This research examined links among adolescents’ maturity status, their
biological, social, and psychological characteristics, and parents’
perceptions of their adolescents’ maturity. The participants were 430
Canadian adolescents in the sixth and ninth grades, and a subsample of their
parents. Pattern-centred analyses confirmed the existence of three clusters of
adolescents differing in maturity status: pseudomature (25%), immature (30%), and
mature (44%). Further analyses found differences among the clusters in
adolescents’ pubertal status, the social context (presence of older
siblings and friends), and their desired age, involvement in pop culture, school and
peer involvement, and close friendships. Analysis of mother and father reports
revealed some differences in how parents of pseudomature, immature, and mature
adolescents perceived their adolescents’ maturity, and in how they felt
about their adolescents’ maturity. There were few grade differences in the
findings. The results suggest that pseudomature adolescents, and to a smaller
extent, immature adolescents, are caught in a maturity gap, which could have
longer-term implications for their transition to adulthood.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Aldenderfer, M.S.
, &
Blashfield, R.K.
(1984). Cluster analysis.
Beverly Hills, CA: Sage
.
2.
Arnett, J.J.
(1994).
Are college students adults? Their conceptions of the transition to adulthood
. Journal of Adult Development, 1,
213–224
.
3.
Beck, K.H.
,
Scaffa, M.
,
Swift, R.
, &
Ko, M.
(1995).
A survey of parent attitudes and practices regarding underage drinking
. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 24,
315–334
.
4.
Blishen, B.R.
,
Carroll, W.K.
, &
Moore, C.
(1987).
The 1981 socioeconomic index for occupations in Canada
. Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, 24,
465–488
.
5.
Block, J.
(1971). Lives through time.
Berkeley, CA: Bancroft Books
.
6.
Bogenschneider, K.
,
Wu, M.
,
Raffaelli, M.
, &
Tsay, J.C.
(1998).
“Other teens drink, but not my kid”: Does parental
awareness of adolescent alcohol use protect adolescents from risky consequences?
. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 60,
356–373
.
7.
Brooks-Gunn, J.
, &
Reiter, E.O.
(1990). The role of pubertal processes. In
S.S. Feldman
&
G.R. Elliott
(Eds.), At the threshold: The developing adolescent (pp.
16–53).
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press
.
8.
Brooks-Gunn, J.
,
Warren, M.P.
,
Rosso, J.
, &
Gargiulo, J.
(1987).
Validity of self-report measures of girls’ pubertal status
. Child Development, 58,
829–841
.
9.
Brown, B.B.
,
Clasen, D.R.
, &
Eicher, S.A.
(1986).
Perceptions of peer pressure, peer conformity dispositions, and
self-reported behavior among adolescents
. Developmental Psychology, 22,
521–530
.
10.
Clark, A.
(1999, March 22).
How teens got the power
. Maclean’s, 112,
42–46
.
11.
East, P.L.
, &
Jacobson, L.J.
(2001).
The younger siblings of teenage mothers: A follow-up of their pregnancy risk
. Developmental Psychology, 37,
254–264
.
12.
Eccles, J.S.
,
Midgley, C.
,
Wigfield, A.
,
Buchanan, C.M.
,
Reuman, D.
,
Flanagan, C.
, &
MacIver, D.
(1993).
Development during adolescence: The impact of stage–environment
fit on young adolescents’ experiences in schools and in families
. American Psychologist, 48,
90–101
.
13.
Freedman-Doan, C.R.
,
Arbreton, A.J.A.
,
Harold, R.D.
, &
Eccles, J.S.
(1993).
Looking forward to adolescence
. Journal of Early Adolescence, 13,
472–502
.
14.
Galambos, N.L.
,
Barker, E.T.
, &
Almeida, D.M.
(in press). Parents do matter: Trajectories of change in
externalizing and internalizing problems in early adolescence.
Child Development.
15.
Galambos, N.L.
,
Kolaric, G.C.
,
Sears, H.A.
, &
Maggs, J.L.
(1999).
Adolescents’ subjective age: An indicator of perceived maturity
. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 9,
309–337
.
16.
Galambos, N.L.
, &
Tilton-Weaver, L.C.
(2000).
Adolescents’ psychosocial maturity, problem behavior, and
subjective age: In search of the adultoid
. Applied Developmental Science, 4,
178–192
.
17.
Ge, X.
,
Conger, R.D.
, &
Elder, G.H., Jr.
(2001).
The relation between puberty and psychological distress in adolescent boys
. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 11,
49–70
.
18.
Greenberger, E.
(1984).
Defining psychosocial maturity in adolescence
. Advances in Child Behavioral Analysis and Therapy,
3,
1–37
.
19.
