From Positive Psychology to Positive Development: Overcoming Adversity and Flourishing in Emerging Adulthood

During the past half-century, the transition to adulthood has become increasingly prolonged in virtually all parts of the world. Young people today stay in school longer, marry later, and have their first child later than they did in the past. Besides, media portrayals of them often seem to emphasize the problems that can be a part of young people. Gang violence, school shootings, alcohol-related accidents, drug abuse, and suicides involving teens are all too frequently reflected in newspaper headlines and movie plots. In the professional literature, too, adolescence is frequently portrayed as a negative stage of life—a period of storm and stress as well as turmoil and trouble to be survived or endured through the period. But with the attention given to negative images of adolescents and youth, however, the positive aspects of their development can be overlooked. As a result, emerging adults are increasingly required to “individualize” their life courses in general and their identities in particular, by taking the initiative to form working and personal relationships, to gain educational credentials and employment experience, and to plan for the future. Those who address these issues in a proactive, resilient and agentic manner may be most likely to form a coherent sense of identity that can be used to guide their life paths and to negotiate for social resources and positions. This article therefore benefits from knowledge of positive psychology to inform positive and productive development for young people in troubled circumstances. While we dig into some of the deprived developmental circumstances in which African emerging adults in particular develop, we also pay attention to how they benefit from positive psychology in order to navigate positive life courses for themselves. Keywords: Positive psychology, Positive development, Adversity, Flourishing, Emerging adulthood. DOI: 10.7176/JCSD/46-06 Publication date:March 31st 201