Personal goals at age 25 in three generations of the twentieth century: Young adulthood in historical context

The possibility of a historically determined shift in developmental tasks of young adulthood was investigated. Personal goals at age 25 of participants from three cohorts spanning twentieth-century Swiss history were studied in an interview combining current and retrospective measures. Members of the oldest cohort (Between the Wars) were born beween 1920 and 1925. Members of the middle cohort (Early Baby Boomers) were born between 1945 and 1950. Members of the youngest cohort (Generation X) were born between 1970 and 1975. Results show significant shifts in goal content which reflect well-documented historical changes. For example, BTW participants mainly mention work- and family-related goals (corresponding to classical developmental tasks). However, GEX participants mention more goals related to education and leisure, and less family-related goals than earlier generations. This suggests that classical formulations of developmental tasks of young adulthood (e.g. starting work, founding a family) may be less adequate today