Are We Grown Up Yet? Study Says Not 'Till 26 Most Americans believe someone isn't grown up until age 26, probably with a completed education, a full-time job, a family to support and financial independence, a survey said. But they also believe that becoming an official grown-up is a process that takes five years from about the age of 20, concluded the report from the University of Chicago's National Opinion Research Center. The findings were based on a representative sample of 1,398 people over age 18 surveyed in person in 2002. The poll found the following ages at which people expect the transitions to grown-up status to be completed: Age 20.9 self-supporting; 21.1 no longer living with parents; 21.2 full-time job; 22.3 education complete; 24.5 being able to support a family financially; 25.7 married; and 26.2 having a child. "There is a large degree of consensus across social groups on the relative importance of the seven transitions," said Tom Smith, director of the survey. The only notable pattern of differences is on views about supporting a family, having a child and getting married. "Older adults and the widowed and married rate these as more important than younger adults and the never-married do," he added. "This probably reflects in large part a shift in values across generations away from traditional family values." The most valued step toward reaching adulthood, the survey found, was completing an education, followed by full-time employment, supporting a family, financial independence, living independently of parents, marriage and parenthood.



你成年了吗？



　　一项调查显示，大多数美国人认为人要到26岁--届时你也许已经完成学业，找到了一份全职工作，支撑着一个家庭，实现了经济独立--才算长大。芝加哥大学全国意见研究中心的报告指出，人们同时也认为，成为法定成人的过程开始于20岁左右，需要五年时间才能完成。研究人员在2002年选取了1,398个18岁以上的人作为代表性样本，并与他们进行了面对面访谈，由此得出了上述结论。调查显示，人们预计会在以下年龄实现成年过程中的各个转变--20.9岁：自立；21.1岁：与父母分居；21.2岁：找到全职工作；22.3岁：完成学业；24.5岁：具备养家糊口的能力；25.7岁：结婚；26.2岁：生子。主持调查的汤姆·史密斯说："对于这七个转变的相对重要性，社会各阶层的人的意见相当一致。"唯一显著不同的是人们对养家、生子和结婚的看法。"年长一些的人、已婚及鳏寡人士比青年和未婚者更看重这些，"史密斯补充道，"这也许在很大程度上反映了人们背离传统家庭价值观念的代际转变。"调查发现，在人们心目中，迈向成年的最重要步骤是完成学业，此后依次为找到全职工作、养家、财政独立、与父母分居、成家及为人父母。



　　Remarks：在眼花缭乱的现代，人们需要越来越多的时间才能长大(如果他们不拒绝长大的话)，而现实与人们的希望距离遥远--据报道，当今的英国有100多万年近40还在依赖父母的"老顽童"。
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