whites, because they too tend to leave school and become parents earlier. Again, controls for socioeconomic background may reduce racial/ethnic group differences. In addition to examining group differences tied to the ages at which young people experience major role transitions, we explore whether the salience of different factors tied to subjective age varies across groups. Given that demographic pathways differ by social location, we examine whether role transitions are linked to perceptions of age in different ways across racial/ethnic groups and socioeconomic status. The individualistic character qualities that Arnett (1997, 2000) argues define contemporary adulthood were derived from research primarily involving Whites and hence we examine whether they are as meaningful for minority and working class youth. For example, does achieving financial independence from family carry the same implications for age perceptions among minority and working class youth as it does for middle class Whites? Does the sense of maturity and independence have the same salience across groups? The current study addresses how identities, in this case, one’s subjective age, are constructed, given dramatic changes in the structuring of the life course. Our analysis has four objectives. First, we examine whether traditional transition markers and individualistic character qualities shape young people’s sense of relative age and whether they explain differences in relative age by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic background. Second, we seek to determine whether these factors have diminishing effects on relative age with advancing chronological age. Third, we examine whether adult-like roles and qualities act as substitutes for one another in their relation to relative age. Finally, we explore whether the role transitions and adult character qualities have similar effects on relative age across racial/ethnic groups and socioeconomic background.

METHODS Data and Sample This research uses data drawn from the first and third waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Add Health began in 1994–1995 as a nationally representative study of American adolescents in grades 7–12 from 134 middle and high schools in 80 communities. Sampling was conducted with a stratified design in which schools were selected from a complete list of American high schools (Quality Education

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Database) based on their region, urbanicity, school type (public vs. private), racial composition, and size. Each of the selected high schools was matched to a school that fed into it (typically a middle school), with the probability of the feeder school being selected proportional to its contribution to the high school’s student body. Data were first collected with an in-school questionnaire, administered to all students present in selected schools, resulting in over 90,000 completed questionnaires. A subsample of students (and one parent or parent-like figure) was then selected for in-depth interviews at home in 1995, constituting Wave I. Approximately 79% of selected students participated in Wave I (n ¼ 20,745). The original Wave I respondents were re-interviewed in 1996 and again in 2001–2002. A total of 15,197 original respondents were re-interviewed in Wave III, when respondents were between the ages of 18 and 28. Respondents were asked questions on their subjective age for the first time in Wave III and most of our study measures are taken from this interview, though we also draw on family background information collected from the adolescents and parents in the Wave I interviews. Our analysis sample is limited to persons responding in Wave III and who reported their racial/ ethnic background as one of the four largest groups: Hispanic, non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, or Asians (n ¼ 14,169). Due to the large number of cases with missing information on family income, we employed mean substitution on this measure, including in all analyses in which family income appears a dummy variable indicating whether substitution occurred for a particular case. Elimination of cases with missing data on the remaining independent variables using listwise deletion yielded a final sample of 13,429. Retention in the study reflects advantage to a certain extent. Demographic information for the original Wave I sample (for as many cases as possible on each measure), Wave III respondents in the four selected racial/ ethnic groups, and our analytical sample appear in Table 1. Wave III respondents came from higher income families with more highly educated parents, were more likely to have lived with their two biological or adoptive parents, and were more likely to be non-Hispanic White. (The latter is also partly a simple function of selecting specific racial/ethnic groups for analysis, as each of the four groups take on larger proportions; our findings do not generalize to other racial/ethnic groups.) The gender composition of the sample did not differ. The analytical sample, which further restricts the sample to respondents with complete data on the independent variables in this study, shows the same pattern. The differences between the analysis sample and the original Wave I sample is largely do to uneven panel

Relative Age in the Transition to Adulthood

Table 1.

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Comparison of Means on Background Characteristics for the Original Samples and the Analytical Sample. Original Wave I Sample (N varies slightly; max ¼ 18,924)a

Parental Education Family Income Two-Parent Family White Female

4.80 45.59 0.53 0.65 0.49

(18,575) (18,924) (18,924) (18,906) (18,922)

Wave III Sample (N varies slightly; max ¼ 14,169)b

4.85 46.09 0.56 0.68 0.49

(13,948) (14,169) (14,169) (14,169) (14,169)

Final Wave III Analytical Sample (N ¼ 13,412)c

4.87 46.31 0.57 0.69 0.49

a

The number of cases in the Add Health data with valid sampling weights is 18,924. The actual sample size available for each measure is reported in parentheses. b Respondents completing Wave III and reporting race/ethnicity as either non-Hispanic White, Hispanic, Black, or Asian. c Sample limited to those cases without missing data on final measures (relative age, age, sex, race/ethnicity, family structure, parents’ educational level, living arrangements, student status, employment status, marriage/cohabitation, parenthood, financial independence, maturity, and independence).

