Self-perception of emerging adulthood and its relationships with gratitude, anxiety, and well-being

Abstract

Emerging adulthood is a period of transition that poses multiple psychosocial demands that can affect people’s mental health and well-being. The general aim of this work is to analyze the connections between general well-being, anxiety and gratitude according to perceptions of adulthood. The participants were 344 Venezuelans (69.19% women) with an average age of 22 years, selected by non-probabilistic sampling. The data were collected using an online form comprising: PERMA well-being scale, Gratitude questionnaire-6, ANSILET anxiety scale, and an open question about self-perception of adulthood. The results showed: medium levels of overall well-being, anxiety and gratitude among the sample; statistically significant differences for well-being and gratitude among women with a small effect size; significant increases in gratitude and well-being during emerging adult recentering, and a significant decline in anxiety (in comparison with the stages of late and extended adolescence); significant negative correlations between anxiety and overall well-being, gratitude and perception of adulthood, and significant positive correlations for the rest of the study variables. Emerging adult recentering was also found to have a predictive role in relation to well-being, with gratitude and anxiety treated as covariates in the model. It is concluded that perceptions of recentering are an important variable to explain mental health, gratitude, anxiety and well-being in the process of emerging adulthood.