The End of Adolescence, Becoming an Adult: From Reverie to the Project

Abstract

ABSTRACT From research into young adults (aged 18–25), this paper investigates the role of the capacity for reverie in psychic work that occurs until the end of adolescence. We postulate that the end of the adolescent process is identifiable through the subjective appropriation of an “adult project” developed through a capacity for reverie. The adult project is introduced here as an intermediate concept situated at the crossroads of internal and external reality, taking into account the importance of societal and environmental factors and the choices made by young adults in their late adolescence. By way of an exploratory study, we adopt a qualitative and projective methodology with a psychoanalytical frame of reference, applying a semi-structured interview and two projective tests (the Rorschach and the Thematic Apperception Test [TAT]) to a small group of participants. The results highlight a difficulty for all subjects in accessing object relations invested in the genital dimension with the other as well as instabilities in gendered identity.