Adolescence (Latin adolescentia, from adolescere, to grow up) is the period of psychological, social, and physical transition between childhood and adulthood (gender-specific, manhood or womanhood).

Usage

In common usage around the world, "adolescent", "teenager", "teen", "youth", and "young person" may be considered synonyms - although the term 'teenager' is an artifact of the English counting system, not something that occurs in most languages. The Oxford English Dictionary cites the first usage of the term to a Popular Science Monthly issue of April, 1941, "I never knew teen-agers could be so serious."

Adolescence is recognized as both a cultural/social phenomenon and as a standardized human development phase.

In sociology, adolescence is seen as a cultural phenomenon for the working world and therefore its end points are not easily tied to physical milestones. The time is identified with dramatic changes in the body, along with developments in a person's psychology and academic career. In the onset of adolescence, children usually complete elementary school and enter secondary education, such as middle school or high school. A person between early childhood and the teenage years is sometimes referred to as a pre-teen or tween.

As a transitional stage of human development, adolescence is the period in which a child matures into an adult. This transition involves biological (i.e. pubertal), social, and psychological changes, though the biological ones are the easiest to measure objectively.

The ages of adolescence vary by culture. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines adolescence as the period of life between 10 and 19 years of age.[1] In contrast, in the United States, adolescence is generally considered to begin somewhere between ages 12 and 14, and end from 19 to 21. As distinct from the varied interpretations of who is considered an "adolescent", the word "teenager" is more easily defined: it describes a person who is thirteen to nineteen years of age. It is most commonly referred to children who attend high school.

During this period of life, most children go through the physical stages of puberty which often begins between the ages of nine and thirteen. (See Puberty below)

Most cultures regard people as becoming adults at various ages of the teenage years, often at the age of eighteen. (See Social and cultural below)