Εφηβεία και Αναδυόμενη Ενηλικίωση: Πολιτισμική Προσέγγιση

by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, Δημήτρης-Χρυσός Τομαράς (Translator)

Ο Jeffrey Arnett, καθηγητής στο Πανεπιστήμιο Clark των ΗΠΑ, είναι γνωστός στην ευρύτερη επιστημονική κοινότητα για την εισαγωγή του όρου «αναδυόμενη ενηλικίωση» (“emerging adulthood”) ήδη από το 2000. Ο όρος αυτός προτάθηκε από τον ίδιο προκειμένου να περιγράψει τις αλλαγές και τις προκλήσεις της περιόδου μετά την ολοκλήρωση της εφηβικής ηλικίας τουλάχιστον βιολογικά και γνωστικά (καθώς το ψυχοκοινωνικό τέλος της εφηβείας δεν πρέπει να θεωρείται δεδομένο στα 18 έτη). Ωστόσο, αυτό που είναι ίσως λιγότερο γνωστό, ίσως και λόγω της ευρύτατης διάδοσης της συζήτησης για την περίοδο της αναδυόμενης ενηλικίωσης, είναι ότι ο Arnett ήταν και παραμένει ένας πολύ σημαντικός μελετητής της εφηβικής ηλικίας, της αναπτυξιακής δηλαδή περιόδου κατά την οποία τα αναπτυσσόμενα άτομα βιώνουν «ξαφνικά» πολλές και σημαντικές αλλαγές στο σώμα τους, στην καθημερινότητά τους και γενικά στη ζωή τους, και η οποία προετοιμάζει τη μετάβαση στη νεότητα και την ενηλικίωση.
Το παρόν έργο του συνοψίζει τα πορίσματα αυτής ακριβώς της μελέτης. Μάλιστα δε, τα πορίσματα αυτά παρουσιάζονται με ιδιαίτερη έμφαση στον πολιτισμικό παράγοντα και στην επίδρασή του στον τρόπο που βιώνεται, πρωτίστως, αλλά και κατανοείται η εφηβική ηλικία. Κατ’ αυτή την έννοια, το βιβλίο αυτό αποτελεί ένα σύγχρονο και ολοκληρωμένο εργαλείο για τους φοιτητές των πανεπιστημιακών τμημάτων της χώρας μας που μελετούν ειδικά ή ενδιαφέρονται γενικά για την ανθρώπινη ανάπτυξη (οι οποίοι, επιπλέον, όπως αναφέρει και ο ίδιος ο συγγραφέας, είναι μάλλον ή βέβαιον ότι κατά την ανάγνωσή του θα αναγνωρίσουν δικές τους εμπειρίες, θα «συναντηθούν» με το εφηβικό τους παρελθόν και θα στοχαστούν για το μέλλον τους ως ενήλικες), για τους ειδικούς ψυχικής υγείας οι οποίοι ασχολούνται με εφήβους, για γονείς και εκπαιδευτικούς, αλλά και για κάθε αναγνώστη που έχει ιδιαίτερο ενδιαφέρον για την τόσο σημαντική αυτή αναπτυξιακή περίοδο της ζωής του ανθρώπου.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Textbooks, School, Education, Read For School, Academia

667 pages, Paperback

Published July 1, 2023

Reviews

[Rosie · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read filled with information related to adolescence and young adulthood as well as cultural and social tidbits. I would recommend this for not only adolescent readers but also young adults because this book can serve as a guide for learning what "adulting" is all about. It is not a comprehensive guide, of course, and not a one-way type of deal, but is a good start for learning.

[Vincent Nistico · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly one of the better textbooks I’ve read the entirety of. Great cursory information on biological and social development throughout adolescence. Excellent global view on adolescent employment, education, and deviance.

