Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood:

A Cultural Approach (Arnett & Jensen

Development Series) 6th Edition –
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Brief Contents
1 Introduction 1 8 Friends and Peers 226

2 Biological Foundations 37 9 Love and Sexuality 259

3 Cognitive Foundations 67 10 School 298

4 Cultural Beliefs 105 11 Work 331

5 Gender 133 12 Media 361

6 The Self 161 13 Problems and Resilience 384

7 Family Relationships 188

v
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Contents
Preface
About the Author
xii
xix
2 Biological Foundations 37
The Biological Revolution of Puberty: Hormonal
1 Introduction 1 Changes and Physical Growth 38
The Endocrine System 39
Adolescence in Western Cultures: A Brief History 3
THE INITIATION OF PUBERTY IN THE HYPOTHALAMUS 39 •
Adolescence in Ancient Times 3 THE PITUITARY GLAND AND THE GONADOTROPINS 39 •
Adolescence from 1500 to 1890 5 THE GONADS AND THE SEX HORMONES 40 • THE FEEDBACK
The Age of Adolescence, 1890–1920 5 LOOP IN THE ENDOCRINE SYSTEM 41

■■ Historical Focus The “Storm and Stress” Debate 8 Physical Growth During Puberty 41
From Adolescence to Emerging Adulthood 8 The Biological Revolution of Puberty: Sexual Maturity
Adolescence Arrives Earlier 9 and Physical Functioning 43
Primary Sex Characteristics 43
■■ Research Focus The “Monitoring the Future” Study 10
EGG AND SPERM PRODUCTION 44 • THE MALE
Distinctive Features of Emerging Adulthood 11 AND FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE ANATOMY 44
The Transition to Adulthood 15 Secondary Sex Characteristics 45
The Transition to Adulthood: Cross-Cultural Themes 15 The Order of Pubertal Events 47
The Transition to Adulthood: Cultural Variations 15 ■■ Research Focus Tanner’s Longitudinal Research
The Scientific Study of Adolescence and Emerging on Pubertal Development 48
Adulthood 16 Changes in Physical Functioning During
The Scientific Method 16 Puberty 48
■■ Cultural Focus Moroccan Conceptions of Adolescence 17 THE HEART, THE LUNGS, AND PHYSICAL
STEP 1: IDENTIFY A RESEARCH QUESTION 18 • STEP 2: FORM PERFORMANCE 48 • OBESITY 49 • PHYSICAL
A HYPOTHESIS 18 • STEP 3: CHOOSE A RESEARCH METHOD FUNCTIONING IN EMERGING ADULTHOOD 51
AND A RESEARCH DESIGN 18 • STEP 4: COLLECT DATA TO Cultural Responses to Puberty 52
TEST THE HYPOTHESIS 19 • STEP 5: DRAW CONCLUSIONS
Culture and the Timing of Puberty 52
AND FORM NEW QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESES 19
Cultural Responses to Puberty: Puberty Rituals 54
Ethics in Human Development Research 20
■■ Cultural Focus Coming of Age in Samoa 56
Methods and Designs in Research 21
Social and Personal Responses to Puberty 56
Research Methods 21
QUESTIONNAIRES 21 • INTERVIEWS 22 •
Parent–Adolescent Relations and Puberty 57
OBSERVATIONS 22 • ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH 22 • Personal Responses to Menarche and Semenarche 58
CASE STUDIES 23 • BIOLOGICAL MEASUREMENTS 23 • ■■ Historical Focus Menarche as a Taboo Topic 60
EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH 24 • NATURAL EXPERIMENTS 24
Early and Late Pubertal Timing 61
Reliability and Validity 25
EARLY AND LATE MATURATION AMONG GIRLS 62 • EARLY
Research Designs 25 AND LATE MATURATION AMONG BOYS 62
CROSS-SECTIONAL RESEARCH 26 • LONGITUDINAL
Biological Development and the Environment:
RESEARCH 26
The Theory of Genotype S Environment Effects 63
Adolescence Around the World: A Brief Regional
Passive, Evocative, and Active Genotype S
Overview 27 Environment Effects 63
Sub-Saharan Africa 27 PASSIVE GENOTYPE S ENVIRONMENT EFFECTS 63 •
North Africa and the Middle East 28 EVOCATIVE GENOTYPE S ENVIRONMENT EFFECTS 64 •
Asia 28 ACTIVE GENOTYPE S ENVIRONMENT EFFECTS 64

India 29 Genotype S Environment Effects Over Time 64

Latin America 30 Summing Up 65 • Key Terms 66

The West
Other Themes of the Text
30
31
3 Cognitive Foundations 67
Interdisciplinary Approach 31 Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development 69
Gender Issues 32 Basic Principles of Piaget’s Theory 69
Globalization 32 Stages of Cognitive Development in Childhood
Summing Up 33 • Key Terms 36 and Adolescence 70

vii
viii Contents

Formal Operations in Adolescence 71 Sources of Socialization 111

Adolescent Thinking: More Abstract and More Complex 72 An Example of Socialization for Cultural Beliefs 112
METACOGNITION 73 • METAPHOR 73 • SARCASM 74 Socialization for Cultural Beliefs in the West 113
Limitations of Piaget’s Theory 74 Cultural Beliefs in Adolescence 114
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN FORMAL OPERATIONS 74 • Cultural Beliefs and the Custom Complex 114
CULTURE AND FORMAL OPERATIONS 75
Cultural Beliefs in Multicultural Societies 115
■■ Cultural Focus Formal Operations Among the Inuit 76
■■ Historical Focus The Origin of the Boy Scouts
Cognitive Development in Emerging Adulthood: and Girl Scouts 116
Postformal Thinking 77 WHEN EAST MEETS WEST: CHINESE ADOLESCENTS
Pragmatism 77 IN AUSTRALIA AND THE UNITED STATES 117
Reflective Judgment 78 Religious Beliefs 118
The Information-Processing Approach 79 Religiosity in Adolescence 119
The Basics of the Information-Processing Approach 79 The Decline of Religiosity in Emerging Adulthood 121
Attention 80 ■■ Research Focus Religious Practices and Social Desirability 123
Storing and Retrieving Information: Short-Term Cultural Beliefs and Moral Development 123
and Long-Term Memory 80
Kohlberg’s Theory 123
Processing Information: Speed, Automaticity, and
The Cultural Critique of Kohlberg 125
Executive Functioning 82
The Worldviews Approach to Moral Development 127
Limitations of the Information-Processing Approach 83
Political Beliefs 128
■■ Historical Focus Gender and Cognitive Development
Cognitive Changes and Political Beliefs 128
in Emerging Adulthood 84
Emerging Adults’ Political Involvement 129
Practical Cognition: Critical Thinking
Summing Up 131 • Key Terms 132
and Decision Making 85
The Development of Critical Thinking 85
Can Adolescents Make Competent Decisions? 86 5 Gender 133
Social Cognition 87 Adolescents and Gender in Traditional Cultures 134
What Is Social Cognition? 87 Gender vs. Sex 135
Perspective Taking 88 From Girl to Woman 135
Adolescent Egocentrism 89 From Boy to Man 136
THE IMAGINARY AUDIENCE 90 • THE PERSONAL FABLE 90
■■ Cultural Focus Male and Female Circumcision
The Psychometric Approach: Intelligence Testing 92 in Adolescence 138
Measuring Intelligence 92 Gender and Globalization 140
Intelligence Tests and Adolescent Development 93
Adolescents and Gender in American History 141
■■ Research Focus The Wechsler IQ Tests 94 From Girl to Woman 141
A Cultural Approach to Cognitive Development 95 From Boy to Man 142
Other Conceptions of Intelligence: The Theory Recent Trends in American Cultural Beliefs
of Multiple Intelligences 97 About Gender 144
Brain Development in Adolescence and Emerging Socialization and Gender in the West 144
Adulthood 98
The Gender Intensification Hypothesis 144
A New Burst of Growth 98
Gender Socialization: Family, Peers, and School 145
Further Myelination and New Growth
Media and Gender 146
in the Cerebellum 99
Gender Socialization as a Source of Problems 147
Changes in Gray and White Matter in Emerging
Adulthood 100 Cognition and Gender 148
Summing Up 101 • Key Terms 104 Masculinity, Femininity, and Androgyny 150
■■ Historical Focus The Women’s Movement of the 1960s 152
4 Cultural Beliefs 105 Gender Nonconformity and Transgender
Adolescents 153
Cultural Beliefs and Socialization 106
Gender Roles in American Minority Groups 153
Defining Cultural Beliefs 106 AFRICAN AMERICANS 154 • LATINOS 155 • ASIAN
The Process and Outcomes of Socialization 107 AMERICANS 155
■■ Cultural Focus Bar and Bat Mitzvahs 109 Gender Stereotypes in Emerging Adulthood 155
Cultural Values: Individualism and Collectivism 110 ■■ Research Focus Meta-Analyses of Gender Differences 158
Broad and Narrow Socialization 110 Summing Up 159 • Key Terms 160
 Contents ix

6 The Self 161

SOURCES OF CONFLICT WITH PARENTS 206 • CULTURE AND
CONFLICT WITH PARENTS 207

Self-Conceptions 162 Leaving the Nest (and Perhaps Coming Back):

Emerging Adults’ Relationships with Parents 209
Culture and the Self 163
Types of Selves in Adolescence 163 Historical Change and the Family 211
MORE ABSTRACT 163 • MORE COMPLEX 164 Patterns Over Two Centuries 211
Self-Esteem 165 The Past 50 Years 212
RISE IN THE DIVORCE RATE 213 • RISE IN THE RATE
Self-Esteem From Preadolescence Through
OF SINGLE-PARENT HOUSEHOLDS 213 • RISE IN THE RATE
Adolescence 165 OF DUAL-EARNER FAMILIES 213
Different Aspects of Self-Esteem 167
Effects of Divorce, Remarriage, Single Parenthood,
SELF-ESTEEM AND PHYSICAL APPEARANCE 168 •
and Dual-Earner Families 214
SELF-ESTEEM IN EMERGING ADULTHOOD 168
Divorce 214
■■ Research Focus Harter’s Self-Perception Profile
■■ Historical Focus Adolescents’ Family Lives
for Adolescents 169
in the Great Depression 215
Causes and Effects of Self-Esteem 170
Remarriage 218
The Emotional Self 170
Dual-Earner Families 219
Adolescents’ Emotions: Storm and Stress? 171
Problems in Family Functioning 219
Gender and the Emotional Self: Do Adolescent
Girls Lose Their “Voice”? 172 Physical and Sexual Abuse in the Family 220
PHYSICAL ABUSE 220 • SEXUAL ABUSE 220
The Self, Alone 173
Leaving Early: Runaways and “Street Children” 221
Identity 174
RUNNING AWAY FROM HOME 221 • “STREET CHILDREN”
Erikson’s Theory 175 AROUND THE WORLD 221
■■ Historical Focus Young Man Luther 176 Summing Up 223 • Key Terms 225
Research on Identity 178
Critiques and Elaborations of Identity Theory
and Research 180 8 Friends and Peers 226
THE IDENTITY STATUS MODEL: A POSTMODERN
PERSPECTIVE 180 • GENDER AND IDENTITY 180 • A Shift from Family to Friends 228
CULTURE AND IDENTITY 181 From Family to Friends in Developed Countries 228
Ethnic Identity 182 Family and Friends in Traditional Cultures 230
Identity and Globalization 184 Time with Friends: Higher Highs, Lower Lows 231
■■ Cultural Focus The Native American Self 185 Development of Friendships in Adolescence:
Summing Up 186 • Key Terms 187 The Rising Importance of Intimacy 231
Intimacy in Adolescent and Emerging Adult
7 Family Relationships 188 Friendships
Explaining the Importance of Intimacy: Cognition
232

Adolescents’ Family Relationships 190 and Gender 233

The Adolescent in the Family System 190 Friendships in Emerging Adulthood 234
Parents’ Development During Midlife 191 Becoming Friends and Becoming Like Friends 235
Sibling Relationships 192 Choosing Friends 235
■■ Research Focus The Daily Rhythms of Adolescents’ ■■ Cultural Focus Interethnic Friendships Among
Family Lives 194 British Girls 236
Extended Family Relationships 195 Friends’ Influence: Risk Behavior 237
Variations in Parenting 196 Friends’ Influence: Support and Nurturance 238
Parenting Styles 196 Adolescents’ Social Groups 240
The Effects of Parenting Styles on Adolescents 198 Cliques and Crowds 240
Are the Effects of Parenting on Adolescents Really Sarcasm and Ridicule in Cliques 240
“Effects”? A More Complex Picture of Parenting 199 Relational Aggression 241
Beyond American Parenting Styles: Parenting in Developmental Changes in Crowds 242
Other Cultures 201
Cultural Variations in Crowds 244
■■ Cultural Focus Young People and Their Families CROWDS IN AMERICAN MINORITY CULTURES 244 •
in India 202 CROWDS ACROSS CULTURES 245
Attachments to Parents 203 ■■ Research Focus Participant Observation
Parent–Adolescent Conflict 205 of Adolescent Crowds 246
x Contents

Popularity and Unpopularity

What Makes Some Adolescents Popular?
246
247
10 School 298
Can Unpopularity Be Changed? 248 Secondary Schools, Past and Present 300
Bullying 249 A Brief History of Secondary Schools 300
Youth Culture 250 Secondary Education Around the World 301
The Values and Features of Youth Culture 251 ■■ Historical Focus Higher Education and Cultural
Slang: The Languages of Youth Culture 253 Beliefs 302
SECONDARY EDUCATION IN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES 302 •
■■ Historical Focus The “Roaring Twenties” and
SECONDARY EDUCATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 304
the Rise of Youth Culture 254
International Comparisons 305
Technological Change and the Power
of Youth Culture 254 What Works? The Characteristics of Effective Schools 306
Summing Up 256 • Key Terms 258 Does Size Matter? 306
School Climate 307
9 Love and Sexuality 259 ■■ Cultural Focus Japanese High Schools
and Colleges 308
Love’s Beginnings, Development, and Endings 260
Engagement and Achievement in High School:
The Changing Forms of Adolescent Love 260 Beyond the Classroom 310
The Developmental Course of Adolescent Love 261 Family Environments and School 310
■■ Historical Focus The Birth of Dating 263 Peers, Friends, and School 310
Sternberg’s Theory of Love 264 ■■ Research Focus Two Approaches to Research
Falling in Love 266 on Adolescents’ School Experiences 311
When Love Goes Bad: Breaking Up 268 Work, Leisure, and School 312
Cohabitation 269 Cultural Beliefs and School 313
Choosing a Marriage Partner 269 Academic Achievement in High School: Individual
Arranged Marriages 270 Differences 314
Sexuality: Rates, Timing, and Cultural Diversity 272 Ethnic Differences 314
Rates of Adolescent Sexual Activity 272 Gender Differences 316
MASTURBATION 272 • NECKING AND PETTING 273 Extremes of Achievement 317
The Timing of First Intercourse 273 GIFTED ADOLESCENTS 317 • ADOLESCENTS
Pornography 274 WITH DISABILITIES 318

