Passages: Fact or Fiction?

Abstract

Four large surveys were examined to establish the existence of “passages” through the use of objective methods. Such passages are the boundaries between age groups formed on the basis of minimum within-group variation and maximum between-group variation. Results from all four data sets indicated that such age groups and their associated passages can be identified. These passages were stable across two surveys taken in the same population at about the same time, even though the surveys measured divergent attitude dimensions. The passages appear to progress with time: two surveys taken seven years apart demonstrated a seven-year shift in passages. However, the passages are not stable across cultures: two surveys taken at about the same time in Canada and the United States showed no similarity of passages. It would appear that developmental schemes as presently espoused by psychologists are inadequate to explain these results, and that the “generational event” theory provides a better model for explanation.