Adolescence in the 19th Century

Abstract

This entry explores the evolution of the concept of adolescence in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In Western Europe and North America in the 19th century, there was a growing awareness of the problems of youth. Increasingly, through an incremental process, the categorization of the adolescent was established. This entry also shows how concerns about juvenile crime and the growth of juvenile justice systems, mass education, new forms of popular culture and leisure, and new theories of society and its members all contributed to this process.