ADOLESCENTS IN TRANSITION
Ever since Margaret Meed (1928) published her famous study, Coming of Age in Samoa, scholars from different disciplines have disagreed over the extent to which adolescence – as a life stage or as a development period – is biologically programmed.
Biological factors contribute in no less way than other factors in determining the timing of adolescence. Simmons and Blyth (1987) conducted a pioneering study on how biological changes accompanying puberty may have different consequences in different social contexts. Gradually social scientists are beginning to accept the notion that biology matters in a variety way for both individual and interpersonal processes (Rowe & Rodgers, 1997). Transition does not mean a break with or a change from what has gone before but rather a passage from one stage of development to another. During any transition period, the individual’s status is vague and there is confusion about the roles the individual is expected to play. Transition refers to a passage from one stage of development to another. The adolescent during transition is neither a child nor on adult.
Adolescents in transition
Adolescence is a period of physical, psychological and social maturity from childhood to adulthood extended from the onset of puberty to attainment of full reproductive maturity. Adolescence has been defined as including those between 10 to 19 years of age (WHO/UNICEF statement 1989).
Transition does not mean a break with or a change from what has gone before but rather a passage from one stage of development to another. During any transition period, the individual’s status is vague and there is confusion about the roles the individual is expected to play. Transition refers to a passage from one stage of development to another. The adolescent during transition is neither a child nor on adult.
In India, adolescence is traditionally viewed as an age of learning and strengthening the moral, spiritual and...