Transition to Adulthood: Action, Projects, and Counseling

244 Pages·2011·0.99 MB·English

by  Richard A. Young

Transition to Adulthood
· ·
Richard A. Young Sheila K. Marshall Ladislav
· · ·
Valach José F. Domene Matthew D. Graham
Anat Zaidman-Zait
Transition to Adulthood
Action, Projects, and Counseling
123
RichardA.Young SheilaK.Marshall
DepartmentofEducational,Counselling SchoolofSocialWork
PsychologyandSpecialEducation UniversityofBritishColumbia
UniversityofBritishColumbia WestMall2080
MainHall2125 V6T1Z2VancouverBritisch-Kolumbien
V6T1Z4VancouverBritisch-Kolumbien Canada
Canada
[email protected]
LadislavValach JoséF.Domene
Lindenstr.26 UniversityofNewBrunswick
3047Bremgarten E3B5A3Fredericton
Switzerland Canada
[email protected] [email protected]
MatthewD.Graham AnatZaidman-Zait
OrionHealth UniversityofBritishColumbia
V4N0E9SurreyBritisch-Kolumbien V6T1Z3VancouverBritisch-Kolumbien
Canada Canada
[email protected] [email protected]
ISBN978-1-4419-6237-9 e-ISBN978-1-4419-6238-6
DOI10.1007/978-1-4419-6238-6
SpringerNewYorkDordrechtHeidelbergLondon
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2010933255
©SpringerScience+BusinessMedia,LLC2011
Allrightsreserved.Thisworkmaynotbetranslatedorcopiedinwholeorinpartwithoutthewritten
permission of the publisher (Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 233 Spring Street, New York,
NY10013,USA),exceptforbriefexcerptsinconnectionwithreviewsorscholarlyanalysis.Usein
connectionwithanyformofinformationstorageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,
orbysimilarordissimilarmethodologynowknownorhereafterdevelopedisforbidden.
Theuseinthispublicationoftradenames,trademarks,servicemarks,andsimilarterms,eveniftheyare
notidentifiedassuch,isnottobetakenasanexpressionofopinionastowhetherornottheyaresubject
toproprietaryrights.
Printedonacid-freepaper
SpringerispartofSpringerScience+BusinessMedia(www.springer.com)
This page intentionally left blank.
Preface
Thisbookisabouthowyoungpeoplebecomeadultsandhowcounselingcanhelp
in that process. Becoming an adult, like so many other “becomings” in our lives,
is a process. This process involves others. We do not become adults without the
support and participation of others. Similarly, we do not write books without the
participationofothers.Inthiscase,wewrotemuchofthistext,butwereaidedby
José Domene, Matthew Graham, and Anat Zaidman-Zait. These three individuals
notonlyauthoredspecificchapters,butwerealsocentrallyinvolvedinmuchofthe
empiricalresearchonwhichthisbookisbased.
Transition to Adulthood: Action, Projects, and Counseling arose from several
experiences and studies. Based on a number of our earlier studies, we conducted
two qualitative research studies about the transition to adulthood. In one study we
were able to follow 20 parent–youth dyads over a 6–8-month period. The second
studyinvolvedyoungpeopleandtheircounselorsaddressingtransitiontoadulthood
issues. These research studies were designed in such a way that we obtained data
on what each young person and their parent or counselor did together to facilitate
or,despitegoodintentions,hinderinsomecasesthetransitiontoadulthood.Their
jointactionsinvitedanin-depthpresentationanddiscussion,towhichwehopewe
havedonejusticeinthisbook.
Theperspectiveanddatawetakeinthisbookwassupplementedbyseveralother
researchstudiesconductedbytheauthorsonarangeofrelatedissueswithadoles-
centsandtheirparents,includingsuchissuesasromanticrelationships,adolescent
peer relationships, health, career development, addictions, parenting, suicide, and
withyoungeradolescents,Aboriginalfamilies,couples,andothers.
Finally,overanumberofyearsinavarietyofjointventures,wehavecontributed
to the development of the contextual action theory of career and to a distinctive
qualitativeresearchmethod,theaction-projectmethod,bothofwhicharediscussed
extensively in this book. This approach goes beyond conventional theorizing and
research in counseling. However, it responds to both contemporary research in
neurology and attempts to overcome the theory–practice divide in counseling. It
providesagroundonwhichpractice-relevanttheorizingandtheory-basedcounsel-
ingpracticecanunfold.Itisanapproachinwhichpractitionersandclientscanlink
v
vi Preface
theirpastandtheirfuture,enablingthemtoworkonissueswhichmatterinaway
thatisrelevanttothem.
What is particularly new in this book is that it represents our most extensive
discussion of the use of contextual action theory in counseling. The transition to
adulthoodallowsusaparticularfocustodiscussthedimensionsofcounselingfrom
thisperspective.Buttheapplicationofcontextualactiontheorytocounselingisnot
limitedtothispopulationofyoungpeopleortotheissueoftransition.Counselors
and therapists from a wide range of specialties and orientations will resonate with
theperspectivetakenupinthesepages.
In 1991, Ernest Boesch, the action theorist and cultural psychologist, predicted
thatactiontheorywouldmakeinroadsinmanyareasofpsychology.Hesuggested
that in the case of counseling and psychotherapy, action theory would be particu-
larlyimportant.Boesch’spredictionhasbeenrealizedinavarietyofways,asthere
arenowmanyapproachestocounselingandpsychotherapyinwhichaspectsofthis
perspective are evident, for example, narrative therapy, solution-focused therapy,
constructivist approaches, and relational counseling. While each of these is mak-
ingdistinctcontributions,nonehasfullyembracedaconceptualizationandmethod
basedonactiontheory.Thisiswhatwehaveattemptedtodointhisbook.
Because action theory addresses intentional goal-directed action, it is readily
applicabletocounseling.Counselingisfirstandforemostanaction.Inparticular,it
isajointaction.
Thisbookisorganizedinthreesections.Thefirstsectionservestointroducethe
