Rite of Passage

Rite of Passage

By: Dalynn Hickerson

BSHS 342

Rite of Passage

A rite of passage is a ritual or ceremonial act associated with a change of status for an individual (Atkinson, 2008). During a rite of passage an adolescent goes through three stages. The first stage is separation, during this stage a person is taken away from their home and familiar surroundings. This stage symbolizes the ending of childhood. The second stage is the transition stage. This is the period that tests the adolescent physically, mentally and morally. This will help the adolescent get prepared for adulthood. The final stage is reincorporation. In this stage the adolescent returns home as an adult along with all of the privileges and responsibilities of an adult. The rite of passage that children go through to enter adulthood is a difficult one. This paper will describe the changes and pressures that adolescents will go through in order to achieve their rite of passage into adulthood.

English: Two adolescent couples at the 2009 Wester...

Atkinsons and The Moor 2010

Georgia Normal and Industrial College Booklet Page...

Adolescence is the developmental stage between childhood and adulthood or ages 12 through 21. Adolescence usually begins with puberty and ends when they gain their independence (Atkinson, 2008). Over the past 100 years, the stage of adolescence has been steadily increasing. There are four areas that describe the behavior and development of adolescents, physiological change and growth, cognitive or mental development, identity and parent-adolescent relationships.

During the physiological change, the female child will under a growth spurt between he ages of 9 to 15 although girls typically begin their growth spurt after age 10. The physical changes of puberty are triggered by hormones that cause females to experience an increase in the production of estrogen (Steinberg, 2008). This period of change can be extremely stressful for a young female. During this stage, the...