Socio-demographic aspects of “emerging adulthood” in the context of cultural changes in poland compared to europe

The article aims to identify and describe phenomena associated with an extremely important phase of the individual’s life: transition to adulthood. The authors focus on presenting statistical data and demographic phenomena and comment on them with references to the sociological theories developed by Jeffrey Arnett, Ronald Inglehart, Ulrich Beck, as well as psychological theories developed by Anna Brzezińska, John Silva, and James Marcia. Early adulthood, between the ages of 20 and 30/35, is the time of acquiring and implementing social competences in three basic areas: (1) professional activity, (2) establishing social relations, including taking up civic activities, (3) starting a family and establishing intimate relationships. This applies to the majority of the population at this age. Since the beginning of this millennium, sociologists, psychologists, educators and above all demographers in Western Europe have pointed to the following demographic phenomena: longer education period; young people entering the labour market, getting married, having the first child, and leaving home at a later age (adult children move back to their parents’ homes more frequently). From the cultural perspective, there is a change in the dominant behaviour patterns in this regard; from the sociological perspective, adopting social roles related to adulthood is postponed, the moratorium becomes longer, and markers of adulthood change. From the psychological perspective, there is a change in the subjective perception of oneself as an adult by the