Transition to Adulthood as a Peer Project

Abstract

This study used an action theoretical framework and the action-project method to address the following research question: “How do youth jointly with peers construct, articulate, and act on goals and strategies pertinent to the transition to adulthood?” Fifteen young adult friendship dyads were studied over a 9-month period, using videotaped conversations and telephone monitoring. Peers jointly and intentionally engaged in actions and enacted goals related to young adult transition. Negotiating and maintaining friendship, constructing identity, and promoting career were the projects that emerged most frequently. These projects involved using a range of skills and resources that allowed the participants to take a number of functional steps in constructing and realizing their joint goals, including being intimate, humorous, and reciprocal with each other, providing support, sharing emotion, and exercising judgment. The findings illustrate how friendship, identity, and career promotion are jointly constructed and enacted by young adults.