According to the study conducted by Melbourne's Brotherhood of St Laurence charity, the 30th birthday is now regarded by most young people as their "changeover" year and the landmark 21 is seen as a time to have a great party.
With traditional markers of maturity like moving out of home, marrying and completing education stretching into the late 20s or early 30s, the landmark birthday is regarded more as a chance to party than the end of childhood, 'news.Com.Au' reported.
Researchers found that no longer is the age of 21, regarded as the end of childhood, as it has been for decades.
The study, carried out from the time babies were born in two Melbourne suburbs in 1990, found that only 38 per cent of them believed they had reached maturity by the age of 21.
As many as 13 per cent were adamant that they were not adults when their 21st birthday came around. The remaining 49 per cent couldn't decide.
Janet Taylor, a senior researcher with the charity, said that some of the young people were keen on adulthood, their independence and maturity, while others admitted they were not ready when their 21st year arrived.
"For some, the fact they were earning independent money and making their own decisions made them feel adult and for some they liked that they didn't have to take adult responsibilities yet," Taylor said.
Surprisingly, 72 per cent of the 140 people in the survey were still living at home.
"I think the age marker no longer has some of the relevance it did," said Taylor.
"But on the other hand, turning 18 is very important for young people. It's when you can drink or get a driver's licence and some of the young people indicated turning 21 wasn't as big as turning 18."
The new generation of 'kidadults' spent more time studying, travelling and had more career choices.
