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This chapter addresses three contextual influences on the onset, continuation, or escalation of offending during the transition from adolescence to adulthood. First the chapter examines four individual life circumstances that typically undergo dramatic change during the transition to adulthood—romantic relationships and marriage, parenthood, employment and leisure activities, reviewing what is known about their impact on the continuity or discontinuity in offending. Second the chapter addresses the situational factors surrounding specific criminal events, including crime places, asking how they change with the transition to adulthood and how their influences may be moderated by age. Finally the chapter turns to the broad context of neighborhood and community, examining how they set the stage for the transition to adulthood and how they may moderate the effects of individual life circumstances, either facilitating or impeding the successful transition to adult roles that can lead to desistance from crime. For each of the three contextual influences, the chapter provides a review of the current literature and recommendations for productive directions for future research.

This chapter examines two distinct models through which members of the Legendz attempted to reconcile the contradictions between Islamic expectations of premarital gender relations and their participation in American-style teenage romantic relationships. Yusuf and Salman sought to manage this dilemma by articulating and pursuing an overtly Islamic approach to dating which they called “keeping it halal.” “Keeping it halal” entailed an explicit labeling of their romantic activity as Islamically appropriate (halal) as well as a stated commitment to setting specific limits on physical intimacy. This approach was initially attractive to these young men because it promised a level of cultural clarity and emphasized an attractive similarity between states of romantic love and Islamic piety. While “keeping it halal” worked well as an articulated aspiration and an initial guide for young Muslim Americans' behavior while dating in America, its effectiveness as a lasting strategy for reconciling teenage dating and Islamic morality eventually fell short for those who attempted it. Exemplifying an alternative approach to managing the dilemma of dating as a young Muslim, Abdul, Muhammad, and Fuad avoided articulating their dating relationships within an explicitly Islamic moral framework or by setting clear boundaries on physical intimacy. Instead, they emphasized the aspects of their relationships that aligned with a culture of romantic love while trying to keep Islamic understandings present but marginal and the possibility of physical intimacy alive but obscure by discussing such subjects in strategically ambiguous ways.

This chapter focuses on the flyer in love. While some flyers feared that romantic entanglements might compromise combat efficiency, many others found that falling in love offered an affirmation of life in the present and hope for the future. Romantic love and companionship appeared to be a reward for taking on the obligations of military service, and therefore the flyer' affairs of the heart, far from being esoteric, tell us a great deal about the intersections between masculinity, sexuality, and citizenship in modern Britain. What was especially unusual about the RAF was that the presence of female service personnel, in the form of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), allowed the possibility of heterosexual romantic attachments developing on the base itself. The romantic universe of the flyer ensured that the wartime RAF was never a closed all-male world, in which masculinity operated independently of a female presence.

Romantic relationships are salient developmental experiences for most contemporary adolescents. This chapter addresses the within-relationship changes in three cognitive and emotional assessments of African American adolescent women’s romantic/sexual relationships: relationship quality, relationship satisfaction, and sexual relationship satisfaction. Explicit attention to African American women allows redress of the tendency within behavioral and epidemiological research to ignore these young women’s romantic and sexual relationships. The young women’s cognitive and emotional assessments of relationships lasting up to a year or more respect the importance of relationships in young women’s lives in the context of our understanding that most relationships dissolve, form a basis of relationship experience and learning, and are replaced by other relationships. The data allow us to develop a deeper understanding of the subjective experiences of relationships among African American young women.

This chapter examines the ways in which technology influences the romantic behavior of emerging adults. From meeting new romantic partners to managing existing relationships to breaking up and recovering from breakups, computer-mediated communication (CMC) is entwined with romance. The ways in which CMC can objectify users and overwhelm them with too many choices are examined here. The chapter also examines dating apps as well as technologically influenced behaviors and challenges, such as “technoference” and sexting. The 29 study participants share their thoughts and experiences related to CMC and social networking sites, and how the inevitable presence of technology has affected their romantic lives.

This chapter examines how emerging adults form identities in the domains of work and romance. Today’s emerging adults are motivated to self-actualize in both domains, but the path to that end is long and tortuous and now occupies most of their 20s. Emerging adults are now marrying, if at all, in their late 20s or early 30s. Friends and parents are providing the needed support that spouses once provided during the 20s decade. Studies reveal that men and women take slightly divergent pathways to adulthood, but that they ultimately share a similar vision in which both partners can have fulfilling careers while coming together for a committed long-term relationship. The delay of commitment allows for romantic experimentation and learning by trial and error, an opportunity that many emerging adults, particularly those who are well resourced, seem to be taking advantage of.

The transition to adulthood is most obviously characterized by movement from the roles of childhood and adolescence to those of adulthood. Youth leave their parents' homes to live on their own, they marry or cohabit with romantic partners, and they become parents themselves. They finish their schooling and take full-time employment. Completing most, if not all, of these role transitions is often considered to be the standard for reaching adulthood. However, this set of changes does not come as an organized “package” or standard sequence. Rather, young people today take many varied paths through these transitions. This chapter explores several role transitions by classifying respondents into groups on the basis of simple facts about adult transitions in five major role domains: romantic relationships, residence, parenthood, employment, and education. It examines patterns of time use, the degree to which respondents feel that they are carrying out various adult responsibilities, demographic characteristics of the individuals and their families of origin, and attitudes toward marriage and family, employment, and education.

Relational skills gained through forming committed romantic partnerships in emerging adulthood provide the foundation for sustained intimacy in later adult relationships. Commitment emerges as a crucial relational factor in the quality and longevity of romantic relationships. Twenty-nine emerging adults spoke about the meaning, expectations, and formation of commitment in romantic relationships. Results revealed that emerging adults maintain traditional values concerning monogamy, trust/respect, and planning for the future. Although the majority of the participants could readily identify what they were looking for in a romantic commitment, they hesitated to communicate their desire with their partners. Clinical implications are discussed.

