Flourishing in European emerging adults: the challenges of positive development in a continent of inequality

Abstract

This chapter explores the challenges to flourishing that European emerging adults encounter in the context of a continent that has extreme levels of socio-economic inequality. Average incomes within Europe differ by up to a factor of 10, and in the poorer countries of the EU, there is a strong motive for people to move across the continent to find better paid work. The overwhelming majority of economic migrants within Europe, and into Europe, are emerging adults. The wellbeing of emerging adults in Europe is captured by the European Social Survey. In 2012 France scored lowest for flourishing of all participating countries. We link this to France’s recent difficulties with radicalized male emerging adults committing acts of terrorism against French citizens, and briefly explore via the work of Scott Atran how radicalization may be linked to the perceived absence of flourishing in young people.