Ministering to the Young Single Adult - Elmer Towns

II. YOUNG SINGLE ADULTHOOD—DEFINITION“Adulthood” is very difficult to define, but to add “young single” to the definitioncompounds the problem. A boy at eighteen may be considered by some an adult becausehe dropped out of school and is now holding down a job. His older sister who goes tocollege may be considered an adolescent. A private secretary, age thirty, who isprematurely gray and mature may be considered middle-aged, whereas the bookkeeper inthe same office who is thirty-six may be considered a “kid.” What is an adult? When doesadulthood begin? What does the word “young” include when linked to the word “adult”?There are three reasons for the lack of clear-cut definition on what constitutes ayoung single adult. The first is the relativity of youth. Professional baseball and footballstars are “old” by the age of thirty or thirty-five, but at the same age a junior partner in alaw firm is considered “young.” A recent magazine advertisement from an insurancecompany indicated, “You can retire at age thirty-five.” Others feel that “life begins atforty.” The profession or occupation of the young single adult often dictates the age atwhich he becomes “middle-aged.”A second reason that the term “young single adult” is difficult to define is therelative position from which the judgment is made. Children in the grade school considera twenty-one-year-old soldier “old,” whereas his parents consider him a “kid.” Mostyoung single adults who arrive at the old age” of thirty-five consider themselves young.The person doing the judging determines the worth of age.The third source of difficulty in defining the “young single adult” is found in thetremendous variation of individual differences. The process of aging does not affect allalike. Because of the physical make-up and the amount of pressure that brings maturity,people give the appearance of being older or younger than they really are. One person is“old” at thirty-four, while another is still “young” at thirty-one. Some young men are“bald” in their twenties and some young women are turning gray. Then, what is an adult?1. What is an adult? Paul B. Maves, in his book, Understanding Ourselves AsAdults, defines adulthood as follows:The word “adult” comes from a Latin root meaning “grow-up.”However, when we ask, “Who’s grown up?” we find a wide range ofopinions. The criterion of “grown up” changes from time to time and isvariously defined by law, custom, and circumstances. . . . those who workwith adults have found it most satisfactory to determine whether or not aparticular person is an adult by the application of multiple criteria. We ask,for example: has he reached his legal maturity? Has he finished hisschooling? Does he live away from the parental home? Is he selfsupportingfinancially? Does he make his own decisions? Is he married?Does he carry adult responsibilities? Does he look upon himself as anadult? Is he accepted as one by other adults? If he can answer “yes” to agoodly number of these questions, then we can classify a person as an