Psychology Wiki

Adolescence (from the Latin adulescere: to grow, to develop, to become larger) is the biological and social phase of transition between childhood and adulthood; it is one of the stages of human development after pre-adolescence characterized by changes on various physical, mental and social levels. [1]

Adolescence should not be confused with puberty, because adolescence, refers to more of a social and legal status which includes individuals who are pubescent and post-pubescent, but are not considered full adults socially or legally, while puberty generally signifies the beginning of adolescence being often marked by brain development, hormonal changes, growth, mental health, and social expectations, these changes will allow a child's body to reproduce, transforming it into an adult body in terms of size and appearance. Puberty typically occurs between the ages of 9 and 14 for girls and 10 to 15 for boys, generally finishing between ages 15-18 years.[1]

The current generation of adolescents is the largest in history with a population of 1.8 billion, they make up a quarter of the world's population. Almost 90% live in low- and middle-income countries, where they make up a much larger proportion of the population than in high-income countries, due to higher fertility rates [2].

William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905) - Two Sisters (1901)

Painting of Two Adolescents Girls

Definition[]

There is no exact definition of the age range of adolescence; some organizations, such as the Canadian Paediatric Society, define adolescence as going from ages 12-17, which coincides with legal majority.

Stanley Hall described adolescence as a time of "storm and stress" and, unlike later researchers, attributed this phase of life as lasting from the age of 14 to 24.

The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne defines adolescence as a phase of life that extends between childhood and adulthood from the ages of 10 to 24 [3]. The Center for the Developing Adolescent (UCLA) defines adolescence from age 10 to 25 as a period of rapid growth, development and learning as we discover and adapt to the world around us [4]. In Fiji, the Fiji Ministry of Health and Medical Services recognizes adolescence from the ages of 10 to 24.

Puberty and physical growth have long been recognized as defining the beginning of adolescence, however the end of adolescence has often been defined as a transition in social role from a dependent child to an independent adult[5]. It is important to remember that past puberty (generally the mid-late teens), one is no longer a child but biologically, an adult, regardless of other factors such as emotional maturity or financial status.

In the United States, healthcare providers, researchers, and policymakers use various definitions to demarcate the period of adolescence ranging from 10 to 25 years. People described as older adolescents are often identified as "young adults" or "emerging adults" [6], on the other hand, in the Netherlands, the Dutch Youth Institute defines adolescence as the life phase from 10 to 22 years of age in which children undergo a transition and become adults [7], while in Brazil, the Statute of the Child and Adolescent establishes an age range for minors from 12 to 17 years of age or in specific cases may be extended up to 21 years[2].

People within this range (considered adolescents from a legal point of view) can be subjected to socio-educational measures, including restrictions on freedom and basic rights. For example, minors (defined as persons under age 18 in most societies) are generally not permitted to sign contracts or make other major decisions without parental consent, including marriage, military service, work, driving, and so forth. They generally are restricted from using dangerous pieces of equipment such as firearms or vehicles. Minors who engage in activities that are legal for adults may be punished under laws governing status offenses.

Although in many societies adulthood is generally defined as 18 or 21 years of age, it is important to note that these legal definitions of adulthood are arbitrary. Biological, psychological, and emotional development generally continues until the mid- to late 20s[3][4][5]. Jeff Hayward, a critic of the legal age of majority at 18 or 21, wrote in Medium magazine, arguing that the only reason we have such low legal age requirements for most things in the world is so that we can start taxing and exploiting people earlier. He also supports the idea that we should allow young people to enjoy the innocence of the “real world” until age 24, emphasizing the continued human development that extends to age 25[6].

Preteens/Tweens[]

The word preteen describes a child a bit younger than a teenager; between the ages of about 9 and 12. The neologism tween has the same meaning, but isn't in general use as either a colloquial or scientific term. This word comes from the age being between that of a child and a teenager, and perhaps it has also been inspired by the first sounds of numeral twelve and the similarity to teen.

