Although cultural and subcultural differences during the transition to adulthood have been examined, important factors like rural/urban upbringing and gender differences among Canadian emerging adults have been neglected. The present study explored developmentally significant tasks including criteria for adulthood, beliefs about religiosity, and risk-taking behaviors among 287 male and female Canadian emerging adults from rural and urban backgrounds. Results revealed that compared to their urban counterparts, rural emerging adults were more likely to place importance on role and biological transitions as criteria for achieving adulthood, and engaged in more risk-taking behaviors (excluding smoking). Female emerging adults were more likely to believe in the importance of role transition, norm compliance, and family capacities compared to males, and were more likely to smoke. In contrast, males were more likely than females to espouse the importance of biological transitions and engage in non-smoking risk behaviors. These findings were interpreted in light of sociocultural and gender socialization differences among emerging adults from rural and urban upbringings.
Arnett, J.J. ( 1997). Young people’s conceptions of the transition to adulthood. Youth & Society, 29, 3-23.
2.
Arnett, J.J. ( 2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55, 469-480.
3.
Arnett, J.J. ( 2001). Conceptions of the transition to adulthood: Perspectives from adolescence through midlife. Journal of Adult Development , 8, 133-143.
4.
Arnett, J.J. ( 2003). Conceptions of the transition to adulthood among emerging adults in American ethnic groups. In J.J. Arnett & N.L. Galambos (Eds.), Exploring cultural conceptions of the transition to adulthood: New directions in child and adolescent development, No. 100(pp. 63-75). Oxford : John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
5.
Arnett, J.J. ( 2004). Emerging adulthood: The winding road from the late teens through the twenties. New York: Oxford University Press.
6.
Arnett, J.J., & Jensen, L.A. ( 2002). A congregation of one: Individualized religious beliefs in emerging adulthood. Journal of Adolescent Research, 17, 451-467.
7.
Arnett, J.J., Ramos, K.D., & Jensen, L.A. ( 2001). Ideological views in emerging adulthood: Balancing autonomy and community. Journal of Adult Development, 8(2), 69-79.
8.
Arnett, J.J., & Tanner, J.L. (Eds.) (2006). Emerging adults in America: Coming of age in the 21st century. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
9.
Bachman, J.G., Johnston, L.D., O’Malley, P., & Schulenberg, J. (1996). Transitions in drug use during late adolescence and young adulthood. In J.A. Graber, J. Brooks-Gunn, & A.C. Petersen (Eds.), Transitions through adolescence: Interpersonal domains and context. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
10.
Bachman, J.G., Wadsworth, K.N., O’Malley, P.M., Johnston, L.D., & Schulenberg, J.E. (1997). Smoking, drinking, and drug use in emerging adulthood. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
11.
Badger, S., Nelson, L.J., & Barry, C.M. ( 2006). Perceptions of the transition to adulthood among Chinese and American emerging adults. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 30, 84-93.
12.
Barry, C.M., & Nelson, L.J. ( 2005). The role of religion in the transition to adulthood for young emerging adults. Journal of Youth & Adolescence , 34, 245-255.
13.
Chalfant, P.N., & Heller, P.L. ( 1991). Rural/urban versus regional differences in religiosity . Review of Religious Research, 33, 76-86.
14.
Chassin, L., Presson, C.C., Pitts, S.C., & Sherman, S.J. ( 2000). The natural history of cigarette smoking from adolescence to adulthood in a Midwestern community sample: Multiple trajectories and their psychosocial correlates. Health Psychology, 19, 223- 231.
15.
Cheah, C.S.L., & Nelson, L.J. ( 2004). The role of acculturation in the emerging adulthood of Aboriginal college students. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 28, 495-507.
16.
Clarke, C.S., Bannon, F.J., & Denihan, A. ( 2003). Suicide and religiosity-Masaryk’s theory revisited . Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 38, 502-506.
17.
Drixler, C., Krahn, H., & Wood, R.T. ( 2001). Teenage drinking and driving in rural Alberta. Journal of Youth Studies, 4, 63-81.
18.
Fuligni, A.J., & Pedersen, S. ( 2002). Family obligation and the transition to young adulthood . Developmental Psychology, 38, 856- 868.
