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Cognitive And Social Development During Early Young Adulthood

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The nature of one’s cognitive and social development during early young adulthood has a great impact on deviant behavior during young adulthood. As young people develop, they start to create bonds with society, but their development does not happen in a vacuum. During each stage of life, a person establishes his or her own path which reflects and absorbs aspects of society. Early young adulthood is a very unique stage in which a person moves from childhood to adulthood, which causes great personal struggle and strife which is also reflected in society. Statistics show that young people around twenty years old commit significantly more crime than those in any other age group. Cognitive and social development becomes a central factor as one forms new social relationships, faces a new independent life, …show more content…

Young people mostly do not have strong bonds to social institutions, such as work and family (Warr, 1998). Furthermore, they are faced with strong potential for easy rewards for offending such as “money, status, power, autonomy, identity claims, strong sensate experiences stemming from sex, natural adrenaline highs or highs from illegal substances, and respect from similar peers” (Fabio & Tu, 2011). Furthermore, their status as minors excludes them from many of the social and legal costs and consequences of illegal activities, and their stage of cognitive development limits caution rather than impetuous and egocentric behavior. At the same time, they have the physical courage required to commit crimes (Hirschi & Gottfredson, 1983). Finally, some misbehavior is usually seen as natural to youth and a stage of growing up (Jolin & Gibbons, 1987). In addition, those in early adulthood usually go through a change in peer associations and lifestyle routines that increases the opportunities for committing offenses (Warr,

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