Chapter 3 Discussion

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Adolescence, 12e Laurence Steinberg

Chapter 3 –

Social transitions

Chapter 3 –

Social transitions

Chapter 3 Overview (1)

Social Redefinition and Psychosocial Development

The Elongation of Adolescence

Adolescence as a Social Invention

The “Invention” of Adolescence

Emerging Adulthood: A New Stage of Life or a Luxury of the Middle Class?

Chapter 3 Overview (2)

Changes in Status During Adolescence

Drawing a Legal Boundary

Inconsistencies in Adolescents’ Legal Status

The Process of Social Redefinition

Common Practices in the Process of Social Redefinition

Variations in Social Transitions

Variations in Clarity

Variations in Continuity

Chapter 3 Overview (3)

The Transition into Adulthood in Contemporary Society

Special Transitional Problems of Poor and Minority Youth

The Effects of Poverty on the Transition into Adulthood

What Can Be Done to Ease the Transition?

The Influence of Neighborhood Conditions on Adolescent Development

Processes of Neighborhood Influences

Social Redefinition And psychosocial development (1)

Social redefinition: The process through which an individual’s position or status is redefined by society.

In all societies the following is true:

Adolescence is a period of social transition.

The individual comes to be recognized as an adult.

The specific elements of this social passage from childhood into adulthood vary across time and place.

Social Redefinition and Psychosocial Development (2)

Identity

Attaining adult status causes adolescents to feel more mature and to think more seriously about future work and family roles.

Autonomy

Adult status leads to shifts in responsibility, independence, and freedom.

The adolescent-turned-adult faces a wider range of decisions that have serious long-term consequences.

Social Redefinition and Psychosocial Development (3)

Relationships

Young person faces new decisions about intimacy, dating, and marriage.

Age of majority: The designated age at which an individual is recognize as an adult.

Statutory rape: Sex between two individuals, even when it is consensual, when at least one of the persons is below the legal age of consent; in the United States, the specific age of consent varies from state to state.

Achievement

Adolescents must attain a certain age before becoming a full-time employee or leaving school of their own volition.

The Elongation of Adolescence

Adolescence lasts longer today than ever before.

Individuals start puberty earlier and enter into adult roles of work and family later.

Experts define adolescence as “beginning in biology and ending in culture.”

Elongation of adolescence has had important implications for how young people see themselves, relate to others, and develop psychologically.

Today, individuals live with their parents long after they are sexually mature.

Because the cost of living independently has risen, economic “maturity” lags far behind psychological maturity.

More formal education is now necessary to take on adult work roles.

Adolescence as a Social Invention

Some argue that adolescence, as a period of the life cycle, is mainly a social invention.

Inventionists: Theorists who argue that the period of adolescence is mainly a social invention.

Adolescence is defined primarily by the ways in which society does or does not recognize the period as distinct from childhood or adulthood.

Adolescence is defined differently in different cultures and historical periods.

Problems experienced during adolescence may be due to society’s definition of adolescence, not cognitive or biological changes.

This contradicts G. Stanley Hall’s views that psychological changes of adolescence are driven by puberty.

The “Invention” of Adolescence (1)

The Impact of Industrialization

Industrialization broke the connection between what individuals learned in childhood and what they would need to know as adults.

Parents encouraged younger people to stay in school longer.

Staying in school lessened job competition between adolescents and adults.

Child protectionists: Individuals who argued, early in the twentieth century, that adolescents needed to be keep out of the labor force to protect them from the hazards of the workplace.

The “Invention” of Adolescence (2)

The Origins of Adolescence as We Know it Today

In the late nineteenth century, adolescence came to be viewed as a lengthy time of preparation for adulthood.

This view started in the middle class and spread.

Teenager: A term popularized about 50 years ago to refer to young people; it connoted a more frivolous and lighthearted image than did adolescent.

Youth: Today, a term used to refer to individuals ages 18 to 22; it once referred to individuals ages 12 to 24.

Emerging Adulthood: A New Stage of Life or a Luxury of the Middle Class?

Emerging adulthood is a term for ages 18–25, caught between adolescence and adulthood.

