Cultural Beliefs about Adolescence

Abstract

Preindustrial societies exhibited a wide range of cultural beliefs and expectations about adolescence. During industrialization, adolescence became institutionalized as part of the life course. The social cultural beliefs common to preindustrial society were replaced by strong normative pressures to conform to age‐defined behaviors within mass systems of education. Adolescents in developed nations are enrolled in school for most of this stage. The extension of schooling and the affluence of democratic capitalist nations sustained the development of youth cultures in many nations. Both national and world school cultures interweave elements of scientific studies (from medicine and developmental psychology) with historical or traditional narratives about adolescence. These depictions of adolescence are repeated in traditional media, social media, and educational or social policy at national and global levels. Adolescence typically is portrayed as a time of intense change, unstable identity formation, and predilection for at‐risk and rebellious behavior.