As our world becomes increasingly permeable, and as human populations are rapidly converging and transitioning within a global interconnectedness, it is vital that we look to, and learn from, those most adept at the adaptation, creation, and contesting of culture: adolescents. This text is designed to bridge critical gaps in the understanding of the daily lives, identity development, and experiences of adolescents in diverse cultures around the world. Cultural context is predictive of developmental uniqueness; comparisons provide insights into how social structures and relationships influence the manifestation of individual patterns of development and experience. In quantitative and qualitative detail, the contributors relate the nature of adolescent life to cultural, biological, ecological, demographic, and social variables. The findings of this book will be relevant not only to other social anthropologists, but also to sociologists and developmental/educational psychologists.

Contents

1. Introduction: Adolescent Identity, Risk and Change Bonnie L. Hewlett Part One: Evolution: History and Hunter-Gatherers 2. Childhood, Adolescence, and Longevity: An Essay on Human Evolutionary Life History Barry Bogin 3. Risky Adolescent Behavior: An Evolutionary Perspective Bruce J. Ellis 4. Hunter-Gatherer Adolescence Bonnie L. Hewlett and Barry S. Hewlett Part Two: Culture and Development: Ritual, Risk, and Identity 5. Identity Development, Crises & Continuity: Death Defying Leaps in the Lives of Indigenous & Non-Indigenous Youth Michael J. Chandler and William L. Dunlop 6. Contributions of Ritual Expressions at Puberty to Optimal Identity Formation of North American Indian Girls Carol A. Markstrom 7. Food Restriction and Social Identity of Aka Forager Adolescents in the Republic of the Congo Kiyoshi Takeuchi 8. "The Bullet is Certain": Armed Children and Gunplay on the Streets of Haiti J. Christopher Kovats-Bernat Part Three: Globalization: Tradition, Modernity, and Identity ple Identifications of Multicultural Adolescents: Dialogues Between Tradition and Post-Modernity in a Global Context Toon van Meijl 10. Traditional Dress in Kuwaiti Adolescents’ Drawings: Relations to Social Attitudes Ramadan A. Ahmed and Judith L. Gibbons 11. Introduction of Television and Dominican Youth Marsha B. Quinlan and Jenna R. Hansen 12. China’s Emergent Youth: Gender, Work, Dating, and Life-Orientation William Jankowiak and Robert L. Moore Conclusion Alice Schlegel

Author Bio

Bonnie L. Hewlett is Instructor of Anthropology at Washington State University.