Abstract
This article is a selective literature review, viewing adolescence in a cross-cultural perspective. Starting with the Mead/Freeman controversy, it centers on the following question: Which are the cultural contexts that best ensure a smooth transition from childhood to adulthood? The review covers some of the ethnographic research, both case studies and work using the hologeistic method (those using the Human Relations Area Files), and some of the research in cross-cultural and developmental psychology, but neither cross-national comparisons nor studies with migrants in multicultural societies. It is found that social adolescence is a universal life stage, but that it takes very different forms in different societies. Its extension into a youthperiod occurred in societies with an age-grade system, and is nowadays linked to urbanization, industrialization, and formal education. Adolescence does not need to be a period of storm and stress, and the generation gap and problem behaviors considered a “normal” part of adolescence are in fact culturally produced. In many situations, these problematic aspects of adolescence are linked to rapid social change or acculturation, most often in the form of westernization. Societies that manage to keep some continuity, cultural identity, and basic values such as family solidarity, often also manage to avoid importing the problems of adolescence despite social change. Of importance are the tolerance and flexibility of adults, close contact between generations, appropriate role-learning and acceptance into the adult community, including in the economic sphere.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Allison, K.W., & Takei, Y. (1993). Diversity: The cultural contexts of adolescents and their families. In R.M. Lerner (Ed.), Early adolescence. Perspectives on research, policy, and intervention (pp. 51-69). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Barry, H. (1980). Description and uses of the Human Relations Area Files. In H. Triandis & J.W. Berry (Eds.), Handbook of cross-cultural psychology. Vol. 2. Methodology (pp. 445-478). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Barry, H., & Schlegel, A. (1986). Cultural customs that influence sexual freedom in adolescence. Ethnology, 25, 151-162.
Bassitche, A. (1991). L'´evolution des relations familiales comme indicateur du changement social en Côte d'Ivoire [The evolution of family relationships as an indicator of social change in Côte d'Ivoire]. Cahiers de Sociologie Economique et Culturelle, 16, 67-83.
Berry, J.W. (1980). Social and cultural change. In H.C. Triandis & R. Brislin (Eds.), Handbook of cross-cultural psychology. Vol. 5. Social psychology (pp. 211-280). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Berry, J.W., Poortinga, Y.H., Segall, M.H., & Dasen, P.R. (1992). Cross-cultural psychology: Research and applications. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Blos, P. (1962). On adolescence: A psychoanalytic interpretation. New York: Free Press.
Blos, P. (1979). The adolescent passage: Development issues. New York: International Universities Press.
Broch, H.B. (1990). Growing up agreeably. Bonerate childhood observed. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
Broude, G. (1975). Norms of premarital sexual behavior: A cross-cultural study. Ethos, 3, 381-402.
Burbank, V. (1987). Premarital sex norms: Cultural interpretations in an Australian Aboriginal community. Ethos, 15, 226-234.
Burbank, V. (1988a). Aboriginal adolescence: Maidenhood in an Australian community. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Burbank, V. (1988b). Three young girls. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Burbank, V.K. (1995). Gender hierarchy and adolescent sexuality: The control of female reproduction in an Australian Aboriginal community. Ethos, 23, 33-46.
Burton, L.M., Allison, K.W., & Obeidallah, D. (1995). Social context and adolescence: Perspectives on development among inner-city African-American teens. In L.J. Crockett & A.C. Crouter (Eds.), Pathways through adolescence. Individual development in relation to social contexts (pp. 119-138). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Chamboredon, J.-C. (1985). Adolescence et post-adolescence: la “juv´enilisation.” [Adolescence and post-adolescence: The production of youth.] In A.-M. Alleon, O. Morvan, & S. Lebovici (Eds.), Adolescence terminée, adolescence interminable [The end of adolescence, the unending adolescence] (pp. 13-28). Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.
