Adult

In contrast to a non-adult or "minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of majority and is therefore regarded as independent, self-sufficient, and responsible.

[5] These markers for a full, mentally developed, adult include traits of personal responsibilities in multiple aspects of life.

[6][7] Thus, the base definition of the word adult is the period beginning at physical sexual maturity, which occurs sometime after the onset of puberty.

The two-word term biological adult stresses or clarifies that the original definition, based on physical maturity (i.e. having reached reproductive competency), is being used.

[22] Depending on one's jurisdiction, the age of majority may or may not be set independently of and should not be confused with the minimum ages applicable to other activities, such as engaging in a contract, marriage, voting, having a job, serving in the military, buying/possessing firearms, driving, traveling abroad, involvement with alcoholic beverages, smoking, sexual activity, gambling, being a model or actor in pornography, running for president, etc.

The voting age was lowered in response to the fact that young men between the ages of 18 and 21 were drafted into the army to fight in the Vietnam War, hence the popular slogan "old enough to fight, old enough to vote" [27] Young people under 21 in the US could also not purchase alcohol, purchase handguns, sign a binding contract, or marry without permission from parents.

Young adults under the age of 21 must either have a co-signer 21 or older or show proof (usually a source of income) that they can repay their credit card balance.

[31] As of December 2019[update], the federal government raised the legal age to purchase tobacco and vaping products from 18 to 21.

The Quebec government cited the risk that marijuana poses to the brain development of people under 21 as justification for the age raise.

[34] In March 2021, the state of Washington in a 5–4 decision, justices in the Supreme Court of the State of Washington tossed the life without parole sentences of a 19-year-old and a 20-year-old convicted in separate cases of first-degree aggravated murder decades ago, saying, as with juveniles, the court must first consider the age of those under 21 before sentencing them to die behind bars.

[35][36][37][38] In Germany, courts largely sentence defendants under the age of 21 according to juvenile law in a bid to help them reintegrate into society and mete out punishments that fit the crime as well as the offender.

In May 2021, the state of Texas raised the age that one can be an exotic dancer and work and patronize sexually oriented businesses from 18 to 21.

[40] All of these laws made over the years reflect the growing awareness that young adults, while not children, are still in a transitional stage between adolescence and full adulthood and that there should be policy adjustments or restrictions where necessary, especially where it pertains to activities that carry certain degrees of risk or harm to themselves or others.

[41] At the same time, however, even though the generally accepted age of majority is 18[42] in most nations, there are rights or privileges afforded to adolescents who have not yet reached legal adulthood.

Some countries already have a voting age of 16 which include Austria, Scotland, Argentina, Brazil, Wales, Cuba, and Ecuador.

In contrast to other perspectives that conceptualize aging and the attainment of adulthood as a largely universal development, regardless of context, nation, generation, gender, race, or social class.

Arnett articulates five distinct features that are unique to this period of development: identity exploration, feeling in between, instability, self-focus, and having possibilities.

[60] The first feature, identity exploration, describes emerging adults making decisions for themselves about their career, education, and love life.

This is a time of life when a young person has yet to finalize these decisions but are pondering them, making them feel somewhere in between adolescent and adult.

The Christian Bible and Jewish scripture contain no age requirement for adulthood or marrying, which includes engaging in sexual activity.

While certain religions have their guidelines on what it means to be an adult, generally speaking, there are trends that occur regarding religiosity as individuals transition from adolescence to adulthood.

[64] The National Library of Medicine (NCBI) highlights some studies that show rates of religiosity declining as people move out of the house and live on their own.

Everyone's level of religiosity builds at a different pace, meaning that religion relative to adult development varies across cultures and time.