

Another aspect of adulthood that is relatively new is psychological functioning. Depending on the context, adult can indicate either definition. Thus, there are now two primary forms of adults: biological adults (people who have attained reproductive ability, are fertile, or who evidence secondary sex characteristics) and social adults (people who are recognized by their culture or law as being adults). Many children could get a job and were not required to have experience as adults are nowadays.Īfter the social construct of adolescence was created, adulthood split into two forms: biological adulthood and social adulthood. There was not a huge emphasis on school or education in general. During the Industrial Revolution, children went to work as soon as they could in order to help provide for their family. In the past, a person usually moved from the status of child directly to the status of adult, often with this shift being marked by some type of coming-of-age test or ceremony. Historically and cross-culturally, adulthood has been determined primarily by the start of puberty (the appearance of secondary sex characteristics such as menstruation and the development of breasts in women, ejaculation, the development of facial hair, and a deeper voice in men, and pubic hair in both sexes). Most modern societies determine legal adulthood based on reaching a legally specified age without requiring a demonstration of physical maturity or preparation for adulthood.
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This often encompasses the passing a series of tests to demonstrate that a person is prepared for adulthood, or reaching a specified age, sometimes in conjunction with demonstrating preparation. In different cultures there are events that relate passing from being a child to becoming an adult or coming of age.

Conversely, one may legally be an adult but possess none of the maturity and responsibility that may define an adult character. Definitions of adulthood are often inconsistent and contradictory a person may be biologically an adult, and have adult behavior, but still be treated as a child if they are under the legal age of majority. Human adulthood encompasses psychological adult development. The typical age of attaining legal adulthood is 18, although definition may vary by legal rights, country, and psychological development. In contrast to a " minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of majority and is therefore regarded as independent, self-sufficient, and responsible. In human context, the term adult has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. Biologically, an adult is an organism that has reached sexual maturity.