Chiva, M., & Deluz, A. (1980). A propos des adolescences normales: réflexions à l'usage des cliniciens [About normal adolescence: Thoughts for clinicians]. Psychologie française, 25 (1), 25-37.
Condon, R.G. (1987). Inuit youths: Growth and change in the Canadian Arctic. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Condon, R.G. (1990). The rise of adolescence: Social change and life stage dilemmas in the Central Canadian Arctic. Human Organization, 49, 266-279.
Condon, R.G. (1995). The rise of the leisure class: Adolescence and recreational acculturation in the Canadian Arctic. Ethos, 23, 47-68.
Côté, J.E. (1994). Adolescent storm and stress. An evaluation of the Mead/Freeman controversy. Hillside, NJ: Erlbaum.
Dasen, P.R. (1993). Theoretical/conceptual issues in developmental research in Africa. Journal of Psychology in Africa, 1 (5), 151-158.
Dasen, P.R. (1996). Adolescences, violences, sociétés: perspectives interculturelles [Adolescence, violence, and society: Cross-cultural perspectives]. In C. Honegger, J.M. Gabriel, R. Hirsig, J. Pfaff-Czarnecka, & E. Poglia (Eds.), Sociétés en construction. Identités, conflits, différences. [Societies under construction. Identities, conflicts, and differences] (pp. 451-461). Zurich, Switzerland: Seismo.
Davis, D.A. (1995). Modernizing the sexes: Changing gender relations in a Morroccan town. Ethos, 23, 69-78.
Davis, D.A., & Davis, S.S. (1993). Sexual values in a Moroccan town. In J.L. Walter & R. Malpass (Eds.), Psychology and culture (pp. 225-230). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Davis, S.S., & Davis, D.A. (1989). Adolescence in a Moroccan town: Making social sense. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Delafosse, R.J.C., Fourasté, R.F., & Gbobouo, R. (1993). Entre hier et demain: protocole d'étude des difficultés d'identité dans une population de jeunes ivoiriens [Between yesterday and tomorrow: A study of identity difficulties in a population of young people in Côte d'Ivoire]. In F. Tanon & G. Vermes (Eds.), L'individus et ses cultures [Individuals and their culture] (pp. 156-164). Paris: L'Harmattan.
Dolto, F. (1988). La cause des adolescents [The cause of adolescents]. Paris: Robert Laffont.
Eisenstadt, S.N. (1956). From generation to generation. Glencoe, IL: Free Press.
Erikson, E.H. (1980). Identity and the life cycle: A reissue. New York: Norton.
Esman, A.H. (1990). Adolescence and culture. New York: Columbia University Press.
Fadiga, K. (1982). Du statut de la jeunesse dans les sociétés africaines [On the status of youth in African societies]. Annales de l'Université d'Abidjan, série F (Ethno-Sociologie), X, 121-151.
Flammer, A. (1991). Entwicklungs-aufgaben als Rituale? Entwicklungsaufgaben anstelle von Ritualen? [Developmental tasks as rituals? Developmental tasks instead of rituals?] In G. Klosinski (Ed.), Pubertäatsriten. Äquivalente und Defizite in unserer Gesellschaft [Puberty rituals. Equivalents and deficits in our society] (pp. 89-101). Bern: Hans Huber.
Flammer, A., & Avramakis, I. (1991). Developmental tasks-Where do they come from? In M. von Cranach, W. Doise, & G. Mugny (Eds.), Social representations and the social bases of knowledge (pp. 56-63). Bern: Hans Huber.
Freeman, D. (1983). Margaret Mead and Samoa. The making and unmaking of an anthropological myth. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Freeman, D. (1989). Fa'apua'a Fa'amu and Margaret Mead. American Anthropologist, 91, 1017-1022.
Friedenberg, E.Z. (1973). The vanishing adolescent: Adolescence: Self-definition and conflict. In H. Silverstein (Ed.), The sociology of youth: Evolution and revolution (pp. 109-118). New York: Macmillan.
