ADOLESCENCE


_The Adolescent Period Is a Time of "Storm and Stress," When the Chief
Crises of Life Arise_

Most writers on psychology recognize in the life history of the child
several more or less distinct periods of development. The child is almost
a different being at different levels of his growth. Each period is marked
by peculiar physical, mental and moral characteristics which demand
specific treatment. So great and sudden are some of these changes that
they are sometimes likened to a metamorphosis, indicating an analogy with
certain insects as a change from the larvae and pupae stages to that of
butterflies.

Space will not permit more than a brief account of the most critical of
these periods, namely, the adolescent. This period begins at about the age
of thirteen in girls and fourteen in boys, and continues until about
eighteen. Physically, this stage starts with a very rapid growth which is
frequently doubled in rate within a single year. The girl may, in a few
months, change from a tall, angular, romping tomboy into a blooming,
dimpled young woman, bashful and afraid.

So much energy is required for physical growth that in the early stages of
this period difficult mental tasks cannot be well done. In a young man
especially, this period is marked by awkward, uncouth movements that
indicate uncertain adjustment. Frequently at this time the boy's voice
varies unsteadily from a high falsetto to a low pitch, which is most