Adulthood status and its associations with stress and well‐being among Chinese emerging adults: A person‐centred approach

Abstract

With the implementation of China's one‐child policy and the increasing living costs, a large number of young people are expected to postpone reaching adulthood. However, little research has explored the patterns of Chinese young people's transition to adulthood. Using a person‐centred approach, the current study examined the commonly accepted markers of adulthood status endorsed and attained by 1203 Chinese emerging adults aged 18–29 years. We further compared the distinct adulthood statuses with regard to perceptions of stress and well‐being. Latent profile analysis identified four adulthood status profiles: diffused (16.0%), moratorium (45.3%), transitional (23.3%) and achieved (15.4%). Females, those who had no job or came from low family socioeconomics, were more likely to be in the moratorium status. Compared to the other two profiles, participants in diffused and moratorium profiles reported higher levels of perceived stress and lower well‐being. These results suggest that there are distinct profiles of Chinese emerging adults on the transition path to adulthood, with a large proportion of them not yet reaching adulthood, and that different statuses of adulthood may be associated with different psychological outcomes.