"The most widely used criteria for deciding whether a person has reached adulthood are role transitions, which involved assuming new responsibilities and duties. Certain role transitions have long been recognized in Western society as key markers for attaining adulthood: voting, completing education, beginning full-time employment, establishing an independent household, getting married, and becoming a parent. However, many people in their 20s in industrialized countries spread these achievements over several years (Arnett, 2004). This results in a period called 'emerging adulthood.'" 
Why do Western cultures lack clear-cut transitions to adulthood? Explain. Discuss with your classmates.

Rituals marking initiation into adulthood, often among the most important ones in a culture, are termed rites of passage. Rites of passage may involve highly elaborate steps that take days or weeks, or they may be compressed into a few minutes
Why don't rites of passage apply to westerners or do they? Discuss some of these rituals and their importance in the transition into adulthood?

Doesn't have the word limit.