Study Finds Everyday Life Events Shape Young Adults More Than Crises

Which major life events matter to young people? A study by the University of Zurich (UZH) shows that adolescents and young adults primarily cite positive, everyday developmental steps as formative events, for example, school and apprenticeships, friendships, first relationships, travel, and moving out of their parents' home. UZH researchers evaluated open-ended written responses from 1,442 participants in a long-term study. Each participant was surveyed at ages 15, 17, 20 and 24.