retention. Importantly, those dropped from the analysis sample due to incomplete data did not differ from those in the analysis in relative age. Measures Our measure of subjective age taps perceptions of relative age – how old one feels compared with others their own chronological age (Settersten & Mayer, 1997). It is based on a question from the Wave III questionnaire that asked respondents, ‘‘In general, how old do you feel compared with others your age?’’ (1 ¼ younger all of the time; 2 ¼ younger most of the time; 3 ¼ neither older nor younger; 4 ¼ older most of the time; 5 ¼ older all of the time). As shown in Fig. 1, young people generally felt the same as or older than people their own age. Almost 60% indicated that they felt older than people their age most or all of the time. Our measures of personal qualities and role transitions were also obtained from the Wave III questionnaire. Our indicators of personal qualities associated with adulthood included measures of financial independence and respondents’ assessments of their own independence and maturity. Financial independence was measured by whether or not the respondent reported receiving any income or financial assistance from family and friends

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45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Younger all of the time

Younger most of the time

Fig. 1.

Neither older nor younger

Older most of the time

Older all of the time

Frequency Distribution of Relative Age.

(1 ¼ does not receive income from family or friends; 0 ¼ receives income from family or friends). Spouses were explicitly excluded by the question wording. Feelings of independence were measured by asking respondents ‘‘How independent are you?’’ (1 ¼ not at all independent; 4 ¼ very independent). Self-perceived maturity was measured by asking respondents ‘‘How immature are you?’’ (1 ¼ very immature; 4 ¼ not at all immature). Respondents’ statuses with respect to the transition markers included whether the respondent was out of school (1 ¼ not in school; 0 ¼ currently attending school), working full-time (1 ¼ working 35 or more hours per week; 0 ¼ working fewer than 35 h per week), living away from the familial home (1 ¼ not living with parents or relatives; 0 ¼ living with parents or relatives), was married or cohabiting (1 ¼ currently married or cohabiting; 0 ¼ not married or cohabiting), and had one or more children (1 ¼ parent; 0 ¼ not a parent). These represent the five major demographic transitions studied with respect to the transition to adulthood. A number of demographic and family background characteristics were included in the study, including age, race/ethnicity, sex, parental socioeconomic status, and family structure. Age and race/ethnicity were measured in Wave III. Race/ethnicity was measured by self-report and distinguished four

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major groups: Hispanic American, non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, and Asian American. Measures of sex, parental socioeconomic status, and family structure were based on information gathered at Wave I. Parental socioeconomic status was measured by the average of mothers’ and fathers’ educational attainments (1 ¼ completed 8th grade or less; 8 ¼ graduate or professional training) and family income, reported by a parent. When only one parent’s educational attainment was available, it served as the final value, and when neither was available, we substituted students’ reports of their parents’ educational attainments (again, an average for both parents when available). Family structure was measured dichotomously, distinguishing students living with two biological or adoptive parents from all other family forms. We weighted all analyses and used survey analysis techniques to adjust for the complex sample design (see Chantala & Tabor, 1999). Rather than assuming that observations are independent, these estimation procedures correct for the intra-cluster correlation that occurs as a result of the Add Health’s sample design (a multi-stage, stratified, school-based, cluster sample), so analyses produce more accurate standard errors. Though our dependent variable, relative age, is measured on an ordinal scale, our models assume a continuous dependent variable. In order to check the sensitivity of this assumption for our results, we also estimated models using ordered logistic regression, producing nearly identical results. We present the former, as it is accessible to a wider audience and easier to interpret.

RESULTS Differences in Relative Age by Social Location and the Effects of Roles and Personal Qualities Differences in relative age across racial/ethnic groups and socioeconomic background are shown in Table 2, along with descriptive statistics across groups on all study measures. For descriptive purposes only, we dichotomized parental education levels to create socioeconomic background groups. As expected, Blacks felt relatively older than non-Hispanic Whites, and Asians felt relatively younger. Challenging our expectation, however, Hispanics did not feel older than non-Hispanic Whites, though they felt relatively older than did Asians, who have the youngest subjective age of any group. The distance between those who felt the oldest (Blacks) and those who felt the youngest (Asians) represents a third of a standard

298

Table 2.

Non-Hispanic White (n ¼ 7,416)

Hispanic (n ¼ 2,199)

Black (n ¼ 2,835)

Asian American (n ¼ 962)

Z1 Parents CollegeEducated (n ¼ 5,255)

No Parent CollegeEducated (n ¼ 8,157)

3.68b 21.73a 0.50a 0.62b 5.16a 50.24a 0.61a 0.62b 0.54a 0.51a 0.17b 0.58b

3.67ab 21.88a 0.47a 0.56c 3.47c 37.97b 0.45c 0.68a 0.58a 0.52a 0.25a 0.70a

3.77a 21.99a 0.50a 0.31d 4.55b 34.09b 0.53b 0.69a 0.46b 0.47a 0.28a 0.60b

3.51c 21.95a 0.49a 0.73a 5.28a 51.77a 0.46bc 0.47c 0.44b 0.35b 0.11c 0.49c

3.61b 21.70a 0.48a 0.67a – 61.39a 0.61a 0.49b 0.47b 0.38b 0.10b 0.47b

3.73a 21.85a 0.50a 0.51b – 37.52b 0.55b 0.71a 0.56a 0.57a 0.25a 0.66a

3.21a 3.40b

3.07b 3.37b

3.11b 3.19c

3.23a 3.36b

3.15b 3.43a

3.14ab 3.46a

Note: Means with different superscript letters differed significantly (po0.05). A superscript ab indicates that a mean is not significantly different from a mean with superscript a or b, but is significantly different from a mean with a superscript c or d. Similarly, a superscript bc is not significantly different from a mean with a superscript b or c, but is significantly different from a mean with a superscript a or d. Comparisons are made separately by race/ethnicity and by parental education level. Parental education level dichotomized for the descriptive purposes of this table only.

