High hopes in a grim world - Emerging adults' views of their futures and "Generation X"

Views of the future were explored among emerging adults (aged 21 through 28 ). In general, they viewed their personal futures optimistically and believ ed their lives would be as good or better than their parents' lives in aspe cts such as financial wellbeing, career achievements, personal relationship s, and overall quality of life. Interview responses indicated that many par ticipants emphasized personal relationships, especially marriage as the fou ndation of their future happiness. However regarding the future of their ge neration as a whole, they were pessimistic. A majority of them agreed with the "Generation X" characterization of their generation as cynical and pess imistic. Reasons for this cynicism and pessimism were diverse and included economic prospects as well as societal problems such as crime and environme ntal destruction. Nevertheless, the participants tended to believe they wou ld succeed in their personal pursuit of happiness even amidst the difficult conditions facing their generation and the world.