Ethos of youth and the adolescent role

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F R I D A Y M O R N I N G , 9:00 a.m., February)14, 1969 Session I. Ecological Factors in A~:l(,lescenee

Chairman:-JoHs A. CLAUSEN, P~.D.. R e v o l t i n g Youth, P a s t and Prbscnt

Columbia University School of P u b l i c ltealtb a n d Administrath:e MediGEORGE ROSEN, M.D., I ~ . D . ,

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rise to stich m o v e m e n t s , the psychological traits shared b y their m e m b m ' s , a nd the possible psyfAmpathological aspects the)" m a y entail. Ethos of Youth and the Adolescent Role

T h e existence of a y o u t h p r o b l e m a p p e a r s to m a n y a p h e n o m e n o n peeu-. liarly characteristic 'of our o w n time. In fact, each g e n e r a t i o n over tim past rift)" years has h a d its characteristic y o u t h f u l r e b e l s ~ t h e b o l m m i a n s of the twenties, the radicals of the thi]'ties arm forties, the beatniks and hipsters of the fifties, and the hippies a nd ronmntic Marxists of tile sixties. The disaffection of the y o u n g is, however, not a special p h e n o m e n o n of ~he twentieth centu~'. O t h e r times and places h a v e h a d their rebellious youth, their dropouts a n d their a l i e n a t e d generation. It is useful to e x a m i n e such p h e n o m e n a c q m p a r a t i v e l y to see w h a t aspects amd elements they m a y have in common, in terms of social circumstances, attitudes a n d behaxqor. For t h i s purpose, the following groups will 1)e examined: the w a n d e r i n g scholars a n d goliard poets of the later Nliddle Ages; the generation of t h e ( ermar Sturm u n d Drang in tim 18th c e n t u ~ ' ; the G e r m a n 1Vande(tz6g_,el at the mad of the 19th centu~" ~md the b e g i n n i n g of the 20th ccntur).'; a n d the A m e r i c a n youth revolt i~rior to and following tim First W o r l d \Var. On this basis, it is possible to posttilate the socia] factors and changes that give S

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]oil nx H o p k i n s Un i~ersit!l The p h e n o m e n o n o f adolescence, as a . d i s t i n c t period of life, is a relatively n e w _ o n e . It is clearly m o r e social tha n physiological in origin, constituting a hiatus b e t w e e n the clmstraints of c h i l d h o o d a n d tim responsibilities of adulthood. It is, in effect. a ne w role in society, b u t one tlmt has d e v e l o p e d as a residual role, defined by w h a t the person no longer is a n d w h a t he not yet is. As a r e s i d u a l l y defined role, it is a role t h a t societies h a v e not ye t le a r ne d to e m b e d properly in role-structures, that is, in a set of c ohe r e nt role expectations a n d obligations, d o m a i n s of authori~" a n d responsibility. T h e response of those east in this role proxddes good e v i d e n c e of this c un'0nt failure of society. T h e responses are c h a r a c t e r i z e d bv individual an,d collective actions similar to those of other groups with little control over their o~m de stiny, a nd w i t h unstal>le expeertation s e t s . ' T h e principal i n d i c a t o r s are d e m a n d s for autonomy, a n d d e v e l o p m m l t of a utonomo u s m u t u a l - r e w a r d systems. T h e s e i n c l u d e most aspects of adoh,sctnt culture,"

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inclt~ding such diversity as bl.ack-jacketed motorcycle gangs, h i p p i e g r o u p s , and s t u d e n t political revo!utionaries, as well as the more wideslSread b u t m i l d e r f o r m s flint take s p o r t s ; . ' o r fashion, or p o p u l a r music a s the pl.-in' cipal loci of a t t e n t i o n , S o m e of t h e s e d e v e l o p m e n t s a r e particularly important- for..t~e indications t h e y gave a b o u t other structural w e a k n e s s e s i n society. T h e hippies in partieulm" c o n s t i t u t e ' a s y m p t o m o f the incre~tsing p s y c h o l o g i c a l steriliD, of the m o d e r n m i d d l e class f a m i l y , as well a s the general growth of impersonal relations i n modent" society. Their {ocial forms: i n f a c t suggest some p o s s i b l e structural yariati.ons x~4thin s o c i e t y that m i g h t b e c o m e more w i d e l y adopted; y e t ;they also evidence strong seructural faults or internal eont-radictions. .Is

Youth lleMly Nedessary?

KE~-~m-I:I KE.~'ISa'ON, D:PHm., Yale Un iversily School of 3.ledicine T h e stages of t h e life cycle d e p e n d not only u p o n bio-physiol0gical maturation, b u t u p o n t h e w a y s o c i e t i e s structure a g e - g r a d e d soeial~ roles. W h e t h e r a given society a c c e n t u a t e s a n y given stage o£ biologica) maturation d e p e n d s on cultural and::historical

factors. In recent centuries, changing social mad economic c o n d i t i o n s have r e s u l t e d in neve definitions of the life cycle in \ V e s t e r n societies, including t l m recognition of tliree , n e w " stages of life. I n medieval .Europe, "'inf~mcy'" e n d e d at a b o u t the age of,seven, and was followed i m m e d i a t e l y by "adulthood,'" T h e c o n c e p t of childhood e m e r g e d only gradually d u r i n g the 17th a n d 18th centuries. T h e c o n c e p t of adolescence is of even m o r e recent origin, dating from the 19th and 20th centuries. C h a n g i n g concepts of early hmnfm d e v e l o p m e n t in tunl reflect ~md are r e f l e c t e d in elmnges in other social institutions: for example, education, the organizat!'on of the economy, a n d the d e v e l o p m e n t of mass armies. At present, a n e w stage of life is begimfing to emerge bet~veefi adolescence a n d adulthood. This p h a s e of development ("youtl(').is made possible by ~ t u e n e e " and prolonged h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n , and is m a d e neeessa D, b y t h e ambivalence modern societies inspire in a d v a n t a g e d and ethical y o u n g m e n a n d women. T h e "youth °' a g e group will p r o b a b l y assume greater i m p o r t a n c e in the future, ,and m a y be an esseritial p a r t of~the dynamic of social change in post-industrial societies, .¢

FRIDAY AFTERNOON. 2:00 [xm., F e b r u a r y 14, 1969 Session II. Development£il a h d L e a r n i n g Aspects of Adolescence

Cl~airman: Bv2,ej.~xtL'v PASAMANICK, ~I.D. Establishing Motivationaily Oriented Educational E n v i r o n m e n t s for InstitutionAlized Adolesoents

I-t.~OI,D L. COm~N, Institute for Behac.ioral Besearch, Silver Spring, 3 l arTjland

This p a p e r deals with ml environmental and o p e r a n t approach to the re-education of two groups of ado!escents: one group, institutionalized for its anti-soc-ial behaviors, incarcerated i n ' a federal institution, the National