MONICA KIRKPATRICK JOHNSON ET AL.

Relative age Age Female Two-parent family Parental education Family income Not living with family Not a student Full-time work Married/cohabiting Parent Financial independence Maturity Independence

Means on Study Measures by Race/Ethnicity and by Parental Education Level.

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deviation in the measure of relative age. Consistent with our expectations, respondents with less advantaged backgrounds, as defined here by parental education levels, felt older for their age. In our comparison of these two parent education groups, the difference in means between groups is considerably smaller than were racial/ethnic group differences at about 0.14 standard deviations. Our first objective was to examine the influence of adult-like character qualities and roles on subjective age and whether these might explain the racial/ethnic and socioeconomic background variation in subjective age. We estimated a series of multi-variate regression models, examining first racial/ ethnic differences, followed by socioeconomic differences, controlling sex and chronological age. In a subsequent model, we added measures of the adult-like character qualities and role transitions. Model estimates appear in Table 3. Model 1 estimates indicate the same racial/ethnic pattern apparent in the bivariate case. Blacks thought of themselves as older than their agemates more of the time compared with non-Hispanic Whites (b ¼ 0.09, po0.05), and Asian Americans thought of themselves as younger more of the time compared with non-Hispanic Whites (b ¼
0.17, po0.05). Hispanics’ subjective age was comparable to non-Hispanic Whites’ (b ¼ 0.00, p>0.05). Model 2 indicates the effects of socioeconomic background and tests whether racial/ethnic differences in relative age can be accounted for through differences in socioeconomic background. Young people from more privileged backgrounds – those from two-parent homes, those with more highly educated parents, and those with higher family incomes – felt younger for their age than did young people from less privileged backgrounds. Controlling these factors, and family structure in particular, reduced the difference between Blacks and non-Hispanic Whites, but not between non-Hispanic Whites and Asian Americans. Blacks were much less likely to have lived with their two biological or adoptive parents during Wave I, and such youth tended to feel older. Model 3 tested whether relative age was related to the adult transition markers and personal qualities and whether remaining racial/ethnic group and socioeconomic background differences could be accounted for by these factors. Having moved from the familial home, working full-time, being married or cohabiting, and being a parent were all positively associated with feeling older than one’s agemates. Only one transition marker, being out of school, was unrelated to relative age. The measures of adult personal qualities were also related to relative age. Considering oneself to be mature and independent were associated with

Regression Models Estimating Effects of Social Location, Transition Markers, and Personal Qualities on Relative Age (N ¼ 13,412).

+

po0.10;

 po0.05;  po0.01; po0.001 (two-tail test).

Model 2

Model 3

Model 4

Model 5

Model 6

0.00 (0.01) 0.09 (0.02) 0.09 (0.04)
0.17 (0.05) 0.00 (0.03)


0.01 (.01) 0.09 (0.02) 0.03 (0.04)
0.15 (0.05) –0.04 (0.04)
0.16 (0.02)
0.01 (0.01)
0.00 (0.00)
0.03 (0.02)


0.04 (.01) 0.04+ (0.02) 0.06 (0.04)
0.04 (0.05) 0.00 (0.03)
0.10 (0.02) 0.00 (0.01)
0.00 (0.00)
0.04+ (0.02) 0.06 (0.02) 0.03 (0.03) 0.07 (0.02) 0.19 (0.03) 0.18 (0.03) 0.03 (0.02) 0.10 (0.01) 0.13 (0.01)


0.02+ (0.01) 0.04+ (0.02) 0.06 (0.04)
0.05 (0.05) 0.00 (0.03)
0.10 (0.02) 0.00 (0.01)
0.00 (0.00)
0.04+ (0.02) 0.06 (0.02) 0.75 (0.28) 0.07 (0.02) 0.19 (0.03) 0.18 (0.03) 0.03 (0.02) 0.10 (0.01) 0.13 (0.01)
0.03 (0.01)


0.03 (0.01) 0.03+ (0.02) 0.06 (0.04)
0.05 (0.05) 0.00 (0.03)
0.10 (0.02) 0.00 (0.01)
0.00 (0.00)
0.04+ (0.02) 0.06 (0.02) 0.02 (0.03) 0.07 (0.02) 0.87 (0.33) 0.18 (0.03) 0.03 (0.02) 0.10 (0.01) 0.13 (0.01)


