Associate Professor Laina Bay-Cheng and colleague publish article, "What the future holds: The goals of emerging adult women at three socioeconomic locations"

Congratulations to Associate Professor Laina Bay-Cheng and colleague on the publication of their article, "What the future holds: The goals of emerging adult women at three socioeconomic locations," in the Journal of Sex Research.

Bay-Cheng, L. Y., & Zucker, A. N. (2017). What the future holds: The goals of emerging adult women at three socioeconomic locations. Emerging Adulthood.

Abstract:

Hallmarks of emerging adulthood include exploring and envisioning one’s future. However, how one sees the future may vary by social location, particularly at the intersection of gender and socioeconomic status (SES). We compared the perceived importance and likelihood of various future goals across three groups of women aged 18–22: 160 affluent undergraduates, 177 low-SES undergraduates, and 147 low-SES nonstudents. Participants from all three samples were largely optimistic about their futures and ranked the following goals as very important to them: their sense of subjectivity (e.g., independence, self-acceptance, fulfillment); having good relationships with one’s children; and being physically healthy. Affluent and low-SES undergraduates ranked peer-related affiliation highly, while low-SES nonstudents prioritized financial goals. While the priorities and optimism of young women in each sample overlap in some ways, they also reflect distinctions among the groups’ privilege and prospects.