Preteens are increasingly a specifically targeted market segment by business, because they tend to maintain the preferences they develop at this age. Even mobile phones are targeted toward this group.

Pre-pubescence is the age where children begin to have more responsibilities and begin to want more respect as people. Many factors include to this age, such as the desire to have the latest trends in fashion and somewhat music, mostly like bubblegum pop and pop-punk and to earn small to moderate amounts of money in a way of an allowance or by having a part time job that is centered around household chores. Because of the emergence of greater awareness of social orders and groups, this is a very unstable area of development. Preteens often feel like they're not one thing or another and feel left out. To a girl approaching her teen years, fashion and hygiene (and sometimes the eating disorders that develop as a result of over-concern about these things) come to be a bigger part of her life, and males start to become attractive. Sports and socializing tend to become more important for boys at this age, but some girls do get this feeling too.

Teenagers[]

A teenager or teen is a person whose age is a number ending in "teen" in the English language: that is to say, someone from the age of thirteen to the age of nineteen. The word is of recent origin, only having appeared in the mid 20th century. Equivalent words in other languages may apply to a larger age bracket, including (at least some) preteens; e.g. tiener in Dutch officially from 12, colloquially from 10.

In Western culture, a distinct youth culture has developed. This culture is often distinctly different from the mainstream culture, sometimes in rebellion against it, and thus is often referred to as a subculture or counterculture[3].

Early Teens: 13-14

Middle teens: 15-16

Late Teens: 17-19

Late Adolescence/Emerging Adulthood[]

Diversity of youth in Oslo Norway

Groups of Adolescents

These are people aged between the ages of 18 and 25 or 28. Some scholars have theorized a new stage of development, between adolescence and young adulthood stage.

Jeffrey Arnett (2000) calls this stage emerging adulthood, and argues that it is characterized by "relative independence from social roles and from normative expectations. Emerging adulthood is a time of life when many different directions remain possible, when the scope of independent exploration of life's possibilities is greater for most people than it will be at any other period of the life course." (p.469)[5].

While Jeffrey Arnett bases his theories on social and cultural considerations, other experts on adolescent development, such as Susan Sawyer and Dr. Darryl Cross, focus on psychological, biological, and emotional factors that extend to age 25 or 28[7][8]. The average age for having a child in 1950 was 28, with a slight drop between 1978 and 2015, stabilizing again at 28 in 2016. Scientists also predict a considerable increase to an average age of 30 by 2100, reflecting a post-adolescence[9].

Psychology of adolescents[]

Main article: Adolescent psychology

The adolescent increase in gonadotropins causes changes in the brain, which causes an interest in sexual activities, sometimes leading to teenage pregnancy if they do not use contraceptive methods.

At this age there is also a greater probability of drug and alcohol use, or mental health disorders such as schizophrenia, eating disorders such as anorexia, and depression. The increased testosterone and relative lack of prefrontal cortex development among some adolescents is theorized to be linked with youth crime.

Searching for a unique identity is one of the problems that adolescents often face. Some, but not all, teenagers often challenge the authority or the rules as a way to establish their individuality. They may crave adulthood and to find their place in the society.

Among many people of this age, role models such as sports players, rock stars as well as movie and television performers are very popular, and adolescents often express a desire to be like their chosen role model. For this reason, people who are considered role models are often heavily criticized for their behavior, because in our time they are, we might say almost without exception, not socially conscious enough for the standard to which most children are held by most parents today. Of course, this doesn't mean that proper upbringing and an inspired life are contradictions; but there rages an argument about how soon one must make room for the other.

Margaret Mead, on the other hand, attributed adolescent behavior to their culture. Piaget attributed this stage in development with greatly increased cognitive abilities, which can cause conflict as the individual has gained the cognitive ability to reason, dispute, and theorize on an adult level.

