By Pastor Tee, Pastor of Outreach

American adolescents need access to same sex adults, not peers.

Western youth are increasingly living through an extended adolescence. This is a time where full adulthood is restricted and they are able to have access to some adult responsibilities but without adult consequences. As a result, the traditional markers of adulthood (drivers license, high school diploma, the right to vote, etc.) that are achieved by 18 years of age have been pushed into late adolescence. According to The Case Against Adolescence by Robert Epstein, Schlegel and Barry’s Adolescence: An Anthropological Inquiry (1991) reviewed research from teens conducted in 186 pre-industrial societies. Four important findings stood out:

1. About 60% of the cultures surveyed had no word for adolescence.

2. Most young people in these cultures spent time with same sex adults.

3. Antisocial behavior especially in males was extremely low or non-existent.

4. There was very little signs of aggression or violence in these teens.

Although this research was conducted 32 years ago and more pre-industrial cultures have become westernized, it still has relevance today. All of points mentioned above are the opposite of the typical adolescent experience in western countries, especially the U.S. In pre-industrial cultures, adolescents are integrated into the fabric of society with adults as role models. I believe this easily facilitates skillbuilding, gift/talent development, leadership exposure and self-regulation. Epstein cites author Jean Liedloff’s belief that the unhappiness felt in most developed countries results from the various ways adolescents are raised disconnected from the adult community.

Although American teens spend the bulk of their day at school, since public education is a centralized bureaucratic system focused on conformity, there is very little hands-on experiential knowledge coming from adults (unless enrolled in special clubs and sports). With the decline of religion (morality), healthy cultural markers (healthy sibling relationships, rites of passage) and increasing leisure time spent with peers and technology, adolescents are at risk of engaging in meaningless and/or objectionable activities.

Churches need to recover a wholistic community model of developing adolescents. This can be done by creating purposeful initiatives with adult role models supporting a tiered mentoring system. In this system, one age affinity group (for example, high school kids) are taught to mentor the group younger than them (for example, middle school kids). In addition, their access to healthy relationships (families, peers, etc.) inside and outside the church increases their ability to discover their purpose and develop social, cultural, spiritual and entrepreneurial capital that benefits them and the surrounding community.

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What do you think?