Friedman, H.L. (1989). The health of adolescents: Beliefs and behavior. Social Science and Medicine, 29 (3), 309-316.
Galland, O. (1991). Sociologie de la jeunesse. L'entrée dans la vie [Sociology of youth. Entering (adult) life]. Paris: Armand Colin.
Gibbons, J.L. (in press). Adolescence in cross-cultural and cross-national perspective. In A.L. Comunian & U.P. Gielen (Eds.), International perspectives on human development.
Gokulanathan, K.S. (1976). Adolescence in a matriarchal society: Changing cultural and social patterns after industrialization. In E. Fuchs (Ed.), Youth in a changing world: Cross-cultural perspectives on adolescence (pp. 253-257). Chicago, IL: Aldine.
Greenfield, P.M. (1997). Culture as process: Empirical methods for cultural psychology. In J.W. Berry, Y.H. Poortinga, & J. Pandey (Eds.), Handbook of cross-cultural psychology (2nd ed.). Vol. 1. Theory and method (pp. 301-346). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Hall, G.S. (1916). Adolescence. New York: Appleton.
Havighurst, R.J. (1948). Developmental task and education. New York: McKay.
Hollos, M., & Leis, P.E. (1986). Descent and permissive adolescent sexuality in two Ijo communities. Ethos, 14 (4), 395-408.
Hollos, M., & Leis, P.E. (1989). Becoming Nigerian in Ijo society. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Hollos, M., Leis, P.E., & Turiel, E. (1986). Social reasoning in Ijo children and adolescents in Nigerian communities. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 17, 352-374.
Holmes, L.D. (1983). On the questioning of as many as six impossible things about Freeman's Samoa before breakfast. Canberra Anthropology, 6 (1), 1-17.
Huerre, P., Pagan-Reymond, M., & Reymond, J.M. (1990). L'adolescence n'existe pas: histoire des tribulations d'un artifice [Adolescence does not exist: History of the tribulations of an artefact]. Paris: Editions Universitaires.
Hurrelmann, K. (Ed.). (1994). International handbook of adolescence. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
Hsu, F.L.K., Watrous, B.G., & Lord, E.M. (1961). Culture pattern and adolescent behaviour. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 7, 33-53.
Jensen, G.D., & Suryani, L.K. (1992). The Balinese people. A reinvestigation of character. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kagitçibasi, Ç. (1990). Family and socialization in cross-cultural perspective: A model of change. In J.J. Berman (Ed.), Nebraska Symposium on Motivation 1989: Cross-cultural perspectives (pp. 135-200). Lincoln, NB: University of Nebraska Press.
Kagitçibasi, Ç. (1997). Individualism and collectivism. In J.W. Berry, M. H. Segall, & Ç. Kagitçibasi (Eds.), Handbook of cross-cultural psychology (2nd ed.). Vol. 3. Social psychology (pp. 1-49). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Kalu, W. (1976). Impact of urbanization on life patterns of the Ga adolescent. In E. Fuchs (Ed.), Youth in a changing world: Cross-cultural perspectives on adolescence (pp. 137-160). Chicago, IL: Aldine.
Kandel, D.B., & Lesser, G.S. (1972). Youth in two worlds. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Klimidis, S., Stuart, G., Minas, I.H., & Ata, A.W. (1994). Immigrant status and gender effects on psychopathology and self-concept in adolescents: A test of the migrationmorbidity hypothesis. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 35, 393-404.
Koudou, O. (1993). Pratiques éducatives parentales et identité négative chez les adolescents inadaptés sociaux en Côte d'Ivoire [Parental educational practices and negative identity in socially unfit adolescents in Côte d'Ivoire]. Revue Internationale de Criminologie et de Police Technique, 3, 345-358.
Leis, P.E., & Hollos, M. (1995). Intergenerational discontinuities in Nigeria. Ethos, 23, 103-118.
