Korean College Students' Personal Perception of Emerging Adulthood and Its Relations with Identity, Psychiatric Symptoms, Smartphone Problems, and Alcohol Problems

Abstract

Emerging adulthood has recently become one of the hottest topics in the field of adult development, yet the variabilities in the experience of emerging adulthood need further examination. The present study focused on two factors that contribute to the variations of emerging adulthood: first, the impact of personal perception about adulthood; and second, information about Korean college students' identity maturity, depression, anxiety, smartphone problems, and alcohol-related problems. Data from 211 Korean college students indicated that subjective perception of reaching adulthood was significantly related to identity maturity, depression, and anxiety, even after the impacts of chronological age and sex were controlled. Smartphone problems and alcohol-related problems were not associated with the perception of adulthood. These results suggest that the subjective interpretation of reaching adulthood might be more important than chronological age in terms of relationships with psychological well-being.