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receive financial support from parents, and they may come home on weekends or even to live for
extended time periods. Thus the period between puberty and adulthood may well last into the late
20s, merging into adulthood itself. In fact, it is appropriate now to consider the period of
adolescence and that of emerging adulthood (the ages between 18 and the middle or late 20s)
together.
During adolescence, the child continues to grow physically, cognitively, and emotionally,
changing from a child into an adult. The body grows rapidly in size and the sexual and
reproductive organs become fully functional. At the same time, as adolescents develop more
advanced patterns of reasoning and a stronger sense of self, they seek to forge their own
identities, developing important attachments with people other than their parents. Particularly in
Western societies, where the need to forge a new independence is critical (Baumeister & Tice,
1986; Twenge, 2006), [1] this period can be stressful for many children, as it involves new
emotions, the need to develop new social relationships, and an increasing sense of responsibility
and independence.
Although adolescence can be a time of stress for many teenagers, most of them weather the trials
and tribulations successfully. For example, the majority of adolescents experiment with alcohol
sometime before high school graduation. Although many will have been drunk at least once,
relatively few teenagers will develop long-lasting drinking problems or permit alcohol to
adversely affect their school or personal relationships. Similarly, a great many teenagers break
the law during adolescence, but very few young people develop criminal careers (Farrington,
1995). [2] These facts do not, however, mean that using drugs or alcohol is a good idea. The use
of recreational drugs can have substantial negative consequences, and the likelihood of these
problems (including dependence, addiction, and even brain damage) is significantly greater for
young adults who begin using drugs at an early age.
Physical Changes in Adolescence
Adolescence begins with the onset of puberty, a developmental period in which hormonal
changes cause rapid physical alterations in the body, culminating in sexual maturity. Although
the timing varies to some degree across cultures, the average age range for reaching puberty is