Book Review: Lost in Transition: the Dark Side of Emerging Adulthood

I read this book because of some of the positive reviews I had read about it and am pleased that I did.  I would recommend this book to both those transitioning to adulthood as well as their parents.  The biggest reason I recommend this book is because of its authenticity.  As I read this book I kept coming back to the same to descriptions and they were that the book was "raw" and "real."  Even towards the beginning of the book the authors explain that they would display the realities of emerging adults as they are rather than as we want to view them.  They explain that the reason for this is it will be most beneficial to the social sciences so that we can be "straightforward" in our approach to human life.

The book maintains a study of young teens 13-17 years of age and then later reevaluates the same people at ages 18-23.  It focused on their views and behaviors.  I personally hope they continue to follow up with these people into their 30's and 40's.  What they found was some interesting and telling attitudes.  One of the major themes was the idea that these emerging adults held about a person's moral beliefs being strictly individual.  For instance murder is only immoral if it is immoral to that individual.  This mindset was becoming more and more common.  I found that especially interesting as I was in my family belief systems class recently talking about a similar subject.  The majority of the students in my class were also in favor of the notion that people should choose morality for themselves.  It shed light to me how prominent this ideology is in young people and how that actually can be damaging to our society.

They found a fairly positive outlook from the emerging adults concerning sex.  They came to the conclusion that most felt it was a very powerful and important part of life that can be used for immense benefit or immense destruction.  They also were very concerned for the greater good of people and society and the environment.  One particularly interesting part of this book is the claim of why many young people do not engage in many societal issues.  The claim was that because of the weak moral reasoning foundation, they did not have a specific end to work for.  I have even found this true in my own personal life at times.  This is one reason it is so important for emerging adults to examine their beliefs and strengthen them so that their purpose in life and in society is more profound and meaningful.

This book is raw and gives a great illustration of what emerging adults really face and how they really think.  I felt it was written quite well and was made to be very entertaining on what can be a drab topic for some.  The more honest we are with ourselves concerning this important time in one's life, the better we can prepare and live appropriately.  This book is a great gateway to opening up your mind to these thought patterns and behaviors.

Chase

Smith, C., Christofferson, K., Davidson, H., & Herzog, P. (2011). Lost in transition: The dark side of emerging adulthood. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.