I love the writing style of this juvenile fiction series;

"And before the stunned Madge could gasp out any ejaculation, Joey sobbed, "Oh, Jack - what a - solid lump - of comfort you - are!" (Brent-Dyer, 1940, p99)"

* ahem *

Your thesis sounds plausible.

If this trend continues, we will not just be hearing a neologism to describe the post-adolescent dependent "children" created by the ever-expanding colleges, but we will start seeing the notion reified by descriptions of the distinctly "childish" biological features of the 27 year old "juvenile."

Dante