Arnett ( 2000 ) proposed that emerging adulthood is a period where people are not constrained by social roles or normative expectations and are exploring possible future life directions . This is a culturally constructed developmental period , between adolescence and adulthood , when one is independent , discovering one ’ s self-identity , and making decisions that will affect the rest of one ’ s life . The need for this new group is because of trends in behavior , such as more young adults attending college and graduate school and entering the workforce , marrying , and having children at a later age . Emerging adults are likely to be vulnerable to sources of negative body image that can cause increased appearance importance . Results of a study on emerging adults and body image found that identity exploration was related to higher levels of negative body image ( Mccourt , 2004 ). This developmental stage is therefore well-suited to explore media effects on appearance importance and cosmetic procedural likelihood , which is the purpose of the present study .
Since there is no published research examining what might impact appearance importance of emerging adults , my literature review will focus on body image research done with young people ( aged 13-30 ), with a special focus on research conducted with adolescents . Since those in emerging adulthood are still exploring their self-identity and looking for
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