Adolescence as a Social Problem

• In Event: 534 - Section on Children and Youth Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 09. Meaning Making and Special Populations

Abstract

In this paper I approach adolescence as social category and show how the category itself, along with all its occupants, has turned into a perpetual social problem. What this means, in practice, is that adolescents – the people who occupy the category – are subject to extensive monitoring and regulation, are the targets of numerous programs and initiatives, and are effectively prevented from leaving the category until they are of age. In order for adolescence to be conceptualized as a social problem it must first be recognized as a distinct period that is different in fundamental ways from both childhood and adulthood. My argument overall is that the problematic aspects of adolescence are not fixable with programs and interventions. Rather, they are built into the very DNA of teenage life. Hence, the only way to solve the problem of adolescence is to get rid of it.

Author

• Annulla Linders, University of Cincinnati