Transition to adulthood in Lithuania: individual experiences and concepts

Abstract

In Chapter 5, Sigita Kraniauskienė further examines the transition to adulthood of cohorts born in 1980-2000 in Lithuania. The chapter addresses different questions: how is the ‘semi-standardised’ pattern of the transition to adulthood experienced on an individual level, and what features of social change/changing society do these experiences reveal? How do the individual demographic calendar of transition to adulthood and the sense of adulthood differ, and how synchronous are these two experiences? The chapter highlights the concept of adulthood presented by the respondents - from demographic characteristics to psychological traits and the difference between maturity and adulthood. How much conflict exists between the standard adulthood and real adulthood experiences in Lithuania? The analysis of life history narratives is used to answer these questions.