The extended journey and transition to adulthood: The case of Israeli backpackers

Employing a focus group methodology, this study examined the meaning and the role of extended journeys of 30 Israeli emerging adults within the complexities of this developmental period and within the Israeli cultural context. Qualitative analyses of young people's accounts suggested that the journeys may represent two themes. Firstly, the journey can be understood as personal experimentation in the pursuit of attaining a mature self-identity. Secondly, the journey, taking place under many circumstances within a group of other young Israeli travelers, may represent a rite of passage enacted in the transition to adulthood within a changing society.