0.09 (0.02) 0.03+ (0.02) 0.06 (0.04)
0.04 (0.05) 0.00 (0.03)
0.10 (0.02) 0.00 (0.01)
0.00 (0.00)
0.04+ (0.02) 0.06 (0.02) 0.03 (0.03) 0.07 (0.02) 0.19 (0.03) 0.18 (0.03) 0.03 (0.02)
0.24+ (0.14) 0.13 (0.01)

3.17 (0.22) 0.08

3.30 (0.24) 0.08

3.71 (0.17) 0.01

3.95 (0.17) 0.02

3.62 (0.17) 0.08


0.03 (0.01)

0.02 (0.01) 4.67 (0.50) 0.08

MONICA KIRKPATRICK JOHNSON ET AL.

Age Female Black Asian Hispanic Two-parent family Parental education Family income Missing family income Not living with family Not a student Full-time work Married/cohabiting Parent Financial independence Maturity Independence Age * not a student Age * married/cohabiting Age * maturity Constant R2

Model 1

300

Table 3.

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301

feeling older. Financial independence was not significantly related to relative age in the full model. Racial differences in the adult transition markers largely account for Asian Americans’ tendency to see themselves as younger than other people of their age. Asian Americans were the least likely to have been married or cohabiting, least likely to have become parents, most likely to have still been students, and were among the two groups least likely to have moved from the parental home and to have been working full time (see Table 2). Differences in role transitions also explain why those from more highly educated families felt relatively younger. Though the descriptive information from Table 2 is simplified with respect to parental education levels, it indicates clearly that roles in young adulthood are tied to the educational background of one’s parents. With the exception of having moved from the familial home, fewer young people who had at least one college-educated parent had made any of the role transitions associated with the transition to adulthood than those without college-educated parents. Respondents from two-parent homes and those whose parents had higher incomes felt relatively younger even after adjusting for differences in having experienced these role transitions. Moderating Effects Our second objective was to examine whether such factors have diminishing influence with advancing chronological age. As expected, age interacts with transition markers and personal qualities (see last three columns of Table 3). First, being out of school was positively associated with feeling older, but was less so at older ages when fewer respondents were in school and had made other role transitions (Model 4). The association of marriage and cohabitation with relative age was also weaker at older ages (Model 5). Finally, the relationship between self-described maturity and relative age also differed by age. Self-assessments of maturity were more strongly associated with feeling older than one’s agemates at older ages (Model 6). These patterns are shown together in Fig. 2; in each case all other variables are held at their mean (or at zero for dichotomous variables). With respect to each role, student status and marital/cohabitation status, the gap in relative age is much bigger at younger ages than it is at older ages. With respect to maturity, the gap in relative age is much bigger at older ages than at younger ages. Role transitions appear to matter more in assessments of relative age at younger chronological ages; character qualities appear to matter more at older chronological ages.

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MONICA KIRKPATRICK JOHNSON ET AL. 4.2

4

Relative Age

3.8

3.6

3.4 In School Out of School Not Married/ Cohabiting Married/ Cohabiting Low maturity High maturity

3.2

3 18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

Chronological Age

Fig. 2.

Conditional Effects by Chronological Age.

Our third objective was to examine whether the adult-like roles and qualities related to subjective age in ways that suggest substitution as yardsticks in assessing how old one is for one’s age. We expected the personal qualities to be less strongly related to relative age among those who had made a given role transition than those who had not. We estimated a series of additional models including an interaction term between each of the adult-like qualities and each of the role transitions, one at a time. Just under half the interactions were statistically significant, and the pattern of effects was highly consistent. Models with significant moderating effects are shown in Table 4. As expected, the personal qualities demonstrated weaker relationships to relative age among those who had made adult role transitions. Maturity and independence had stronger relationships to feeling older among respondents who were still in school compared with those out of school (Models 1 and 2 respectively). Self-rated independence and financial independence were more strongly related to feeling relatively older for one’s age among those who were not married/cohabiting (Models 3 and 4) and among those who were

Regression Models Estimating Effects of Social Location, Transition Markers, and Personal Qualities on Relative Age (N ¼ 13,412). Model 1

Not living with family Not a student Full-time work Married/cohabiting Parent Financial independence Maturity Independence Role*quality interactions Not a student * maturity Not a student * independence Married/cohabiting * financial independence Married/cohabiting * independence Parent * financial independence Parent * independence R

2

Model 2

0.06 (0.02) 0.18 (0.09) 0.07 (0.02) 0.19 (0.03) 0.18 (0.03)

0.06 (0.02) 0.22 (0.09) 0.07 (0.02) 0.19 (0.03) 0.18 (0.03)

0.03 (0.02) 0.14 (0.02) 0.13 (0.01)

0.03 (0.02) 0.10 (0.01) 0.16 (0.02)

Model 3

Model 4

Model 5

0.07 (0.02)

0.06 (0.02)

0.07 (0.02)

