The Indicators of Adulthood in the Postmodern Context

In archaic societies, most transitions indicating the social maturation of an individual were through distinct stages accompanied by endorsed rites of passage. In contemporary societies, however, the transitions are distinguished more and more by the fact that they are individual, negotiable, poorly ritualistic, with wide margins of choice and relatively undefined, both in the modalities and in the timing. This essay will analyze what are reputed to be the main indicators of adulthood in a postmodern context, a context that seems to increasingly question their value: the completion of education, living independently, work, marriage, parenthood, political participation, religiousness and spirituality, the abandonment of deviant behaviors.