Culture and Adolescent Development

Abstract

This paper summarizes several of the most significant issues in the area of culture and adolescent development. First, we discuss the classical debates regarding the universality of adolescence as a distinct period of life and as a period of emotional turmoil. Second, we focus on the role of culture in the physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development of adolescents. Finally, we outline two emerging issues in cross-cultural adolescent psychology (i.e., developmental processes and the effects of social change and globalization).