0.03 (0.03) 0.07 (0.02) 0.24 (0.04) 0.18 (0.03) 0.07 (0.03) 0.10 (0.01) 0.13 (0.01)

0.03 (0.03) 0.07 (0.02) 0.41 (0.10) 0.18 (0.03) 0.03 (0.02) 0.10 (0.01) 0.16 (0.02)

0.03 (0.03) 0.07 (0.02) 0.19 (0.03) 0.27 (0.04) 0.05 (0.03) 0.10 (0.01) 0.13 (0.01)

Model 6 0.06 (0.02) 0.03 (0.03) 0.07 (0.02) 0.19 (0.03) 0.50 (0.14) 0.03 (0.02) 0.10 (0.01) 0.15 (0.02)


0.05 (0.02)
0.06 (0.02)

Relative Age in the Transition to Adulthood

Table 4.


0.08 (0.04)


0.06 (0.03)
0.14 (0.05)
0.09 (0.04) 0.08

0.08

0.08

0.08

0.08

0.08

303

Note: Standard errors in parentheses. Models also control age, sex, race/ethnicity, family structure, parent education, and family income. Full tables available from the authors.  po0.05;  po0.01; po0.001 (two-tail test).

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MONICA KIRKPATRICK JOHNSON ET AL.

not parents (Models 5 and 6). These conditional effects are easily seen in Figs. 3–5. In Fig. 3, which illustrates the interaction between maturity and student status, it is apparent that maturity is more closely related to relative age among students than those who have left school. In Fig. 4, which illustrates the three interactions involving roles and self-rated independence, the patterns indicate a stronger association between independence and relative age among those who, again, have not made the role transitions. And finally, in Fig. 5, it is apparent that financial independence has a positive effect on relative age only among those who have not made family transitions. Overall, these patterns suggest that transition markers and character qualities act as substitutes for one another, such that in the absence of one, the other is more important. Our fourth objective was to explore the extent to which role transitions and personal qualities shape the sense of relative age similarly across groups defined by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic background. To address this issue, we examined interactions between race/ethnicity and each role transition and personal quality. We then examined interactions between socioeconomic background, using parental education levels as a key indicator, 4 3.9 3.8

Relative Age

3.7 3.6 3.5 3.4 3.3 3.2 Out of School 3.1

In School

3 1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

Maturity

Fig. 3.

Conditional Effects of Maturity by Student Status.

4

Relative Age in the Transition to Adulthood

305

4 3.9 3.8

Relative Age

3.7 3.6 3.5 3.4 Married/Cohabiting Not married/Cohabiting Out of School In School Parent Not a Parent

3.3 3.2 3.1 3 1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

Independence

Fig. 4.

Conditional Effects of Independence by Role Transitions.

4

3.9

3.8

3.7

Relative Age

3.6

3.5

3.4

3.3

3.2

3.1

3 Not Married, Not Financially Indep.

Fig. 5.

Not Married, Financially Indep.

Married, Not Financially Indep.

Married, Financially Indep.

Not Parent, Not Financially Indep.

Not Parent, Financially Indep.

Parent, Not Financially Indep.

Parent, Financially Indep.

Conditional Effects of Financial Independence by Family Role Transitions.

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MONICA KIRKPATRICK JOHNSON ET AL.

and each role transition and personal quality. Race/ethnicity and socioeconomic background differences in the effects of the role transitions and personal qualities were apparent and the corresponding models are displayed in Table 5. (Given the number of interactions tested in this study, involving age, racial/ethnic group, and parental education level, we should note that overall 19 of 39 possible interactions we tested were statistically significant.) Among the transition markers, only parenthood was related to relative age differently across racial/ethnic groups. The effect of parenthood was strongest among non-Hispanic Whites. Whereas for non-Hispanic Whites and Hispanics being a parent was associated with feeling older than one’s agemates, the effect for Blacks and Asian Americans was significantly different and near zero (Model 1). The relative gap between parents and non-parents can be seen by race/ethnicity in the far left of Fig. 6. The effect of the personal qualities on relative age also differed across race/ethnicity groups. Self-rated maturity was less closely associated with relative age for Blacks (Model 2). The racial/ethnic interactions with independence indicated a similar pattern, with the weakest relationship for Blacks (Model 3). Again, the smaller difference in relative age between those of low and high maturity and those of low and high independence among Blacks compared with other groups can be seen in Fig. 6. Though the effect of financial independence on relative age differed significantly between non-Hispanic Whites and Hispanics, it was not a meaningful predictor for either group and therefore of little importance (not shown). Socioeconomic status differences in the effects of the role transitions and personal qualities were more consistently apparent. These models are also displayed in Table 5. Beginning with the role transitions, being out of school, marriage/cohabitation, and parenthood had different associations with relative age across levels of parental educational attainment. The positive relationship between these transitions and feeling older were stronger among young people from more highly educated families than those from less educated families (b ¼ 0.03, po0.05 in Model 4; b ¼ 0.03, po0.05 in Model 5; b ¼ 0.05, po0.01 in Model 6). Illustrations of these interactions are shown in Fig. 7. The figure indicates that the difference in relative age between those with and without a given role was larger the higher the level of parental education. All three personal qualities also showed differential relationships to relative age by parental educational level. Feeling older was more strongly linked to financial independence among those from more highly educated families (b ¼ 0.03, po0.05 in Model 7). Self-rated maturity and