Emerging adults are characterized by five main features.

the exploration of possible identities before making enduring choices

instability in work, romantic relationships, and living arrangements

a focus on oneself and independent functioning

the feeling of being caught between adolescence and adulthood

the sense that life holds many possibilities

Is Emerging Adulthood Universal?

Emerging adulthood does not exist in all cultures.

Several recent analyses indicate that there is great variability among people in their mid-20s with respect to the dimensions of emerging adulthood.

The existence of emerging adulthood may have a lot to do with values and priorities, not just the economy. Emerging adults want to take time before assuming full adult responsibilities.

Psychological Well-Being in Emerging Adulthood (1)

Very little research has examined psychological development and functioning during emerging adulthood.

Can be a difficult time of floundering and financial instability

Can be a time of carefree independence

Significant rates of mental illness and suicide

It is possible that economic forces have delayed the transition to social adulthood without changing the transition into psychological adulthood.

Psychological Well-Being in Emerging Adulthood (2)

Figure 3.1: For some, early adulthood is a time of improved mental health, as indicated by decreases in depression and increases in self-esteem.

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Figure 1

Developmental Task domains

Table 3.1: Descriptions of developmental task domains

Domain	Succeeding	Maintaining	Stalling
Peer involvement	Goes out two or more times a week for fun and recreation at age 22 and age 26	Neither succeeding nor stalling	Goes out one or fewer times a week for fun and recreation at age 22 and age 26
Education	Graduated from 4-year college by age 26, or Expected to graduate from 2-year college and received 2-year degree	Expected to graduate from 4-year college and received 2-year degree, or Did not expect 2- or 4-year degree and did not receive either degree, or Expected 2-year degree and did not receive 2-year degree by age 26	Expected 4-year college degree and did not receive either 2- or 4-year degree by age 26
Work	No unemployment at age 22 or 26, and Working 10+ months/year at full-time job by age 26. and High job confidence at age 26	Neither succeeding nor stalling (e.g.. homemaker or otherwise not working and not looking for work outside home)	Some unemployment at age 22 and/or 26, and Low job confidence at age 26
Substance abuse avoidance (healthy coping/lifestyle)	No substance use at any age (18, 22, 26) [Four indicators of substance use; cigarettes (current use), binge drinking (in past 2 weeks), marijuana (current use), and other illicit drugs (in past 12 months)]	Some substance use, but less than stalling	Use of two or more substances at all three ages (18, 22. 26), and/or Use of three or more substances at age 26
Romantic involvement	At age 26, married or engaged (with or without cohabitation), and No divorce history	At age 26, cohabiting, or Dating more than once a month, and/or Divorced, but remarried	At age 26, not married, not engaged not cohabiting, and Dating once a month or less
Citizenship	Three indicators reported at age 22 and age 26: social conscience, charity, and awareness of social/political events Measures indicate at least one strong connection at age 22 and at least two strong connections at age 26	Measures indicate some strong connections but not as frequent as at succeeding level	Measures indicate no strong connections at age 26
Financial autonomy	Self and/or spouse providing all resources at age 26	Some resources come from other than self or spouse (and not stalling)	At age 26. less than half of support is from self and/or spouse, and/or Live with parents and receive some financial help (>20%) from them

Source: Schulenberg et al., 2004.

Table 1

Changes in Status During Adolescence

Adolescents experience a two-sided change in status: both increased privileges and increased expectations for responsibility.

Drawing a Legal Boundary

Initiation ceremony: The formal induction of a young person into adulthood.

Adult status allows people able to participate in certain activities: gambling, buying alcohol, seeing X-rated films.

Status offense: A violation of the law that pertains to minors but not adults. (An adult can leave school or home without official penalties.)

Juvenile justice system: A separate system of courts and related institutions developed to handle juvenile crime and delinquency.

Criminal justice system: The system of courts and related institutions developed to handle adult crime.

Adolescents as Criminal Defendants (1)

Should juveniles who commit crimes be viewed as less blameworthy than adults?

If a young person has committed a violent crime, should he or she be treated as a child (and processed as a delinquent) or tried as an adult (and processed as a criminal)?

Should young teenagers and adults who are convicted of the same crime receive the same penalties?

Are adolescents competent to stand trial and make other legal decisions?