Lerner, R., Karson, M., Meisels, M., & Knapp, J.R. (1975). Actual and perceived attitudes of late adolescents: The phenomenon of the generation gap. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 126, 197-207.
Ly, B. (1985). La socialisation des jeunes dans les villes du tiers-monde-le cas de l'Afrique [The socialization of youth in the cities of the Third World-the case of Africa]. Revue internationale de pédagogie, 31 (4), 413-428.
Malewska-Peyre, H. (1990). Le processus de dévalorisation de l'identité et les stratégies identitaires [The process of identity devalorization and identity strategies]. In C. Camilleri, J. Kastersztein, E.M. Lipiansky, H. Malewska-Peyre, I. Taboada-Leonetti, & A. Vasquez, Stratégies identitaires [Identity strategies] (pp. 111-142). Paris: PUF.
Mayer, P., & Mayer, I. (1970). Socialisation by peers. In P. Mayer (Ed.), Socialisation: The approach from social anthropology (pp. 159-189). London: Tavistock.
Mayer, P., & Mayer, I. (1990). A dangerous age: From boy to young man in Red Xhosa youth organisations. In P. Spencer (Ed.), Anthropology and the riddle of the Sphinx. Paradoxes of change in the life course (pp. 35-44). London: Routledge.
Mead, M. (1928). Coming of age in Samoa: A psychological study of primitive youth for Western civilization. New York: Morrow Quill Paperbacks.
Mead, M. (1972). Blackberry Winter. New York: Touchstone.
Meeus, W., De Goede, M., Kox, W., & Hurrelmann, K. (Eds.). (1992). Adolescence, careers and culture. Berlin: De Gruyter.
Murray, S.O. (1990). Problematic aspects of Freeman's account of Boasian culture. Current Anthropology, 31 (4), 401-407.
Nauck, B. (1995). Educational climate and intergenerative transmission in Turkish families: A comparison of migrants in Germany and non-migrants. In P. Noack, M. Hofer, & J. Youniss (Eds.), Psychological responses to social change. Human development in changing environments (pp. 67-86). Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.
Noack, P., Hofer, M., & Youniss, J. (Eds.). (1995). Psychological responses to social change. Human development in changing environments. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.
Offer, D., & Offer, J.B. (1975). From teenage to young manhood. New York: Basic Books.
Offer, D., Ostrov, E., Howard, K.I., & Atkinson, R. (1988). The teenage world. Adolescents' self-image in ten countries. New York: Plenum.
Offer, D., & Schonert-Reichl, K.A. (1992). Debunking the myths of adolescence: Findings from recent research. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 31, 1003-1014.
Olguin, F.F. (1993). Factores psicosociales del embarazo en la adolescencia: Revision de algunos estudios Latinoamericanos. [Psychosocial factors of pregnancy in adolescence: A review of some South American studies.] Revista Mexicana de Psicologia, 10 (1), 75-84.
Paige, K.E., & Paige, J.M. (1981). The politics of reproductive ritual. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Petersen, A.C. (1988). Adolescent development. Annual Review of Psychology, 39, 583-607.
Petersen, A.C. (1993). Presidential address: Creating adolescents: The role of context and process in developmental theories. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 3 (1), 1-18.
Rutter, M. (1980). Changing youth in a changing society. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.
Sabatier, C. (1999). Adolescents issus de l'immigration: les clichés à l'épreuve des faits [Second generation migrant adolescents: Stereotypes countered by facts]. In B. Bril, P.R. Dasen, B. Krewer, & C. Sabatier (Eds.), Ethnothéories parentales et représentations de l'enfant et de l'adolescent: une perspective culturelle comparative [Parental ethnotheories and representations of childhood and adolescence: A comparative cultural perspective]. Paris: L'Harmattan.
Saraswathi, T.S. (in press). Adult-child continuity in India: Is adolescence a myth or an emerging reality? In A.L. Comunian & U.P. Gielen (Eds.), International perspectives on human development.
