Transition to Adulthood · · Richard A. Young Sheila K. Marshall Ladislav · · · Valach José F. Domene Matthew D. Graham Anat Zaidman-Zait Transition to Adulthood Action, Projects, and Counseling 123 RichardA.Young SheilaK.Marshall DepartmentofEducational,Counselling SchoolofSocialWork PsychologyandSpecialEducation UniversityofBritishColumbia UniversityofBritishColumbia WestMall2080 MainHall2125 V6T1Z2VancouverBritisch-Kolumbien V6T1Z4VancouverBritisch-Kolumbien Canada Canada [email protected] LadislavValach JoséF.Domene Lindenstr.26 UniversityofNewBrunswick 3047Bremgarten E3B5A3Fredericton Switzerland Canada [email protected] [email protected] MatthewD.Graham AnatZaidman-Zait OrionHealth UniversityofBritishColumbia V4N0E9SurreyBritisch-Kolumbien V6T1Z3VancouverBritisch-Kolumbien Canada Canada [email protected] [email protected] ISBN978-1-4419-6237-9 e-ISBN978-1-4419-6238-6 DOI10.1007/978-1-4419-6238-6 SpringerNewYorkDordrechtHeidelbergLondon LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2010933255 ©SpringerScience+BusinessMedia,LLC2011 Allrightsreserved.Thisworkmaynotbetranslatedorcopiedinwholeorinpartwithoutthewritten permission of the publisher (Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 233 Spring Street, New York, NY10013,USA),exceptforbriefexcerptsinconnectionwithreviewsorscholarlyanalysis.Usein connectionwithanyformofinformationstorageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware, orbysimilarordissimilarmethodologynowknownorhereafterdevelopedisforbidden. Theuseinthispublicationoftradenames,trademarks,servicemarks,andsimilarterms,eveniftheyare notidentifiedassuch,isnottobetakenasanexpressionofopinionastowhetherornottheyaresubject toproprietaryrights. Printedonacid-freepaper SpringerispartofSpringerScience+BusinessMedia(www.springer.com) This page intentionally left blank. Preface Thisbookisabouthowyoungpeoplebecomeadultsandhowcounselingcanhelp in that process. Becoming an adult, like so many other “becomings” in our lives, is a process. This process involves others. We do not become adults without the support and participation of others. Similarly, we do not write books without the participationofothers.Inthiscase,wewrotemuchofthistext,butwereaidedby José Domene, Matthew Graham, and Anat Zaidman-Zait. These three individuals notonlyauthoredspecificchapters,butwerealsocentrallyinvolvedinmuchofthe empiricalresearchonwhichthisbookisbased. Transition to Adulthood: Action, Projects, and Counseling arose from several experiences and studies. Based on a number of our earlier studies, we conducted two qualitative research studies about the transition to adulthood. In one study we were able to follow 20 parent–youth dyads over a 6–8-month period. The second studyinvolvedyoungpeopleandtheircounselorsaddressingtransitiontoadulthood issues. These research studies were designed in such a way that we obtained data on what each young person and their parent or counselor did together to facilitate or,despitegoodintentions,hinderinsomecasesthetransitiontoadulthood.Their jointactionsinvitedanin-depthpresentationanddiscussion,towhichwehopewe havedonejusticeinthisbook. Theperspectiveanddatawetakeinthisbookwassupplementedbyseveralother researchstudiesconductedbytheauthorsonarangeofrelatedissueswithadoles- centsandtheirparents,includingsuchissuesasromanticrelationships,adolescent peer relationships, health, career development, addictions, parenting, suicide, and withyoungeradolescents,Aboriginalfamilies,couples,andothers. Finally,overanumberofyearsinavarietyofjointventures,wehavecontributed to the development of the contextual action theory of career and to a distinctive qualitativeresearchmethod,theaction-projectmethod,bothofwhicharediscussed extensively in this book. This approach goes beyond conventional theorizing and research in counseling. However, it responds to both contemporary research in neurology and attempts to overcome the theory–practice divide in counseling. It providesagroundonwhichpractice-relevanttheorizingandtheory-basedcounsel- ingpracticecanunfold.Itisanapproachinwhichpractitionersandclientscanlink v vi Preface theirpastandtheirfuture,enablingthemtoworkonissueswhichmatterinaway thatisrelevanttothem. What is particularly new in this book is that it represents our most extensive discussion of the use of contextual action theory in counseling. The transition to adulthoodallowsusaparticularfocustodiscussthedimensionsofcounselingfrom thisperspective.Buttheapplicationofcontextualactiontheorytocounselingisnot limitedtothispopulationofyoungpeopleortotheissueoftransition.Counselors and therapists from a wide range of specialties and orientations will resonate with theperspectivetakenupinthesepages. In 1991, Ernest Boesch, the action theorist and cultural psychologist, predicted thatactiontheorywouldmakeinroadsinmanyareasofpsychology.Hesuggested that in the case of counseling and psychotherapy, action theory would be particu- larlyimportant.Boesch’spredictionhasbeenrealizedinavarietyofways,asthere arenowmanyapproachestocounselingandpsychotherapyinwhichaspectsofthis perspective are evident, for example, narrative therapy, solution-focused therapy, constructivist approaches, and relational counseling. While each of these is mak- ingdistinctcontributions,nonehasfullyembracedaconceptualizationandmethod basedonactiontheory.Thisiswhatwehaveattemptedtodointhisbook. Because action theory addresses intentional goal-directed action, it is readily applicabletocounseling.Counselingisfirstandforemostanaction.Inparticular,it isajointaction. Thisbookisorganizedinthreesections.Thefirstsectionservestointroducethe topicsofthetransitiontoadulthood,contextualactiontheory,andcounselingfrom