The information processing theory, on the other hand, does not see this as a qualitatively different stage, but rather just part of the uniformly gradual slope in gaining more experience. Another equally interesting view is the inventionist view, which states that adolescence is merely a creation of socio-history. Especially important in this view are the sociohistorical circumstances at the beginning of the twentieth century, a time when legislation was enacted that ensured the dependency of youth and made their move into the economic sphere more manageable.

Positive Psychology is sometimes brought up when addressing adolescent psychology as well. In many groups, one encounters a surprising number of teens who are bored, unmotivated, and pessimistic about their future. A positive psychology styled approach attempts to start up their internal fires, help them develop the complex skills and dispositions necessary to take charge of their lives, to become socially competent, compassionate, and psychologically vigorous adults.

Social and cultural[]

Main article: Youth culture

In commerce, this generation is seen as an important target. Cellular phones, contemporary popular music, movies, television programs, video games and clothes are heavily marketed and often popular amongst adolescents.

In the past (and still in some cultures) there were ceremonies that celebrate adulthood, typically occurring during adolescence. Seijin shiki (literally "adult ceremony") is a Japanese example of this. Upanayanam is a coming of age ceremony for males in the Hindu world. In Judaism, 12-year-old females and 13-year-old males become b'nai mitzvah and often have a celebration to mark this coming of age. Among some denominations of Christianity, the rite or sacrament of Confirmation is received by adolescents and may be considered the time at which adolescents becomes members of the church in their own right. African boys also have a coming of age ceremony in which, upon reaching adolescence, the males state a promise to never do anything to shame their families or their village. This was also continued among African-American slaves in the early days of slavery before the practice was outlawed. In America, girls will often have a "sweet sixteen" party to celebrate turning the aforementioned age, a tradition similar to the quinceañera in Hispanic culture.

Teenagers have also been an important factor in many movements for positive social change around the world. The popular history of adolescents participating in these movements may perhaps start with Joan of Arc, and extend to present times with popular youth activism, student activism, and other efforts to make youth voice heard.

Legal issues[]

A number of social scientists, including anthropologist Margaret Mead and sociologist Mike Males, have repeatedly noted the contradictory treatment of laws affecting adolescents in the United States. As Males has noted, the US Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that policymakers may impose adult responsibilities and punishments on individual youths as if they were adults, but also heavily restrict the rights of adolescents as if they were children.

In nearly all jurisdictions, those over age 18 are legally considered responsible adults in most cases. The ages of criminal responsibility vary between jurisdiction, and in most jurisdictions, one can be punished as an adult for serious criminal acts even before the age of legal adulthood.

The issue of youth activism affecting political, social, educational, and moral circumstances is of growing significance around the world. Youth-led organizations around the world have fought for social justice, the youth vote seeking to gain teenagers the right to vote, to secure more youth rights, and demanding better schools through student activism.

Youth are also becoming more involved in community leadership, governance, and service. Volunteerism among youth is at a record high, while student voice in schools and youth voice in communities is being engaged in community organizations, government boards, and in youth-serving nonprofit staffs and leadership.

The sale of selected items such as cigarettes, alcohol, and videos, and video games with sexual or violent content is often prohibited based on age. Such age restrictions vary widely. In practice, it is common that young people engage in underage smoking or drinking, and in some cultures this is tolerated to a certain degree.

In the United States, teenagers are usually allowed to drive at 16 (each state sets its own minimum driving age), but they cannot legally purchase or consume alcohol until 21. In Europe it is more common for the driving age to be higher (18, usually) while the drinking age is lower.

The traditional age of full maturity in the United States is 21 and, until the 1970s, the voting age was set at that age. The age of 21 is rooted in English common law, with 21 being the age in which a young man could be crowned a knight.

Currently, American citizens can vote starting at age 18 and usually can run in local and state elections at that age. One must be 25, however, to serve in the House of Representatives and 30 to serve in the Senate, or 35 to serve as the President of the United States.

