Subjective and Objective Indicators of Adulthood

Abstract

The article presents consideration referring to adulthood indices in the context of phenomenon of adulthood postponement which might be observed in Western European countries. Because of the fact that socially determined structure of human life course, which is regulated by social standards and expectations, has undergone crucial changes for the last decades, changes also appear when it comes to the ways of adulthood formulation. More and more frequently adulthood is considered in terms of psychological characteristics such as responsibility or independence. In the article two perspectives of adulthood perception will be described. The first one will treat adulthood as social category whereas the second one will refer to its psychological aspects. Moreover, the article also touches upon the direction of transformations, which appear in connection with socio-cultural changes of recent decades, in understanding what adulthood is.