Encyclopedia of Sociology

ADOLESCENCE

Features of Adolescence Core Idea

1. Adolescence in social historical perspective Variability in the adolescent experience can be studied through the
   social history of youth.
   A. Historical permanence of adolescence Adolescence is a semi-autonomous phase of life that is not of
   modern origin. Adolescence is always changing in response to
   social forces.
   B. The boundaries of adolescence Adolescence is differentiated from childhood and adulthood by
   transition markers and roles.
   (1) From childhood to adolescence The pubertal transition was not always a critical marker between
   childhood and adolescence.
   (2) From adolescence to adulthood The transition markers have been compressed and their sequence
   has become more complex.


2. Pace of movement through adolescent roles Social stressors may promote rapid movement into, through, and
   out of adolescent roles.


3. Pathways through adolescence Pathways direct youth through social positions in organizations.
   A. Pathways in the school This pathway is defined by the transition to 8th grade, tracks, and
   transitions out of high school.
   B. Pathways in the workplace This pathway is defined by the adolescent work career: extent of
   work involvement, quality of work, and fit with other roles and life
   goals.
   C. Agency in pathways Adolescent planfulness is a critical resource with which to actively
   negotiate the life course.

Adolescence As a Phase of the Life Course

Table 1

also to identify how the contours of these debates
are themselves the products of social forces.

Two additional features of adolescence are
not covered in this entry. One involves the social
relationships of youth, a subject that has been
examined from several vantage points. Consider-
able attention has been devoted to the ‘‘sociometric’’
properties of peer relationships, mapping out af-
filiations among young people in high schools (see
Hallinan and Smith, 1989 for a contribution to this
tradition). Relatedly, sociologists have also exam-
ined the typical personalities, behavioral patterns,
and group identities of youth as they reflect re-
sponses to the social organization of the high
school and this phase of life (e.g., Matza 1964).
Sociologists have also focused on youth and their
intergenerational relationships: How youth are
integrated into adult society (for example, see
Coleman 1994), how they and their parents inter-
relate (for a useful review, see Dornbusch 1989),
and how youth serve as agents of social change (for

a classic statement, see Mannheim 1928/1952).

The second feature is juvenile delinquency (see

JUVENILE DELINQUENCY).

ADOLESCENCE AS A LIFE PHASE

Each phase of life reflects social norms and institu-

tional constraints and serves as a principal source

of identity for the individual by specifying appro-

priate behaviors and roles (Elder 1980). The study

of adolescence as a life phase requires that it be

situated in the life course, that its distinctive fea-

tures be identified in comparison to both child-

hood and adulthood. Indeed, adolescence is fre-

quently depicted as a transitional period of

semiautonomy, reflecting movement from the com-

plete dependence of children on their parents to

the establishment of one’s own livelihood and

family in adulthood (e.g., Kett 1974; Katz 1979;

Gillis 1974). Yet the study of adolescence as a life

phase also requires that it be situated in history,