# The New Student's Reference Work/Adolescence

See also Adolescence on Wikipedia, and the disclaimer.
​Adolescence. The word adolescence is used to designate the period of transition from childhood to adult life. It is the period beginning just before puberty, and lasting till the age of maturity. It may be conveniently divided into two stages: (1) that of early adolescence or pubescence, beginning at the age of eleven or twelve in girls, and thirteen or fourteen in boys, and lasting till about the age of sixteen or eighteen, (2) that of late adolescence, from sixteen to twenty-one in girls and eighteen to twenty-five in boys.
There is, of course, continuity throughout the whole development of an individual, and lines of demarkation cannot be too rigidly drawn, or characteristics of special periods too strongly emphasized, particularly as the nature of development varies considerably with different persons; but there are certain well marked features of adolescence with which teachers and parents as well as adolescents themselves should be familiar.
After the somewhat slow period of growth of later childhood there is, at the beginning of pubescence, a sudden shooting up in height, closely followed by a rapid increase in weight. In both boys and girls the body now begins to assume the adult form, and the pronounced sex differences appear. In boys the beard begins to grow, and the voice changes and deepens, the rapid growth of the larynx making accurate control of the vocal organs for a time impossible. Boys often exhibit, and are sensitive to, awkwardness in the management of their overgrown bodies. Latent capacities and interests develop, the features change to show new characters, and hereditary influences become more pronounced.
​The essential characteristic of pubescence is, of course, the unfoldment of the functions pertaining to sex, with their accompanying instincts and impulses. The youth suddenly finds himself strangely sensitive to the charms of the opposite sex and strongly susceptible to its influence. A new interest in dress and the care of the person usually develops, and often a tendency to show off, on account of the newly awakened regard for the good opinion of persons of the opposite sex. These sex instincts, like all other instincts, should be properly directed, strengthened or inhibited in view of their future function on the one hand and the danger of perversion on the other.
The more distinctly mental and emotional traits of this period are, perhaps, more variable than the physical ones, but scarcely less pronounced. In thought and feeling, as well as in appearance, the boy becomes specifically masculine and the girl feminine. It is a time of great increase in mental and emotional vigor, of tremendous enlargement of the sphere of interests and broadening of the mental horizon. The beauties of nature, of poetry and of art begin to appeal, and the soul can be profoundly stirred by religious and ideal sentiments. The youth comes to look upon himself in the light of his larger relations to the race and to society, and to attempt a personal readjustment to the larger view of life thus opened up. Intellectually he becomes capable of comprehending broader generalizations and larger thoughts. In many it is an epoch marked by great emotional instability. Periods of enthusiastic energy and noble attempt at high achievement often alternate with periods of languor, depression and doubt.
The stage here gradually shades off into that of late adolescence. Late adolescence is essentially a time of fixing the framework of the personal habits, ideals and relationships of life. It is normally a time of choosing a life profession and of taking the initial steps toward entering upon it. It marks the transition from a state of dependence upon others in matters material and intellectual to one of independence, showing itself in the development of a characteristic personality capable of thinking and acting as such. Outbreaks against restraint and authority often seem to occur almost instinctively at this period and should be dealt with sympathetically by parents and teachers. Much needless and harmful friction and misunderstanding are caused by the failure of adults to comprehend the real nature and cause of these outbreaks. In many this emerging personality is subject in turn to periods of emotional exaltation of self-consciousness with abundance of self-confidence, and periods of distressing depression and doubt, with feelings of total inability to cope with the complexity of the problems opened up by this wondrous new birth.
With some, this ebb and flow of feelings connected with the emergence of the new sense of one’s distinctive personality give rise to a great deal of needless anxiety. Largely on this account later adolescence has been called a stress and strain period. Those who do not manifest this extreme emotional instability are fortunate. Those who do should be led to see that these feelings in themselves are of no consequence, but merely accidental accompaniments of certain physiological changes, and that vague fears for the future are groundless and harmful.
Professor James’ words of encouragement in this connection have been so inestimably helpful to many adolescents that they are here quoted at length: “Let no youth have any anxiety about the upshot of his education, whatever the line of it may be. If he keeps faithfully busy each hour of the working day he may safely leave the final result to itself. He can, with perfect certainty count on waking up some fine morning to find himself one of the competent ones of his generation in whatever pursuit he has singled out. Young people should know this truth in advance. The ignorance of it has engendered more faint-heartedness in youths embarking upon arduous careers than all other causes put together.”