Adolescence: Transition Stage Between Childhood and Adulthood

What is Adolescence?
The term adolescence is commonly used to describe the transition stage between childhood and adulthood. Adolescence is also equated to both the terms “teenage years” and “puberty.” However adolescence is not exclusive to either of these terms. Puberty refers to the hormonal changes that occur in early youth; and the period of adolescence can extend well beyond the teenage years. In fact, there is no one scientific definition of adolescence or set age boundary. There are key development changes that nearly all adolescents experience during their transition from childhood to adulthood.1
Many researchers and developmental specialists in the U.S. use the age span 10 – 24 years as a working definition of adolescence. This age span can be further divided into sub stages. The table below, developed by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, describes the developmental characteristics of adolescents by sub stage specific to physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development.2 This table illustrates that adolescence is one of the most dynamic stages of human growth and development; and is second only to infancy in the rate of developmental changes that take place.
|Stages of Adolescence |Physical Development |Cognitive Development |Social-Emotional Development |
|Early Adolescence |Puberty: grow body hair, increase |Growing capacity for abstract |Struggle with sense of identity |
|Approximately 11 – 13 |perspiration and oil production in |thought | |
|years of age |hair and skin | |Feel awkward about one’s self and |
| | |Mostly interested in present with |one’s body; worry about being |
| |Girls – breast and hip development,|limited thought to the future |normal |
| |onset of menstruation | | |
| | |Intellectual interests expand and |Realize that parents are not |
| |Boys – growth in testicles and |become more important |perfect; increased conflict with |
| |penis, wet dreams, deepening of | |parents |
| |voice |Deeper moral thinking | |
| | | |Increased influence of peer group |
| |Tremendous physical growth: gain | | |
| |height and weight | |Desire for independence |
| | | | |
| | | |Tendency to return to “childish” |
| | | |behavior, particularly when |
| | | |stressed |
| | | | |
| | | |Moodiness |
| | | |Rule- and limit-testing |
| | | |Greater interest in privacy |
| | | | |
| | | |Growing sexual interest |
|Middle Adolescence |Puberty is completed |Continued growth of capacity for |Intense self-involvement, changing |
|Approximately 14 – 18 | |abstract thought |between high expectations and poor |
|years of age |Physical growth slows for girls, | |self-concept |
| |continues for boys |Greater capacity for setting goals | |
| | | |Continued adjustment to changing |
| | |Interest in moral reasoning |body, worries about being normal |
| | | | |
| | |Thinking about the meaning of life |Tendency to distance selves from |
| | | |parents, continued drive for |
| | | |independence |
| | | | |
| | | |Driven to make friends and greater |
| | | |reliance on them, popularity can be|
| | | |an important issue |
| | | | |
| | | |Feelings of love and passion |
| | | | |
| | | |Increased sexual interest |
|Late Adolescence |Young women, typically, are |Ability to think ideas through from|Firmer sense of identity, including|
|Approximately 19 – 24 |physically fully developed |beginning to end |sexual identity |
|years of age | | | |
| |Young men continue to gain height, |Ability to delay gratification |Increased emotional stability |
| |weight, muscle mass, and body hair | | |
| | |Examination of inner experiences |Increased concern for others |
| | | | |
| | |Increased concern for future |Increased independence and |
| | | |self-reliance |
| | |Continued interest in moral | |
| | |reasoning |Peer relationships remain important|
| | | | |
| | | |Development of more serious |
| | | |relationships |
| | | | |
| | | |Social and cultural traditions |
| | | |regain some of their importance |

Growing research on the adolescent brain has provided a better understanding of typical adolescent development. Combining what is known about neurological development, in conjunction with physical, cognitive, and social-emotional adolescent development will help AFL staff to better understand and provide “stage-appropriate” guidance to adolescents in their programs. The next section provides an overview of neurological development and the important structural and functional changes occurring in the brain during adolescence.

1. Kaplan, P. S. (2004). Adolescence. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. ↑ 2. Adapted from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry: Facts for Families © All rights reserved. 2008 ↑