Which Studies Define Teenager Meaning In Psychology Today?

2025-08-26 05:16:03 304

4 Answers

Xenia
Xenia
2025-08-27 06:06:39
Honestly, I tend to explain it in a couple of simple buckets depending on who I’m talking to. If someone asks what psychologists mean by 'teenager' in formal studies, the safest citation is the World Health Organization definition of 'adolescent' as ages 10–19. Lots of epidemiological and public-health studies follow that. But if you dive into psychological research about decision‑making, risk, and identity formation, many papers (Steinberg’s adolescent development reviews, Casey’s neuroscience work) treat the period as stretching into the early twenties because brain maturation, especially of the prefrontal cortex, continues past the teen years. Jeffrey Arnett’s 'emerging adulthood' concept (18–25) is a must-read if you’re curious why older teens still behave like teens sometimes. Practically, I tell people: use 10–19 for broad surveys, but expect developmental psychology and neuroscience to use wider age ranges depending on what they study.
Yasmine
Yasmine
2025-08-28 00:18:46
I get excited talking about this because the term 'teenager' is simple in everyday chat but surprisingly messy in psychology. On one hand, the World Health Organization gives a neat public-health definition: 'adolescent' covers ages 10–19, which lots of researchers use when looking at global health trends. Classic developmental frameworks also pin adolescence to the teen years — Erikson’s stage of 'identity versus role confusion' and Piaget’s move into the formal operational stage (roughly age 11+) are still staples in textbooks and lecture slides I’ve flip‑paged through.

On the other hand, modern neuroscience and lifespan researchers complicate that neat box. Work by Laurence Steinberg, BJ Casey, and colleagues highlights brain systems (the limbic reward circuits vs. the prefrontal control system) that mature on different timetables; that research often stretches 'adolescence' into the late teens or even early twenties. Jeffrey Arnett’s concept of 'emerging adulthood' (roughly 18–25) is another influential study-based perspective arguing that psychological and social transitions extend past 19. So in short: for public-health stats use WHO’s 10–19, for clinical/legal contexts check local rules, and for brain and social development expect fuzzier boundaries that can run into the mid‑20s depending on the study.
Ulric
Ulric
2025-08-28 15:52:42
My quick take: people often say 'teenager' and mean 13–19, but psychology and health organizations give more precise or broader options. The World Health Organization labels adolescents 10–19, which most public-health studies use. Neuroscience research from Steinberg and Casey shows that brain systems keep maturing into the twenties, so many developmental psychologists argue that adolescence can extend beyond 19. Jeffrey Arnett’s 'emerging adulthood' (18–25) is a popular study-based idea that captures the social and psychological gap after high school.

So if you need a single citation for a paper: WHO 10–19; if you’re discussing decision-making or brain development, cite Steinberg/Casey or Arnett for a longer window. That practical split between epidemiology and developmental neuroscience is what I usually tell friends when this topic pops up.
Olive
Olive
2025-08-28 18:09:07
When I dig through journals and course readings, what stands out is that 'teenager' isn't a single, agreed-upon block of years — instead, it’s a cluster of overlapping definitions informed by different aims. Developmental stage theorists (Erikson on identity, Kohlberg on moral stages, Piaget on formal operations) tend to place adolescence in the teen years because those frameworks focus on cognitive and psychosocial milestones. Neuroscientists like Casey and Steinberg bring in the 'dual-systems' model that explains risk-taking by the mismatch between an earlier-maturing limbic system and a later-maturing prefrontal cortex; that model often justifies extending adolescence into the late teens or early twenties. Longitudinal cohort studies such as the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), the Dunedin Study, and Monitoring the Future provide empirical windows into how behaviors and outcomes shift from early teens into adulthood.

Then there are institutional definitions: WHO says adolescents are 10–19, UNICEF and many global health studies follow that, while medical and legal contexts vary by country and sometimes treat those 18+ as adults. Jeffrey Arnett’s 'emerging adulthood' critiques the strict teen cutoff and reframes late adolescence as a distinct developmental period (roughly 18–25). If you're researching this, mix stage theories, neuroscience findings, and big longitudinal data — each answers slightly different questions about what being a 'teenager' actually means.
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5 Answers2025-08-26 06:16:02
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