In all societies, adolescence is a time of change in individuals' social roles and status. The social redefinition of adolescence, however, can vary from one society to another. In addition, earlier maturation and increased schooling have lengthened adolescence and made the social passage to adulthood more vague and tumultuous.
The social redefinition of individuals during adolescence has important implications for their behavior and psychosocial development. As adolescents reach the age of majority (legal age for adult status), they begin to act and see themselves in different ways and are treated differently by others. For example, adolescents experience changes in identity, autonomy, intimacy, sexuality, and achievement.
ADOLESCENCE AS A SOCIAL INVENTION
Inventionists have argued that adolescence is more a social invention than a biological or cognitive phenomenon. According to this view, the origins of adolescence are closely linked to the industrial revolution of the 19th century.
Prior to the 19th century, children were treated as miniature adults, and adolescents served as an important source of labor for their families. The primary distinction between children and adults was based on property ownership rather than age or ability.
With industrialization, however, came new patterns of work and family life. Changes in the economy led to a shortage of jobs and an increase in crime. As a result, child protectionists, as well as adults concerned about their own employment, removed adolescents from the labor force and placed them in formal schooling.
It was not until the late 19th century that adolescence came to be seen as a lengthy period of preparation for adulthood, in which young people remain economically dependent on their elders. With these changes came the rise of new terminology and ideas. Adolescents were now considered teenagers, a term popularized fifty years ago to connote a more frivolous and lighthearted image.
CHANGE IN STATUS
Social redefinition at adolescence typically involves a dual-sided change in status. On the one hand, adolescents are given privileges and rights that have been reserved for society's adult members. On the other hand, this increased power and freedom is accompanied by increased expectations and obligations. Status changes of this sort occur in the interpersonal, political, economic, and legal domains.
Interpersonal, Political, and Economic Status: Individuals who have been recognized as adults usually are addressed with adult titles, are allowed to engage in community decision making (e.g., voting), and are expected to enter the work force.
Changes in Legal Status: Changes in legal status also distinguish adolescents from adults. In contemporary society, driving, purchasing alcohol, and gambling are just a few of the many privileges reserved for individuals who have reached a "legal" age. Adolescents who engage in behaviors that are considered illegal for their age but not for adults are said to be committing statusoffenses. In addition, a separate juvenile justicesystem has been created to handle adolescent crime and delinquency. Several issues surrounding the legal status of adolescents, however, remain vague and confusing. For example, one study found that American jurors were more likely to recommend the death penalty for adolescents aged 16 years or older than for adolescents aged 15 years or younger.
In general, the law tends to restrict the behavior of adolescents when the behavior is viewed as potentially dangerous (e.g., buying cigarettes) but have supported adolescent autonomy when the behavior is viewed as having potential benefit (e.g., using contraceptives).
THE PROCESS OF SOCIAL REDEFINITION
The process of social redefinition usually occurs over a period of years. In many societies, the social redefinition of young people occurs in groups. Although there is a good deal of cross-cultural variability in specific practices, three general themes are usually found: the real or symbolic separation of the young person from his or her parents (extrusion); the accentuation of physical and social differences between males and females (in traditional societies referred to as brother-sister avoidance); and the passing on of cultural, historical, and practical information. Many initation ceremonies also include scarification, the intential creation of scars on some parts of the body.
Two important dimensions along which societies differ in the process of social redefinition are in the clarity (or explicitness) and continuity (or smoothness) of the adolescent's passage into adulthood. In traditional societies, the initiation ceremony of the young person into adulthood provides a clear delineation between childhood and adolescence. Contemporary societies have few formal ceremonies marking the transition from childhood into adolescence. However, some contemporary ceremonies are still practiced, such as the quinceañera and the Bar/Bas Mitzvah.
VARIATIONS IN SOCIAL TRANSITIONS
Variations in Clarity: The adolescent has been referred to as the marginal man caught in the transitional space between childhood and adulthood. In fact, research suggests that the adolescent transition may have been even cloudier 100 years ago.
In addition to the clarity of the adolescent passage, societies also vary in the extent to which the passage is a continuous or discontinuous transition. In a continuous transition, characteristic of more traditional societies, the adolescent assumes the roles and status of adulthood bit by bit, with a good deal of preparation and training along the way. In a discontinuous transition, characteristic of contemporary societies, the adolescent is thrust into adulthood abruptly, with little prior preparation.
The continuity of the adolescent passage in previous eras suggests that today's adolescents experience even more discontinuity than previous generations. Furthermore, historical events have been found to alter the adolescent passage temporarily. For example, the Great Depression of the early 1930's forced disadvantaged adolescents to engage in adult activities earlier than their privileged peers. Policy-makers have proposed to reduce the discontinuity by implementing a school-to-work transition.
THE TRANSITION INTO ADULTHOOD IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY
Many social commentators have argued that the vague and discontinuous nature of the transition through adolescence in contemporary society has contributed to numerous psychological and behavioral problems among today's youth. These difficulties are more severe among adolescents who are not bound for college, and especially among minority youth living in the inner city.
African-American, Hispanic-American, and American Indian youth have more trouble negotiating the transition into adulthood than do their white and Asian-American counterparts. The effects of poverty on the transition into adulthood include increased likelihood of failure in school, unemployment, and out-of-wedlock pregnancy.
Due to growing numbers of poor families in economically and racially segregated communities, researchers have begun to explore whether neighborhood poverty, in addition to family poverty, is predictive of adolescents' transition difficulties. Preliminary results indicate that adolescents growing up in impoverished communities are more likely than their peers from equally poor households, but better neighborhoods, to drop out of high school and to become pregnant. It appears to be the absence of affluent neighbors, rather than the presence of poor neighbors, that places adolescents who live in impoverished communities at greater risk.
A number of commissions have recommended that we reexamine the structure of schools and expand work and service opportunities for young people as a means of addressing these problems.