topicsofthetransitiontoadulthood,contextualactiontheory,andcounselingfrom
this perspective. It also provides a description of the research method that guided
muchofthedataandcasespresentedanddiscussedinthisbook.
Inthesecondsection,thatis,Chapters5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,and13,wedevote
eachchaptertoadifferentthemethatisrepresentedinthetransitionprocess.Each
ofthesechaptersillustratesthethemewithoneormorecasestudiesand,asappro-
priate, draws implications for counseling practice. The topics addressed in these
chaptersarebroad,asaretheissuesthatyouthfaceinthetransitiontoadulthoodpro-
cess,andoverlapping.Thechaptersonrelationshipsdonotexcludeidentityissues,
andvice-versa.
Thethirdsectionofthisbookprovidesreaderswithsomepracticaldirectionsin
engagingincounselingpracticeinformedbyactiontheory.Twoaspectsofparticular
relevance are working with narrative and interpretation, and the use of the self-
confrontationisdiscussedinsomedetail.
We are indebted to a host of young people and their families who have con-
tributed to this work as research participants or clients. We are also indebted to a
number of professional counselors who gave us access to their work with clients.
Inaddition,wehavebeenassistedbyalargenumberofgraduateandundergradu-
ateresearchassistantsovermanyyearswhohavecontributedimmeasurablytothis
work.TheyincludeMichelleBehr,AshleyCavanaugh,StewartDeyell,YaariDyer,
Adam Easterbrook, Kristin Foulkes, Carla Haber, Bradley Kauffman, Celine Lee,
Corinne Logan, Amy Mart, Serita McLelland, Jessica Nee, Carey Penner, Hajera
Rostram, Wayne Spence, Alison Stevens, Becky Stewart, Laura Templeton, and
Preface vii
Elisabeth Van Assum. We appreciated participating in the study on suicide at the
University of Berne with Konrad Michel, Kathrin Stadler, and Pascal Dey, from
which some data appear in this book. We are very appreciative of the work of
D.MargoNelson,whoeditedthetext.
Finally,weareindebtedtotheSocialSciencesandHumanitiesResearchCouncil
of Canada which has supported this work through several research grants over a
number of years. The University of British Columbia deserves thanks for provid-
ing an intellectually stimulating environment for most of the authors. Equally, we
acknowledge our appreciation to our partners and families for their support and
understanding.
Vancouver,BC RichardA.Young
Vancouver,BC SheilaK.Marshall
Berne,Switzerland LadislavValach
24February2010
Contents
1 TransitiontoAdulthood:Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2 TransitiontoAdulthoodasGoal-DirectedAction . . . . . . . . . 11
3 ActionandthePracticeofCounseling
forTransitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
4 StudyingTransitionProcesses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
5 Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
6 EmotionandtheTransitiontoAdulthood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
7 Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
8 Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
9 Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
10 Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
11 RomanticRelationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
12 TransitionintheContextofDisability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
13 Suicide in the Context of the Transition
toAdulthood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
14 WorkingwithNarrativeandInterpretation. . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
15 Using the Self-Confrontation Procedure
inCounseling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
ix
Chapter 1
Transition to Adulthood: Introduction
The transition to adulthood involves, for most individuals, moving from school
to work, establishment of long-term relationships, possibly parenting, as well as
a number of other psychosocial transformations. These are not small changes in
individuals’ lives. Indeed, some aspects of the transition to adulthood, such as the
establishmentoflong-termrelationshipsorparenting,resultinpermanentorendur-
ing transformations. The transition to adulthood is not only a period of “coming
ofage”butatimeduringwhichmajorchoicesarecontemplatedanddecisionsare
made.
Supportingthetransitiontoadulthoodthroughcounselinginvolvesappreciation
of the current social and political conditions as well as the central approaches or
frameworksusedtounderstandthetransitiontoadulthood.Thischapterbeginsby
defining the transition to adulthood that guides each of the chapters in this book.
Then,currentconditionsareoutlined,pointingouttheconstraintsandaffordances
individualsfaceastheyplanforandmoveintoadulthood.Finally,thedisciplinary
approachestounderstandingthetransitiontoadulthoodaredescribedalongwitha
criticalevaluationoftheseapproachesandanexplanationforusinganewapproach,
actiontheory,inthisbook.
DefinitionofTransitionto Adulthood
Whatisthetransitiontoadulthood?Itisthemovementfromchildhoodtoadulthood.
Or,thetransitionisthechangefromthecategoryofchildtoadult.The“hoods”are
ageperiodsorstretchesoftimeassociatedwithagecategoriesassignedtoindividu-
alswithinaparticularculture.Theimportanceorsalienceofagegroupsandtheages
atwhichlifeperiodsbeginandendvarieswidelyacrosscultures.Culturalvariations
inagegroups(seeProjectA.G.E.,Keithetal.,1994)highlighthowageperiodsor
the“hoods”aresociallyconstructed(Kessen,1979).
Inthisbook,thetransitiontoadulthoodisnotviewedasastepfromalowerstage
(i.e.,childhood)upwardtoamoresophisticatedorhigherstage(i.e.,adulthood)as
is implied by some psychological perspectives (e.g., Arnett, 2000, 2004). Rather,
childhoodandadulthoodareageperiodsacrosswhichdevelopmentalchangeoccurs
R.A.Youngetal.,TransitiontoAdulthood,DOI10.1007/978-1-4419-6238-6_1, 1
(cid:2)C SpringerScience+BusinessMedia,LLC2011