Most countries prohibit people under a certain age from engaging in sexual intercourse and other sexual activities with adults, even if they are physiologically capable (see age of consent). This issue has been most famously dramatized in the book Lolita (and two movies). Pedophilia is defined as interest in children before puberty, yet informally in the United States and other countries where there is a prevalence of a culture of fear, it may also include interest in adolescents, with their maturing bodies (although the correct term for an interest in post-pubescent adolescents is called ephebophilia). In some other countries or cultures, typically those in which extended family relationships prevent the quick taking-up and dropping of romantic relationships, relationships between adults and adolescents are socially accepted or viewed with tolerance.

In many countries, sex with adolescents below a certain age has become a social issue and is considered a serious sex crime. The age of consent varies according to the country or state/region. Countries without such laws may be targets for child sex tourism, if their laws do not separate prostitution from normal relationships.

Pornography involving those under a certain age, typically 18 (see child pornography), is also considered unacceptable and strictly prohibited in most countries. Female adolescents are sometimes forced to engage in prostitution and slavery, even at a young age.

Since the advent of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989, almost every country (except the U.S. and Somalia) in the world has become voluntarily legally committed to advancing an anti-discriminatory stance towards young people of all ages. This is a legally binding document which secures youth participation throughout society while acting against unchecked child labor, child soldiers, child prostitution, and pornography.

Controversy[]

While mainstream society accepts adolescence as a developmental stage, the concept is not without controversy nor criticism. Robert Epstein, a renowned American research psychologist, has repeatedly criticized the concept of adolescence in his writings and research. He notes that past puberty, one is no longer a child but is biologically an adult, and that continuing to treat people as children past puberty causes emotional damage and conflict with authority figures. He views infantilization (the treatment of biological adults as younger children) to be the principal cause of turmoil seen in American youths, citing that such turmoil is not universal and that risky behaviors displayed by young people are actually adult behaviors, including sex, crime, and violence.

He has cited research studies which show a wide variety of behavioral patterns from different cultures, as well as notable research showing that certain brain functions (intelligence, reaction time) peak in the teens, and rejects the concept that teen turmoil is the result of an immature teen brain. He also cites statistics which prove the competency of American youths, including the fact that male teens have a lower divorce rate than men in their 20s, and that teens have the lowest rates of work absenteeism.

In Epstein's view, legal adulthood and adult rights ought to be granted to individuals who can display competency in one or more areas through passing government-approved competency tests, which can grant them numerous rights including the right to drive, consume alcohol, purchase cigarettes, get married, sign contracts, or even full emancipation from guardianship.

In the 1970s, John Holt and Richard Farson famously advocated outright granting adult rights and freedoms to all individuals, regardless of age, a drastically more libertarian proposal than Robert Epstein.

References[]

See also[]

Human development and psychology[]

Compare with[]

See also[]

References & Bibliography[]

Key texts[]

Books[]

  • Coleman, J.C. (1974) Relationships in Adolescence, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
  • Coleman, J.C. and Hendry, L. (1990) The Nature of Adolescence, 2nd edn, London: Routledge.

Papers[]

  • Blos, P. (1967) The second individuation process of adolescence, Psychoanalytic Study of the Child 22: 162-86.


  • Lerner, R.M. (1985) Adolescent maturational changes and psychosocial development: a dynamic interactional perspective, Journal of Youth and Adolescence 14: 355-72.
  • Peskin, H. (1973) Influence of the developmental schedule of puberty on learning and ego-functioning, Journal of Youth and Adolescence 4: 273-90.
  • Siddique, C.M. and D'Arcy, C. (1984) Adolescence, stress and psychological well-being, Journal of Youth and Adolescence 13: 459-74


Additional material[]

Books[]

  • Hall, G.S. (1904) Adolescence, New York: Appleton.
  • Hall, G.S. (1920) Youth, New York: Appleton.

Papers[]

  • Petersen, A.C. and Crockett, L. (1985) Pubertal timing and grade effects on adjustment, journal of Youth and Adolescence 14: 191-206.

External links[]

Preceded by:
Childhood
Stages of human development
Adolescence
Succeeded by:
Young adult