Adolescents as Criminal Defendants (2)

Many experts believe that young defendants are incompetent to stand trial because of cognitive or emotional immaturity.

Research has shown the following:

One-third of children aged 13 and under, and one-fifth of children aged 14 or 15, are as impaired in their abilities to serve as competent defendants as mentally ill adults.

Juveniles are less likely than adults to understand their rights, more likely to confess, less likely to consider long term consequences of plea agreements, and less likely to discuss disagreements with their attorneys.

Inconsistencies in Adolescents’ Legal Status

Rulings about adolescents’ legal status have been inconsistent.

Supreme Court cases with seemingly contradictory decisions include the following:

Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier

Board of Education v. Mergens

Hodgson v. Minnesota

Roper v. Simmons

Adolescent behavior is typically restricted if it is viewed as potentially dangerous or damaging.

Autonomy is generally granted when the behavior is considered to have potential benefits.

The Process of Social Redefinition

In contemporary America, the process of redefinition generally begins at age 15 or 16 and continues well into young adulthood.

In many cultures, the social redefinition of young people occurs in groups.

Cohort: A groups of individuals born during the same general historical era.

Quinceañera: An elaborate sort of “coming out” celebration for adolescent girls that is practiced in many Latino communities.

On college campuses, sororities and fraternities conduct group initiations.

Timetable is affected by economics, politics, and culture.

Common Practices in the Process of Social Redefinition (1)

Real or Symbolic Separation from Parents

In some societies, young people are expected to sleep in households other than their own.

Examples from contemporary society include summer camps, boarding schools, college.

An Emphasis on Differences Between the Sexes

Stress the physical and social differences between males and females

Bar (Bas) Mitzvah: In Judaism, the religious ceremony marking the young person’s transition to adulthood.

Common Practices in the Process of Social Redefinition (2)

Passing on Information from the Older Generation

This information concerns several different categories.

Matters thought to be important to adults but of limited use to children

Matters thought to be necessary for adults but unfit for children

Matters concerning the history or rituals of the family or community

In both traditional and contemporary societies, adolescence is a time of instruction in preparation for adulthood.

Many societies have body rituals that are not used until adolescence.

Scarification: The intentional creation of scars on some part or parts of the body, often done as part of an initiation ceremony.

Variations in Social Transitions

Societies differ in the process of social redefinition on two important dimensions:

Clarity (explicitness of transition)

Continuity (smoothness of transition)

Variations in Clarity (1)

In the United States, there are few or no formal ceremonies marking the transition from adolescence to adulthood.

Most people in their late teens and their twenties say they are adults in some ways and not in others.

Religious and cultural initiation ceremonies have little meaning outside the family.

There is no clear indication of when responsibilities and privileges as an adult begin.

Variations in Clarity (2)

Because there are no clear transitions, adolescents’ views of themselves are instructive.

Studies of how people define adulthood in contemporary society indicated three interesting trends:

There is less emphasis on attaining a specific role and more emphasis on self-reliance.

There has been a striking decline in the importance of marriage and parenthood as defining features of adulthood.

Now there are similar criteria for males and females and fewer gender-typed role expectations.

Variations in Clarity (3)

In most traditional cultures, social redefinition is clearly recognized.

Typically, the passage into adolescence is marked by a formal initiation ceremony.

For boys, timing of ceremony varies. It can be at puberty, at a designated chronological age, or when community decides individual is ready for status change.

For girls, timing is usually linked to onset of menstruation.

Physical appearance is often changed (clothing, scarification).

Adults are clearly differentiated from children.

The Circumcision controversy

Circumcision: A procedure in which some part of the genitals is cut and permanently altered.

Male circumcision

Foreskin removed

Done for religious and health reasons

No evidence that procedure causes emotional harm

Female genital mutilation: The cutting or removal of the clitoris, performed in some cultures as part of the initiation of female adolescents.

Clitoris and sometimes labia cut or removed

Causes health problems and makes orgasm almost impossible

Considered by many to be a human rights violation

Clarity of social redefinitions in Previous Eras (1)

The baby boom generation is often used as a point of comparison for young people.

Baby boom: The period following World War II, during which the number of infants born was extremely large.

