Publication details
Theories of adolescence from a global perspective
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| Year of publication | 2024 |
| Type | Chapter of a book |
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| Description | Theories of adolescence have a prominent history in the study of human development, but these theories have been derived from a select subset of youth from Western countries. When adolescence is examined within a global context, the limits of this theorizing become evident. This article illustrates the need for theory development that takes into account how our conceptualization of what constitutes adolescence as a unique developmental stage is impacted by contextual and cultural factors both between and within countries. To illustrate our point, we sample four countries: India, two African countries (Kenya and Cameroon), as well as the United States of America (US). We first provide data (e.g., indicators such as school attendance/leaving and early marriage) on the likely percent of each population who experience adolescence and for how long, providing the background for considering, and reconsidering, the existence of early, middle, and late adolescence for youth in each country. Our summary of recent research supports the notion of stages in adolescent development from its beginning in biology to its end in adult roles, but also supports the large variability globally in sequence and timing of events in adolescence depending on class, culture, and historical developments. |