Model 1

Model 2

Model 3

0.11 (0.05)

0.34 (0.11)

0.32 (0.13)

Model 4

Model 5

Model 6

Model 7

Model 8

Model 9

Black 0.06 (0.04) 0.06 (0.04) 0.06 (0.04) 0.06 (0.04) 0.06 (0.04) 0.06+ (0.04) Asian
0.02 (0.06)
0.30 (0.20)
0.36+ (0.21)
0.05 (0.05)
0.05 (0.05)
0.05 (0.05)
0.05 (0.05)
0.04 (0.05)
0.04 (0.05) Hispanic 0.02 (0.03) 0.13 (0.14) 0.01 (0.13) 0.00 (0.03) 0.00 (0.03) 0.00 (0.03) 0.01 (0.03) 0.00 (0.04) 0.00 (0.03) Parental education 0.00 (0.01) 0.00 (0.01) 0.00 (0.01)
0.02 (0.01)
0.01 (0.01)
0.01 (0.01)
0.01 (0.01)
0.06 (0.02)
0.04+ (0.02)         Not living with 0.06 (0.02) 0.06 (0.02) 0.06 (0.02) 0.07 (0.02) 0.07 (0.02) 0.07 (0.02) 0.07 (0.02) 0.06 (0.02) 0.06 (0.02) family Not a student 0.03 (0.03) 0.03 (0.03) 0.03 (0.03)
0.11+ (0.07) 0.03 (0.03) 0.03 (0.03) 0.03 (0.03) 0.03 (0.03) 0.03 (0.03) Full-time work 0.07 (0.02) 0.07 (0.02) 0.07 (0.02) 0.07 (0.02) 0.07 (0.02) 0.07 (0.02) 0.07 (0.02) 0.07 (0.02) 0.07 (0.02)        Married/cohabiting 0.19 (0.03) 0.19 (0.03) 0.19 (0.03) 0.19 (0.03) 0.06 (0.07) 0.19 (0.03) 0.19 (0.03) 0.19 (0.03) 0.19 (0.03) 0.17 (0.03) 0.18 (0.03) 0.18 (0.03) Parent 0.24 (0.04) 0.18 (0.03) 0.18 (0.03) 0.18 (0.03) 0.18 (0.03)
0.03 (0.07) 0.03 (0.02) Financial 0.03 (0.02) 0.03 (0.02) 0.03 (0.02) 0.02 (0.02) 0.03 (0.02) 0.03 (0.02)
0.12+ (0.07) 0.03 (0.02) independence        Maturity 0.10 (0.01) 0.13 (0.02) 0.10 (0.01) 0.10 (0.01) 0.10 (0.01) 0.10 (0.01) 0.10 (0.01) 0.01 (0.03) 0.10 (0.01) Independence 0.13 (0.01) 0.13 (0.01) 0.14 (0.02) 0.13 (0.01) 0.13 (0.01) 0.13 (0.01) 0.13 (0.01) 0.12 (0.01) 0.06+ (0.03)

307

Race interactions Black * parent
0.21 (0.07) Asian * parent
0.19+ (0.12) Hispanic * parent
0.10 (0.06) Black * maturity
0.09 (0.03) Asian * maturity 0.08 (0.06) Hispanic *
0.04 (0.04) maturity Black *
0.07+ (0.04) independence 0.10 (0.07)

+

Relative Age in the Transition to Adulthood

Table 5. Regression Models Estimating Effects of Social Location, Transition Markers, and Personal Qualities on Relative Age (N ¼ 13,412).

Model 1

Model 2

Asian * independence Hispanic independence

Model 3

Model 5

Model 6

Model 7

Model 8

Model 9

0.00 (0.04)

SES interactions Parent education * not a student Parent education * married/ cohabit Parent education * parent Parent education * financial independence Parent education * maturity Parent education * independence

0.03 (0.01)

0.03 (0.01)

0.05 (0.01) 0.03 (0.01)

0.02 (0.01) 0.01 (0.01)

0.08

0.08

0.08

0.08

0.08

0.08

0.08

0.08

0.08

Note: Standard errors in parentheses. Models also control age, sex, family structure, and family income. Full tables available from the authors. + po0.10;  po0.05; po0.01; po0.001 (two-tail test).

MONICA KIRKPATRICK JOHNSON ET AL.