Finishing school, moving out, and getting married all happened earlier than today and within a narrow timeframe.

Compared to that generation, today’s transition is long and rocky.

Clarity of social redefinitions in Previous Eras (2)

However, transition in the early 19th century was just as disorderly and prolonged as it is today.

Many people moved back and forth between arenas where they were viewed differently:

School – viewed as children

Work – viewed as adults

The timetable for the assumption of adult roles depended on household or family needs.

Emerging adulthood is not a new phenomenon.

Variations in Continuity

How continuous social redefinition is varies depending on the culture and the historical era.

Continuous transitions: Passages into adulthood in which adult roles and statuses are entered into gradually.

Discontinuous transitions: Passages into adulthood in which adult roles and statues are entered into abruptly.

The Continuity of the adolescent passage in Contemporary Society

Transition to adulthood is discontinuous.

Adolescents are given little preparation for the three important roles of worker, parent, citizen

Adolescents are typically segregated from these types of activities.

Jobs available to teenagers are not like those they will hold as adults.

Most young people have little training in child rearing and related matters.

Adolescents are segregated from most of society’s political institutions.

People are required to assume theses roles when they reach the age of majority (adult status).

The Continuity of the adolescent passage in Traditional Cultures

In most traditional cultures, transition to adulthood is continuous.

Adolescents’ preparation for adulthood comes from observation and hands-on experience.

They become involved in work tasks that have meaningful connections to the work they will perform as adults.

Modernization and globalization are making the contemporary, more discontinuous transition more common around the world.

The Continuity of the adolescent passage in previous eras

During earlier periods in American history, the transition into adult roles began at a younger age and proceeded along a more continuous path.

Many adolescents learned to work on the family farm or by accompanying their father.

Many others left home early to work as apprentices or servants.

They lived semi-independently under adult supervision from about 12 to 22 or beyond.

Living with large families better prepared young people for family life.

Current trends in home leaving (1)

In many industrialized countries, individuals are living with their parents for longer periods.

This probably is caused by increased costs of housing and transportation.

Rise in drug and alcohol use is much less among young adults living at home than among most students who leave home for college

Current trends in home leaving (2)

Figure 3.2: For the first time in more than a century, the most common living arrangement for people aged 18 to 34 was living with parents.

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Figure 3

Binge drinking and leaving home

Figure 3.3: The frequency of binge drinking more than doubles when high school seniors go off to college and move out of their parents’ home. In contrast, there is very little change in binge drinking after high school graduation among non-college youth or among college students who continue to live with their parents.

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Figure 3

The Transition into Adulthood in Contemporary Society (1)

Commentators have noted three very different transitions from adolescence into adulthood:

One for the “haves”

One for the “have nots”

One for those who are somewhere in between

Two societal trends are reshaping the nature of the transition:

The increasing length of the transitional period (earlier average puberty, later average marriage)

Increasing demand for more formal education

As success in the labor force becomes more dependent on education, the gap between the ”haves” and “have nots” will grow.

The Transition into Adulthood in Contemporary Society (2)

Figure 3.4: The projected growth of the world’s adolescent population will occur primarily in developing and less developed nations.

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Figure 4

Special Transitional Problems of Poor and Minority Youth (1)

Youngsters from some minority groups (Black, Hispanic, Native American) have more difficulty making the transition to adulthood.

Possible factors involved include poverty, discrimination, disproportionate involvement in the justice system, and segregation.

At the beginning of this century, 2/3 of American adolescents were White.

Today, 45% of American adolescents are from ethnic minority groups.

By the end of the century, it is estimated that nearly 2/3 of American adolescents will be from ethnic minority groups.

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Special Transitional Problems of Poor and Minority Youth (2)

Figure 3.5: The ethnic composition of the United States will continue to change dramatically over the twenty-first century.

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Figure 5

Special Transitional Problems of Poor and Minority Youth (3)

U.S. adolescents who were born in other countries are achieving better-than-expected performance in school and in mental health.

They generally fare better than adolescents from the same ethnic group who are U.S. born.

“Americanization” is associated with worse outcomes (compared with immigrants who acted less like typical Americans of the same age).

