The Experience of Emerging Adulthood Among Street-Involved Youth Emerging Adulthood Series

This volume utilizes the emergent adulthood framework to further our understanding of marginalized youth in contemporary societies. Using data from a longitudinal study named Risky Business, the authors outline the fundamental characteristics of emerging adulthood through the lens of stories of street-involved youth. These stories inform an understanding of the powerfulness of emerging adulthood theory as a "process;" in particular, they illustrate emerging adults' view of adulthood as comprised of a) accepting responsibility for oneself, b) making independent decisions, and c) becoming financially independent. Further, street-involved youth experience and practice emerging adulthood, and then adulthood, unusually early and under unusual conditions. By examining this developmental process, the book makes a valuable contribution to research on the causes and consequences of the early onset of adulthood, the experience of instability in emerging adulthood, and the importance of social institutions' presence or absence during this period of life.

Doug Magnuson is Professor at the University of Victoria, Canada in the School of Child and Youth Care. He studies professional practice in various different contexts, including child welfare, street-involved youth, group care, and youthwork in higher education. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in data analysis and research methods. Mikael Jansson is a Scientist at the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research (CISUR). His current research uses a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches to understand the lives of vulnerable populations, and he has a particular interest in panel data. He has lead research teams focused on youth, young adults, and workers in low-prestige occupations. Cecilia Benoit is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Sociology at the University of Victoria and Scientist at the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research. Her research examines the multiple dimensions of health inequities embedded in laws, policies, programs, and research agendas and searches for evidence-based solutions to these systemic problems.