What Happens Here Stays Here? Associations Between Behaviors During the Twenties and Flourishing or Floundering During the Thirties

Abstract

The current study (a) examined retrospectively the relation between behaviors during one’s twenties and indices of adjustment (i.e., life satisfaction, relationship satisfaction, and hope) and maladjustment (i.e., poor emotional health and regret) in one’s thirties, and (b) examined the possible moderating role of income, gender, and ethnicity in these relations. Participants included 4969 (59% female) individuals between the ages of 30 and 35. Results revealed that education and volunteering in emerging adulthood were associated with positive outcomes in established adulthood (e.g., higher life satisfaction, better emotional health, and lower levels of regret) while criminal activity and risky sexual behaviors in emerging adulthood were associated with negative outcomes (e.g., lower life satisfaction and emotional health, and higher levels of regret) in established adulthood.

Keywords

emerging adulthood choices adjustment maladjustment life course

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