young adult

In medicine and the social sciences, a young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence, sometimes with some overlap. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages of human development significantly influencing the definition of the term. The United States Census Bureau, for instance, defines young adults as those between the ages of 18 and 34. Over 65 million Americans born approximately from 1991 to 2008, would likely fall under this category. The young adult stage in human development precedes middle adulthood. It is typically followed by middle adulthood, which is often associated with stability in career and relationships.