According to the latest statistics, more and more young adults experiencing a quarter-life crisis (QLC) before they hit their 30s, often accompanied by anxiety, depression and stress.
"Forty-one percent of 20-to-29-year-olds say they feel significantly pressured or almost more stressed than they can bear," writes Alexandra Robbins, author of Conquering Your Quarterlife Crisis: Advice From Twentysomethings Who Have Been There and Survived. "Suicide has become the third leading cause of death for people aged 15-24, behind accidental deaths and homicide."
QLC, the Quarter-life Crisis Phenomenon
QLC is the 20-something version of a midlife crisis, usually encountered by people in their forties and fifties,in which sufferers struggle to establish a sense of identity and purpose within their lives. Although the QLC phenomenon is not completely new, today's young adults seem to experience anxiety and crisis more acutely than previous generations. Especially in times of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), an unpredictable economy and market meltdowns contribute an increased quarter-life anxiety experienced by 20-somethings.
Social Pressure & QLC: Living Life Fast
Experts believe that the reasons for QLC are most likely to be found within our fast-changing society as young people are forced to make big decisions earlier in life and mature faster in comparison to Gen X or the baby-boomer generation.
While young adults of past generations got married and settled in their careers by their mid-20s, today's Gen Y experiences a longer period of insecurity and transition until they reach the settled-down stage. Given the fact that young adults nowadays have more choices and the freedom to explore different options, there's also a notable shift within priorities in life, meaning career and climbing the corporate ladder comes now before 'building a nest' and starting a family.
"The young people of today (...) see adulthood and its obligations in quite a different light," explains Jeffrey Arnett, research professor of psychology at Clark University, Massachusetts and author of Emerging Adulthood: The Winding Road From Late Teens Through the Twenties. "In their late teens and early twenties, marriage, home, and children are seen by most of them not as achievements to be pursued but as perils to be avoided."
'Yes, but not yet!' - Family and settling down later in life
Although the turmoil of the 20s comes with increased worry, fear of failure and angst for too much responsibilities for some, Arnett believes this unsteady transition period can be positive, offering opportunities for adventure and personal growth before finally settling down in their 30s.
"It is not that they do not want marriage, a home, and (one or two) children - eventually," says Arnett. "Most of them do want to take on all of these adult obligations, and most of them will have done so by the time they reach age 30. It is just that, in their late teens and early twenties, they ponder these obligations and think, 'Yes, but not yet.'"
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