Schlegel, A. (1991). Status, property, and the value on virginity. American Ethnologist, 18, 719-734.
Schlegel, A. (1995). Introduction. Special issue on adolescence. Ethos, 23, 3-14.
Schlegel, A. (in press). The globalization of adolescent culture. In L.J. Crockett & R.K. Silbereisen (Eds.), Negotiating adolescence in time of social change (in press). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Schlegel, A., & Barry, H. (1980a). Adolescent initiation ceremonies: A cross-cultural code. In H. Barry & A. Schlegel (Eds.), Cross-cultural samples and codes (pp. 277-288). Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press.
Schlegel, A., & Barry, H. (1980b). The evolutionary significance of adolescent initiation ceremonies. American Ethnologist, 7, 696-715.
Schlegel, A., & Barry, H. (1991). Adolescence: An anthropological enquiry. New York: Free Press (Macmillan).
Segall, M.H., Dasen, P.R., Berry, J.W., & Poortinga, Y.H. (1999). Human behavior in global perspective: An introduction to cross-cultural psychology (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Segall, M.H., Ember, C.R., & Ember, M. (1997). Aggression, crime, and warfare. In J.W. Berry, M.H. Segall, & Ç. Kagitçibasi (Eds.), Handbook of cross-cultural psychology (2nd ed.). Vol. 3. Social psychology (pp. 213-254). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Shukla, M. (1994). India. In K. Hurrelmann (Eds.), International handbook of adolescence (pp. 191-206). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
Sinha, D. (1988). The family scenario in a developing country and its implications for mental health: The case of India. In P.R. Dasen, J.W. Berry, & N. Sartorius (Eds.), Health and cross-cultural psychology: Towards applications (pp. 48-70). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Stone, L., & Church, J. (1957). Adolescence as a cultural invention. In A. Esman (Ed.), The psychology of adolescence (pp. 7-11). New York: International Universities Press.
Trommsdorff, G. (1995). Parent-adolescent relations in changing societies: A cross-cultural study. In P. Noack, M. Hofer, & J. Youniss (Eds.), Psychological responses to social change. Human development in changing environments (pp. 189-218). Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.
Van Gennep, A. (1909). Les rites de passage. [The rites of passage.] Paris: Librairie Critique Emile Nourry.
Whiting, B.B., & Whiting, J.W.M. (1988). Foreword to Adolescents in a Changing World series. In V. Burbank, Aboriginal adolescence: Maidenhood in an Australian community (pp. vii-xiv). New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Whiting, B.B., & Whiting, J.W.M. (1991). Preindustrial world, Adolescence in. In R.A. Lerner & A.C. Petersen (Eds.), Encyclopedia of adolescence, 2 vols. (pp. 814-829). New York: Garland.
Whiting, J.W.M., Burbank, V., & Ratner, M. (1986). The duration of maidenhood. In J.B. Lancaster & B.A. Hamburg (Eds.), School-age pregnancy and parenthood (pp. 1-10). New York: Aldine.
Worthman, C.M. (1987). Interactions of physical maturation and cultural practice in ontogeny: Kikuyu adolescents. Cultural Anthropology, 2 (1), 29-38.
Worthman, C.M., & Whiting, J.W.M. (1987). Social change in adolescent sexual behavior, mate selection, and premarital pregnancy rates in a Kikuyu community. Ethos, Journal of the Society for Psychological Anthropology, 15, 145-165.
Yangco, C. (1984). Some critical points in the human life cycle: Adolescence. In R.C. Nann, D.S. Butt, & L. Ladrido-Ignacio (Eds.), Mental health, cultural values, and social development (pp. 195-197). Dordrecht: D. Reidel.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dasen, P.R. Rapid Social Change and the Turmoil of Adolescence: A Cross-Cultural Perspective. International Journal of Group Tensions 29, 17–49 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005126629553
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005126629553