19.
Gilligan, C. ( 1982). In a different voice. Cambridge, MA : Harvard University Press.
20.
Heck, K.E., Borba, J.A., Carlos, R.Churches, K., Donohue, S., & Fuller, A.H. ( 2004). California’s rural youth. 4-H Center for Youth Development Special Report, Fall. Available at http://cyd.ucdavis.edu/publications/pubs/report/pdf/ca_rural.pdf
21.
Josselson, R. ( 1996). The space between us: Exploring the dimensions of human relationships. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
22.
Jurich, A.P., Schumm, W.R., & Bollman, S.R. ( 1987). The degree of family orientation perceived by mothers, fathers, and adolescents. Adolescence, 22, 119-128.
23.
Kirkland, S., Greaves, L., & Devichand, P. ( 2003). Gender differences in smoking and self-reported indicators of health. Women’s health surveilance report. Available at http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/pphb-dgspsp/publicat/whsr-rssf/pdf/WHSR_Chap_6_e.pdf
24.
Maggs, J.L. ( 2001). Alcohol use and binge drinking as goal directed action during the transition to post-secondary education. In J.J. Arnett (ed.), Readings on adolescence and emerging adulthood: A cultural approach. (pp. 261-272). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
25.
Mayseless, O., & Scharf, M. ( 2003). What does it mean to be an adult? The Israeli experience . In J.J. Arnett & N.L. Galambos (Eds.), Exploring cultural conceptions of the transition to adulthood: New directions in child and adolescent development , No. 100(pp. 5-20). Oxford: John Wiley & Sons.
26.
Montgomery, M.J. ( 2005). Psychosocial intimacy and identity: From early adolescence to emerging adulthood. Journal of Adolescent Research, 20, 346-374.
27.
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (2002). Youth risk behavior surveillance - United States. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/SS/SS5104.pdf
28.
Nelson, L.J. ( 2003). Rites of passage in emerging adulthood: Perspectives of young Mormons. In J.J. Arnett & N.L. Galambos (Eds.), Exploring cultural conceptions of the transition to adulthood: New directions in child and adolescent development , No. 100(pp. 33-49). Oxford: John Wiley & Sons.
29.
Nelson, L.J., Badger, S., & Wu, B. ( 2004). The influence of culture in emerging adulthood: Perspectives of Chinese college students. International Journal of Behavioral Development. 28, 26-36.
30.
Nelson, L.J., & Cheah, C.S.L. ( 2005). The developmental period of emerging adulthood: Definitional, cultural, and applied considerations. In C.B. Fisher & R.M. Lerner (Eds.), Applied developmental science: An encyclopedia of research, policies, and programs. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
31.
Pascarella, E.T., & Terenzini, P.T. (2001). How college makes a difference: A summary. In J.J. Arnett (Ed.), Readings on adolescence and emerging adulthood (pp. 210-216). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
32.
Spoth, R., Goldberg, C., Neppl, T., Trudeau, L., & Ramisetty-Mikler, S. (2001). Rural-urban differences in the distribution of parent-reported risk factors for substance use among young adolescents. Journal of Substance Abuse, 13, 609-623.
33.
Statistics Canada. (2001). Religion and Age Groups for Population, for Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Divisions and Census Subdivisions, 2001 Census. Available at http://www.statcan.gc. ca/bsolc/olc-cel/olc-cel?catno=95F0450XIE&lang=eng#format disp and http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/ standard/themes/RetrieveProductTable.cfm?Temporal=2001 &PID=68339&APATH=3&GID=431515&METH=1&PTYPE =55430&THEME=56&FOCUS=0&AID=0&PLACENAME=0 &PROVINCE=0&SEARCH=0&GC=0&GK=0&VID=0&VN AMEE=&VNAMEF=&FL=0&RL=0&FREE=0.
34.
Statistics Canada. (2007). The Daily: Marriages 2003. Available at http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/070117/d070117a.htm
35.
Willits, F.K., Bealer, R.C., & Crider, D.M. ( 1982). Persistence of rural/urban differences. In D.A. Dillman & D.J. Hobbs (Eds.), Rural society in the U.S.: Issues for the 1980s (pp. 69-76). Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
