Adolescence in different cultures

Adolescence is probably stage of which we have one more image stereotypical. Young people are perceived by many as tormented, rebellious, carefree, selfish, unstable and dramatic people. However, adolescence is understood differently in different cultures.

This romantic and critical idea of ​​adolescence emerged and spread at the beginning of the 20th century, when G. Stanley Hall published his work Adolescence. This child psychologist defended that the stage between 12 and 25 years was like a second birth, a total transformation caused by puberty. In contrast, years later, the anthropologist Margaret Mead rebelled against this idea and decided to study how adolescence was experienced in different social groups.

Thanks to this, interest and research grew with the aim of better understanding the universal aspects of adolescence, as well as the differences that arise as a result of cultural and social influence.

Universal aspects of adolescence

Adolescence is closely linked to puberty. A universal biological process that lasts several years and involves the development or transformation of the child’s body to the adult body. These changes are genetically programmed and ultimately lead to the achievement of reproductive capacity and other maturational and psychological achievements. Among them, greater autonomy and ability to survive, a readjustment of social relationships and the construction of identity.

Another universal aspect is that adolescence ends when adulthood is reached.. Since there are no universal markers or indicators of adulthood, the end of this stage will end at the moment in which a social or cultural group has determined according to its history or tradition. Therefore, the end of adolescence may occur during or even after puberty occurs.

Finally, the stage of adolescence represents a period or moment in which infants acquire certain skills necessary to be an integrated adult and functional for your group. These skills, however, are specific to each society.

Adolescence can be experienced differently in each culture.

Different cultures, different adolescence

Now, as mentioned, adolescence is experienced differently in different cultures. Thus, the skills that young people must acquire and the experiences of this stage are not the same. Furthermore, it can be stated that adolescence understood as a transition stage is not a universal fact.

In some cultures, the transition from childhood to adulthood does not happen in a period of years, but rather a rapid and structured transition has been chosen. This change is usually marked by transition ritualsalso called pubertal rites of passage.

Rituals are sets of ceremonies that a pubescent person undergoes at a certain time and that have several functions. Among them, clearly differentiating childhood from adulthood, guiding how community members are expected to relate to each other, or reinforcing the group’s identity.

These rituals can also take place in those societies in which adolescence constitutes an intermediate stage. However, their role is secondary and they happen in a more subtle way.

Adolescence today in different cultures

In Western culture, adolescence follows the trend that was marked during the Industrial Revolution. Before this period, joining the workforce occurred around the age of 7, at which time a person began to work as an adult. However, there was a change in mentality in which training, study and specialization became important.

This caused the educational period to be extended, made mandatory and more accessible. With that, the adult role began to arrive later, creating a new social group. Now, adolescence is understood as the period between 12-13 and 20 years old, and in which young people have their own fashions, habits, ideas and concerns.

For most people this idea is universal, but the reality is different. And it is that There can be as many adolescences as there are cultures.. Next, we will give some examples of how the transition to adulthood occurs in other societies.

Bar/Bat Mitzvah

In Judaism, the passage from childhood to adulthood is marked by the Bat Mitzvah and the Bar Mitzvah, which occurs in 12-year-old girls and 13-year-old boys, respectively. Before the event, the children They spend time studying their role as adults and to become aware of the responsibility they have as independent people.

In the past, shortly after the ceremony, marriage and starting families corresponded. Now, although the meaning of the Bar Mitzvah has been changing and adapting to modern society, once the event takes place, the young man begins to consider himself a mature and responsible person of his actions and is obliged to comply with all the precepts of Judaism.

Moranism

In the Masai warrior people, in Tanzania and Kenya, They have three rituals and social conditions that make up moranism, the transition of children to adulthood. When the boys turn 15, they undergo an intense initiation ceremony, enkipaata. In it, they undergo circumcision. If they show strength, they will go hunting for birds to adorn themselves with their feathers, their first symbol of a warrior.

At that time they will begin to live outside the town for 10 years, training as warriors. Upon returning, a 15-day ceremony is held where the other two rites will take place. In the first, eunoto, they feed on a cow, drinking its blood directly from the animal. And finally, olng’esherr. The future adult warrior visits the house of his mother, who will shave his head as a symbol of freedom.

Seijin-no-Hi

For Japanese 20-year-olds, the second Monday in January is the day they become adults. At this age, already are considered mature and contributing members, so they can vote and drink alcohol. The ritual that marks this transition consists of going to the local town hall in your best clothes, receiving gifts and celebrating with your friends and family.

The Inuit

The last example is that of the Inuit. “Inuit” refers to a large number of peoples who inhabit the arctic regions of North America, such as Greenland, Alaska, Nunavik or the North Slope, to name a few. For Inuit children, their transition period to adulthood begins at age 11-12, when they must go out in the summer to learn hunting skills from their father. They are also separated from their parents in a camp to learn about survival and nature skills. As well as how to handle huskies, essential for successful hunting, and how to build igloos. Once they complete their first hunt successfully, they will return to their group being considered responsible men.

In the case of Inuit girls, These will be considered women once they learn essential care skills: crush and melt ice for water, make boots, obtain seal fat for cooking, and light lamps. Once they get their first menstruation and master these skills, a facial tattoo ceremony will be held, which symbolizes their strength and ability to start a family.

Inuit family. Editorial credit: Lee Jorgensen / Shutterstock.com.

Know to grow

In short, knowing what the different stages of life are like in different cultures helps us understand how society influences us. How the environment determines ideas, behaviors and what is expected of each other. Only by starting from there can we better understand people, in this case young people, and help them ensure their development is optimal.

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