This chapter revisits the challenging economic and romantic conditions in which today’s emerging adults find themselves, conditions that help explain why emerging adults are taking longer to commit to long-term relationships than their parents did. The main milestones in transitioning from an I identity to a we identity are reviewed, with an emphasis on the constructs of commitment and sacrifice and their centrality to one’s readiness for a long-term relationship. The concept of risk is discussed as an explanation as to why many emerging adults seem content to foster ambiguity in their relationships even as they say they value honesty and clarity. Structures such as asymmetrically committed relationships, cohabitation, marriage and divorce are examined through the lens of risk and risk avoidance. Their commonality and individuality are emphasized, providing a rich understanding of emerging adults and how they live and love.

This chapter draws on role theory and the changing cultural norms around relationships to explain how a risk of social poverty accompanies parents’ attempts to build lasting partnerships. These couples want to create and maintain healthy, lasting unions and parent their children together. Often their relationships are young, and so they are figuring out how to successfully occupy these roles. Role theory helps explain the challenges of the multiple role transitions—to adulthood, partnership, and parenthood—these young people are undertaking. This is particularly challenging given today’s relaxed social norms for romantic relationships, called “deinstitutionalization.” Despite these relaxed norms, which can make expectations and roles unclear, the partners often share relationship ideals. However, they often face an array of obstacles—such as finances and their concerns about their partners’ and their own abilities to be good spouses—to achieving these ideals; this increases the likelihood of social poverty in their lives.

The dynamic processes of individual and couple identity formation are discussed against a theoretical background. Absence of strict codes of behavior creates an environment in which emerging adults feel freer to explore and experiment with identity options, both as individuals and as couples. Marcia’s four “identity statuses” are presented in a contemporary context, and the concept of group identification is discussed. The challenges of transitioning from an individual identity to a couple identity—from an I to a we—are analyzed. The 29 research participants discuss their personal experiences in forming a we identity and the difficulties in developing and maintaining an I while living in a we relationship. The chapter concludes with a case study of a young American woman of Middle-Eastern ethnicity who must contend with strong cultural and parental influences while trying to forge an individual and a couple identity.

Sacrifice has been linked to many positive results for both individuals and couples. The relationship between commitment and sacrifice is explored. The findings of Kogan et al. with regard to sacrifice and how it relates to both communal and exchange relationships are presented. Adopting a communal attitude requires shifting from an I orientation to a we orientation. Emerging adults’ understanding of, and approach to, sacrifice often changes over the course of their 20s. This change is reflected in the experiences of many of the 29 emerging adults who were interviewed. For these emerging adults in challenging economic/cultural conditions, who are under financial and social stress and have not seen the benefits of sacrifice in their lives, the idea of giving up something concrete and hard-won for the abstract possibility of gaining a vague reward has limited appeal and practicality.

In this chapter we argue that positive development takes place within the context of relationships, and we review research on a number of relationships that emerging adults may have during this time period. This chapter explores theories of how and why relationships may be influential, and it reviews research on the role that relationships with members of one’s family of origin (parents, grandparents, and siblings) and with peers (friends, romantic partners, and spouses) play in flourishing during emerging adulthood. The way in which young people navigate these changing relationships, and the new patterning of relationships that are formed, may play important roles in the extent to which young people flourish during the third decade of life.

In close relationships, conflict occurs when the needs and desires of partners diverge and are thus incompatible. Because partners interact with each other regarding a number of issues important to their relationship over time, it is inevitable that conflict will occur to at least some degree in every relationship. The existence of conflict in relationships is not always detrimental to relationship satisfaction or stability, and if managed positively conflicts have the potential to actually enhance the well-being of the relationship. In this chapter we discuss conflict as it relates to positive psychology, integrating an interdependence theory perspective, and review research demonstrating how a more active approach to managing relationship conflict can lead to beneficial relationship maintenance and outcomes. The quality of relationships can be maintained over time, therefore, not because of the absence of interpersonal conflict, but by how intimates deal with conflict when it arises.

Using a combination of bracero family oral life histories and songs of love, this chapter traces the romantic love, loss, and longing that inspired Mexican women and men to be most resourceful in their pursuit of personally satisfying romantic relationships in Mexico and the United States. These women’s and men’s dedication to acting out of love—but with their family integrity and reputation intact—moved them to become most resilient when celebrating and mourning their love for each other when alone and in public. In capturing the emotional rigors of the Bracero Program, this historical examination of the expansiveness of the program’s reach is a most humanizing move toward unearthing an almost forgotten history of love and longing.

This chapter provides a nuanced look at the romantic and sexual relationships of Port City youth. Popular culture, media, public policy, and academic scholarship alike have pathologized the romantic and sexual relationships of economically marginalized youth of color by constructing their sexualities as “risky,” teen pregnancy as an epidemic in their communities, and men in these communities as predatory. Their romantic and sexual ties are, however, more complex. This chapter highlights the many joys of first love, the heartbreaks of romance, the resources generated within romantic and sexual relationships, as well as the sacrifices people make out of love. It shows how gender ideologies impact the everyday lives of youth, and it highlights how young women manage the pregnancy panic by distancing themselves from risk narratives and from some of their pregnant and parenting peers. They distance themselves by drawing on feminist ideologies of self-development and, in the process, police their own bodies and bodies of their peers, often reproducing dominant race, class, and gender narratives. Drawing on women-of-color feminisms, this chapter argues that the ubiquitous problematization of teen parenthood and sexuality interferes with resources that could be used to support all young people’s educational and occupational goals.