A Phenomenological Analysis of Emerging Adults’ Social Group Disruptions

Emerging adults experience the highest rates of loneliness and mental health issues of any age group. Given that frequent changes to their social group memberships may contribute to these issues, we sought to understand how emerging adults experience social group disruptions. We conducted semi-structured interviews with eleven emerging adults (ages 20–29), recruited through social media and purposive sampling. Using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), we identified six themes that revealed how participants experienced social group disruptions during emerging adulthood. Participants’ frequent social group disruptions increased their loneliness and negatively affected their mental health, particularly when multiple disruptions occurred simultaneously. Their experiences provide an in-depth perspective into how emerging adults’ social group disruptions can influence psychosocial well-being.