Quarter-life Crisis Episodes in Emerging Adulthood: A Mixed-Methods Analysis of Data From Eight Countries
Developmental crisis episodes that occur during emerging adulthood, also known as quarter-life crises, are emotionally unstable times of transition that typically last around a year or two. This study aims to expand the cross-cultural focus on this topic, by assessing prevalence and brief written descriptions of early adult crisis in 18–29-year-olds from eight countries (UK, Greece, Czechia, Turkey, India, Pakistan, Indonesia and Brazil), with a total sample of N = 2,247, with the objective of exploring similarities and differences across cultures. Crisis prevalence rates found ranged from 40% to 77% per country. Thematic analysis of descriptions of crisis elicited external and internal crisis features. With regards to external features, the most prevalent were career transition, financial difficulties, studying-based stress and struggle, and family difficulties. Internal features that were most prevalent were feeling fearful/anxious/worried, negative self-evaluation, feeling sad/down, and feelings of confusion/uncertainty. The findings align with existing research on early adult crisis, pointing to both cross-cultural similarities and differences.
Authors
- Georgios Vleioras (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6076-5572)
- Hatice Kübra ÖZDOĞAN (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4905-7123)
- Oliver Robinson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6758-2223)
- Nikolay Petrov
- Amy Fisher
- Luciana Dutra-Thomé (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9629-467X)
- Katarína Millová (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3429-4652)
- Kübra Berber (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0758-1736)
- Afinnisa Rasyida (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-5444-8358)
- Figen Çok (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2406-1345)
- Akancha Srivastava (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2024-6326)
- Zehra Yeler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8192-6504)
- Nindya Putri Aprodita
- Saba Sajjad
- Irini Dermitzaki (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8363-7709)
- Shefali Mishra (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9973-5474)
- Payal Sharma
- Maria Nugraheni Mardi Rahayu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7668-1813)
- Anastasia Spyrou
- Emmanouela Mante (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9917-6812)
- Ume Laila
Institutions
- Universidade Federal da Bahia (BR)
- University of Thessaly (GR)
- Ankara University (TR)
- Satya Wacana Christian University (ID)
- University of Surabaya (ID)
- University of Ostrava (CZ)
- Başkent University (TR)
- South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (GB)
- University of Cambridge (GB)
- University of Bunda Mulia (ID)
- TED University (TR)
- O. P. Jindal Global University (IN)
- GIFT University (PK)
- International Science and Technology Institute (US)
- Christ University (IN)
- University of Greenwich (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Emerging Adulthood
- Published
- 2025-10-03
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1177/21676968251380890
- Primary Topic
- Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00