R2

Model 4

308

Table 5. (Continued )

Relative Age in the Transition to Adulthood

309

4 3.8

Relative Age

3.6 3.4 3.2 3 2.8

W

hi

te ,N o Bl Wh t Pa ac ite re k, , P nt N ar o e As Bla t Pa nt ia ck, re n, P nt N a H is As ot P ren pa ia a t ni n, re c n H , N Par t is ot e pa P nt ni ar c, en Pa t re W nt hi W te, hi Lo te w Bl , H M ac ig at Bl k, L h M urit ac o a y w t As k, H M urit ia ig at y n A , h M uri H sian Low at ty is ur p , H an Hig Mat ity is ic h u pa , L M rit ni ow at y c, u H Ma rity ig h tur W M ity hi at W te, ur hi Lo ity te w Bl , H In ac ig de Bl k, h I pe ac Lo nd nd w e As k, H In pe enc e ig d n i As an, h I epe den H ian Low nde nd ce is p en p , H an Hig Ind end ce is ic h ep e pa , L In e n ni ow de nd ce c, p e H Ind en nc ig e h ep den In en c de d e e pe n nd ce en ce

2.6

Fig. 6.

Conditional Effects of Roles and Qualities by Race/Ethnicity.

independence were also more strongly related to feeling older among young people from more educated families (b ¼ 0.02, po0.01 in Model 8; b ¼ 0.01, po0.05 in Model 9). As shown in Fig. 8, financial independence was only associated with an older relative age at higher levels of parental education. The gap between those with low maturity (or low independence), defined as two standard deviations below the mean, and those with high maturity (or high independence), defined as two standard deviations above the mean, was smaller at low levels of parent education than it was at higher levels of parent education.

DISCUSSION Age is recognized as a social construct with individual and collective meaning (Logan et al., 1992). Despite a long tradition of examining subjective age identity and other age perceptions, we have known little about subjective perceptions of age among young people making the transition to adulthood. Instead, the study of the transition to adulthood has been highly demographic, with attention to the order and timing with which young people assume adult social roles. The current study on subjective age among

310

MONICA KIRKPATRICK JOHNSON ET AL. 4 Married/Cohabiting Not married/Cohabiting Parent Not a parent Out of School In School

3.9

Relative Age

3.8 3.7 3.6 3.5 3.4 3.3 3.2 1

Fig. 7.

2

3

4 5 Parental Education

6

7

8

Conditional Effects of Parental Education by Role Transitions.

18–28-year-olds links this largely demographic study of the transition to adulthood to the study of subjective aging, which has traditionally focused on older adults. During the transition to adulthood, subjective age reflects perceived character qualities as well as traditional demographic markers of adulthood. Thus, the factors defining adult status for contemporary young people (Shanahan et al., 2005) are also related to the age young people feel throughout the transition to adulthood. Among the young people in our study, those who saw themselves as more mature and independent felt older for their age. Those who had moved out of the familial home, were working full time, were married or cohabiting, or who were parents also felt older. Financial independence was associated with feeling older, but its association was accounted for by its relationship to the transition markers. Being out of school was not associated with relative age overall, across the age-range of the sample, but was so among the youngest respondents. Among the older respondents, of which fewer were still students, whether or not one was no longer a student made little difference in how old they felt. A second

Relative Age in the Transition to Adulthood

311

3.8

Relative Age

3.7

3.6

3.5

3.4

3.3

3.2 1

2

3

4 5 Parental Education

Low Maturity High Maturity Low Independence

Fig. 8.

6

7

8

High Independence Not Financially Indep. Financially Indep.

Conditional Effects of Parental Education by Personal Qualities.

transition marker also showed differences in its relationship to relative age across chronological age. Young people who were married or cohabiting tended to feel relatively older, but this was less so among the older respondents in the sample. These findings suggest that some typical role transitions of adulthood are more salient components of the age one feels at younger compared with older ages. Self-rated maturity, in contrast, was more strongly related to feeling older among the older, compared with the younger, respondents in our sample. Perhaps once large proportions of a birth cohort have made transitions into adult roles, character qualities take center stage. The patterns in this study do indicate some trade off between roles and character qualities. The relationship between relative age and being out of school, marriage/cohabitation, and parenthood each depended upon selfassessed qualities and vice versa. Roles mattered more when self-assessed maturity or independence was low; conversely, self-assessed maturity and

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MONICA KIRKPATRICK JOHNSON ET AL.

