3. Definitions – copy this!
• Adolescence can be defined as the developmental period between
childhood and adulthood – beginning with the changes associated with
puberty and culminating in the acquisition of adult roles and
responsibilities.
• Adolescence is a developmental period in which the young person must
negotiate fundamental psychosocial tasks in their development towards
maturity and independence. However, the nature of these tasks, and the
importance placed upon their achievement can vary greatly between
Western and non-Western cultures.
• Adolescence is the time being beyond childhood and not yet considered an
adult
• ADOLESCENCE is a transition phase between childhood and adulthood.
4. Experiences of “adolescence”
• Social constructs are a socially created aspect of the social world, and the
stage of the lifecycle we refer to as ‘adolescence’ is a clear example
• In our specialised society young people need to spend longer at school and
in universities than in previous generations (average uni degree = 5 years)
this means that young adults enter the workforce and become
financially independent later
• What are some of the other implications of having a more extended
period of ‘adolescence’?
5.
6. • In Australia adolescents are generally seen as those between 12 and
17 years of age.
• Essentially, adolescence is a time to acquire skills necessary for
participation in the adult world.
• Acquiring these skills means successfully completing a number of
development tasks.
7. Characterisations
• Adolescence is characterised by rapid change in the following areas:
• physical – puberty (physical growth, development of secondary
sexual characteristics and reproductive capability)
• psychological – development of autonomy, independent identity and
value system
• cognitive – moving from concrete to abstract thought
• emotional – moodiness, shifting from self-centredness to empathy in
relationships
• social – peer group influences, formation of intimate relationships,
decisions about future vocation.
8. Experiences of adolescence
• Define the terms ‘rights’ and ‘responsibilities’
• How would you describe the rights given to adolescents today?
• How would you describe the responsibilities expected of adolescents?
9. Developmental tasks associated with
adolescence
From a Western cultural perspective the major developmental tasks of
adolescence are seen as:
• achieving independence from parents and other adults
• development of a realistic, stable, positive self-identity
• formation of a sexual identity
• negotiating peer and intimate relationships
• development of a realistic body image
• formulation of their own moral/value system
• acquisition of skills for future economic independence.”
10.
11. • Puberty is a biologically universal phenomenon. However, the
concept of ‘adolescence’ is defined differently in different cultures
and does not exist in some cultures:
• Cultural norms and life experiences (such as being a refugee) can
affect the timing of developmental milestones (e.g. puberty) and
expectations of what is considered “normal” in terms of the
adolescent’s response to these changes.
• The expectations, roles and duration of adolescence can vary greatly
between different cultures.
12.
13. • Adolescence is not a universal phenomenon. It is a SOCIAL
CONSTRUCT. Social construct means that it is an idea created by a
particular society.
• While all human beings pass through puberty only some cultures
have ‘adolescence’.
• In many cultures there are only TWO life stages Childhood and
Adulthood.
• For example, a fifteen year old in Yolngu culture has the same rights,
roles and status as an adult after following rites of passage whereas,
in our society a 15 year old is still a child.
14. Review Questions
1. List some of the challenges faced by adolescents in Australian
society.
2. Do you believe there is a typical age when adolescence begins and
ends for most individuals in Australia? If so, what ages are typical? If
not, why not?
15.
16. • In 1950’s the term Teenagers was used. Particularly after WW2 after
the baby boom where there were many teenage people. Being a
significant enough group to be named, be established, marketed and
celebrated.
• Adolescence is a recently constructed phenomenon experienced
mainly in the Western World.
• Even in western society, few people before the industrial revolution
experienced an adolescence.
19. • Some explanations on why this life stage has developed in Western
Societies:
people are living longer thus have room for an extra stage
People are having fewer children making childhood more precious
thus delaying adult status
As a consumer group they spend a lot of money, therefore marketers
encourage a separate identity.
20.
21. Western Societies
• More likely to be a personal experience rather
than a community celebration.
• Adolescence can be viewed as an in between
status period, ‘status of ambiguity’, as you are
neither a child nor an adult. Unsure of what is
expected of you.
It can be argued that there is no one major ritual
that recognises arrival to adulthood in Australian
culture. Create a new ritual that recognises and
acknowledges the arrival of young Australians as
adults.
FOR YOU TO DO!
Rank the following in order
of significance:
Getting a driver’s licence
First school formal
Doing the HSC
Graduating high school
First overseas trip
Turning 18
Turning 21
First job
First date
22. • The nature of adolescence is undergoing rapid change.
• In Western mainstream society there is no ritual passing to
adulthood, therefore leaving the whole structure and duration of
adolescence open to change.
• Originally the belief was that adolescence was the teenage years 13-
19, but now we see these boundaries being extended.
Tweens 8-12
Adultlescents 20-30
• With social changes and no rite of passage into adulthood there
seems to be no clear distinction between adolescence and adulthood.
23.
24. This has three major consequences
• Roles and privileges of adulthood without the responsibilities
are now quite common in adolescence.
• Authority of Parents diminishing- being able to work at 15 is
clearly altering power relationships in society. It seems that
when students acquire substantial amounts of cash, parental
authority diminishes.
• The emergence of a group of older 'adolescents', who may be
in their twenties and or even thirties avoiding the
responsibilities of adult life
25. Writing Task: Adolescence
• Write a half page response to the following question:
‘Adolescence is a time of rebellion that is against authority.’
To what extent is this statement true?
In your response you should include:
- a definition of ‘adolescence’
- cultural examples and media representations to justify your response
26. Task
Write a paragraph (more than 5 sentences) answering TWO
of the following questions:
Define adolescence and its characteristics
Explain why adolescence is a cultural construct and its
characteristics
Assess the development of the concept of adolescence since
the 1950’s
27. Activity
• Using content analysis, examine the ways in which adolescence is
portrayed through media such as television, magazines, social
networking sites, movies etc.
