Study suggests people don’t become full adults until their 30s

New research suggests that even though 18 is the legal definition of being an adult, humans do not fully develop into adulthood until they are in their 30’s.

According to brain researchers from Cambridge University in the UK, while the law legally defines a person as an adult age 18, the brain does not fully mature until 30 at the earliest, the BBC first reported.

Researchers said some are still going through changes in the brain, which can affect behavior and make them “more likely to develop mental health disorders.”

Professor Peter Jones, who teaches at Cambridge, told the BBC, “What we’re really saying is that to have a definition of when you move from childhood to adulthood looks increasingly absurd…It’s a much more nuanced transition that takes place over three decades.”

Jones adds that people do not move from childhood right into adulthood; rather, it’s a more “nuanced transition that takes place over three decades.”

Researchers added that the age at which you become an adult is different for everyone.