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For reasons not entirely understood, foreign-born adolescent immigrants have better mental health, exhibit less problem behavior, and perform better in school than adolescents from the same ethnic group who are native-born Americans.

The effects of poverty on the transition into adulthood (1)

Growing up poor adversely affects adolescents’ brain development.

Experiencing poverty during adolescence has an especially negative effect on school achievement.

Poverty makes the transition to adulthood more difficult for all teenagers.

Minority teenagers are more likely to grow up poor and therefore are more likely to have transition problems.

Should be Figure 3.8

The effects of poverty on the transition into adulthood (2)

Figure 3.6 Recent research has demonstrated a link between socioeconomic status and the development of brain regions important for advanced thinking abilities.

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Figure 6

What Can Be Done to Ease the Transition?

Suggestions have been offered to make the transition to adulthood easier for all young people:

Restructure secondary education.

Expand work and volunteering opportunities.

Improve the quality of community life for adolescents and their parents.

Encourage adolescents to spend time in voluntary, nonmilitary service activities.

Develop mentoring programs. Studies show that these programs have a small yet positive effect on youth development.

The Influence of Neighborhood conditions on adolescent development (1)

Poverty has become more concentrated in the past 40 years, with poor families clustering in economically and racially segregated communities.

Studying this issue is tricky.

It is difficult to separate neighborhood disadvantage and family disadvantage.

Relocating poor families to more affluent neighborhoods sometimes negatively affects adolescents’ behavior.

Parents in poor neighborhoods tend to monitor children more closely.

The Influence of Neighborhood conditions on adolescent development (2)

Growing up in an extremely affluent neighborhood has its own risks.

Adolescents in wealthy neighborhoods have higher rates of delinquency, substance abuse, anxiety, and depression than those in middle-class communities.

The higher incidence of problems among adolescents from wealthy communities appears to emerge in early adolescence.

The problems may be fueled by pressures to excel and enabled by preoccupied parents.

The Influence of Neighborhood conditions on adolescent development (3)

Adolescents growing up in poor, urban communities are more likely to do the following:

Be sexually active at an earlier age

Bear children as teenagers

Become involved in criminal activities

Achieve less in (or drop out of) high school

Living in poor rural communities is risky but has had little study.

Processes of Neighborhood Influences (1)

Three different mechanisms have been suggested as ways that neighborhood conditions affect the behavior and development of adolescents.

The first is collective efficacy.

Collective efficacy: A community’s social capital, derived from its members common values and goals.

Rates of teen pregnancy, school failure, mental health problems, and antisocial behavior are all higher in neighborhoods that have low levels of collective efficacy.

Living in a neighborhood high in collective efficacy is especially important for adolescents whose parents are not very vigilant.

Processes of Neighborhood influences (2)

Figure 3.7: Neighborhood conditions influence adolescents’ development by shaping the norms to which adolescents are exposed; by influencing the quality of relationships with parents; and by facilitating or limiting adolescents’ and families’ access to economic and institutional resources.

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Figure 7

Processes of Neighborhood Influences (3)

The second mechanism is the impact of stress.

The stresses associated with poverty undermine the quality of people’s relationships with each other.

Across all ethnic groups, poverty is associated with harsh, inconsistent, and punitive parenting. These factors, in turn, are linked to adolescent misbehavior.

Adolescents from poor neighborhoods are more likely to be exposed to chronic community violence, which increases the risk of behavioral, emotional, and physical problems.

Factors that help protect against the harmful effects of neighborhood stressors include positive family relationships, extracurricular involvement, and strong religious beliefs.

Processes of Neighborhood Influences (4)

Figure 3.8 Living in poor housing is especially hard on the mental health of girls, most likely because they spend more time at home than boys do.

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Figure 8

Processes of Neighborhood Influences (5)

The third mechanism is limited access to resources.

Poorer neighborhoods have poorer-quality schools, medical care, transportation, job opportunities, and parks.

Adolescents who live in neighborhoods with higher-quality schools are less likely to become involved in antisocial behavior.

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Psychological Well-Being in Emerging Adulthood (2) Text alternative

Two line graphs, one showing rates of depression in young adults, the other showing rates of self-esteem. Both graphs compare young men and women from ages 18 to 25. For the first graph, the depression rate declines from 2.87 for women and 2.66 for men at age 18 to about 2.5 in women and 2.44 in men at age 25. According to the second graph, the rate of self-esteem increases from 3.75 in women and 3.96 in men at age 18 to 4.0 in women and 4.05 in men at age 25.

