Chapter 9.Late Adolescence

The broadening of the time frame for the adolescent process affects the notion of adolescent resolution, a process viewed as the central intrapsychic task of late adolescence by psychodynamic thinkers such as Peter Blos and Erik Erikson. The term adolescent resolution implies a gradual consolidation of the many transformations of adolescence, a process arguably extending into the late 20s. Late adolescents, between ages 17 and 21 or 22 years, experience a significant shift in their maturity and in their confidence in their own values and ideals. Optimally, late adolescents fully inhabit the new body and take responsibility for functional sexual and reproductive capacity; with this comes a deeper interest in love and intimacy. They are looking expectantly forward to the future with a mental picture of who they want to be. A sense of secure personal identity—a complex entity that we discuss at length later in this chapter—is growing, at least in some domains. The integration of the childhood self is part of this process; childhood is viewed from a new perspective and incorporated into the emerging sense of who one is. Although adulthood is not fully achieved by the end of this period, these individuals are teenagers no longer; their concerns focus predominantly on their personal vision of adulthood.