When are you actually an adult?

Explore how scientists define adulthood, and find out if there’s a specific age at which we reach maturity.

--

Most countries recognize 18 as the start of adulthood by granting various freedoms and privileges. Yet there’s no exact age or moment in development that we can point to as having reached full maturity. If there’s no consensus on exactly when we reach maturity, when do we actually become adults? Shannon Odell shares how scientists define adulthood using stages of brain development.