Chapter 6 Adolescence

Adolescence describes a period of transition between childhood and full adult roles. In some cultures this follows rapidly after puberty and sometimes involves a formal initiation rite but, in western societies like the UK, many people in their mid-20s have still not taken on all adult responsibilities. For example, they may still not have left home, are unlikely to have children and may have several shorter long-term relationships and jobs rather than a sole marriage or career. The ages at which different adult activities are permitted vary. Thus, adolescents are expected to behave in some ways like adults and in other ways like children. Parents and children often disagree about which roles are appropriate at a given age. Since the 1950s there has also been increasing identification of ‘youth’ as a distinct and positively valued life phase, which has changed rapidly (Table 1).

Table 1 Life for young people today has changed compared to 40 years ago

The physical changes of puberty are important but the psychological changes are caused by the difficulties of adolescent roles. Adolescents have near-adult intellectual abilities (although not necessarily adult knowledge or experience) and soon acquire adult physical abilities. Neurological development continues into young adulthood and it has been suggested that adolescents’ cognitions and hence behaviours tend to be more impulsive and less risk-averse than adults because of this delay in brain development (Steinberg, 2007). Adolescents also have to cope with important emotional, sexual and moral developmental issues. Parents and children can often disagree about which behaviours are appropriate and at what age. The influential theorist Eric Erikson (1968) described adolescence as a time of forming adult identity.

Two sources of strain are:

Despite these strains, most adolescents have a fairly untroubled time and get on relatively well with their parents and Table 2 shows how parenting styles can affect children. Most adolescents’ interests and aspirations are similar to adults’. For example, West et al. (1990) found that the most popular leisure activities for 18-year-olds were watching TV, listening to music and reading – hardly rebellious activities! Furthermore 78% of them had always been in work or education. However, about 20% of adolescents experience problems (Coleman & Hendry, 1999). Many troubled adolescents abuse drugs or alcohol, engage in some criminal activities, may do poorly or drop out of school and are likely to be depressed or unhappy. They are also likely to engage in behaviour inappropriate for their age, although not considered a problem for older people. Both sexual intercourse and drinking alcohol are considered age-inappropriate for people under 14 (note this is not just a legal definition, but a social norm). For most, this is a temporary phase lasting a few years, but some troubled adolescents become adults with problems. Early intervention can help some adolescents, but there is also a risk of labelling someone as mentally ill, drug-addicted or delinquent, actually making problems worse (see pp. 60–61).

Table 2

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