Citation

Hays JJ, Hayford SR, Furstenberg FF. Emerg. Adulthood 2021; 9(3): 252-258.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Society for the Study of Emerging Adulthood, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/2167696820956477

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Desistance from the risky behaviors associated with adolescence is linked to entry into adult roles like marriage and employment. Increases in the age of these transitions may delay desistance from risky behaviors. Using population data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Center for Health Statistics, and tabulated data from Monitoring the Future, we chart trends in six problem behaviors--arrests, marijuana use, binge drinking, suicides, homicides, and motor vehicle deaths--between 1975 and 2017. We find delays in desistance from some behaviors. For instance, binge drinking peaked at ages 19-22 in earlier birth cohorts but at ages 23-26 in later birth cohorts. However, other behaviors showed no change in the timing of desistance. Women's rates approached men's in binge drinking and suicide, but gender gaps persist across behaviors. Delayed transitions to adult roles have not produced a singular pattern of delayed desistance from problem behaviors. © 2020 Society for the Study of Emerging Adulthood and SAGE Publishing.

Language: en

Keywords

gender; social change; life course; deviance; transition to adulthood