■■ Research Focus Sex, Lies, and Methodology 275 High School Dropouts 320
Cultural Beliefs and Adolescent Sexuality 276 Tertiary Education: College and University 321
■■ Cultural Focus Young People’s Sexuality Characteristics of College Students 322
in the Netherlands 278 Educational Success in College 323
Gender and the Meanings of Sex 278 Students’ College Learning Experiences:
Characteristics of Sexually Active Adolescents 279 Four Student Subcultures 324
Sexuality in Emerging Adulthood 280 Is College Worth It? Short-Term Experiences and
Long-Term Effects 325
Sexual Harassment and Sexual Coercion 281
SEXUAL HARASSMENT 281 • SEXUAL COERCION 282
Tertiary Education’s (Possible) Digital Future:
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) 326
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender
Adolescents 282 What’s the Hurry? The Option of the “Gap Year” 327
Summing Up 328 • Key Terms 330
Sexuality: Pregnancy Prevention and Consequences 284
Contraceptive Use and Nonuse 284
Pregnancy, Parenthood, and Abortion
in Adolescence 287
11 Work 331
THE CONSEQUENCES OF EARLY PARENTHOOD 288 • Adolescent Work in Traditional Cultures 333
ABORTION 289 • UNINTENDED PREGNANCY AND SINGLE Traditional Forms of Work 333
MOTHERHOOD IN EMERGING ADULTHOOD 289
HUNTING, FISHING, AND GATHERING 333 • FARMING
Sexually Transmitted Infections 291 AND CARE OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS 333 • CHILD CARE
HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS (HPV) 291 • CHLAMYDIA 292 AND HOUSEHOLD WORK 334
HIV/AIDS 292 Globalization and Adolescent Work
Sex Education 293 in Traditional Cultures 334
Summing Up 294 • Key Terms 297 The History of Adolescent Work in the West 336
 Contents xi

Adolescent Work Before 1900 336 Electronic Games and Aggressiveness 372
Adolescent Work in the 20th Century 337 Controversial Music: Hip-Hop 373
■■ Historical Focus Work Among British Adolescents ■■ Historical Focus Elvis the Pelvis 374
in the 19th Century 338 Controversial Advertising: Cigarettes 375
Adolescent Work Today 338 The Future of Media Use 377
Adolescents on the Job 338 Social Media 377
Work and Psychological Functioning 340 Media and Globalization 378
■■ Research Focus A Longitudinal Study of Adolescents ■■ Cultural Focus “Teenagers” in Kathmandu, Nepal 381
and Work 341 Summing Up 382 • Key Terms 383
Work and Problem Behavior 341
The Case in Favor of Adolescent Work 343 13 Problems and Resilience 384
From School and Part-Time Work to a “Real Job” 343 Externalizing Problems 385
Preparing for the Post–High School Transition Two Types of Problems 385
to Work 344 Risky Automobile Driving 386
Educating Adolescents for the 21st-Century Preventing Automobile Accidents and Fatalities:
Economy 345 Graduated Driver Licensing 387
Occupational Training in the United States 346 Substance Use 389
Apprenticeships in Western Europe 346 Substance Use Prevention 392
■■ Cultural Focus Germany’s Apprenticeship Program 348 Delinquency and Crime 393
Occupational Choice 348 Two Kinds of Delinquency 395
The Development of Occupational Goals 349 ■■ Cultural Focus The Young Men of Chuuk Island 396
Influences on Occupational Goals 350 Preventing Crime and Delinquency 397
PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS 350 • GENDER 351
■■ Research Focus The Gluecks’ Longitudinal Study
Work in Emerging Adulthood 352 of Delinquency 398
Seeking, Planning, Drifting, Floundering 352 Sources of Externalizing Problems 399
Unemployment 353 Internalizing Problems 400
Volunteer Work—Community Service 355 Depression 400
Community Service and Adolescent Development 355 CAUSES OF DEPRESSION 400
Community Service in Emerging Adulthood 356 Treatments for Depression 402
Adolescents and Emerging Adults at War 357 Suicide 403
Summing Up 359 • Key Terms 360 Eating Disorders 405
■■ Historical Focus From Fasting Saints to
12 Media 361 Anorexic Girls 407
Treatments for Eating Disorders 408
Adolescents’ Interactions with Media: Rates,
Resilience 408
Theories, and Uses 362
Protective Factors 409
Rates of Media Use 362
Is Emerging Adulthood a Critical Period
Theories of Media Influence 363
for Resilience? 410
Five Uses 365 Summing Up 410 • Key Terms 412
ENTERTAINMENT 365 • IDENTITY FORMATION 365 •
HIGH SENSATION 366 • COPING 366 • YOUTH CULTURE
IDENTIFICATION 366
Glossary 413
Media and Adolescent Socialization 367
Do Media Undermine Adolescents’ Socialization? 367 References 424
■■ Research Focus Media Use in Adolescents’ Credits 479
Bedrooms 368
Name Index 483
Controversial Media 370
Television and Aggressiveness 370 Subject Index 495
Preface
A
dolescence is a fascinating time of life, and for most
instructors it is an enjoyable topic to teach. Many
students are taking the course at a time when they
have just completed adolescence. Learning about develop-
ment during this period is a journey of self-discovery for
them, in part. Students often enjoy reflecting back on who
they were then, and they come away with a new under-
standing of their past and present selves. What students
learn when studying about adolescence sometimes con-
firms their own intuitions and experiences, and sometimes
contradicts or expands what they thought they knew. When
it works well, a course on adolescence can change not only
how students understand themselves, but how they under-
stand others and how they think about the world around
them. For instructors, the possibility the course offers for
students’ growth of understanding is often stimulating. My
goal in writing this text has been to make it a source that
will assist instructors and students in making illuminating
connections as they pursue an understanding of this dy-
namic and complex age period. Now that my own children,
twins Miles and Paris, are seventeen, writing this edition
had a special personal relevance for me, more powerful
than ever before.
I originally wrote this book with the intention of pre-
senting a fresh conception of adolescence, a conception
reflecting what I believed to be the most promising and
exciting new currents in the field. With each new edition,
I continue to strive for that goal. There are four essential
features of the understanding that guide this book: (1) a
focus on the cultural basis of development; (2) an exten-
sion of the age period covered to include “emerging adult-
hood” (roughly ages 18 to 25) as well as adolescence; (3) an
emphasis on historical context; and (4) an interdisciplinary
approach to theories and research. All of these features dis-
tinguish this text from others on adolescence.
The Cultural Approach
In teaching courses on adolescence, from large lecture
classes to small seminars, I have always brought into
the classroom a considerable amount of research from
other cultures. I am trained mainly as a developmen-
tal psychologist, a field that has traditionally emphasized
universal patterns of development rather than cultural
context. However, my education also included three years
as a postdoctoral student at the Committee on Human
Development at the University of Chicago, and the pro-
gram there emphasized anthropology, which places culture
first and foremost. Learning to take a cultural approach
xii
to development greatly expanded and deepened my own
understanding of adolescence, and I have seen the cultural
approach work this way for my students as well. Through
an awareness of the diversity of cultural practices, customs,
and beliefs about adolescence, we expand our conception
of the range of developmental possibilities. We also gain a
greater understanding of adolescent development in our
own culture, by learning to see it as only one of many
possible paths.
Taking a cultural approach to development means
infusing discussion of every aspect of development with a
cultural perspective. I present the essentials of the cultural
approach in the first chapter, and then it serves as a theme
that runs through every chapter. Each chapter also includes
a Cultural Focus box in which an aspect of development in a
specific culture is explored in depth—for example, male
and female circumcision in North Africa, adolescents’ fam-
ily relationships in India, and young people’s sexuality in
the Netherlands.
My hope is that students will learn not only that
adolescent development can be different depending on the
culture, but also how to think culturally—that is, how to
analyze all aspects of adolescent development for their cul-
tural basis. This includes learning how to critique research
for the extent to which it does or does not take the cultural
basis of development into account. I provide this kind of
critique at numerous points throughout the book, with the
intent that students will learn how to do it themselves by
the time they finish reading.
Emerging Adulthood
Adolescence is a time of life when many dramatic changes
take place, and we are currently in an especially interesting
historical moment with respect to this period. Adolescence
in our time begins far earlier than it did a century ago,
because puberty begins for most people in developed
countries at a much earlier age as a result of advances in
nutrition and health care. Yet, if we measure the end of
adolescence in terms of taking on adult roles such as mar-
riage, parenthood, and stable full-time work, adolescence
also ends much later than it has in the past because these
transitions are now postponed for many people into at least
the mid-twenties.
My own research over the past two decades has fo-
cused on development among young Americans from
their late teens through their mid-twenties, including
Asian Americans, African Americans, Latinos, and whites.

I have concluded, on the basis of this research, that this
period is not really adolescence, but it is not really adult-
hood either, not even “young adulthood.” In my view, the
transition to adulthood has become so prolonged that it
constitutes a separate period of the life course in devel-
oped countries, lasting about as long as adolescence. This
view is now widely held by many other scholars as well.
Since I published the first edition of this text in 2001, an
entire field of emerging adulthood has sprung up, includ-
ing a Society for the Study of Emerging Adulthood (SSEA;
see www.ssea.org).
Thus, a second distinguishing feature of the concep-
tion guiding this textbook is that the age period cov-
ered includes not only adolescence (ages 10–18) but also
“emerging adulthood,” extending from (roughly) ages 18
to 25. I describe this theory in the first chapter and use it
as the framework for discussing emerging adulthood in
the chapters that follow. The balance of material in each
chapter is tilted toward adolescence, but each chapter con-
tains material that pertains to emerging adulthood.
The Historical Context
Given the differences between adolescence now and ado-
lescence in the past, knowledge of the historical context
of development is crucial to a complete understanding of
this age period. Students will have a richer understanding
of adolescent development if they are able to contrast the
lives of young people in the present with those of young
people in other times. Toward this end, I provide historical
material in each chapter. Furthermore, each chapter con-
tains a Historical Focus box that describes some aspect of
young people’s development during a specific historical
period—for example, adolescents’ family lives during the
Great Depression, the “Roaring Twenties” and the rise of
youth culture, and work among British adolescents in the
19th century.
An emphasis on the historical context of development
is perhaps especially important now, with the accelerating
pace of cultural change that has taken place around the
world in recent decades because of the influence of global-
ization. Especially in economically developing countries,
the pace of change in recent decades has been dramatic,
and young people often find themselves growing up in a
culture that is much different from the one their parents
grew up in. Globalization is a pervasive influence on the
lives of young people today, in ways both promising and
troubling, and for this reason I have made it one of the uni-
fying themes of the book.
An Interdisciplinary Approach
The cultural approach and the emphasis on historical con-
text are related to a fourth distinguishing feature of the
Preface xiii
conception offered in this book, the interdisciplinary ap-
proach to theories and research. Psychology is represented
abundantly because this is the discipline in which most
research on adolescent development takes place. However,
I also integrate materials from a wide range of other fields.
Much of the theory and research that is the basis for a
cultural understanding of adolescence comes from anthro-
pology, so anthropological studies are strongly represented.
Students often find this material fascinating because it
challenges their assumptions about what they expect ado-
lescence to be like. Interesting and important cultural mate-
rial on adolescence also comes from sociology, especially
with respect to European and Asian societies, and these
studies find a place here. The field of history is notably
represented, for providing the historical perspective just
discussed. Other disciplines included are education, psy-
chiatry, medicine, and family studies.
The integration of materials across disciplines means
drawing on a variety of research methods. The reader will
find many different research methods represented, from
questionnaires and interviews to ethnographic research to
biological measurements. Each chapter contains a Research
Focus box, in which the methods used in a specific study
are described. These boxes provide students with detailed
examples of how research on adolescence and emerging
adulthood is done.
Chapter Topics
My goal of presenting a fresh conception of young peo-
ple’s development has resulted in chapters on topics not
as strongly represented in most other textbooks. Most
texts have a discussion of moral development, but this
book has a chapter on cultural beliefs, including moral
development, religious beliefs, political beliefs, and a
discussion of individualistic and collectivistic beliefs. The
chapter on cultural beliefs provides a good basis for a cul-
tural understanding of adolescent development because
it emphasizes how these beliefs shape the socialization
that takes place in every other context of development,
from family to schools to media. Furthermore, an under-
standing of the importance of cultural beliefs increases
our awareness of how the judgments we make about how
adolescents should think and act are almost always rooted
in beliefs we have learned in the course of growing up in a
particular culture.
Most texts include a discussion of gender issues at vari-
ous points, and some include a separate chapter on gender,
but here there is a chapter that focuses on cultural varia-
tions and historical changes in gender roles, in addition
to discussions of gender issues in other chapters. Gender
is a fundamental aspect of social life in every culture, and
the vivid examples of gender roles and expectations in
xiv Preface
non-Western cultures should help students to become more
aware of how gender acts as a defining framework for
young people’s development in their own culture as well.
This text also has an entire chapter on work, which is
central to the lives of adolescents in developing countries
because a high proportion of them are not in school. The
work chapter includes extensive discussion of the danger-
ous and unhealthy work conditions often experienced by
adolescents in developing countries. In developed coun-
tries, the transition from school to work is an important
part of emerging adulthood for most people, and that tran-
sition receives special attention in this chapter.
An entire chapter on media is included, with sec-
tions on television, music, cigarette advertising, electronic
games, the Internet, mobile phones, and social media.
Media are a prominent part of young people’s lives in most
societies today, but this is a topic that receives surprisingly
little attention in most other texts. This neglect is puzzling,
given that adolescents in developed countries spend more
time daily using media than they spend in school, with
family, or with friends. I find young people’s media uses
to be not only an essential topic but a perpetually fascinat-
ing one, and students today almost invariably share this
fascination because they have been immersed in a media
environment while growing up.
One chapter found in most other texts, but not in this
one, is a chapter on theories. In my view, having a separate
chapter on theories gives students a misleading impres-
sion of the purpose and function of theories in the scientific
enterprise. Theories and research are intrinsically related,
with good theories inspiring research and good research
leading to changes and innovations in theories. Presenting
theories separately turns theory chapters into a kind of
Theory Museum, separate and sealed off from research.
Instead, I present theoretical material throughout the book,
in relation to the research the theory has been based on and
has inspired.
Each chapter contains a number of critical thinking
questions under the heading Thinking Critically. Critical
thinking has become a popular term in academic circles
and it has been subject to a variety of definitions, so I
should explain how I used the term here. The purpose
of the critical thinking questions is to inspire students
to attain a higher level of analysis and reflection about
the ideas and information in the chapters—higher, that
is, than they would be likely to reach simply by reading
the chapter. With the critical thinking questions, I seek to
encourage students to connect ideas across chapters, to
consider hypothetical questions, and to apply the chapter
materials to their own lives. Often, the questions have no
“right answer.” Although they are mainly intended to assist
students in attaining a high level of thinking as they read,
instructors have told me that the questions also serve as
lively material for class discussions or writing assignments.
New to the Sixth Edition
In reviews of earlier editions of this book, instructors and
reviewers have consistently mentioned three key strengths:
(1) the cultural approach; (2) the inclusion of emerging
adulthood along with adolescence; and (3) the quality of
the writing. I have sought to enhance those strengths in the
sixth edition.
• Research on adolescence around the world is grow-
ing, so there is even more cultural information than
before. Every chapter in the sixth edition includes new
material that will enhance students’ understanding
of cultural similarities and differences and how the
development of adolescents and emerging adults is
influenced by the culture they live in.
• Encouraged by the response to the material on
emerging adulthood in the previous editions, I have
continued to expand it in the sixth edition. Exciting
developments in theory and research are taking place
in this area, as more and more scholars recognize its
importance and turn their attention to it, and I have
sought to reflect those developments in this edition.
Every chapter includes the latest, most up-to-date the-
ory and research related to emerging adulthood. It has
been gratifying to me to see how other texts have now
incorporated theory and research on emerging adult-
hood, but as the originator of the idea I think it is not
unreasonable for me to state that if you would like to
have the most comprehensive and recent material on
emerging adulthood in a textbook you will find it here.
As for the writing style, I have continued to strive to
make the book not only highly informative but also lively
and fun to read. The best texts achieve both these goals.
In addition to enhancing the aspects of the book that
were so favorably received in the previous editions, I have
made numerous changes, large and small, to each chap-
ter. Hundreds of new citations from 2012–2016 have been
added to this edition, incorporating the most recent find-
ings in the field. Other changes have been made in response
to comments and suggestions by instructors who reviewed
the fifth edition. Still other changes were made on my own
initiative, as I read the chapters before embarking on the
sixth edition and made judgments about what should be
added, changed, or deleted. For example, I added a sec-
tion on brain development in emerging adulthood to the
chapter on Cognitive Development, and a section on slang
to the chapter on Friends and Peers.
I have added new material to the sixth edition, but
also deleted material that was in the fifth edition. There is
an unfortunate tendency for textbooks to add additional
material with each edition, so that eventually they become
about as thick as the phone book (and just about as interest-
ing to read). I have tried to head off that tendency early on

by resolving with each edition to make judicious cuts for
each addition I make. I hope this approach will continue to
make the text both up-to-date and enjoyable to read.
The following are a number of new features added to
this edition of the text:
• New, more integrated learning objectives appear at
the beginning of each chapter to help students better
organize and understand the chapter material. These
learning objectives are now tied to each of the chapter’s
subheads.
• A new chapter summary summarizes the content of
the chapter and ties directly to the chapter learn-
ing objectives, ensuring that students understand the
chapter’s key takeaways.
• New video selections enhance the book’s content and
help to bring it to life.
• Updated and expanded research on adolescence
around the world is included to enhance students’
understanding of cultural similarities and differences
and how culture influences development.
• Updated and expanded theory and research on
emerging adulthood is included, reflecting the exciting
scholarly developments happening in the field.
• In the REVEL version of the text, helpful end-of-
module quizzes, interactives, videos, journal writing
prompts, and end-of-chapter quizzes take the text to a
new level of interactivity.
Instructor’s Resources
TM
REVEL
Experience Designed for the Way Today’s
Students Read, Think, and Learn
When students are engaged deeply, they learn more ef-
fectively and perform better in their courses. This simple
fact inspired the creation of REVEL: an immersive learning
experience designed for the way today’s students read,
think, and learn. Built in collaboration with educators and
students nationwide, REVEL is the newest, fully digital
way to deliver respected Pearson content.
REVEL enlivens course content with media interactives
and assessments—integrated directly within the authors’
narrative—that provide opportunities for students to read
about and practice course material in tandem. This immer-
sive experience boosts student engagement, which leads
to better understanding of concepts and improved perfor-
mance throughout the course.
Learn more about REVEL
http://www.pearsonhighered.com/revel/
Preface xv
The Revel sixth edition (ISBN: 0134005945) includes in-
tegrated videos and media content throughout, allowing stu-
dents to explore topics more deeply at the point of relevancy.
Watch
Video
Revel also offers the ability for students to assess their con-
tent mastery by taking multiple-choice quizzes that offer
instant feedback and by participating in a variety of writing
assignments such as peer-reviewed questions and auto-
graded assignments.
MyPsychLab (ISBN: 0134624203). Available at www
.mypsychlab.com, MyPsychLab is an online homework,
tutorial, and assessment program that truly engages stu-
dents in learning. It helps students better prepare for class,
quizzes, and exams—resulting in better performance in
the course. It provides educators a dynamic set of tools for
gauging individual and class performance.
For access to all instructor resources, go to www
.pearsonhighered.com/irc
Instructor’s Manual (0134005953) is designed to make your
lectures more effective and save preparation time. This
extensive resource gathers the most effective activities and
strategies for teaching.
Test Item File (0134623819) contains multiple-choice, true/
false, and essay questions. Each question has been accuracy
checked to ensure that the correct answer was marked and
the page reference was accurate.
MyTest Test Bank (0134006062) is a powerful assessment-
generation program that helps instructors easily create
and print quizzes and exams. For more information, go to
www.PearsonMyTest.com.
Lecture PowerPoint Slides (ISBN: 013400597X). The ADA-
Compliant Lecture PowerPoint slides provide an active
format for presenting concepts from each chapter and fea-
ture relevant figures and tables from the text. Available
for download on the Instructor’s Resource Center at www
.pearsonhighered.com.
xvi Preface
Enhanced Lecture PowerPoint Slides with Embedded
Videos (ISBN: 013462369X). The lecture PowerPoint slides
have been embedded with video, enabling instructors to
show videos within the context of their lecture. No Internet
connection is required to play videos. Available for down-
load on the Instructor’s Resource Center at www.pearson-
highered.com.
PowerPoint Slides for Photos, Figures, and Tables (ISBN:
0134738152). These slides contain only the photos, figures,
and line art from the textbook. Available for download on
the Instructor’s Resource Center at www.pearsonhighered
.com.
Acknowledgments
Preparing a textbook is an enormous enterprise that in-
volves a wide network of people, and I have many people
to thank for their contributions. Becky Pascal, my original
editor at Addison–Wesley, was the one who recruited me
to write the book, and her excitement over my new ideas
for a textbook helped persuade me to take on the project.
Shannon LeMay-Finn, the Development Editor for the sixth
edition, was full of excellent ideas and suggestions, and
it was a pleasure to work with her. Amber Chow, Senior
Editor, and Editorial Project Manager Cecilia Turner kept
all the wheels in motion. On the production end of things,
Angel Chavez, the production supervisor, and Ron Watson,
the production project manager, brought the aspects of
the text together. Thanks, too, to the many other mem-
bers of the Pearson team who helped make the REVEL ver-
sion of the text a success.
The reviewers of the first five editions of the book were
indispensable for the many comments and suggestions for
improvement they provided. I would like to thank:
Rohani Abdullah, University, Putra Malaysia
Wendy Adlai-Gail, Rider University
Paula Avioli, Kean University
Denise M. Arehart, University of Colorado–Denver
Rosemary V. Barnett, University of Florida
Belinda Blevins-Knabe, University of Arkansas–
Little Rock
Curtis W. Branch, Columbia University
Melissa M. Branch, State University of New York–
Brockport
Leilani Brown, University of Hawaii
Christy Buchanan, Wake Forest University
Jane Brown, University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill
Laurie Chapin, Colorado State University
Gabriela Chavira, CSUN
Gary Creasey, Illinois State University
Paige Curran, Emmanuel College
Gypsy M. Denzine, Northern Arizona University
Bonnie B. Dowdy, Dickinson College
Cynthia Erdley Gardella, University of Maine
Shirley Feldman, Stanford University
Diane Fiebel, Raymond Walters College
Diane Finley, Prince George University
Paul Florsheim, University of Utah
Suzanne Freedman, University of Northern Iowa
Andrew Fuligni, New York University
Catherine Gaze, Elmhurst College
Nancy Galambos, University of Victoria
Albert Gardner, University of Maryland
Janet Gebelt, Westfield State University
Sheryl Ginn, Wingate University
Jessica Gomel, California University–Fullerton
Julia A. Graber, Columbia University
Virginia Gregg, North Adams State College
Susan Harter, University of Denver
Joyce A. Hemphill, University of Wisconsin
Daniel Houlihan, Minnesota State University
Sharon Page Howard, University of Arkansas–Little Rock
Karen G. Howe, The College of New York
Janis Jacobs, The Pennsylvania State University
Patricia Jarvis, Illinois State University
Marianne Jones, California State University–Fresno
Joline N. Jones, Worcester State College
David Kinney, Central Michigan University
Steven Kirsh, State University of New York–Geneseo
Martin Kokol, Utah Valley State College
Reed Larson, University of Illinois
Jennifer Maggs, Pennsylvania State University
Joseph G. Marrone, Siena College
Terry Maul, San Bernardino Valley College
Jeylan Mortimer, University of Minnesota
Christine Ohannessian, University of Delaware
Gail Overbey, Southeast Missouri State
Laura Pannell, Itawamba Community College
Merryl Patterson, Austin Community College
Daniel Perkins, University of Florida
Daniel Repinski, State University of New York–Geneseo
Julio Rique, Northern Illinois University
Kathleen M. Shanahan, University of Massachusetts–
Amherst
Merry Sleigh-Ritzer, George Mason University
Maureen Smith, San Jose State University
Susan M. Sobel, Middle Tennessee State University
Theresa Stahler, Kutztown University
Shirley Theriot, University of Texas Arlington
Lisa Turner, University of South Alabama
Fabian Vega, Baltimore City Community College
Randy Vinzant, Hinds Community College
Naomi Wagner, San Jose State University
Pete Watkins, Community College of Philadelphia
Niobe Way, New York University

Rob Weisskirch, California State University–
Monterey Bay
Belinda Wholeben, Rockford College
Missi Wilkenfeld, Texas A&M University
James Youniss, Catholic University of America
Joan Zook, State University of New York–Geneseo
I am grateful for the time and care expended by these
reviewers to give me detailed, well-informed reviews.
Finally, I wish to thank the many students and in-
structors who have contacted me since the publication
of the first edition to tell me how they have responded to
Preface xvii
this textbook and how it has shaped their thinking about
human development. One of the reasons I wrote the book
was that I love to teach, and it was attractive to think that
instead of teaching a few dozen students a year I could
assist instructors in teaching thousands of students a year.
I hope students and instructors will continue to let me
know their thoughts, not just about what I have done well
but also about how it can be done even better next time.
Jeffrey Jensen Arnett
Department of Psychology
Clark University
This page intentionally left blank
About the Author
JEFFREY JENSEN ARNETT is a Research Professor in
the Department of Psychology at Clark University in
Worcester, Massachusetts. He is also the Executive Director
of the Society for the Study of Emerging Adulthood (SSEA;
see www.ssea.org). During 2005 he was a Fulbright Scholar
at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. He has also
taught at Oglethorpe University and the University of
Missouri. He was educated at Michigan State University
(undergraduate), the University of Virginia (graduate
school), and the University of Chicago (postdoctoral stud-
ies). His research interests are in risk behavior (especially
cigarette smoking), media use in adolescence (especially
music), and a wide range of topics in emerging adult-
hood. He was Editor of the Journal of Adolescent Research
from 2005 through 2014 and has also edited two encyclo-
pedias, the International Encyclopedia of Adolescence (2007)
and the Encyclopedia of Children, Adolescents, and the Media
(2007). The second edition of his book Emerging Adulthood:
The Winding Road from the Late Teens Through the Twenties
was published in 2015. He is also the author of a life span
textbook, Human Development: A Cultural Approach (2015,
Pearson). He lives in Worcester, Massachusetts, with
his wife Lene Jensen and their seventeen-year-old twins,
Miles and Paris. For more information on Dr. Arnett and his
research, see www.jeffreyarnett.com.

xix
This page intentionally left blank
Chapter 1
Introduction
Learning Objectives
1.1 Describe how views of adolescence
changed in the West from ancient Greece
through medieval times.
1.2 Explain what life-cycle service involves
and specify when it was most common.
1.3 Identify the three features that made the
years 1890–1920 the Age of Adolescence.
1.4 Summarize the influences that have
led to an earlier beginning and end to
adolescence.
1.5 Summarize the five features of emerging
adulthood.
1.6 Identify the three markers of adulthood
that are the most common across cultures.
1.7 Give examples of how criteria for
adulthood vary across cultures.
1.8 Describe the five steps of the scientific
method.
1.9 Explain the process that requires that
research on adolescents must be done
within ethical guidelines.
1.10 Describe the research methods used in
research on adolescents and emerging
adults.
1.11 Define reliability and validity, and indicate
which is easier to establish and why.
1.12 Explain the difference between a cross-
sectional and a longitudinal research design.
1.13 Name the main challenges facing African
adolescents in the 21st century, and
identify positive cultural traditions and
recent trends.
1
2 Chapter 1
1.14 Explain how Islam structures development
for adolescents in North Africa and the
Middle East.
1.15 Describe the distinctive features of the
cultural context for Asian adolescents.
1.16 Identify the main challenges for Indian
adolescents in the 21st century.
1.17 Describe the common features of Latin
American countries and the two key issues
for today’s adolescents there.
1.18 List the common features experienced by
adolescents in the countries that make up
• In the dim dawn light of a simple reed house in
Tehuantepec, Mexico, 16-year-old Conchita leans over
an open, barrel-shaped oven. Although it is just dawn,
she has already been working for 2 hours making tor-
tillas. It is difficult work, kneeling beside the hot oven,
and hazardous, too; she has several scars on her arm
from the times she has inadvertently touched the hot
steel. She thinks with some resentment of her younger
brother, who is still sleeping and who will soon be
rising and going off to school. Like most girls in her
village, Conchita can neither read nor write because it
is only the boys who go to school.
She finds consolation in looking ahead to the after-
noon, when she will be allowed to go to the center of
town to sell the tortillas she has made beyond those
that her family will need that day. There she will see
her girlfriends, who will be selling tortillas and other
things for their families. And there she hopes to see
the boy who spoke to her, just a few words, in the
town square two Sunday evenings ago. The follow-
ing Sunday evening she saw him waiting in the street
across from her home, a sure sign that he is courting
her. But her parents would not allow her out, so she
hopes to get a glimpse of him in town.
• In a suburban home in Highland Park, Illinois, USA,
14-year-old Jodie is standing before the mirror in
her bedroom with a dismayed look, trying to decide
whether to change her clothes again before she goes to
school. She has already changed once, from the blue
sweater and white skirt to the yellow-and-white blouse
and blue jeans, but now she is having second thoughts.
“I look awful,” she thinks to herself. “I’m getting so fat!”
for the past 3 years her body has been changing rapidly,
and now she is alarmed to find it becoming rounder and
larger seemingly with each day. Vaguely she hears her
mother calling her from downstairs, probably urging
her to hurry up and leave for school, but she is listening
“the West,” and indicate what is distinctive
to minority adolescents.
1.19 Describe the disciplines that contribute to
a complete understanding of adolescence
and emerging adulthood.
1.20 Explain why gender issues are especially
prominent in adolescence and emerging
adulthood, and summarize the range of
gender expectations for adolescents in
different cultures.
1.21 Explain why it is important to account for
globalization in understanding adolescents
and emerging adults.
to a Pink song so loud it drowns out what her mother
is saying. “I’m not here for your entertainment,” Pink
sings. “You don’t really wanna mess with me tonight.”
• In Amakiri, Nigeria, 18-year-old Omiebi is walking
to school. He is walking quickly, because it is almost
time for school to begin and he does not want to be
one of the students who arrive after morning assem-
bly has started and are grouped together and made
to kneel throughout the assembly. Up ahead he sees
several of his fellow students, easily identifiable by
the gray uniforms they are all required to wear, and
he breaks into a trot to join them. They greet him, and
together they continue walking. They joke nervously
about the exam coming up for the West African School
Certificate. Performance on that exam will determine
who is allowed to go on to university.
Omiebi is feeling a great deal of pressure to do well
on the exam. He is the oldest child of his family, and
his parents have high expectations that he will go to
university and become a lawyer, then help his three
younger brothers go to university or find good jobs in
Lagos, the nearest big city. Omiebi is not really sure he
wants to be a lawyer, and he would find it difficult to
leave the girl he has recently begun seeing. However, he
likes the idea of moving away from tiny Amakiri to the
university in Lagos, where, he has heard, all the homes
have electricity and all the latest American movies are
showing in the theaters. He and his friends break into a
run over the last stretch, barely making it to school and
joining their classes before the assembly starts.
THrEE ADOLESCENTS, IN THrEE DIffErENT CUL-
TUrES, with three very different lives. Yet all are adoles-
cents: All have left childhood but have not yet reached
adulthood; all are developing into physical and sexual
maturity and learning the skills that will enable them to
take part in the adult world.

Although all of them are adolescents, what makes these
three adolescents so different is that they are growing up in
three distinct cultures. Throughout this text we will take a
cultural approach to understanding development in adoles-
cence by examining the ways that cultures differ in what they
allow adolescents to do and what they require them to do, the
different things that cultures teach adolescents to believe, and
the different patterns that cultures provide for adolescents’
daily lives. Adolescence is a cultural construction, not sim-
ply a biological phenomenon. Puberty—the set of biological
changes involved in reaching physical and sexual maturity—
is universal, and the same biological changes take place in
puberty for young people everywhere, although with differ-
ences in timing and in cultural meanings. But adolescence is
more than the events and processes of puberty. Adolescence
is a life stage between the time puberty begins and the time
adult status is approached, when young people are prepar-
ing to take on the roles and responsibilities of adulthood in
their culture. To say that adolescence is culturally constructed
means that cultures vary in how they define adult status
and in the content of the adult roles and responsibilities
adolescents are learning to fulfill. Almost all cultures have
some kind of adolescence, but the length and content and
daily experiences of adolescence vary greatly among cultures
(Larson, Wilson, & rickman, 2010).
In this chapter we will lay a foundation for understand-
ing the cultural basis of adolescence by beginning with a
look at how adolescence has changed throughout the his-
tory of Western cultures. Historical change is also cultural
change; for example, the United States of the early 21st cen-
tury is different culturally from the United States of 1900 or
1800. Seeing how adolescence changes as a culture changes
will emphasize the cultural basis of adolescence.
Another way this chapter will lay the foundation
for the rest of the text is by introducing the concept of
emerging adulthood. This text not only covers adolescence
(roughly ages 10 to 18) but emerging adulthood (roughly
ages 18 to 25). Emerging adulthood is a new idea, a new
way of thinking about this age period. In this chapter,
I describe what it means. Each chapter that follows will
contain information about emerging adulthood as well
as adolescence.
“The adolescent stage has long seemed to me one of the most fas-
cinating of all themes. These years are the best decade of life…. It is
a state from which some of the bad, but far more of the good quali-
ties of life and mind arise.”
—G. STanley Hall, Adolescence (1904), pp. XVIII, 351.
This chapter also sets the stage for what follows by
discussing the scientific study of adolescence and emerg-
ing adulthood. I will present some of the basic features of
the scientific method as it is applied in research on these
Introduction 3
age periods. It is important to understand adolescence and
emerging adulthood not just as stages of the life span but as
areas of scientific inquiry, with certain standard methods and
certain conventions for determining what is valid and what
is not.
finally, this chapter will provide the foundation for the
chapters to come by previewing the major themes and the
framework of the text. This will introduce you to themes
that will be repeated often in subsequent chapters and will
let you know where we are headed through the course
of the text. Special attention will be given to the cultural
approach that is central to this text, by presenting an over-
view of adolescence in various regions of the world.
Adolescence in Western
Cultures: A Brief History
Seeing how people in other times have viewed adoles-
cence provides a useful perspective for understanding
how adolescence is viewed in our own time. In this brief
historical survey, we begin with ancient times, 2,500 years
ago, and proceed through the early 20th century.
Adolescence in Ancient Times
1.1 Describe how views of adolescence changed in
the West from ancient Greece through medieval
times.
Ideas about adolescence as a stage of the life course go
back a long way in the history of Western cultures (Levi
& Schmitt, 1997). In ancient Greece (4th and 5th centuries
b.c.), the source of so many ideas that influenced Western
history, both Plato and Aristotle viewed adolescence as the
third distinct stage of life, after infancy (birth to age 7) and
childhood (ages 7 to 14). In their framework, adolescence
extended from ages 14 to 21. Both of them viewed adoles-
cence as the stage of life in which the capacity for reason
first developed. Writing (in about 380 b.c.) in The Republic,
Plato argued that serious education should begin only at
adolescence. Before age 7, according to Plato, there is no
point in education because the mind is too undeveloped
to learn much, and during childhood (ages 7 to 14) educa-
tion should focus on sports and music, which children can
grasp. Education in science and math should be delayed
until adolescence, when the mind is finally ready to apply
reason in learning these subjects.
adolescence
A period of the life course between the time puberty begins
and the time adult status is approached, when young people
are in the process of preparing to take on the roles and
responsibilities of adulthood in their culture.
4 Chapter 1

adolescence is the “Children’s Crusade,” which took place

“The young are in character prone to desire and ready to carry any
desire they may have formed into action. Of bodily desires it is the
sexual to which they are most disposed to give way, and in regard
to sexual desire they exercise no self-restraint.”
—arISTOTle, RhetoRic, Ca. 330 b.c.
Aristotle, who was a student of Plato’s during his own
adolescence, had a view of adolescence that was in some
ways similar to Plato’s. Aristotle viewed children as simi-
lar to animals, in that both are ruled by the impulsive pur-
suit of pleasure. It is only in adolescence that we become
capable of exercising reason and making rational choices.
However, Aristotle argued that it takes the entire course of
adolescence for reason to become fully established. At the
beginning of adolescence, in his view, the impulses remain
in charge and even become more problematic now that
sexual desires have developed. It is only toward the end
of adolescence—about age 21, according to Aristotle—that
reason establishes firm control over the impulses.
Thinking CriTiCally
plato and aristotle argued that young people are not capable
of reason until at least age 14. Give an example of how the
question of when young people are capable of reason is still an
issue in our time.
in 1212. Despite its name, it was composed mostly of young
people in their teens, including many university students
(Sommerville, 1982). In those days, university students were
younger than today, usually entering between ages 13 and 15.
The young crusaders set out from Germany for the
Mediterranean coast, believing that when they arrived
there the waters would part for them as the red Sea had for
Moses. They would then walk over to the Holy Land
(Jerusalem and the areas where Jesus had lived), where
they would appeal to the Muslims to allow Christian pil-
grims to visit the holy sites. Adults, attempting to take the
Holy Land by military force, had already conducted sev-
eral Crusades. The Children’s Crusade was an attempt to
appeal to the Muslims in peace, inspired by the belief that
Jesus had decreed that the Holy Land could be gained only
through the innocence of youth.
Unfortunately, the “innocence” of the young people—
their lack of knowledge and experience—made them a ripe
target for the unscrupulous. Many of them were robbed,
raped, or kidnapped along the way. When the remainder
arrived at the Mediterranean Sea, the sea did not open

A similar focus on the struggle between reason and pas-

sion in adolescence can be found in early Christianity. One of
the most famous and influential books of early Christianity
was Saint Augustine’s autobiographical Confessions, which
he wrote in about a.d. 400. In his Confessions, Augustine
describes his life from early childhood until his conversion to
Christianity at age 33. A considerable portion of the autobiog-
raphy focuses on his teens and early 20s, when he was a reck-
less young man living an impulsive, pleasure-seeking life. He
drank large quantities of alcohol, spent money extravagantly,
had sex with many young women, and fathered a child out-
side of marriage. In the autobiography, he repents his reckless
youth and argues that conversion to Christianity is the key
not only to eternal salvation but to the rule of reason over
passion here on earth, within the individual.

“For this space then (from my nineteenth year, to my eight and

twentieth), we lived seduced and seducing, deceived and deceiving,
in diverse lusts.”
—auGuSTIne, confessions, a.d. 400

Over the following millennium, from Augustine’s time

through the Middle Ages, the historical record on adoles-
cence is sparse, as it is on most topics. However, one well- During the Children’s Crusade, European adolescents attempted to
documented event that sheds some light on the history of travel to Jerusalem, with disastrous results.

after all, and the shipowners who promised to take them
across sold them instead to the Muslims as slaves. The
Children’s Crusade was a total disaster, but the fact that
it was undertaken at all suggests that many people of that
era viewed adolescence as a time of innocence and saw
that innocence as possessing a special value and power.
“The very children put us to shame. While we sleep they go forth
joyfully to conquer the Holy land.”
—pOpe InnOCenT III, 1212, reFerrInG TO THe CHIldren’S CruSade
Adolescence from 1500 to 1890
1.2 Explain what life-cycle service involves and
specify when it was most common.
Beginning in about 1500, many young people in European
societies took part in what historians term life-cycle service,
a period in their late teens and 20s in which young people
would engage in domestic service, farm service, or appren-
ticeships in various trades and crafts (Ben-Amos, 1994). Life-
cycle service involved moving out of the family household
and into the household of a “master” to whom the young
person was in service for a period lasting (typically) 7 years.
Young women were somewhat less likely than young men
to engage in life-cycle service, but even among women a
Life-cycle service was common in Western countries from about 1500
to about 1800. This woodcut shows a printer’s apprentice.
life-cycle service
A period in their late teens and 20s in which young people
from the 16th to the 19th century engaged in domestic service,
farm service, or apprenticeships in various trades and crafts.
Introduction 5
majority left home during adolescence, most often to take
part in life-cycle service as a servant in a family. Life-cycle ser-
vice also was common in the United States in the early colo-
nial period in New England (beginning in the 17th century),
but in colonial New England such service usually took place
in the home of a relative or family friend (rotundo, 1993).
In the young United States, the nature of adolescence
soon began to change. Life-cycle service faded during the
18th and 19th centuries. As the American population grew
and the national economy became less based in farming
and more industrialized, young people increasingly left
their small towns in their late teens for the growing cit-
ies. In the cities, without ties to a family or community,
young people soon became regarded as a social problem
in many respects. rates of crime, premarital sex, and
alcohol use among young people all increased in the late
18th and early 19th centuries (Wilson & Herrnstein, 1985).
In response, new institutions of social control devel-
oped—religious associations, literary societies, YMCAs,
and YWCAs—where young people were monitored by
adults (Kett, 1977). This approach worked remarkably
well: In the second half of the 19th century, rates of crime,
premarital pregnancies, alcohol use, and other problems
among young people all dropped sharply (Wilson &
Herrnstein, 1985).
The Age of Adolescence, 1890–1920
1.3 Identify the three features that made the years
1890–1920 the Age of Adolescence.
Although I have been using the term adolescence in this
brief history for the sake of clarity and consistency, it was
only toward the end of the 19th century and the beginning
of the 20th century that adolescence became a widely used
term (Kett, 1977). Before this time, young people in their
teens and early 20s were more often referred to as youth
or simply as young men and young women (Modell &
Goodman, 1990). However, toward the end of the 19th
century important changes took place in Western countries
that made a change of terms appropriate.
In the United States and other Western countries, the
years 1890–1920 were crucial in establishing the char-
acteristics of modern adolescence. Key changes during
these years included the enactment of laws restricting
child labor, new requirements for children to attend
secondary school, and the development of the field of
adolescence as an area of scholarly study. for these
reasons, historians call the years 1890–1920 the “Age of
Adolescence” (Tyack, 1990).
Toward the end of the 19th century, the industrial
revolution was proceeding at full throttle in the United
States and other Western countries. There was a tremen-
dous demand for labor to staff the mines, shops, and fac-
tories. Adolescents and even preadolescent children were
6 Chapter 1

Key Terms to Know

Here are some terms used throughout the text that you should be sure to know.

Culture Culture is the total pattern of a group’s customs, beliefs, art, and technology. Thus, a culture is a group’s common way
of life, passed on from one generation to the next.
The West The united States, Canada, europe, australia, and new Zealand make up the West. They are all developed countries,
they are all representative democracies with similar kinds of governments, and they share to some extent a common
cultural history. Today, they are all characterized by secularism, consumerism, and capitalism, to one degree or another.
The West usually refers to the majority culture in each of the countries, but each country also has cultural groups that do
not share the characteristics of the majority culture and may even be in opposition to it.
Developed countries The term developed countries includes the countries of the West along with eastern countries such as Japan and
South Korea. all of them have highly developed economies that have passed through a period of industrialization and are
now based mainly on services (such as law, banking, sales, and accounting) and information (such as computer-related
companies).
Majority culture The majority culture in any given society is the culture that sets most of the norms and standards and holds most of the
positions of political, economic, intellectual, and media power. The term American majority culture will be used often in
this text to refer to the mostly White, middle-class majority in american society.
Society a society is a group of people who interact in the course of sharing a common geographical area. a single society may
include a variety of cultures with different customs, religions, family traditions, and economic practices. Thus, a society
is different from a culture: Members of a culture share a common way of life, whereas members of a society may not.
For example, american society includes a variety of different cultures, such as the american majority culture, african
american culture, latino cultures, and asian american cultures. all americans share certain characteristics by virtue of
being americans—for example, they are all subject to the same laws, and they go to similar schools—but there are differ-
ences among these groups that make them culturally distinct.
Traditional cultures The term traditional culture refers to a culture that has maintained a way of life based on stable traditions passed from
one generation to the next. These cultures do not generally value change but rather place a higher value on remaining
true to cultural traditions. Often, traditional cultures are “preindustrial,” which means that the technology and economic
practices typical in developed countries are not widely used. However, this is not always true; Japan, for example, is still
in many ways traditional, even though it is also one of the most highly industrialized countries in the world. When we use
the term traditional cultures, this does not imply that all such cultures are alike. They differ in a variety of ways, but they
have in common that they are firmly grounded in a relatively stable cultural tradition, and for that reason they provide a
distinct contrast to the cultures of the West.
Developing countries Most previously traditional, preindustrial cultures are becoming industrialized today as a consequence of globalization.
The term developing countries is used to refer to countries where this process is taking place. examples include most
of the countries of africa and South america, as well as asian countries such as Thailand and Vietnam.
Socioeconomic status The term socioeconomic status (SES) is often used to refer to social class, which includes educational level, income
level, and occupational status. For adolescents and emerging adults, because they have not yet reached the social
class level they will have as adults, SeS is usually used in reference to their parents’ levels of education, income, and
occupation.
Young people In this text the term young people is used as shorthand to refer to adolescents and emerging adults together.

culture
The total pattern of a group’s distinctive way of life, including
customs, art, technologies, and beliefs.
the West
Cultural group of countries that includes the United States,
Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Distinctive char-
acteristics include stable democracies, secularism, consumer-
ism, and individualism.
society
A group of people who interact in the course of sharing a com-
mon geographical area. A single society may include a variety
of cultures with different customs, religions, family traditions,
and economic practices.
traditional culture
Culture that adheres to long-established beliefs and practices.
Usually not economically developed.

developed countries developing countries

Economic classification that includes the wealthy countries Economic classification that includes the less-wealthy coun-
of the world, comprising about 18% of the total world tries of the world, in the process of economic development,
population. comprising about 82% of the total world population.

American majority culture socioeconomic status (SES)

Cultural sector of American society, mostly White, that has
the most economic and political power and sets most of the
norms and standards.
Classification of social class and economic status, including
educational attainment and occupational status.
young people
Term that includes adolescents as well as emerging adults,
across a broad age range of 10 to 25.

During the 19th century, adolescents often worked under difficult
and unhealthy conditions, such as in this coal mine. Why did laws in
early 20th century begin to exclude them from adult work?
especially in demand, because they could be hired cheaply.
The 1900 U.S. census reported that three-quarters of a
million children age 10 to 13 were employed in factories,
mines, and other industrial work settings. few states had
laws restricting the ages of children in the workplace,
even for work such as coal mining (Tyack, 1990). Nor
did many states restrict the number of hours children
or adults could work, so children often worked 12-hour
days for as little as 35¢ a day.
As more and more young people entered the work-
place, however, concern for them also increased among
urban reformers, youth workers, and educators. In the
view of these adults, the young people were being
exploited and harmed (physically and morally) by their
involvement in adult work. These activists successfully
fought for legislation that prohibited companies from
hiring preteen children and severely limited the number
of hours young people could work in their early teens
(Kett, 1977).
Along with laws restricting child labor came laws
requiring a longer period of schooling. Up until the late
19th century, many states did not have any laws requir-
ing children to attend school, and those that did required
attendance only through primary school (Tyack, 1990).
However, between 1890 and 1920 states began to pass
laws requiring attendance not only in primary school but
in secondary school as well. As a consequence, the pro-
portion of adolescents in school increased dramatically;
in 1890, only 5% of young people age 14 to 17 were in
school, but by 1920 this figure had risen to 30% (Arnett &
Taber, 1994). This change contributed to making this time
the Age of Adolescence because it marked a more distinct
separation between adolescence as a period of continued
schooling and adulthood as a period that begins after
schooling is finished.
Introduction 7
Laws requiring children to attend school were passed in the early
20th century.
The third major contributor to making the years
1890–1920 the Age of Adolescence was the work of G.
Stanley Hall and the beginning of the study of ado-
lescence as a distinct field (Modell & Goodman, 1990).
Hall (1904) wrote the first textbook on adolescence,
published in 1904 as a two-volume set ambitiously
titled Adolescence: Its Psychology and Its Relations to
Physiology, Anthropology, Sociology, Sex, Crime, Religion,
and Education. Hall’s text covered a wide range of top-
ics, such as physical health and development, adoles-
cence cross-culturally and historically, and adolescent
love. A surprising number of Hall’s observations have
been verified by recent research, such as his description
of biological development during puberty, his assertion
that depressed mood tends to peak in the mid-teens,
and his claim that adolescence is a time of height-
ened responsiveness to peers (Arnett, 2006a). However,
much of what he wrote is dated and obsolete (Youniss,
2006). To a large extent, he based his ideas on the now-
discredited theory of recapitulation, which held that
the development of each individual recapitulates or
reenacts the evolutionary development of the human
species as a whole. He believed the stage of adolescence
reflected a stage in the human evolutionary past when
there was a great deal of upheaval and disorder, with
the result that adolescents today experience a great deal
of storm and stress as a standard part of their develop-
ment. (for more on the “storm and stress” debate, see
the Historical focus box.) No reputable scholar today
adheres to the theory of recapitulation. Nevertheless,
Hall did a great deal to focus attention and concern on
adolescents, not only among scholars but among the
public at large. Thus, he was perhaps the most impor-
tant figure in making the years 1890–1920 the Age of
Adolescence.
8 Chapter 1

Historical Focus
The “STorm and STreSS” debaTe

One of G. Stanley Hall’s ideas that is still debated today among

scholars is his claim that adolescence is inevitably a time of storm
and stress. according to Hall, it is normal for adolescence to be a
time of considerable upheaval and disruption. as Hall described
it (arnett, 1999), adolescent storm and stress is reflected in espe-
cially high rates of three types of difficulties during the adolescent
period: conflict with parents, mood disruptions, and risk behavior
(such as substance use and crime).
Hall (1904) favored the Lamarckian evolutionary ideas that
many prominent thinkers in the early 20th century considered
to be a better explanation of evolution than darwin’s theory of
natural selection. In lamarck’s now-discredited theory, evolution
takes place as a result of accumulated experience. Organisms
pass on their characteristics from one generation to the next not
in the form of genes (which were unknown at the time lamarck
and darwin devised their theories) but in the form of memories
and acquired characteristics. These memories and acquired
characteristics would then be reenacted or recapitulated in the risk behavior peaks in late adoles-
development of each individual in future generations. Thus Hall, cence and emerging adulthood.
considering development during adolescence, judged it to be In the century since Hall’s work established adolescence
“suggestive of some ancient period of storm and stress” (1904, as an area of scientific study, the debate over adolescent storm
vol. 1, p. xiii). In his view, there must have been a period of human and stress has simmered steadily and boiled to the surface
evolution that was extremely difficult and tumultuous; ever since, periodically. anthropologists, led by Margaret Mead (1928),
the memory of that period had been passed from one generation countered Hall’s claim that a tendency toward storm and stress
to the next and was recapitulated in the development of each in adolescence is universal and biological by describing non-
individual as the storm and stress of adolescent development. Western cultures in which adolescence was neither stormy

This brief history of adolescence provides only a taste

of what adolescence has been like in various eras of his-
tory. However, because the history of adolescence is one of
the themes of this text, historical information will appear
in every chapter.

from Adolescence to
Emerging Adulthood
“I don’t feel completely like an adult, because I still sometimes get
up in the morning and say, ‘Good lord! I’m actually a grown up!’
‘Cause I still feel like a kid. I’ve done things like just got up one
morning and said, you know, ‘I’m going to Mexico’ and just get up
and go. and I should have been doing other things.”
—Terrell, aGe 23.

“I feel like I’m much further toward adulthood than I was when
G. Stanley Hall, the founder of the scholarly study of adolescence. I started college. I’ve made this huge jump, I think, in just being

Lamarckian accumulated experience such that organisms pass on their

Reference to Lamarck’s ideas, popular in the late 19th and characteristics from one generation to the next in the form of
early 20th centuries, that evolution takes place as a result of memories and acquired characteristics.

nor stressful. In contrast, psychoanalytic theorists, particularly
anna Freud (1946, 1958, 1968, 1969), have been the most out-
spoken proponents of the storm and stress view.
anna Freud viewed adolescents who did not experience
storm and stress with great suspicion, claiming that their outward
calm concealed the inward reality that they must have “built up
excessive defenses against their drive activities and are now
crippled by the results” (1968, p. 15). She viewed storm and stress
as universal and inevitable, to the extent that its absence signified
a serious psychological problem: “To be normal during the adoles-
cent period is by itself abnormal” (1958, p. 267).
What does more recent scholarship indicate about the valid-
ity of the storm and stress view? a clear consensus exists among
current scholars that the storm and stress view proposed by Hall
and made more extreme by anna Freud and other psychoana-
lysts is not valid for most adolescents (arnett, 1999; Susman et
al., 2003). The claim that storm and stress is characteristic of all
adolescents, and that the source of it is purely biological, is clearly
false. Scholars today tend to emphasize that most adolescents
like and respect their parents, that for most adolescents their
mood disruptions are not so extreme that they need psychologi-
cal treatment, and that most of them do not engage in risk behav-
ior on a regular basis.
On the other hand, studies in recent decades have also indi-
cated some support for what might be called a “modified” storm
and stress view (arnett, 1999). research evidence supports the
existence of some degree of storm and stress with respect to
conflict with parents, mood disruptions, and risk behavior. not all
adolescents experience storm and stress in these areas, but ado-
lescence is a period when storm and stress is more likely to occur
more comfortable with myself and just being more settled with
myself. But then there are a lot of areas where I still haven’t fig-
ured all this stuff out, and there’s still so much more to figure out.
like, when people call me ‘maam,’ I’m like ‘Whoa!’ So, not really
totally yet.”
—SHelly, aGe 22 (FrOM arneTT, 2015, p. 322).
In the various eras of history described in the previous
section, when people referred to adolescents (or youth
or whatever term a particular era or society used), they
usually indicated that they meant not just the early teen
years but the late teens and into the 20s as well. When
G. Stanley Hall (1904) initiated the scientific study of
adolescence early in the 20th century, he defined the age
range of adolescence as beginning at 14 and ending at 24
(Hall, 1904, vol. 1, p. xix). In contrast, today’s scholars
generally consider adolescence to begin at about age 10
recapitulation
Now-discredited theory that held that the development of
each individual recapitulates the evolutionary development of
the human species as a whole.
Introduction 9
than at other ages. Conflict with parents tends to be higher in
adolescence than before or after adolescence (Hofer et al., 2013;
Van doorn et al., 2011). adolescents report greater extremes of
mood and more frequent changes of mood, compared with pre-
adolescents or adults (larson & richards, 1994), and depressed
mood is more common in adolescence than it is in childhood or
adulthood (Bond et al., 2005; petersen et al., 1993). rates of
most types of risk behavior rise sharply during adolescence and
peak during late adolescence or emerging adulthood. The differ-
ent aspects of storm and stress have different peak ages: conflict
with parents in early to midadolescence, mood disruptions in mid-
adolescence, and risk behavior in late adolescence and emerging
adulthood (arnett, 1999).
We will explore each aspect of storm and stress in more
detail in later chapters. For now, however, it should be empha-
sized that even though evidence supports a modified storm and
stress view, this does not mean that storm and stress is typical
of all adolescents in all places and times. Cultures vary in the
degree of storm and stress experienced by their adolescents,
with storm and stress relatively low in traditional cultures and rela-
tively high in Western cultures (arnett, 1999). also, within every
culture, individuals vary in the amount of adolescent storm and
stress they experience.
Thinking CriTiCally
do you agree or disagree with the view that adolescence is
inevitably a time of storm and stress? Specify what you mean
by storm and stress, and explain the basis for your view.
and end by about age 18. Studies published in the major
journals on adolescence rarely include samples with ages
higher than 18 (Arnett, 2000a). What happened between
Hall’s time and our own to move scholars’ conceptions
of adolescence forward chronologically in the life course?
As we’ll see in this section, two changes stand out as
explanations.
Adolescence Arrives Earlier
1.4 Summarize the influences that have led to an
earlier beginning and end to adolescence.
One change that has led to an earlier beginning of ado-
lescence is the decline that took place during the 20th
century in the typical age of the initiation of puberty.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the median age of
storm and stress
Theory promoted by G. Stanley Hall asserting that adolescence
is inevitably a time of mood disruptions, conflict with parents,
and antisocial behavior.
10 Chapter 1
Research Focus
The “moniToring The FuTure” STudy
One of the best known and most enduring studies of adolescents
in the united States is the Monitoring the Future (MTF) study con-
ducted by the university of Michigan. Beginning in 1975, every
year the MTF study has surveyed thousands of american adoles-
cents on a wide range of topics, including substance use, political
and social attitudes, and gender roles. The survey involves about
50,000 adolescents annually in the 8th, 10th, and 12th grades in
420 schools.
This kind of study is called a national survey. a survey is
a study that involves asking people questions about their opin-
ions, beliefs, or behavior. usually, closed questions are used,
meaning that participants are asked to select from a predeter-
mined set of responses, so that their responses can be easily
added and compared.
a national survey does not mean, of course, that every
person in the country is asked the survey questions! Instead,
as this chapter describes, researchers seek a sample—that is,
a relatively small number of people whose responses are taken
to represent the larger population from which they are drawn.
usually, national surveys such as the one described here use a
procedure called stratified sampling, in which they select par-
ticipants so that various categories of people are represented in
proportions equal to their presence in the population (Goodwin,
2009). For example, if we know that 52% of 13- to 17-year-olds
Watch The “moniToring The FuTure” STudy
Video
survey
A questionnaire study that involves asking a large number of
people questions about their opinions, beliefs, or behavior.
stratified sampling
Sampling technique in which researchers select participants
so that various categories of people are represented in propor-
tions equal to their presence in the population.
in the united States are female, we want the sample to be 52%
female; if we know that 13% of 13- to 17-year-olds are african
american, the sample should be 13% african american; and
so on. The categories used to select a stratified sample often
include age, gender, ethnic group, education, and socioeco-
nomic status.
The other characteristic of a national survey is usually that
the stratified sample is also a random sample, meaning that
the people selected for participation in the study are chosen ran-
domly—no one in the population has a better or worse chance
of being selected than anyone else. you could do this by put-
ting all possible participants’ names in a hat and pulling out as
many participants as you needed or by paging through a phone
book and putting your finger down in random places, but these
days the selection of a random sample for national surveys
is usually done by a computer program. Selecting a random
sample enhances the likelihood that the sample will be genuinely
representative of the larger population. The MTF study selects
a random sample of 350 students within each school. In addi-
tion, a random sample of MTF participants is followed biennially
beyond high school, extending into the early 30s.
although the MTF study includes many topics, it is best
known for its findings regarding substance use. We will examine
these findings in detail in Chapter 13.
random sample
Sampling technique in which the people selected for par-
ticipation in a study are chosen randomly, meaning that no
one in the population has a better or worse chance of being
selected than anyone else.

The author in three periods: early adolescence (ages 10 to 14), late adolescence (ages 15 to 18), and emerging adulthood (ages 18 to 25).
menarche (a girl’s first menstruation) in Western coun-
tries was about 15 (Eveleth & Tanner, 1990). Because men-
arche takes place relatively late in the typical sequence
of pubertal changes, this means that the initial changes
of puberty would have begun at ages 13 to 15 (usually
earlier for girls than for boys), which is just where Hall
designated the beginning of adolescence. However, the
median age of menarche (and, by implication, other
pubertal changes) declined steadily between 1900 and
1970 before leveling out, so that by now the typical age
of menarche in Western countries is 12.5 (Sørensen et al.,
2012). The initial changes of puberty begin about 2 years
earlier, thus the designation of adolescence as beginning
at about age 10.
As for when adolescence ends, the change in this age
may have been inspired not by a biological change but by a
social change: the growth of secondary school attendance to
a normative experience for adolescents in the United States
and other Western countries. As noted previously, in 1890
only 5% of Americans age 14 to 17 were enrolled in high
school. However, this proportion rose steeply and steadily
throughout the 20th century, reaching 95% by 1985, where
it has remained (Arnett & Taber, 1994; National Center for
Education Statistics [NCES], 2016). Because attending high
school is now nearly universal among American adoles-
cents and because high school usually ends by age 18, it
makes sense for scholars studying American adolescents to
place the end of adolescence at age 18. Hall did not choose
18 as the end of adolescence because for most adolescents
of his time no significant transition took place at that age.
Education ended earlier, work began earlier, and leaving
home took place later. Marriage and parenthood did not
menarche
A girl’s first menstrual period.
Introduction 11
take place for most people until their early to mid-20s
(Arnett & Taber, 1994), which may have been why Hall des-
ignated age 24 as the end of adolescence.
Hall viewed the late teens and early 20s as an espe-
cially interesting time of life. I agree, and I think it would
be a mistake to cut off our study of adolescence in this
book at age 18. A great deal happens in the late teens and
early 20s that is related to development earlier in adoles-
cence and that has important implications for the path
that development takes in adulthood. I have termed this
period emerging adulthood, and I consider it to include
roughly the ages 18 to 25 (Arnett, 1998, 2000a, 2004a,
2006b, 2007a, 2011, 2015).
Distinctive features of Emerging
Adulthood
1.5 Summarize the five features of emerging
adulthood.
five characteristics distinguish emerging adulthood from
other age periods (Arnett, 2004, 2006a, 2015; reifman et al.,
2006). Emerging adulthood is a time of
1. identity explorations;
2. instability;
3. self-focus;
4. feeling in-between; and
5. possibilities/optimism.
Perhaps the most distinctive characteristic of emerging
adulthood is that it is a time of identity explorations. That
is, it is an age when people explore various possibilities
emerging adulthood
Period from roughly ages 18 to 25 in industrialized countries
during which young people become more independent from
parents and explore various life possibilities before making
enduring commitments.
12 Chapter 1
Figure 1.1 Rate of residential change by age. Why does the rate peak in
emerging adulthood?
Source: Benetsky, Burd, & Rapino (2015).
45
40
Percent moved in past year
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0 parents and adults’ long-term com-
1 5 10 15 20 25
* The average migration rate for the total population, 2010–2012.
in love and work as they move toward making endur-
ing choices. Through trying out these possibilities they
develop a more definite identity, including an understand-
ing of who they are, what their capabilities and limitations
are, what their beliefs and values are, and how they fit into
the society around them. Erik Erikson (1950), who was
the first to develop the idea of identity, asserted that it is
mainly an issue in adolescence. However, that was over 60
years ago, and today it is mainly in emerging adulthood
that identity explorations take place (Arnett, 2000a, 2015;
Schwartz et al., 2005).
The explorations of emerging adulthood also make
it a time of instability. As emerging adults explore pos-
sibilities in love and work, their lives are often unstable.
A good illustration of this instability is their frequent
moves from one residence to another. As Figure 1.1 illus-
trates, rates of residential change in American society are
much higher at ages 18 to 25 than at any other period of
life. This reflects the explorations going on in emerging
adults’ lives. Some move out of their parents’ household
for the first time in their late teens to attend a residential
college, whereas others move out simply to be indepen-
dent (Goldscheider & Goldscheider, 1999). They may
move again when they drop out of college or when they
graduate. They may move to cohabit with a romantic
partner and then move out when the relationship ends.
Some move to another part of the country or the world to
study or work. for nearly half of American and Canadian
emerging adults, residential change includes moving back
in with their parents at least once (fry, 2013; Mitchell,
2007). In some countries, for example in southern Europe,
emerging adults remain home rather than moving out;
nevertheless, they may still experience instability in edu-
cation, work, and love relationships (Douglass, 2005, 2007;
Moreno-Minguez et al., 2012).
Emerging adulthood is also a
self-focused period. Most American
emerging adults move out of their
parents’ home at age 18 or 19 and
do not marry and have their first
child until at least their late 20s
(Arnett, 2015). Even in countries
where emerging adults remain
home through their early 20s, such
as in southern Europe and Asian
countries, they establish a more
independent lifestyle than they had
as adolescents (rosenberger, 2007).
Emerging adulthood is a time in
between adolescents’ reliance on
30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75+
Age
mitments in love and work. During
these years emerging adults focus
on themselves as they develop the
knowledge, skills, and self-understanding they will need
for adult life. In the course of emerging adulthood, they
learn to make independent decisions about everything
from what to have for dinner to whether to go to graduate
school.
There is nothing wrong with being self-focused
during emerging adulthood. It is normal, healthy, and
temporary. It does not mean emerging adults are self-
ish. The goal of their self-focusing is learning to stand
alone as self-sufficient people, but emerging adults do
not see self-sufficiency as a permanent state. rather,
they view it as a necessary step before committing
themselves to lasting relationships with others, in love
and work.
Another distinctive feature of emerging adulthood
is that it is a time of feeling in-between, not adolescent
but not fully adult either. When asked, “Do you feel that
you have reached adulthood?” the majority of emerging
adults in most countries respond neither yes nor no but
with the ambiguous “in some ways yes, in some ways
no” (Arnett, 1994a, 1997, 1998a, 2000a, 2001a, 2015; Nelson
& Luster, 2015). As Figure 1.2 illustrates, it is only when
people reach their late 20s and early 30s that a clear major-
ity of Americans feel they have reached adulthood. Most
emerging adults have the subjective feeling of being in a
transitional phase of life, on the way to adulthood but not
there yet. This in-between feeling in emerging adulthood
has been found in a wide range of countries (Nelson &
Luster, 2015), including Argentina (facio & Micocci, 2003),
Austria (Sirsch et al., 2009), Israel (Mayseless & Scharf,
2003), the Czech republic (Macek et al., 2007), and China
(Nelson et al., 2004).
finally, emerging adulthood is the age of possibilities,
when many different futures remain possible, when little
about a person’s direction in life has been decided for
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 DANCE ON STILTS AT THE GIRLS’ UNYAGO, NIUCHI

Newala, too, suffers from the distance of its water-supply—at least

the Newala of to-day does; there was once another Newala in a lovely
valley at the foot of the plateau. I visited it and found scarcely a trace
of houses, only a Christian cemetery, with the graves of several
missionaries and their converts, remaining as a monument of its
former glories. But the surroundings are wonderfully beautiful. A
thick grove of splendid mango-trees closes in the weather-worn
crosses and headstones; behind them, combining the useful and the
agreeable, is a whole plantation of lemon-trees covered with ripe
fruit; not the small African kind, but a much larger and also juicier
imported variety, which drops into the hands of the passing traveller,
without calling for any exertion on his part. Old Newala is now under
the jurisdiction of the native pastor, Daudi, at Chingulungulu, who,
as I am on very friendly terms with him, allows me, as a matter of
course, the use of this lemon-grove during my stay at Newala.
 FEET MUTILATED BY THE RAVAGES OF THE “JIGGER”
(Sarcopsylla penetrans)

The water-supply of New Newala is in the bottom of the valley,

some 1,600 feet lower down. The way is not only long and fatiguing,
but the water, when we get it, is thoroughly bad. We are suffering not
only from this, but from the fact that the arrangements at Newala are
nothing short of luxurious. We have a separate kitchen—a hut built
against the boma palisade on the right of the baraza, the interior of
which is not visible from our usual position. Our two cooks were not
long in finding this out, and they consequently do—or rather neglect
to do—what they please. In any case they do not seem to be very
particular about the boiling of our drinking-water—at least I can
attribute to no other cause certain attacks of a dysenteric nature,
from which both Knudsen and I have suffered for some time. If a
man like Omari has to be left unwatched for a moment, he is capable
of anything. Besides this complaint, we are inconvenienced by the
state of our nails, which have become as hard as glass, and crack on
the slightest provocation, and I have the additional infliction of
pimples all over me. As if all this were not enough, we have also, for
the last week been waging war against the jigger, who has found his
Eldorado in the hot sand of the Makonde plateau. Our men are seen
all day long—whenever their chronic colds and the dysentery likewise
raging among them permit—occupied in removing this scourge of
Africa from their feet and trying to prevent the disastrous
consequences of its presence. It is quite common to see natives of
this place with one or two toes missing; many have lost all their toes,
or even the whole front part of the foot, so that a well-formed leg
ends in a shapeless stump. These ravages are caused by the female of
Sarcopsylla penetrans, which bores its way under the skin and there
develops an egg-sac the size of a pea. In all books on the subject, it is
stated that one’s attention is called to the presence of this parasite by
an intolerable itching. This agrees very well with my experience, so
far as the softer parts of the sole, the spaces between and under the
toes, and the side of the foot are concerned, but if the creature
penetrates through the harder parts of the heel or ball of the foot, it
may escape even the most careful search till it has reached maturity.
Then there is no time to be lost, if the horrible ulceration, of which
we see cases by the dozen every day, is to be prevented. It is much
easier, by the way, to discover the insect on the white skin of a
European than on that of a native, on which the dark speck scarcely
shows. The four or five jiggers which, in spite of the fact that I
constantly wore high laced boots, chose my feet to settle in, were
taken out for me by the all-accomplished Knudsen, after which I
thought it advisable to wash out the cavities with corrosive
sublimate. The natives have a different sort of disinfectant—they fill
the hole with scraped roots. In a tiny Makua village on the slope of
the plateau south of Newala, we saw an old woman who had filled all
the spaces under her toe-nails with powdered roots by way of
prophylactic treatment. What will be the result, if any, who can say?
The rest of the many trifling ills which trouble our existence are
really more comic than serious. In the absence of anything else to
smoke, Knudsen and I at last opened a box of cigars procured from
the Indian store-keeper at Lindi, and tried them, with the most
distressing results. Whether they contain opium or some other
narcotic, neither of us can say, but after the tenth puff we were both
“off,” three-quarters stupefied and unspeakably wretched. Slowly we
recovered—and what happened next? Half-an-hour later we were
once more smoking these poisonous concoctions—so insatiable is the
craving for tobacco in the tropics.
Even my present attacks of fever scarcely deserve to be taken
seriously. I have had no less than three here at Newala, all of which
have run their course in an incredibly short time. In the early
afternoon, I am busy with my old natives, asking questions and
making notes. The strong midday coffee has stimulated my spirits to
an extraordinary degree, the brain is active and vigorous, and work
progresses rapidly, while a pleasant warmth pervades the whole
body. Suddenly this gives place to a violent chill, forcing me to put on
my overcoat, though it is only half-past three and the afternoon sun
is at its hottest. Now the brain no longer works with such acuteness
and logical precision; more especially does it fail me in trying to
establish the syntax of the difficult Makua language on which I have
ventured, as if I had not enough to do without it. Under the
circumstances it seems advisable to take my temperature, and I do
so, to save trouble, without leaving my seat, and while going on with
my work. On examination, I find it to be 101·48°. My tutors are
abruptly dismissed and my bed set up in the baraza; a few minutes
later I am in it and treating myself internally with hot water and
lemon-juice.
Three hours later, the thermometer marks nearly 104°, and I make
them carry me back into the tent, bed and all, as I am now perspiring
heavily, and exposure to the cold wind just beginning to blow might
mean a fatal chill. I lie still for a little while, and then find, to my
great relief, that the temperature is not rising, but rather falling. This
is about 7.30 p.m. At 8 p.m. I find, to my unbounded astonishment,
that it has fallen below 98·6°, and I feel perfectly well. I read for an
hour or two, and could very well enjoy a smoke, if I had the
wherewithal—Indian cigars being out of the question.
Having no medical training, I am at a loss to account for this state
of things. It is impossible that these transitory attacks of high fever
should be malarial; it seems more probable that they are due to a
kind of sunstroke. On consulting my note-book, I become more and
more inclined to think this is the case, for these attacks regularly
follow extreme fatigue and long exposure to strong sunshine. They at
least have the advantage of being only short interruptions to my
work, as on the following morning I am always quite fresh and fit.
My treasure of a cook is suffering from an enormous hydrocele which
makes it difficult for him to get up, and Moritz is obliged to keep in
the dark on account of his inflamed eyes. Knudsen’s cook, a raw boy
from somewhere in the bush, knows still less of cooking than Omari;
consequently Nils Knudsen himself has been promoted to the vacant
post. Finding that we had come to the end of our supplies, he began
by sending to Chingulungulu for the four sucking-pigs which we had
bought from Matola and temporarily left in his charge; and when
they came up, neatly packed in a large crate, he callously slaughtered
the biggest of them. The first joint we were thoughtless enough to
entrust for roasting to Knudsen’s mshenzi cook, and it was
consequently uneatable; but we made the rest of the animal into a
jelly which we ate with great relish after weeks of underfeeding,
consuming incredible helpings of it at both midday and evening
meals. The only drawback is a certain want of variety in the tinned
vegetables. Dr. Jäger, to whom the Geographical Commission
entrusted the provisioning of the expeditions—mine as well as his
own—because he had more time on his hands than the rest of us,
seems to have laid in a huge stock of Teltow turnips,[46] an article of
food which is all very well for occasional use, but which quickly palls
when set before one every day; and we seem to have no other tins
left. There is no help for it—we must put up with the turnips; but I
am certain that, once I am home again, I shall not touch them for ten
years to come.
Amid all these minor evils, which, after all, go to make up the
genuine flavour of Africa, there is at least one cheering touch:
Knudsen has, with the dexterity of a skilled mechanic, repaired my 9
× 12 cm. camera, at least so far that I can use it with a little care.
How, in the absence of finger-nails, he was able to accomplish such a
ticklish piece of work, having no tool but a clumsy screw-driver for
taking to pieces and putting together again the complicated
mechanism of the instantaneous shutter, is still a mystery to me; but
he did it successfully. The loss of his finger-nails shows him in a light
contrasting curiously enough with the intelligence evinced by the
above operation; though, after all, it is scarcely surprising after his
ten years’ residence in the bush. One day, at Lindi, he had occasion
to wash a dog, which must have been in need of very thorough
cleansing, for the bottle handed to our friend for the purpose had an
extremely strong smell. Having performed his task in the most
conscientious manner, he perceived with some surprise that the dog
did not appear much the better for it, and was further surprised by
finding his own nails ulcerating away in the course of the next few
days. “How was I to know that carbolic acid has to be diluted?” he
mutters indignantly, from time to time, with a troubled gaze at his
mutilated finger-tips.
 Since we came to Newala we have been making excursions in all
directions through the surrounding country, in accordance with old
habit, and also because the akida Sefu did not get together the tribal
elders from whom I wanted information so speedily as he had
promised. There is, however, no harm done, as, even if seen only
from the outside, the country and people are interesting enough.
The Makonde plateau is like a large rectangular table rounded off
at the corners. Measured from the Indian Ocean to Newala, it is
about seventy-five miles long, and between the Rovuma and the
Lukuledi it averages fifty miles in breadth, so that its superficial area
is about two-thirds of that of the kingdom of Saxony. The surface,
however, is not level, but uniformly inclined from its south-western
edge to the ocean. From the upper edge, on which Newala lies, the
eye ranges for many miles east and north-east, without encountering
any obstacle, over the Makonde bush. It is a green sea, from which
here and there thick clouds of smoke rise, to show that it, too, is
inhabited by men who carry on their tillage like so many other
primitive peoples, by cutting down and burning the bush, and
manuring with the ashes. Even in the radiant light of a tropical day
such a fire is a grand sight.
Much less effective is the impression produced just now by the
great western plain as seen from the edge of the plateau. As often as
time permits, I stroll along this edge, sometimes in one direction,
sometimes in another, in the hope of finding the air clear enough to
let me enjoy the view; but I have always been disappointed.
Wherever one looks, clouds of smoke rise from the burning bush,
and the air is full of smoke and vapour. It is a pity, for under more
favourable circumstances the panorama of the whole country up to
the distant Majeje hills must be truly magnificent. It is of little use
taking photographs now, and an outline sketch gives a very poor idea
of the scenery. In one of these excursions I went out of my way to
make a personal attempt on the Makonde bush. The present edge of
the plateau is the result of a far-reaching process of destruction
through erosion and denudation. The Makonde strata are
everywhere cut into by ravines, which, though short, are hundreds of
yards in depth. In consequence of the loose stratification of these
beds, not only are the walls of these ravines nearly vertical, but their
upper end is closed by an equally steep escarpment, so that the
western edge of the Makonde plateau is hemmed in by a series of
deep, basin-like valleys. In order to get from one side of such a ravine
to the other, I cut my way through the bush with a dozen of my men.
It was a very open part, with more grass than scrub, but even so the
short stretch of less than two hundred yards was very hard work; at
the end of it the men’s calicoes were in rags and they themselves
bleeding from hundreds of scratches, while even our strong khaki
suits had not escaped scatheless.

NATIVE PATH THROUGH THE MAKONDE BUSH, NEAR

MAHUTA

I see increasing reason to believe that the view formed some time
back as to the origin of the Makonde bush is the correct one. I have
no doubt that it is not a natural product, but the result of human
occupation. Those parts of the high country where man—as a very
slight amount of practice enables the eye to perceive at once—has not
yet penetrated with axe and hoe, are still occupied by a splendid
timber forest quite able to sustain a comparison with our mixed
forests in Germany. But wherever man has once built his hut or tilled
his field, this horrible bush springs up. Every phase of this process
may be seen in the course of a couple of hours’ walk along the main
road. From the bush to right or left, one hears the sound of the axe—
not from one spot only, but from several directions at once. A few
steps further on, we can see what is taking place. The brush has been
cut down and piled up in heaps to the height of a yard or more,
between which the trunks of the large trees stand up like the last
pillars of a magnificent ruined building. These, too, present a
melancholy spectacle: the destructive Makonde have ringed them—
cut a broad strip of bark all round to ensure their dying off—and also
piled up pyramids of brush round them. Father and son, mother and
son-in-law, are chopping away perseveringly in the background—too
busy, almost, to look round at the white stranger, who usually excites
so much interest. If you pass by the same place a week later, the piles
of brushwood have disappeared and a thick layer of ashes has taken
the place of the green forest. The large trees stretch their
smouldering trunks and branches in dumb accusation to heaven—if
they have not already fallen and been more or less reduced to ashes,
perhaps only showing as a white stripe on the dark ground.
This work of destruction is carried out by the Makonde alike on the
virgin forest and on the bush which has sprung up on sites already
cultivated and deserted. In the second case they are saved the trouble
of burning the large trees, these being entirely absent in the
secondary bush.
After burning this piece of forest ground and loosening it with the
hoe, the native sows his corn and plants his vegetables. All over the
country, he goes in for bed-culture, which requires, and, in fact,
receives, the most careful attention. Weeds are nowhere tolerated in
the south of German East Africa. The crops may fail on the plains,
where droughts are frequent, but never on the plateau with its
abundant rains and heavy dews. Its fortunate inhabitants even have
the satisfaction of seeing the proud Wayao and Wamakua working
for them as labourers, driven by hunger to serve where they were
accustomed to rule.
But the light, sandy soil is soon exhausted, and would yield no
harvest the second year if cultivated twice running. This fact has
been familiar to the native for ages; consequently he provides in
time, and, while his crop is growing, prepares the next plot with axe
and firebrand. Next year he plants this with his various crops and
lets the first piece lie fallow. For a short time it remains waste and
desolate; then nature steps in to repair the destruction wrought by
man; a thousand new growths spring out of the exhausted soil, and
even the old stumps put forth fresh shoots. Next year the new growth
is up to one’s knees, and in a few years more it is that terrible,
impenetrable bush, which maintains its position till the black
occupier of the land has made the round of all the available sites and
come back to his starting point.
The Makonde are, body and soul, so to speak, one with this bush.
According to my Yao informants, indeed, their name means nothing
else but “bush people.” Their own tradition says that they have been
settled up here for a very long time, but to my surprise they laid great
stress on an original immigration. Their old homes were in the
south-east, near Mikindani and the mouth of the Rovuma, whence
their peaceful forefathers were driven by the continual raids of the
Sakalavas from Madagascar and the warlike Shirazis[47] of the coast,
to take refuge on the almost inaccessible plateau. I have studied
African ethnology for twenty years, but the fact that changes of
population in this apparently quiet and peaceable corner of the earth
could have been occasioned by outside enterprises taking place on
the high seas, was completely new to me. It is, no doubt, however,
correct.
The charming tribal legend of the Makonde—besides informing us
of other interesting matters—explains why they have to live in the
thickest of the bush and a long way from the edge of the plateau,
instead of making their permanent homes beside the purling brooks
and springs of the low country.
“The place where the tribe originated is Mahuta, on the southern
side of the plateau towards the Rovuma, where of old time there was
nothing but thick bush. Out of this bush came a man who never
washed himself or shaved his head, and who ate and drank but little.
He went out and made a human figure from the wood of a tree
growing in the open country, which he took home to his abode in the
bush and there set it upright. In the night this image came to life and
was a woman. The man and woman went down together to the
Rovuma to wash themselves. Here the woman gave birth to a still-
born child. They left that place and passed over the high land into the
valley of the Mbemkuru, where the woman had another child, which
was also born dead. Then they returned to the high bush country of
Mahuta, where the third child was born, which lived and grew up. In
course of time, the couple had many more children, and called
themselves Wamatanda. These were the ancestral stock of the
Makonde, also called Wamakonde,[48] i.e., aborigines. Their
forefather, the man from the bush, gave his children the command to
bury their dead upright, in memory of the mother of their race who
was cut out of wood and awoke to life when standing upright. He also
warned them against settling in the valleys and near large streams,
for sickness and death dwelt there. They were to make it a rule to
have their huts at least an hour’s walk from the nearest watering-
place; then their children would thrive and escape illness.”
The explanation of the name Makonde given by my informants is
somewhat different from that contained in the above legend, which I
extract from a little book (small, but packed with information), by
Pater Adams, entitled Lindi und sein Hinterland. Otherwise, my
results agree exactly with the statements of the legend. Washing?
Hapana—there is no such thing. Why should they do so? As it is, the
supply of water scarcely suffices for cooking and drinking; other
people do not wash, so why should the Makonde distinguish himself
by such needless eccentricity? As for shaving the head, the short,
woolly crop scarcely needs it,[49] so the second ancestral precept is
likewise easy enough to follow. Beyond this, however, there is
nothing ridiculous in the ancestor’s advice. I have obtained from
various local artists a fairly large number of figures carved in wood,
ranging from fifteen to twenty-three inches in height, and
representing women belonging to the great group of the Mavia,
Makonde, and Matambwe tribes. The carving is remarkably well
done and renders the female type with great accuracy, especially the
keloid ornamentation, to be described later on. As to the object and
meaning of their works the sculptors either could or (more probably)
would tell me nothing, and I was forced to content myself with the
scanty information vouchsafed by one man, who said that the figures
were merely intended to represent the nembo—the artificial
deformations of pelele, ear-discs, and keloids. The legend recorded
by Pater Adams places these figures in a new light. They must surely
be more than mere dolls; and we may even venture to assume that
they are—though the majority of present-day Makonde are probably
unaware of the fact—representations of the tribal ancestress.
 The references in the legend to the descent from Mahuta to the
Rovuma, and to a journey across the highlands into the Mbekuru
valley, undoubtedly indicate the previous history of the tribe, the
travels of the ancestral pair typifying the migrations of their
descendants. The descent to the neighbouring Rovuma valley, with
its extraordinary fertility and great abundance of game, is intelligible
at a glance—but the crossing of the Lukuledi depression, the ascent
to the Rondo Plateau and the descent to the Mbemkuru, also lie
within the bounds of probability, for all these districts have exactly
the same character as the extreme south. Now, however, comes a
point of especial interest for our bacteriological age. The primitive
Makonde did not enjoy their lives in the marshy river-valleys.
Disease raged among them, and many died. It was only after they
had returned to their original home near Mahuta, that the health
conditions of these people improved. We are very apt to think of the
African as a stupid person whose ignorance of nature is only equalled
by his fear of it, and who looks on all mishaps as caused by evil
spirits and malignant natural powers. It is much more correct to
assume in this case that the people very early learnt to distinguish
districts infested with malaria from those where it is absent.
This knowledge is crystallized in the
ancestral warning against settling in the
valleys and near the great waters, the
dwelling-places of disease and death. At the
same time, for security against the hostile
Mavia south of the Rovuma, it was enacted
that every settlement must be not less than a
certain distance from the southern edge of the
plateau. Such in fact is their mode of life at the
present day. It is not such a bad one, and
certainly they are both safer and more
comfortable than the Makua, the recent
intruders from the south, who have made USUAL METHOD OF
good their footing on the western edge of the CLOSING HUT-DOOR
plateau, extending over a fairly wide belt of
country. Neither Makua nor Makonde show in their dwellings
anything of the size and comeliness of the Yao houses in the plain,
especially at Masasi, Chingulungulu and Zuza’s. Jumbe Chauro, a
Makonde hamlet not far from Newala, on the road to Mahuta, is the
most important settlement of the tribe I have yet seen, and has fairly
spacious huts. But how slovenly is their construction compared with
the palatial residences of the elephant-hunters living in the plain.
The roofs are still more untidy than in the general run of huts during
the dry season, the walls show here and there the scanty beginnings
or the lamentable remains of the mud plastering, and the interior is a
veritable dog-kennel; dirt, dust and disorder everywhere. A few huts
only show any attempt at division into rooms, and this consists
merely of very roughly-made bamboo partitions. In one point alone
have I noticed any indication of progress—in the method of fastening
the door. Houses all over the south are secured in a simple but
ingenious manner. The door consists of a set of stout pieces of wood
or bamboo, tied with bark-string to two cross-pieces, and moving in
two grooves round one of the door-posts, so as to open inwards. If
the owner wishes to leave home, he takes two logs as thick as a man’s
upper arm and about a yard long. One of these is placed obliquely
against the middle of the door from the inside, so as to form an angle
of from 60° to 75° with the ground. He then places the second piece
horizontally across the first, pressing it downward with all his might.
It is kept in place by two strong posts planted in the ground a few
inches inside the door. This fastening is absolutely safe, but of course
cannot be applied to both doors at once, otherwise how could the
owner leave or enter his house? I have not yet succeeded in finding
out how the back door is fastened.

MAKONDE LOCK AND KEY AT JUMBE CHAURO

 This is the general way of closing a house. The Makonde at Jumbe
Chauro, however, have a much more complicated, solid and original
one. Here, too, the door is as already described, except that there is
only one post on the inside, standing by itself about six inches from
one side of the doorway. Opposite this post is a hole in the wall just
large enough to admit a man’s arm. The door is closed inside by a
large wooden bolt passing through a hole in this post and pressing
with its free end against the door. The other end has three holes into
which fit three pegs running in vertical grooves inside the post. The
door is opened with a wooden key about a foot long, somewhat
curved and sloped off at the butt; the other end has three pegs
corresponding to the holes, in the bolt, so that, when it is thrust
through the hole in the wall and inserted into the rectangular
opening in the post, the pegs can be lifted and the bolt drawn out.[50]

MODE OF INSERTING THE KEY

With no small pride first one householder and then a second

showed me on the spot the action of this greatest invention of the
Makonde Highlands. To both with an admiring exclamation of
“Vizuri sana!” (“Very fine!”). I expressed the wish to take back these
marvels with me to Ulaya, to show the Wazungu what clever fellows
the Makonde are. Scarcely five minutes after my return to camp at
Newala, the two men came up sweating under the weight of two
heavy logs which they laid down at my feet, handing over at the same
time the keys of the fallen fortress. Arguing, logically enough, that if
the key was wanted, the lock would be wanted with it, they had taken
their axes and chopped down the posts—as it never occurred to them
to dig them out of the ground and so bring them intact. Thus I have
two badly damaged specimens, and the owners, instead of praise,
come in for a blowing-up.
The Makua huts in the environs of Newala are especially
miserable; their more than slovenly construction reminds one of the
temporary erections of the Makua at Hatia’s, though the people here
have not been concerned in a war. It must therefore be due to
congenital idleness, or else to the absence of a powerful chief. Even
the baraza at Mlipa’s, a short hour’s walk south-east of Newala,
shares in this general neglect. While public buildings in this country
are usually looked after more or less carefully, this is in evident
danger of being blown over by the first strong easterly gale. The only
attractive object in this whole district is the grave of the late chief
Mlipa. I visited it in the morning, while the sun was still trying with
partial success to break through the rolling mists, and the circular
grove of tall euphorbias, which, with a broken pot, is all that marks
the old king’s resting-place, impressed one with a touch of pathos.
Even my very materially-minded carriers seemed to feel something
of the sort, for instead of their usual ribald songs, they chanted
solemnly, as we marched on through the dense green of the Makonde
bush:—
 “We shall arrive with the great master; we stand in a row and have
no fear about getting our food and our money from the Serkali (the
Government). We are not afraid; we are going along with the great
master, the lion; we are going down to the coast and back.”
With regard to the characteristic features of the various tribes here
on the western edge of the plateau, I can arrive at no other
conclusion than the one already come to in the plain, viz., that it is
impossible for anyone but a trained anthropologist to assign any
given individual at once to his proper tribe. In fact, I think that even
an anthropological specialist, after the most careful examination,
might find it a difficult task to decide. The whole congeries of peoples
collected in the region bounded on the west by the great Central
African rift, Tanganyika and Nyasa, and on the east by the Indian
Ocean, are closely related to each other—some of their languages are
only distinguished from one another as dialects of the same speech,
and no doubt all the tribes present the same shape of skull and
structure of skeleton. Thus, surely, there can be no very striking
differences in outward appearance.
 Even did such exist, I should have no time
to concern myself with them, for day after day,
I have to see or hear, as the case may be—in
any case to grasp and record—an
extraordinary number of ethnographic
phenomena. I am almost disposed to think it
fortunate that some departments of inquiry, at
least, are barred by external circumstances.
Chief among these is the subject of iron-
working. We are apt to think of Africa as a
country where iron ore is everywhere, so to
speak, to be picked up by the roadside, and
where it would be quite surprising if the
inhabitants had not learnt to smelt the
material ready to their hand. In fact, the
knowledge of this art ranges all over the
continent, from the Kabyles in the north to the
Kafirs in the south. Here between the Rovuma
and the Lukuledi the conditions are not so
favourable. According to the statements of the
Makonde, neither ironstone nor any other
form of iron ore is known to them. They have
not therefore advanced to the art of smelting
the metal, but have hitherto bought all their
THE ANCESTRESS OF
THE MAKONDE
iron implements from neighbouring tribes.
Even in the plain the inhabitants are not much
better off. Only one man now living is said to
understand the art of smelting iron. This old fundi lives close to
Huwe, that isolated, steep-sided block of granite which rises out of
the green solitude between Masasi and Chingulungulu, and whose
jagged and splintered top meets the traveller’s eye everywhere. While
still at Masasi I wished to see this man at work, but was told that,
frightened by the rising, he had retired across the Rovuma, though
he would soon return. All subsequent inquiries as to whether the
fundi had come back met with the genuine African answer, “Bado”
(“Not yet”).
 BRAZIER

Some consolation was afforded me by a brassfounder, whom I

came across in the bush near Akundonde’s. This man is the favourite
of women, and therefore no doubt of the gods; he welds the glittering
brass rods purchased at the coast into those massive, heavy rings
which, on the wrists and ankles of the local fair ones, continually give
me fresh food for admiration. Like every decent master-craftsman he
had all his tools with him, consisting of a pair of bellows, three
crucibles and a hammer—nothing more, apparently. He was quite
willing to show his skill, and in a twinkling had fixed his bellows on
the ground. They are simply two goat-skins, taken off whole, the four
legs being closed by knots, while the upper opening, intended to
admit the air, is kept stretched by two pieces of wood. At the lower
end of the skin a smaller opening is left into which a wooden tube is
stuck. The fundi has quickly borrowed a heap of wood-embers from
the nearest hut; he then fixes the free ends of the two tubes into an
earthen pipe, and clamps them to the ground by means of a bent
piece of wood. Now he fills one of his small clay crucibles, the dross
on which shows that they have been long in use, with the yellow
material, places it in the midst of the embers, which, at present are
only faintly glimmering, and begins his work. In quick alternation
the smith’s two hands move up and down with the open ends of the
bellows; as he raises his hand he holds the slit wide open, so as to let
the air enter the skin bag unhindered. In pressing it down he closes
the bag, and the air puffs through the bamboo tube and clay pipe into
the fire, which quickly burns up. The smith, however, does not keep
on with this work, but beckons to another man, who relieves him at
the bellows, while he takes some more tools out of a large skin pouch
carried on his back. I look on in wonder as, with a smooth round
stick about the thickness of a finger, he bores a few vertical holes into
the clean sand of the soil. This should not be difficult, yet the man
seems to be taking great pains over it. Then he fastens down to the
ground, with a couple of wooden clamps, a neat little trough made by
splitting a joint of bamboo in half, so that the ends are closed by the
two knots. At last the yellow metal has attained the right consistency,
and the fundi lifts the crucible from the fire by means of two sticks
split at the end to serve as tongs. A short swift turn to the left—a
tilting of the crucible—and the molten brass, hissing and giving forth
clouds of smoke, flows first into the bamboo mould and then into the
holes in the ground.
The technique of this backwoods craftsman may not be very far
advanced, but it cannot be denied that he knows how to obtain an
adequate result by the simplest means. The ladies of highest rank in
this country—that is to say, those who can afford it, wear two kinds
of these massive brass rings, one cylindrical, the other semicircular
in section. The latter are cast in the most ingenious way in the
bamboo mould, the former in the circular hole in the sand. It is quite
a simple matter for the fundi to fit these bars to the limbs of his fair
customers; with a few light strokes of his hammer he bends the
pliable brass round arm or ankle without further inconvenience to
the wearer.
SHAPING THE POT

SMOOTHING WITH MAIZE-COB

CUTTING THE EDGE

 FINISHING THE BOTTOM

LAST SMOOTHING BEFORE

BURNING

FIRING THE BRUSH-PILE

 LIGHTING THE FARTHER SIDE OF
THE PILE

TURNING THE RED-HOT VESSEL

NYASA WOMAN MAKING POTS AT MASASI

Pottery is an art which must always and everywhere excite the
interest of the student, just because it is so intimately connected with
the development of human culture, and because its relics are one of
the principal factors in the reconstruction of our own condition in
prehistoric times. I shall always remember with pleasure the two or
three afternoons at Masasi when Salim Matola’s mother, a slightly-
built, graceful, pleasant-looking woman, explained to me with
touching patience, by means of concrete illustrations, the ceramic art
of her people. The only implements for this primitive process were a
lump of clay in her left hand, and in the right a calabash containing
the following valuables: the fragment of a maize-cob stripped of all
its grains, a smooth, oval pebble, about the size of a pigeon’s egg, a
few chips of gourd-shell, a bamboo splinter about the length of one’s
hand, a small shell, and a bunch of some herb resembling spinach.
 Nothing more. The woman scraped with the
shell a round, shallow hole in the soft, fine
sand of the soil, and, when an active young
girl had filled the calabash with water for her,
she began to knead the clay. As if by magic it
gradually assumed the shape of a rough but
already well-shaped vessel, which only wanted
a little touching up with the instruments
before mentioned. I looked out with the
MAKUA WOMAN closest attention for any indication of the use
MAKING A POT. of the potter’s wheel, in however rudimentary
SHOWS THE a form, but no—hapana (there is none). The
BEGINNINGS OF THE embryo pot stood firmly in its little
POTTER’S WHEEL
depression, and the woman walked round it in
a stooping posture, whether she was removing
small stones or similar foreign bodies with the maize-cob, smoothing
the inner or outer surface with the splinter of bamboo, or later, after
letting it dry for a day, pricking in the ornamentation with a pointed
bit of gourd-shell, or working out the bottom, or cutting the edge
with a sharp bamboo knife, or giving the last touches to the finished
vessel. This occupation of the women is infinitely toilsome, but it is
without doubt an accurate reproduction of the process in use among
our ancestors of the Neolithic and Bronze ages.
There is no doubt that the invention of pottery, an item in human
progress whose importance cannot be over-estimated, is due to
women. Rough, coarse and unfeeling, the men of the horde range
over the countryside. When the united cunning of the hunters has
succeeded in killing the game; not one of them thinks of carrying
home the spoil. A bright fire, kindled by a vigorous wielding of the
drill, is crackling beside them; the animal has been cleaned and cut
up secundum artem, and, after a slight singeing, will soon disappear
under their sharp teeth; no one all this time giving a single thought
to wife or child.
To what shifts, on the other hand, the primitive wife, and still more
the primitive mother, was put! Not even prehistoric stomachs could
endure an unvarying diet of raw food. Something or other suggested
the beneficial effect of hot water on the majority of approved but
indigestible dishes. Perhaps a neighbour had tried holding the hard
roots or tubers over the fire in a calabash filled with water—or maybe
an ostrich-egg-shell, or a hastily improvised vessel of bark. They
became much softer and more palatable than they had previously
been; but, unfortunately, the vessel could not stand the fire and got
charred on the outside. That can be remedied, thought our
ancestress, and plastered a layer of wet clay round a similar vessel.
This is an improvement; the cooking utensil remains uninjured, but
the heat of the fire has shrunk it, so that it is loose in its shell. The
next step is to detach it, so, with a firm grip and a jerk, shell and
kernel are separated, and pottery is invented. Perhaps, however, the
discovery which led to an intelligent use of the burnt-clay shell, was
made in a slightly different way. Ostrich-eggs and calabashes are not
to be found in every part of the world, but everywhere mankind has
arrived at the art of making baskets out of pliant materials, such as
bark, bast, strips of palm-leaf, supple twigs, etc. Our inventor has no
water-tight vessel provided by nature. “Never mind, let us line the
basket with clay.” This answers the purpose, but alas! the basket gets
burnt over the blazing fire, the woman watches the process of
cooking with increasing uneasiness, fearing a leak, but no leak
appears. The food, done to a turn, is eaten with peculiar relish; and
the cooking-vessel is examined, half in curiosity, half in satisfaction
at the result. The plastic clay is now hard as stone, and at the same
time looks exceedingly well, for the neat plaiting of the burnt basket
is traced all over it in a pretty pattern. Thus, simultaneously with
pottery, its ornamentation was invented.
Primitive woman has another claim to respect. It was the man,
roving abroad, who invented the art of producing fire at will, but the
woman, unable to imitate him in this, has been a Vestal from the
earliest times. Nothing gives so much trouble as the keeping alight of
the smouldering brand, and, above all, when all the men are absent
from the camp. Heavy rain-clouds gather, already the first large
drops are falling, the first gusts of the storm rage over the plain. The
little flame, a greater anxiety to the woman than her own children,
flickers unsteadily in the blast. What is to be done? A sudden thought
occurs to her, and in an instant she has constructed a primitive hut
out of strips of bark, to protect the flame against rain and wind.
This, or something very like it, was the way in which the principle
of the house was discovered; and even the most hardened misogynist
cannot fairly refuse a woman the credit of it. The protection of the
hearth-fire from the weather is the germ from which the human
dwelling was evolved. Men had little, if any share, in this forward
step, and that only at a late stage. Even at the present day, the
plastering of the housewall with clay and the manufacture of pottery
are exclusively the women’s business. These are two very significant
survivals. Our European kitchen-garden, too, is originally a woman’s
invention, and the hoe, the primitive instrument of agriculture, is,
characteristically enough, still used in this department. But the
noblest achievement which we owe to the other sex is unquestionably
the art of cookery. Roasting alone—the oldest process—is one for
which men took the hint (a very obvious one) from nature. It must
have been suggested by the scorched carcase of some animal
overtaken by the destructive forest-fires. But boiling—the process of
improving organic substances by the help of water heated to boiling-
point—is a much later discovery. It is so recent that it has not even
yet penetrated to all parts of the world. The Polynesians understand
how to steam food, that is, to cook it, neatly wrapped in leaves, in a
hole in the earth between hot stones, the air being excluded, and
(sometimes) a few drops of water sprinkled on the stones; but they
do not understand boiling.
To come back from this digression, we find that the slender Nyasa
woman has, after once more carefully examining the finished pot,
put it aside in the shade to dry. On the following day she sends me
word by her son, Salim Matola, who is always on hand, that she is
going to do the burning, and, on coming out of my house, I find her
already hard at work. She has spread on the ground a layer of very
dry sticks, about as thick as one’s thumb, has laid the pot (now of a
yellowish-grey colour) on them, and is piling brushwood round it.
My faithful Pesa mbili, the mnyampara, who has been standing by,
most obligingly, with a lighted stick, now hands it to her. Both of
them, blowing steadily, light the pile on the lee side, and, when the
flame begins to catch, on the weather side also. Soon the whole is in a
blaze, but the dry fuel is quickly consumed and the fire dies down, so
that we see the red-hot vessel rising from the ashes. The woman
turns it continually with a long stick, sometimes one way and
sometimes another, so that it may be evenly heated all over. In
twenty minutes she rolls it out of the ash-heap, takes up the bundle
of spinach, which has been lying for two days in a jar of water, and
sprinkles the red-hot clay with it. The places where the drops fall are
marked by black spots on the uniform reddish-brown surface. With a
sigh of relief, and with visible satisfaction, the woman rises to an
erect position; she is standing just in a line between me and the fire,
from which a cloud of smoke is just rising: I press the ball of my
camera, the shutter clicks—the apotheosis is achieved! Like a
priestess, representative of her inventive sex, the graceful woman
stands: at her feet the hearth-fire she has given us beside her the
invention she has devised for us, in the background the home she has
built for us.
At Newala, also, I have had the manufacture of pottery carried on
in my presence. Technically the process is better than that already
described, for here we find the beginnings of the potter’s wheel,
which does not seem to exist in the plains; at least I have seen
nothing of the sort. The artist, a frightfully stupid Makua woman, did
not make a depression in the ground to receive the pot she was about
to shape, but used instead a large potsherd. Otherwise, she went to
work in much the same way as Salim’s mother, except that she saved
herself the trouble of walking round and round her work by squatting
at her ease and letting the pot and potsherd rotate round her; this is
surely the first step towards a machine. But it does not follow that
the pot was improved by the process. It is true that it was beautifully
rounded and presented a very creditable appearance when finished,
but the numerous large and small vessels which I have seen, and, in
part, collected, in the “less advanced” districts, are no less so. We
moderns imagine that instruments of precision are necessary to
produce excellent results. Go to the prehistoric collections of our
museums and look at the pots, urns and bowls of our ancestors in the
dim ages of the past, and you will at once perceive your error.
MAKING LONGITUDINAL CUT IN
BARK

DRAWING THE BARK OFF THE LOG

REMOVING THE OUTER BARK

 BEATING THE BARK

WORKING THE BARK-CLOTH AFTER BEATING, TO MAKE IT

SOFT

MANUFACTURE OF BARK-CLOTH AT NEWALA

To-day, nearly the whole population of German East Africa is
clothed in imported calico. This was not always the case; even now in
some parts of the north dressed skins are still the prevailing wear,
and in the north-western districts—east and north of Lake
Tanganyika—lies a zone where bark-cloth has not yet been
superseded. Probably not many generations have passed since such
bark fabrics and kilts of skins were the only clothing even in the
south. Even to-day, large quantities of this bright-red or drab
material are still to be found; but if we wish to see it, we must look in
the granaries and on the drying stages inside the native huts, where
it serves less ambitious uses as wrappings for those seeds and fruits
which require to be packed with special care. The salt produced at
Masasi, too, is packed for transport to a distance in large sheets of
bark-cloth. Wherever I found it in any degree possible, I studied the
process of making this cloth. The native requisitioned for the
purpose arrived, carrying a log between two and three yards long and
as thick as his thigh, and nothing else except a curiously-shaped
mallet and the usual long, sharp and pointed knife which all men and
boys wear in a belt at their backs without a sheath—horribile dictu!
[51]
Silently he squats down before me, and with two rapid cuts has
drawn a couple of circles round the log some two yards apart, and
slits the bark lengthwise between them with the point of his knife.
With evident care, he then scrapes off the outer rind all round the
log, so that in a quarter of an hour the inner red layer of the bark
shows up brightly-coloured between the two untouched ends. With
some trouble and much caution, he now loosens the bark at one end,
and opens the cylinder. He then stands up, takes hold of the free
edge with both hands, and turning it inside out, slowly but steadily
pulls it off in one piece. Now comes the troublesome work of
scraping all superfluous particles of outer bark from the outside of
the long, narrow piece of material, while the inner side is carefully
scrutinised for defective spots. At last it is ready for beating. Having
signalled to a friend, who immediately places a bowl of water beside
him, the artificer damps his sheet of bark all over, seizes his mallet,
lays one end of the stuff on the smoothest spot of the log, and
hammers away slowly but continuously. “Very simple!” I think to
myself. “Why, I could do that, too!”—but I am forced to change my
opinions a little later on; for the beating is quite an art, if the fabric is
not to be beaten to pieces. To prevent the breaking of the fibres, the
stuff is several times folded across, so as to interpose several
thicknesses between the mallet and the block. At last the required
state is reached, and the fundi seizes the sheet, still folded, by both
ends, and wrings it out, or calls an assistant to take one end while he
holds the other. The cloth produced in this way is not nearly so fine
and uniform in texture as the famous Uganda bark-cloth, but it is
quite soft, and, above all, cheap.
Now, too, I examine the mallet. My craftsman has been using the
simpler but better form of this implement, a conical block of some
hard wood, its base—the striking surface—being scored across and
across with more or less deeply-cut grooves, and the handle stuck
into a hole in the middle. The other and earlier form of mallet is
shaped in the same way, but the head is fastened by an ingenious
network of bark strips into the split bamboo serving as a handle. The
observation so often made, that ancient customs persist longest in
connection with religious ceremonies and in the life of children, here
finds confirmation. As we shall soon see, bark-cloth is still worn
during the unyago,[52] having been prepared with special solemn
ceremonies; and many a mother, if she has no other garment handy,
will still put her little one into a kilt of bark-cloth, which, after all,
looks better, besides being more in keeping with its African
surroundings, than the ridiculous bit of print from Ulaya.
MAKUA WOMEN