On the "Invention" of Adolescence

Abstract

The "invention" of adolescence owes much to three factors in the development of the North American urban-industrial society. They are: (a) The application of technology to improve productivity, (b) the affluence that this process generated, and (c) the accompanying demographic transition. The structural changes related to these factors that have contributed to adolescence include: (a) the rise of the biologically stable small-family system, (b) population increase, (c) movement of adolescents from the workplace to the school, (d) the dependence of adolescents on their parents, (e) the growth of commercial enterprises geared to adolescents, (f) the diversification of occupations, and (g) urbanization. This article is an exploration of ways in which each of these structural components have contributed to the "invention" of adolescence.