Greenberger, E.
, &
Bond, L.
(1984). User’s manual for the Psychosocial Maturity
Inventory.
Irvine, CA: University of California
.
20.
Greenberger, E.
, &
Sørensen, A.B.
(1974).
Toward a concept of psychosocial maturity
. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 3,
329–358
.
21.
Greenberger, E.
, &
Steinberg, L.
(1986). When teenagers work: The psychological and social
costs of adolescent employment.
New York: Basic Books
.
22.
Hartup, W.W.
(1996).
The company they keep: Friendships and their developmental significance
. Child Development, 67,
1–13
.
23.
Labouvie, E.W.
,
Pandina, R.J.
, &
Johnson, V.
(1991).
Developmental trajectories of substance use in adolescence: Differences and predictors
. International Journal of Behavioral Development,
14,
305–328
.
24.
Maggs, J.L.
,
Almeida, D.M.
, &
Galambos, N.L.
(1995).
Risky business: The paradoxical meaning of problem behavior for young adolescents
. Journal of Early Adolescence, 15,
344–362
.
25.
Magnusson, D.
, &
Cairns, R.B.
(1996). Developmental science: Toward a unified
framework. In
R.B. Cairns
,
G.H. Elder, Jr
, &
E.J. Costello
(Eds.), Developmental science (pp.
7–30).
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
.
26.
Magnusson, D.
, &
Törestad, B.
(1993).
A holistic view of personality: A model revisited
. Annual Review of Psychology, 44,
427–452
.
27.
Marshall, S.K.
(2001).
“Do I matter?”: Construct validation of
adolescents’ perceived mattering to parents and friends
. Journal of Adolescence, 24,
473–490
.
28.
McCreary Centre Society
(2000). Listening to BC youth: Capital region.
Regional results from the Adolescent Health Survey II.
Burnaby, British Columbia: Author
.
29.
Moffitt, T.E.
(1993).
Adolescence-limited and life-course-persistent antisocial behavior: A
developmental taxonomy
. Psychological Review, 100,
674–701
.
30.
Montepare, J.M.
, &
Lachman, M.E.
(1989).
“You’re only as old as you feel”:
Self-perceptions of age, fears of aging, and life satisfaction from
adolescence to old age
. Psychology and Aging, 4,
73–78
.
31.
Montepare, J.M.
,
Rierdan, J.
,
Koff, E.
, &
Stubbs, M.
(1989, May).
The impact of biological events on females’ subjective age identities
. Paper presented at the Eighth Meeting of the Society for
Menstrual Cycle Research, Salt Lake City, UT.
32.
Newcomb, M.D.
, &
Bentler, P.M.
(1988). Consequences of adolescent drug use: Impact on the
lives of young adults.
Newbury Park, CA: Sage
.
33.
Nurmi, J-E.
(1997). Self-definition and mental health during
adolescence and young adulthood. In
J. Schulenberg
,
J.L. Maggs
, &
K. Hurrelmann
(Eds.), Health risks and developmental transitions during
adolescence (pp. 395–419).
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
.
34.
Pearlin, L.I.
, &
Schooler, C.
(1978).
The structure of coping
. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 19,
2–21
.
35.
Petersen, A.C.
,
Crockett, L.
,
Richards, M.
, &
Boxer, A.
(1988).
A self-report measure of pubertal status: Reliability, validity, and
initial norms
. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 17,
117–133
.
36.
Petersen, A.C.
, &
Taylor, B.
(1980). The biological approach to adolescence: Biological
change and psychological adaptation. In
J. Adelson
(Ed.), Handbook of adolescent psychology (pp.
117–155).
New York: Wiley
.
37.
Stattin, H.
, &
Magnusson, D.
(1990). Pubertal maturation in female development.
Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.
38.
Tilton-Weaver, L.C., & Galambos, N.L. (2003).
Adolecents’ characteristics and parents’ beliefs as
predictions of parents’ peer management behaviours. Manuscript
submitted for publication.
39.
Tilton-Weaver, L.C.
,
Vitunski, E.T.
, &
Galambos, N.L.
(2001).
Five images of maturity in adolescence: What does “grown
up” mean?Journal of Adolescence, 24,
143–158
40.
Ward, J.
(1963).
Hierarchical grouping to optimize an objective function
. Journal of the American Statistical Association,
58,
236–244
.
41.
Wehlage, G.
,
Rutter, M.
,
Smith, G.
,
Lesko, N.
, &
Fernandez, R.
(1989). Reducing the risk: Schools as communities of
support.
London: Falmer Press
.
42.
Wichstrøm, L.
(2001).
The impact of pubertal timing on adolescents’ alcohol use
. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 11,
131–150
.
