"You Have Those Adult Responsibilities, But You're Still Getting Your Feet on the Ground": The Lived Experience of Established Adulthood.

In the United States, established adulthood (ages 30–45) often represents the most intense and demanding years of adult life. During this time, most individuals settle into adult roles and responsibilities, negotiating the intersecting demands of work and family obligations. While discrete topics relevant to this period have been investigated by developmental scientists, the subjective experience of established adulthood as a whole remains largely overlooked. In the present study, we aim to provide the foundation for a more comprehensive and integrated understanding of established adulthood by interviewing participants (n = 127) aged 30–45 from across the United States about the nature of their current lived experience. In general, participants described the Experience of Established Adulthood as a time of establishing their adulthood, stability, changes in priorities, and shifting perceptions of time. They also noted a number of Responsibilities and Commitments, describing an increase in obligations, and feeling a "career and care crunch. Participants also reported experiencing Evolution, noting that they continued to grow and learn, explore their beliefs and values, and make course corrections as needed. Finally, participants described Actualization in terms of gained wisdom, self-understanding, self- confidence, and life satisfaction. Taken together, our results suggest that established adults in the USA face challenges and opportunities distinct from those faced during emerging adulthood or midlife. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]