[Kylie Martinez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is especially pertinent to today. It used to be that as soon as you were done with high school your adult life started. Now, as lives become more linear, young adults have an awkward transient time, where they learn what being an adult will mean for them. As this phase of "emerging adulthood" is a new idea, it was awesome to read it from Jeffrey Jensen Arnett's perspective, as he is the leading scholar on this transition. I was able to read this book in one of my classes at BYU, alongside another prominent scholar on this topic, and found myself relating a lot to trying to understand where I fit in the adult world.

I would recommend this book to anyone studying human development or anyone with teenagers or working with them. Understanding how they view themselves in their transition period would be extremely helpful in building a strong mentoring relationship.

[Michalis · Rating 4 out of 5]

*4.5

This is a very good textbook on emerging adulthood and the importance of cultural elements. I think that Arnett has analyzed these topics by highlighting the nuances of cultural context in a way that is rarely seen in psychology. Reading the research presented on this book, I realized once again how important the sample characteristics are as well as the country in which each study takes place. At the same time, biological factors aren't neglected but he explains them enough to make a connection with the environmental forces that drive development.

Arnett includes lots of examples in the text, questions for critical thinking and summaries at the end of each chapter while trying to report the research findings from all the different countries. Judging by these, his effort is really laudable. However, there were some pages which really made me doubt about some claims, with most notable the segment on the development of the adolescent brain. Also, in some topics, it seems that Arnett presents the American reality as a global one or doesn't use data from other countries (if there's research available).

[Skye · Rating 3 out of 5]

This textbook left my brain feeling happy, full and filled with wonderful knowledge. Which is exactly what I want at the end of reading a textbook. After all, I read these kinds of books to fill my brain with knowledge. So finding that I felt more knowledgeable and super happy at the end of this made me incredibly happy.

Although I read this as a part of an undergrad course, I did very much feel like this is the kind of thing that I want to do with my life. It is glorious and the aspect of psychology that I am really, truly passionate about – helping adolescents with their issues before they can carry too far into adulthood.

This also has a great layout and deals with cultural differences in a wonderful manner. Most of the time when I read textbooks, it’s a bit of a chore. But when I was reading this, it felt a lot more enjoyable. And helped me to fill my brain with a lot of wonderful information and knowledge.

[Tedi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a decent book on adolescent development. One nice feature is that it includes historical and cultural sidebars and compares American culture to cultures around the world. I did feel, however, that beyond the "Cognitive Foundations", "Cultural Beliefs", and "Family Relationships" chapters that this text was written for someone who was not working with adolescents. I did not find it particularly insightful about anything else due to working with adolescents every day.

[Heather Rauch · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good comprehensive guide to adolescence. My only issue is that its subtitle is "a cultural approach" and yet nowhere in chapters on Cultural Beliefs or Gender does it mention genders other than male and female. There are several cultures that have accepted other genders, which should be included. As would be expected with a 10 year old book, the section on "New Media" was hilariously out of date.

[marina delgada]

Uni🐥
Els únics llibres que tinc temps de llegir :(
Siper interessant la verdad sobre desenvolupament cognitiu i psicoafectiu a l'adolescencia i adults joves.

[Alisha Brook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title: Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood (5th)
Series: -
Author: Jeffrey Jensen Arnett
Genre: Educational/ Human Development
Rating: 3.5 stars

Arnett has provided an informative text that provides readers with useful knowledge about the development of adolescents and the issues and challenges that one faces during puberty.

This text was recommended by my university as the course reading for a subject. It aided in providing the facts in a fast and thorough way. It was well presented, clear and concise.

Well worth the read if you're interested or studying the topic.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I regularly quoted studies and ideas from this book regularly while reading it. I thoroughly appreciated the frank and positive view of adolescence and emerging adulthood that the author shared. Using a worldwide cultural lens to understand the changes and expectations of this phase of life was enormously helpful for the class and for myself as a parent of adolescents.

[Ivan Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was an interesting theory. The book was based on surveys and interviews. For every example of one thing, there was another example of the opposite thing. Though honest this was a little frustrating that nothing definitive could be said about emerging adults.

[Kaija · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short chapters which makes this easier to read.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't really want to count it, but I did read the entire thing, so I may as well.