"You learn and learn and learn.... and then you are an adult": parental perceptions of adolescence in contemporary Swaziland.
The developmental period of adolescence is explored in Swaziland from a multidisciplinary perspective. The study compares early anthropological research with contemporary interviews of Swazi parents. While the Swazi language, siSwati, does not have a term for "adolescent," there is evidence of a definite developmental period which could be defined as adolescence. Parents view this period as being qualitatively different from childhood and adulthood, but they also have gender-related interpretations of its nature and length. While biological maturation (especially menarche for females) is viewed as a vital step in becoming an adult, behaviors must be learned during this time (i.e., "adolescence") before one is completely of adult status.
Booth
Margaret Zoller
MZ
Educational Foundations and Inquiry Program, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio 43403, USA. boothmz@bgnet.bgsu.edu
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D013541:Eswatini; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012938:Social Perception; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires