The Teenage World : Adolescents’ Self-Image in Ten Countries

"A Cross-National Study of Adolescent Self-Image Adolescence is not, as has been previously assumed, a developmental stage that was defined after the industrial revolution. There is substanƯ tial historical evidence to suggest that adolescence and youth, as a stage, was recognized by the ancient Romans, Greeks, and even EgypƯ tians. The concept survived through the Dark Ages. In Le Grand ProƯ prietaire, written in 1556, it is stated: "The third age, which is called adolescence ... ends in the twenty-first year ... and it can go on till thirty or thirty-five. The age is called adolescence because the person is big enough to beget children. In this age the limbs are soft and able to grow and receive strength and vigor from natural heat" (Aries, 1962, p. 21). The span of years devoted to adolescent development varies in different cultures and with different definitions. The term adolescence is no longer equivalent to pubescence. "Adolescence" is a psychoƯ social-biological stage of development that corresponds to changes in many areas which accompany the transition from childhood to adultƯ hood. The working definition of adolescence we use is the stage of life that starts with puberty and ends at the time when the person has attained a reasonable degree of independence from his parents. Once in high school or its equivalent, the vast majority of teenagers have alƯ ready undergone the biological changes of puberty"--Font no determinada In order to test the view that adolescence is characterised by emotional turbulence, including impulsive behaviour, mood swings and introspection, nearly 6000 middle class, urban adolescents in nine countries were given the Offer Self-Image Questionnaire (OSIQ). The countries involved were: Australia, Bangladesh, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Japan, Taiwan, Turkey and West Germany. The self image of the teenagers was measured in five areas: the psychological, such as emotions and feelings about self; the social; the sexual; the familial; and the coping self. In presenting results of the study, the book focusses on universal characteristics as well as on gender, age and national differences. It also examines the prevalence rate of depression in the ten countries, as well as the relationship of self image patterns to economic and demographic factors. A review is included of the literature on theories of the self in adolescence, cross-cultural studies of adolescents, and research issues in comparative studies Front Matter....Pages i-xiii Introduction....Pages 1-7 Adolescents....Pages 9-34 Design and Procedure....Pages 35-62 Results of Data Analysis....Pages 63-107 Discussion....Pages 109-125 Commentary....Pages 127-128 Back Matter....Pages 129-270