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Current trends in home leaving (2) Text alternative

Graphic shows living arrangements for people aged 18 to 34 in different eras.

In 1880, 30 percent of these individuals lived in a parent’s home, 45 percent were married or cohabitating in their own households, 3 percent were living alone or being single parents or heads of household, and 22 percent lived in some other arrangement. In 1940, 35 percent of these individuals lived in a parent’s home, 46 percent were married or cohabitating in their own households, 3 percent were living alone or being single parents or heads of household, and 16 percent lived in some other arrangement. In 1960, 20 percent of these individuals lived in a parent’s home, 62 percent were married or cohabitating in their own households, 5 percent were living alone or being single parents or heads of household, and 13 percent lived in some other arrangement. In 2014, 32.1 percent of these individuals lived in a parent’s home, 31.6 percent were married or cohabitating in their own households, 14 percent were living alone or being single parents or heads of household, and 22 percent lived in some other arrangement.

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Binge drinking and leaving home Text alternative

A line graph shows the increase in binge drinking per month among college, living and not living at home, and non-college, living and not living at home between the end of 12th grade and two years later. Among college students living at home, the rate increases from 0.4 to 0.6. Among college students not living at home, the rate increases from 0.42 to 0.95. Among non-college students living at home, the rate increases from 0.61 to 0.88. And among non-college students not living at home, the rate hardly increases, from 0.83 to 0.84.

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The Transition into Adulthood in Contemporary Society (2) Text alternative

A line graph depicts increase in adolescent population between 1950 and 2050 projected for the world, including developing, least developed, and industrialized countries. The adolescent population of the world was about 500 million in 1950 and is projected to increase to about 1.2 billion by 2050. In developing countries, the adolescent population was about 380 million in 1950 and is projected to increase to about 1.1 billion by 2050. In the least developed countries, the adolescent population was about 20 million in 1950 and is projected to increase to about 300 million by 2050. And in industrialized countries, the adolescent population was about 100 million in 1950, rose slightly in the 1960s and 1970s, declined slightly in the 1980s and 1990s, and is projected to be about 100 million in 2050.

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Special Transitional Problems of Poor and Minority Youth (2)Text alternative

Five pie charts show the changing ethnic composition of the United States from 2000 projected to 2100. In 2000, the White population was about 60%, the Black population was about 20%, the Hispanic population was about 15%, the Asian population was about 3%, and the population of other ethnic groups was about 2%. By 2100, the Hispanic population is projected to increase to about 35%, the Asian population is projected to increase to about 13%, the White population is projected to decrease to about 38%, the Black population is expected to decrease to about 12%, and the population of other ethnic groups is expected to increase to about 2%.

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The effects of poverty on the transition into adulthood (2)Text alternative

A line graph comparing the total cortical surface area in cubic millimeters in children from low-income, middle-income, and high-income families. The graph shows ages zero to 20. The differences peak at about age 12, when children from high-income homes have a cortical surface area of about 180,000 cubic millimeters. Children from middle-income homes have about 175,000 cubic millimeters, and children from low-income homes have about 170,000 cubic millimeters. By age 20, those with high income have declined to about 162,000 cubic millimeters, those with low income are at about 161,000, and those with middle income are at about 160,000.

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Processes of Neighborhood influences (2) Text alternative

A flowchart showing the influence of neighborhood conditions on adolescent development. A box on the far left is labeled “neighborhood conditions.” Arrows lead from it to three boxes in the center; the top box is labeled “community norms and collective efficacy,” the middle box is labeled “interpersonal relationships,” and the bottom box is labeled “economic and institutional resources.” Arrows lead from each of these boxes to a box on the far right, which is labeled “adolescent development.”

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Processes of Neighborhood Influences (4) Text alternative

Two bar graphs show symptoms of depressions in males and females. In areas with few housing problems, depression was reported at about 0.65 for boys and girls. In areas with many housing problems, depression was reported at about 0.7 for males and 1.1 for females.

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