independence mattered more among those not having made a particular transition. Transition markers and character qualities act as substitutes for one another, such that in the absence of one, the other is more important. The current study also speaks to the heterogeneity of experience patterned along major dimensions of social location. Relative age was related to racial/ethnic and socioeconomic background. As expected, based on differences in socioeconomic status and the average timing of important role transitions, Blacks felt relatively older than non-Hispanic Whites, and Asians felt younger. Contrary to our expectations, however, Hispanics showed no differences in subjective age compared with non-Hispanic Whites. Socioeconomic differences among the racial/ethnic groups explained Blacks’ older subjective age, but the younger subjective age of Asian Americans persisted with controls for socioeconomic status. Asian Americans’ tendency to feel younger than their agemates reflected their lower rates of having made the role transitions, as controls for these factors reduced and rendered non-significant the difference between Asians and nonHispanic Whites. Thus, racial/ethnic differences in relative age were largely a function of socioeconomic status and differential rates of achieving the adult role transition markers. With respect to socioeconomic background, young people from families with higher incomes and those with more highly educated parents tended to feel younger for their age. Young people living with their two biological or adoptive parents at the first wave of data collection also tended to feel younger. Disadvantage is clearly associated with feeling older. Some of the more privileged young people’s sense of feeling younger was due to their lower rates of assuming the adult roles we examined. The effect of parental education level was reduced to non-significance with controls for the role transitions. Family income continued to be associated with feeling younger, however. Middle and upper class families may provide more of a safety net for their children as they explore school, work, and family formation pathways (Aquilino, 1999), with which young people do not quite feel as old as their agemates without such resources. Our models controlled financial independence, but perhaps this does not capture the history of financial assistance from parents, nor the potential for it if needed in the future, even if not being utilized now. Race and socioeconomic background both moderated the relationship between relative age and the roles and personal qualities associated with adulthood to some extent, though the moderating effects were much more consistent with respect to socioeconomic background. Among the role transitions, the relationship between parenthood and feeling older differed

Relative Age in the Transition to Adulthood

313

across racial/ethnic groups. Whereas for Hispanics and non-Hispanic Whites parenthood was associated with feeling older, among Blacks and Asians it was not. The meaning of parenthood likely differs somewhat across groups. In interviews with young people in the Philadelphia Educational Longitudinal Survey, Benson (J. Benson, personal communication, May 23, 2005) finds that Hispanics and non-Hispanic Whites are more likely to view having a child as a marker of adulthood than are Blacks (Asians were not in the study). Although common across groups, Blacks are more likely to point out that having a child does not make someone an adult, because many teens have babies. Self-rated maturity and independence were also less strongly associated with relative age among Blacks than non-Hispanic Whites. The association was stronger for Asians than non-Hispanic Whites, however, though not significantly so. Parental educational attainment moderated the relationship between relative age and six of the eight adult-like roles and qualities we considered. In each case, the adult-like roles and qualities were more strongly associated with feeling older the higher the level of parental education. As extended education is much more of an option for socioeconomically advantaged young people, it may not be as salient in social comparisons for less privileged youth both with respect to their reference groups and with normative timetables about what one should be doing in one’s twenties. The family transitions occur so much later, primarily after leaving school, for more privileged youth that perhaps they structure age identity very strongly when they do occur. Clearly the roles and characteristics that have been the focus of scholarly attention on the process of becoming an adult are more meaningful for young people from more educated families, at least with respect to their own perceptions of age. Future research should focus on the implications of subjective age, including relative age, for other identities as well as behaviors. Little research on this exists, especially which focuses on the meaning of age and age statuses for young people. A recent panel study, however, points to the potential of subjective perceptions of aging having important consequences for the life course. The study found that positive attitudes toward one’s own aging were related to increased longevity, even after controlling for health, socioeconomic status and similarly related factors (Levy, Slade, Kasl, & Kunkel, 2002). Positive attitudes toward transitioning to adulthood may alter the way it is navigated and embracing an adult identity is a likely resource for carrying out adult responsibilities. Another recent study points to the importance of social age in shaping behavior, above and beyond chronological age. Skirbekk, Kohler, and Prskawetz (2004) found that

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women tend to ‘‘synchronize’’ family formation with women in their school cohorts, not women of their same chronological age. Attention to relative age as well as assessments of whether one has reached adulthood may illuminate the dynamic ways in which subjective aging and life course experience are related through time. The current study was limited in several ways that should also be addressed in future research. Lacking information on the full role history of panel respondents, we were not able to examine role-reversals during the transition to adulthood. Moving back in with parents, for example, could be expected to alter one’s subjective age. Benson and Furstenberg (2007) find that young people who have experienced a reversal in one of the demographic transition markers are less likely to perceive themselves as adults at age 21 than those who have not experienced a reversal. In addition, the current study is unable to establish causal order in the relationships between relative age and the adult-like roles and qualities. We suspect that a reciprocal relationship may exist between subjective age and the experiences associated with it. Those who feel older for their age may be more likely to take on adult roles, for example, and in doing so they reinforce their older subjective ages (Shanahan et al., 2005). Despite such limitations, the current study is an important step in understanding subjective aging during the transition to adulthood. As the nature of the life course changes, potentially becoming more individualized and selfdirected (Buchman, 1989; Coˆte´, 2000; Shanahan, 2000), self-understandings may strengthen as a force in shaping life trajectories. Because the transition to adulthood is one of those periods in life in which the choices pursued expand or contract opportunities across the remainder of the life course (Shanahan, 2000), it is a key period in which to understand subjective aging.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This research uses data from Add Health, a program project designed by J. Richard Udry, Peter S. Bearman, and Kathleen Mullan Harris, and funded by a grant P01-HD31921 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, with cooperative funding from 17 other agencies. Special acknowledgment is due Ronald R. Rindfuss and Barbara Entwisle for assistance in the original design. We thank Julie Kmec, Glen Elder, Janel Benson, Christopher Weiss, and Mike Shanahan for comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript.

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