Young People's Perceptions on Youth and Adulthood. A Longitudinal Study from The Netherlands

The present study departs from the sociological notion that the boundaries between youth and adulthood are increasingly blurring. In order to investigate this assumption, semi-structured biographical interviews have been conducted in 1988 and 1997 among 85 youngsters, who were asked to reflect upon youth and adulthood. Attention was paid, among other things, to their perceptions of adulthood and to the social roles that have historically been connected with adulthood, these being work and family. Using HOMALS analysis, a complex of differentiated perceptions was found. These largely varied as a function of social status and gender. Lower-class youth tended to perceive adulthood primarily in terms of starting a family and getting a job, whereas higher-class youth associated adulthood either with individual development or a complex of indicators (work, family, individual development). We found evidence for the socialization theory, as well as for the notion of reflexivity as it has been put forward by theories on postmodernism.