Classic English Literature
Different societies have different views of who an adult is or at what age a person can be considered an adult. There are also different schools of thoughts that present diverse views of who an adult is or the appropriate time to consider an individual an adult.
Biologically, an adult is considered a human being who has acquired sexual maturity. It is that person who is able to reproduce or that who has attained the reproductive age. This means therefore that biologically, a twelve year old who is able to reproduce sexually can be considered an adult. Accordingly, childhood is regarded as the years before puberty (Arnett 75). Once an individual begins acquiring secondary sexual characteristics, then such an individual is biologically considered an adult. An individual thus moves from the stage of being a child to the stage of being an adult with change in physical and sexual characteristics.
There are other schools of thoughts though. Other than physiology, the law of a given jurisdiction, maturity or personal character or social status also have different views of who to consider an adult (Konstam 58).
Taking the perspective of maturity, a young individual may envisage the qualities attributed to adults. Such an individual may still be regarded as a child despite his or her character displaying adult elements. Conversely, an individual who has attained the age of being regarded as an adult may envisage a character or qualities of a child. It thus becomes a little complex to determine who an adult really is. Maturity in essence is the manner in which an individual reacts to different environments and circumstances as compared to the social expectations. If an individual responds in a manner consistent with the social norm then that person is regarded as mature. Contrary to that, such an individual would be regarded as being immature and may also be branded as childish irrespective of their age. This therefore indicates that psychological maturity is not acquired as an individual grows older, but by the manner in which an individual carries him or herself.
Emotional maturity is another aspect which can determine an adult from a child (Arnett 112). This again is not determined by age. It is very common to encounter individuals who are emotionally more mature than their older counterparts. It is thus determined by an individual’s personality and experience. Emotional and psychological maturity is learned rather than being acquired through the age of a person.
Legally, there are restrictions in terms of age to who should be considered an adult. The restrictions vary with the laws jurisdictions. For instance, there countries where are countries where individuals are considered adults at the age of 18 while in some, one has to be 21 years to be considered an adult (Konstam 67). The legal restrictions are set in place to protect the children in the society. Individuals who have not yet attained the legal age are not allowed to perform certain activities like driving, signing of contracts, cohabiting and so forth. They are considered not mature enough to perform these activities. The law also protects those who have not yet attained the legal adult age. For instance, an individual in a jurisdiction where the legal age is 18 cannot be tried in the same manner as an individual who is considered an adult even if both have committed a crime of a similar nature.
The dimensions identified thus show that adulthood is determined by various aspects rather than just the age of an individual. An adult therefore can be said to be one who has attained the legal age in a given jurisdiction, is emotionally and psychological mature and one who is able to make rational decisions in various different circumstances. This therefore rules out the issue of biological development since inclusion of age caters for that. A child who portrays emotional and psychological maturity remains to be considered a child who is mature but not an adult.
Works cited
Arnett, Jeffrey Jensen. Emerging Adulthood: Winding Road from the Late Teens through the
Twenties. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004. Print.
Konstam, Varda. Emerging and Young Adulthood: Multiple Perspectives, Diverse Narratives.
New York: Springer, 2007. Print.
