ABSTRACT
The emerging adult in Hong Kong was significantly lower in community participation but significantly higher in expected social contribution than was the other adult, after controlling for significant background characteristics. Age, instead of emerging adulthood, turned out to be a significant predictor of social responsibility. Regression analysis revealed that emerging adulthood turned out to exhibit a significant negative effect on community participation in the past three months. Despite the apparently higher community participation and social contribution in the past and in future in the emerging adult than in the older person, only the effect of emerging adulthood on social contribution in future remained significantly positive after controlling for other significant background predictors. Apart from the possibility that emerging adulthood generates no effect on actual prosociality, another possibility suggests that emerging adulthood breeds multiple but contradictory effects that offset each other.
