oa Over pubers, adolescenten en infantilisering

On puberty, adolescence and infantilisation

In this paper adolescence is seen as a cultural historical phenomenon and not as a biological unavoidable developmental stage. It is demonstrated that in earlier centuries there was no such thing as adolescence; that since the 18^th century adolescence as a developmental stage became longer and longer; and that adolescence does not exist within pre-industrial countries. It is claimed that the classical adolescence, as described by Stanley Hall is in our time disappearing. This is a slower process in the USA than in Western Europe, because of the commercial importance of adolescence in the USA. It is concluded that adolescence researchers should start from the conviction that adolescents are full-fledged interlocutors, who should carry societal responsibility.