CONTENTS
Chapters
- Growing Numbers, Diverse Needs
- Growth, Change, and Risk
- Programs for Young Adults
- Evaluation Findings
- Winning Support from the Community and
Young Adults
HIGHLIGHTS
Included with this issue:
Population Reports is published by the Population
Information Program, Center for Communication Programs, The
Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, 111 Market Place, Suite 310, Baltimore, Maryland
21202-4012, USA
Volume XXIII, Number 3
October, 1995 |
All cultures recognize and mark the transition from child to adult
(535). The concept of this transition as a life stage, however, did not
exist in developed countries until the late 1800s and early 1900s (190,
240). In many developing countries the concept arose as recently as 20
years ago, and in some regions the idea is new today. The World Health
Organization (WHO) has defined adolescence as:
- Progression from appearance of secondary sex characteristics
(puberty) to sexual and reproductive maturity;
- Development of adult mental processes and adult identity;
- Transition from total socioeconomic dependence to relative
independence (544).
Many statistics report on the age group 10 to 19, while others
cover 15 to 24, but neither range is intended to mark a universal
beginning and ending, either socially or biologically. Puberty marks
the biological beginning of adolescence, but markers of its completion
are various and not well-defined. The only universal definition of
adolescence appears to be that, although no longer considered a child,
the young person is not yet considered an adult.
During adolescence many young adults experience critical and
defining life events—first marriage, first sexual intercourse, and
parenthood. Once these life events were considered inseparable, but
this no longer holds true for many young people. Age at puberty is
falling while age at marriage is rising. The amount of time young
people spend between puberty and first marriage has increased. This
means that first sexual experience and childbearing may take place
for many in a different personal and social context. |
