Commentary (continued)
What are the Boundaries of Adolescence? Adolescence literally means ėto grow into adulthood.î The immaturity-to-maturity process involves many transitions that can be exciting and wonderful, if sometimes unsettling. The young person begins to realize his or her identity, becomes able to reproduce and relate to others on a sexual level, may work, marry, vote, and ultimately be able to support themselves. These beginning steps toward sophistication and eventual wisdom happen during the phase we call adolescence, and which, for the purposes of this course, are defined as the second decade of the life span.
How do adolescents view this second decade ėgrowthî? While adults tend to focus upon the traditional transitions of graduations, marriage, and change of residence, adolescents themselves feel that the concept of ėtaking responsibilityî means more. Having a job is an important factor in maturing and meeting the appropriate challenges. Types of jobs and the effects of employment on adolescents will be covered in the chapter on work and leisure.
Adolescence can be seen as a series of passages: biological, emotional, cognitive, and social. These can be short or long, smooth or rough, depending on many factors. In your text, adolescence has been defined further into the following periods:
- early adolescence, the years 11ņ14, the middle school years;
- middle adolescence, the years 15ņ18, or the high school years; and
- late adolescence, the years 18ņ21, traditionally the college years.
Each of these phases has different and distinct issues. For example, puberty is of primary importance in early adolescence, while intimacy issues take precedence in late adolescence.
As a framework for studying adolescence, we will be focusing on fundamental changes that occur during this period. The distinct changes that occur at the onset of puberty, the advanced thinking that occurs with the advent of formal thinking, and the transition into new roles in work, school, and relationships provide much to cover in terms of the issues adolescents must face and work through.