Emerging Adulthood: Prediction by Markers of Adulthood and Associations with Health in a Russian Sample

Oxana Mikhaylova^*

• HSE University, Moscow, Russia

Markers of the transition from adolescence to adulthood are evolving in many countries, with traditional milestones such as marriage, parenthood, and financial independence becoming less central. This study examined how changes in an emerging adulthood mindset relate to a range of maturity markers-including relationship status, parenthood, employment, education, material wellbeing, and living independently from parents-as well as subjective health indicators. Data were drawn from two consecutive waves (2021 and 2022) of the Trajectories in Education and Careers (TrEC) longitudinal study, comprising survey responses from 2,663 Russian young adults aged 24 to 28 (54.5% female). Correlation, t-test, ANOVA, and regression analyses were conducted to assess associations between changes in IDEA (Inventory of the Dimensions of Emerging Adulthood) scores and these variables over a one-year period. Results showed that having children and higher material well-being were significantly associated with changes in the emerging adulthood mindset, while other markers such as relationship status, education, and living with parents were not. Several health indicators-including subjective health status, healthy lifestyle, prior mental health specialist consultation, and anxiety-were also linked to changes in the emerging adulthood mindset. These findings suggest that not all traditional markers of adulthood are relevant for emerging adults today and highlight the importance of health-related factors in understanding the transition to adulthood.