text: Established adulthood Established adulthood is the proposed range of approximately 30 to 45, complementing emerging adulthood. They are essentially a combination of the later years of young adulthood (30–35), extending to the early years of middle adulthood (40–45). It is described as the most challenging yet most rewarding phase of adulthood. Mehta et al. (2020) state that "During this period of the life span most adults must negotiate the intersecting demands of progressing in a chosen career, maintaining an intimate partnership, and caring for children. Successes or difficulties in meeting these simultaneous demands have the potential to profoundly influence the direction of a person's adult life." There are also other challenges that take place in established adulthood namely the continuation or resolution of the states that began in emerging adulthood. The challenges that the established adult must face are these: the solidifying of their identity, lower work prospects, needing to focus on others, the continuation of stress from the previous stage evolved to this stage, and actually feeling like an adult. Although these are a continuation of the previous stages, they indicate a solidification of a person within established adulthood and opens doors to new experiences not previously available to the person, these can include better habits and higher intelligence.