this perspective. It also provides a description of the research method that guided muchofthedataandcasespresentedanddiscussedinthisbook. Inthesecondsection,thatis,Chapters5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,and13,wedevote eachchaptertoadifferentthemethatisrepresentedinthetransitionprocess.Each ofthesechaptersillustratesthethemewithoneormorecasestudiesand,asappro- priate, draws implications for counseling practice. The topics addressed in these chaptersarebroad,asaretheissuesthatyouthfaceinthetransitiontoadulthoodpro- cess,andoverlapping.Thechaptersonrelationshipsdonotexcludeidentityissues, andvice-versa. Thethirdsectionofthisbookprovidesreaderswithsomepracticaldirectionsin engagingincounselingpracticeinformedbyactiontheory.Twoaspectsofparticular relevance are working with narrative and interpretation, and the use of the self- confrontationisdiscussedinsomedetail. We are indebted to a host of young people and their families who have con- tributed to this work as research participants or clients. We are also indebted to a number of professional counselors who gave us access to their work with clients. Inaddition,wehavebeenassistedbyalargenumberofgraduateandundergradu- ateresearchassistantsovermanyyearswhohavecontributedimmeasurablytothis work.TheyincludeMichelleBehr,AshleyCavanaugh,StewartDeyell,YaariDyer, Adam Easterbrook, Kristin Foulkes, Carla Haber, Bradley Kauffman, Celine Lee, Corinne Logan, Amy Mart, Serita McLelland, Jessica Nee, Carey Penner, Hajera Rostram, Wayne Spence, Alison Stevens, Becky Stewart, Laura Templeton, and Preface vii Elisabeth Van Assum. We appreciated participating in the study on suicide at the University of Berne with Konrad Michel, Kathrin Stadler, and Pascal Dey, from which some data appear in this book. We are very appreciative of the work of D.MargoNelson,whoeditedthetext. Finally,weareindebtedtotheSocialSciencesandHumanitiesResearchCouncil of Canada which has supported this work through several research grants over a number of years. The University of British Columbia deserves thanks for provid- ing an intellectually stimulating environment for most of the authors. Equally, we acknowledge our appreciation to our partners and families for their support and understanding. Vancouver,BC RichardA.Young Vancouver,BC SheilaK.Marshall Berne,Switzerland LadislavValach 24February2010 Contents 1 TransitiontoAdulthood:Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 TransitiontoAdulthoodasGoal-DirectedAction . . . . . . . . . 11 3 ActionandthePracticeofCounseling forTransitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 4 StudyingTransitionProcesses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 5 Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 6 EmotionandtheTransitiontoAdulthood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 7 Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 8 Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 9 Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 10 Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 11 RomanticRelationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 12 TransitionintheContextofDisability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 13 Suicide in the Context of the Transition toAdulthood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 14 WorkingwithNarrativeandInterpretation. . . . . . . . . . . . . 179 15 Using the Self-Confrontation Procedure inCounseling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231 ix Chapter 1 Transition to Adulthood: Introduction The transition to adulthood involves, for most individuals, moving from school to work, establishment of long-term relationships, possibly parenting, as well as a number of other psychosocial transformations. These are not small changes in individuals’ lives. Indeed, some aspects of the transition to adulthood, such as the establishmentoflong-termrelationshipsorparenting,resultinpermanentorendur- ing transformations. The transition to adulthood is not only a period of “coming ofage”butatimeduringwhichmajorchoicesarecontemplatedanddecisionsare made. Supportingthetransitiontoadulthoodthroughcounselinginvolvesappreciation of the current social and political conditions as well as the central approaches or frameworksusedtounderstandthetransitiontoadulthood.Thischapterbeginsby defining the transition to adulthood that guides each of the chapters in this book. Then,currentconditionsareoutlined,pointingouttheconstraintsandaffordances individualsfaceastheyplanforandmoveintoadulthood.Finally,thedisciplinary approachestounderstandingthetransitiontoadulthoodaredescribedalongwitha criticalevaluationoftheseapproachesandanexplanationforusinganewapproach, actiontheory,inthisbook. DefinitionofTransitionto Adulthood Whatisthetransitiontoadulthood?Itisthemovementfromchildhoodtoadulthood. Or,thetransitionisthechangefromthecategoryofchildtoadult.The“hoods”are ageperiodsorstretchesoftimeassociatedwithagecategoriesassignedtoindividu- alswithinaparticularculture.Theimportanceorsalienceofagegroupsandtheages atwhichlifeperiodsbeginandendvarieswidelyacrosscultures.Culturalvariations inagegroups(seeProjectA.G.E.,Keithetal.,1994)highlighthowageperiodsor the“hoods”aresociallyconstructed(Kessen,1979). Inthisbook,thetransitiontoadulthoodisnotviewedasastepfromalowerstage (i.e.,childhood)upwardtoamoresophisticatedorhigherstage(i.e.,adulthood)as is implied by some psychological perspectives (e.g., Arnett, 2000, 2004). Rather, childhoodandadulthoodareageperiodsacrosswhichdevelopmentalchangeoccurs R.A.Youngetal.,TransitiontoAdulthood,DOI10.1007/978-1-4419-6238-6_1, 1 (cid:2)C SpringerScience+BusinessMedia,LLC2011