printThree Dimensions of Adulthood:
Freedom, Responsibility, and Care
Andreeva A.S.
PhD Student, HSE University – St. Petersburg, Research Assistant, Centre for Youth Studies HSE University, St. Petersburg, Russia as.andreeva@hse.ru
This research paper uses the results of the Basic Research Program at the National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE University) in 2020–2022. We express our deep appreciation and gratitude to our colleagues from the Centre for Youth Studies and our informants who took part in this research.
Rubric: Sociology of youth
For citation:
Andreeva A.S. Three Dimensions of Adulthood: Freedom, Responsibility, and Care. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. 2023. No 7. P. 105-116
Abstract
This paper focuses on the specifics of Russian youth’ transition to adulthood. Transition to adulthood is a theoretical construct at the heart of the relevant discussion, however, its specifics in the Russian context remain underresearched. Through critically reflecting on neoliberal and gender perspectives of contextualizing the transition to adulthood, we pay attention to both individual and collective aspects of it. Based on 30 in-depth semi-structured interviews with residents of St. Petersburg aged 18–43, we demonstrate which subjective markers of adulthood are the key to constructing an image of an adult. The analysis was done on the results of the project “Transition to adulthood among Russian youth in the 21st century: generational analysis” carried out within the HSE Program of Fundamental Research in 2020–2022. Our empirically developed categories of freedom, responsibility, and care as well as their configurations in traditional and alternative images of adulthood pose an interest for understanding the specifics of Russian youth’ emotionally saturated transition to adulthood.
Keywords
youth; transition to adulthood; markers of adulthood; precarity
References
Андрианова Е.В., Тарасова А.Н., Печеркина И.Ф. Мотивы и трудовые ценности молодежи: парадоксы развития // Мониторинг общественного мнения: Экономические и социальные перемены. 2018. № 3. С. 324–343. [Andrianova E., Tarasova A., Pecherkina I. (2018) Motivation and labor values of youth: development paradoxes. Monitoring of Public Opinion: Economic and Social Changes. No. 3: 324–343. (In Russ.)]
Кученкова А.В. Вторичная занятость в контексте процессов прекаризации на российском рынке труда // Социологические исследования. 2019. № 9. С. 73–83. [Kuchenkova A. (2019) Secondary employment in the context of precarization on the Russian labor market. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. No. 9: 73–83. (In Russ.)]
Митрофанова Е.С. Модели взросления разных поколений россиян // Демографическое обозрение. 2019. Т. 6. № 4. С. 53–82. [Mitrofanova E. (2019) Models of transition to adulthood of different Russian generations. Demograficheskoe obozrenie [Demographic Review]. Vol. 6. No. 4: 53–82. (In Russ.)]
Нартова Н.А., Фатехов А.М. Переход во взрослость российских миллениалов: на пути от получения образования к обретению ответственности и потере оптимизма? // Мониторинг общественного мнения. 2021. № 4. С. 319–344. [Nartova N., Fatekhov A. (2021) The Transition into Adulthood of Russian Millennials: On the Way from Getting an Education to Gaining Responsibility and Losing Optimism? Monitoring of Public Opinion: Economic and Social Changes. No. 4: 319–344. (In Russ.)]
Павленко Е.С., Якубовская А.А. Интерпретации взросления и формирование образовательных траекторий // Мониторинг общественного мнения: экономические и социальные перемены. 2020. No. 3. С. 376–390. [Pavlenko E., Jakubovskaja A. (2020) Interpretations of Adulthood and Formation of Educational Trajectories. Monitoring of Public Opinion: Economic and Social Changes. No. 3: 376–390. (In Russ.)]
Радаев В.В. Миллениалы: Как меняется российское общество. М.: Издательский дом НИУ ВШЭ, 2019. [Radaev V. (2019) Millenials: How Russian society is changing. Moscow: Higher School of Economics Publishing House. (In Russ.)]
Тощенко Ж.Т. Феномен прекариата: теоретические и методологические основания исследования // Социологические исследования. 2019. № 9. С. 51–63. [Toshhenko Zh. (2019) The precariat phenomenon: theoretical and methodological premises of its study. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. No. 9: 51–63. (In Russ.)]
Шевченко И.О., Шевченко П.В. От прекаризации занятости – к прекаризации жизни? // Социологические исследования. 2022. № 7. С. 63–75. [Shevchenko I., Shevchenko P. (2022) From employment precarization to life precarization? Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. No. 7: 63–75. (In Russ.)]
Arnett J.J. (2004) Emerging adulthood: The winding road from the late teens through the twenties. New York: Oxford University Press.
Brown P., Lauder H., Ashton D. (2011) The Global Auction: The Broken Promises of Education, Jobs and Incomes. New York: Oxford University Press.
Côté J.E. (2014) The Dangerous Myth of Emerging Adulthood: An Evidence-Based Critique of a Flawed Developmental Theory. Applied Developmental Science. Vol. 18. Is. 4 (October): 177–188.
Dwyer P., Wyn J. (2001) Youth, Education and Risk: Facing the Future. London: Routledge/Falmer.
Kravchenko Zh. (2015) Transition into Adulthood and Inequalities: The Institutional Perspective. The Journal of Social Policy Studies. Vol. 13. No. 2: 303–316.
Settersten R.A. Jr., Ottusch T.M., Schneider B. (2015) Becoming Adult: Meanings of Markers to Adulthood. Emerging Trends in the Social and Behavioral Sciences: An Interdisciplinary, Searchable, and Linkable Resource. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons: 1–16.
Silva J.M. (2012) Constructing Adulthood in an Age of Uncertainty. American Sociological Review. Vol. 77. No. 4 (June): 505–522.
Woodman D., Bennett A. (2015) Cultures, transitions and generations: The case for a new youth studies. Youth cultures, transitions and generations: Bridging the gap in youth research. London: Palgrave: 1–15.
Wyn J., Woodman D. (2006) Generations, Youth and Social Change in Australia. Journal of Youth Studies. Vol. 9. No. 5: 495–514.
Content No 7, 2023