The Age Of Adulthood In The United States

Improved Essays
According to the U.S. government, the age of adulthood is eighteen years old. (U.S., 2016) Due to the government and how it regulates laws this affects what is considered being an adult in our nation. The government is the greatest impact on the two phases of life which are adolescence and old age. The government can change these transitions in the life course by changing laws such as voting law and social security. At eighteen in the United States, you can join the military, move out, marry and legally vote. A person that has just finished high school now gains full legal rights and is liable for their own actions even though not much development change has happened from age 17 to 18. Some people do not agree with this age for adulthood and feel as though when a person turns 21 and is able to drink alcohol then they are truly an adult which is also regulated by the government. In my views, I do not believe every person is the same in what age they are cognitively an “adult”. Much like babies do not learn things at the exact same time, I believe people develop and mature at their own rate. Neuroscientists have studied brain maturation and discovered that parts of the brain do not fully mature in the fronto-temporal connections at around 25 years of age. (Lebel, 2008) I agree with the scientists that brain development is key to understanding the rates at which a person reaches peek mature levels and that is well past 18 years …show more content…
. Sharma, S. (2013). Maturation of the adolescent brain. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 9, 449-460. doi:10.2147/NDT.S39776

Lebel, C., Walker, L., Leemans, A., Phillips, L., & Beaulieu, C. (2008). Microstructural maturation of the human brain from childhood to adulthood. Neuroimage, 40(3), 1044-1055. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2007.12.053

U.S. Department of State. When a Child Becomes an Adult. Retrieved January 14, 2016, from

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    And what they’ve found is that in most people, the prefrontal cortex and its links to other regions of the brain are not fully formed until age 25”(Greenblatt par. 5). This quote shows us that at the age of 18 our brain isn’t fully developed, however at the age of 25 it is fully developed which is when the prefrontal cortex links with other parts of the brain which helps with our decision making. So when we’re 25 we can make better decision or when our brain is fully…

    • 786 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Age doesn't define whether or not you've become an adult it's the maturity that defines whether you have reached the certain point in your life where you are capable of knowing the difference between right and wrong. Sooner or later, but some happen to do so quicker. When a person turns eighteen you have the opportunity to do certain things, such as no longer having a curfew, being able to purchase alcohol ,and also voting rights, meaning that you are completely responsible for the actions you take. Looking at different cases where adolescents have committed a crime they knew that they weren't going to get punished like adults, even though they knew what they were doing was wrong. Adolescents commit crimes as if they were adults, and aren't…

    • 881 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Main Body Recent scientific research through functional magnetic resonance imaging has shown significant changes in adolescent brains which last well into adulthood. For example, there is an increase in white matter in the prefrontal cortex in adolescence which can last well into adulthood.(Steinberg) This development is the last to mature and is important for high order cognitive function like planning head, weighing risks, and making complicated decisions.(Steinberg) This shows that adolescence as well as young…

    • 1507 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    According to the article, “Beautiful Brains,” a NIH project that studied over a hundred young brains growing up showed that our brains undergo a massive reorganization between our twelfth and twenty-fifth years of our…

    • 649 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    ”(CDC, 2014). An 18 year old is also considered an adult in the U.S. and is trusted with many life changing responsibilities such as being able to vote, own a gun, and becoming a legal guardian. Reducing the legal…

    • 1860 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Age of Responsibilities: We should not change the legal age because people at 18 can already assume their responsibilities. Some people say that the legal age for adult rights and responsibilities such as driving, drinking and voting should be changed. The articles “What is the age of responsibility” by Alan Greenblat, “No, we shouldn’t lower the voting to age 16” by David Davenport, “You're an adult, but your brain might not be, experts say” by Jacqueline Howard and “ how old is old enough?” Catherine Rampell has different opinions on this. Some say that 18 is too young, too old, or that it's perfect.…

    • 704 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Should the drinking age be lowered? I believe if we are adults then we can drink. If we can go into the military at 18 why not be able to drink. Sometimes bad things happen if you go to college with never drinking before. Most parents think we shouldn’t drink because we can get drunk and do stupid things, why not let us make choice.…

    • 426 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Imagine being an adult eighteen-year-old that just moved from Puerto Rico, where the age of drinking alcohol was eighteen. As you can imagine, after moving to the United States, he was very confused because now he could no longer have access to alcohol. Many people think that the drinking age of 21 should be lowered to eighteen. Others oppose that idea and think that humans are not of the right maturity to consume alcohol within a reasonable manner. When you reach the age of eighteen, you are now considered an adult in the United States, and adults should have the right to make their own decisions about anything and especially about alcohol consumption.…

    • 672 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Adults but not adults at the age of 18 How are we adults, if we’re not seen as adults? In the United States, the age of adulthood is 18. At the same time, people are restricted from being able to consume alcohol, in a responsible way. If we are declared adults at 18 we should have the right to decide if we drink or not. The minimum legal drinking age should be lowered to 18 because 18 is the age of adulthood in the United States, you can do everything in the world but you're prohibited to drink, and less laws will be broken because people will be more responsible while making wise choices.…

    • 1219 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Drinking Age 21

    • 485 Words
    • 2 Pages

    I think the drinking age should stay the same at 21 because if lowered. Peers would be younger around alcohol, the brain development is not complete, and not mature enough to make good choices when under the influence. First I’ll talk about if the age is lowered and what would happen. If the age is lowered more likely to provide to minors.…

    • 485 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Laws are carried out for the sole purpose of improving everyday society. Taking this into account, every law that is reformed, is taken into much consideration and is believed to be what is best for the public. Throughout the past couple of years, several debates regarding the minimum drinking age have amounted, thus meaning that this issue is one that cannot be forgotten, instead it should be dealt with immediately. Some might believe that the minimum drinking age should be lowered from 21 to 18 years of age. What those few people are not considering is the fact that decades ago, when the drinking age was lowered…

    • 2148 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    After accumulating responsibility and being able to be independent is when a person truly becomes and adult. Maturity. It's about learning from mistakes and using them to guide them into a better mature person. Their are rules that apply to certain age but that itself could be defective.…

    • 127 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Eighteen is considered adulthood, yet, at this age one is still not treated as such. When one turns eighteen, they become a legal adult, and receive their rights, except the right to consume alcohol legally. The drinking age in the United States is currently set at twenty-one. But, some people believe that twenty-one is too high for the minimum age and, think it should be lower. There are others who feel that twenty-one is a decent, mature age, and lowering it would encourage young to take part in alcohol consumption.…

    • 1389 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Research shows that brain development continues well into a person’s twenties. Alcohol can affect this development, and contribute to a range of problems. About 4,358 people under the age of twenty one die each year from alcohol related incidents. Drinking can also cause people to make poor decisions and very risky behavior. Drinking before the brain (the temporal lobe) is fully developed affects the judgement making process, I believe that the national drinking age needs to be raised from twenty one to twenty five; however the drinking age shouldn’t legally stay at twenty one.…

    • 692 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    LITERATURE CITED Adlerian Psychology/Psychotherapy. (2014, July 02). Retrieved January 19, 2016 from http://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/types/ avourab-psychology Albert, J., Gaspar, R., &Raymundo, M. (2015, July 8). Who are the middle class? Retrieved March 20, 2016 from www.rappler.com/thought-leaders/98624-who-are-middle-class Cagadas, J.L. (2012, June 28). The importance of values, morals, and ethics in the Philippine society.…

    • 687 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays