Youth Transitions and Moral Panics

This assignment delves into academic research concerning youth transitions, particularly highlighting the role of moral panics in shaping perceptions of adolescent behavior. The provided readings encompass diverse perspectives, from cultural analyses of moral panic to studies examining youth transition systems and mental health implications. The task requires a comprehensive understanding of these scholarly works.

Transition to young
parenthood

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction .....................................................................................................................................3
Concepts of Adolescence explained through Stanley Hall's work..............................................3
Origin and emergence of adolescence as a social construct .......................................................4
Relevance of Adolescence within society...................................................................................4
Range of sources to determine the extent to which moral panics shape and influence
discourses on adolescence...........................................................................................................5
How youth transitions are conceptualized and explained............................................................6
Evaluate the contribution of social theory to the debates surrounding young people’s transition
to adulthood and our understanding of this process....................................................................8
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCE.................................................................................................................................10
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INTRODUCTION
Becoming a parent for the first time is an important transitional phase in the lives of
individuals especially during adolescence (Diemer, 2015). Age is one major aspect for
parenthood but there are several other factors that play important role in increasing the chances
of success as young parents. The present report features the concepts of adolescence, its origins
and emergence as well as its relevance in social construct. In addition to this, it also explores
range of sources that instigate the basis of moral panics in respect of young people and their
implications in shaping the discourses among young people. Besides this, the present report also
features different theoretical perspectives that explains young people transition to adulthood.
Concepts of Adolescence explained through Stanley Hall's work
The concepts of Adolescence can be explained by demonstrating the seminal work of
Stanley Hall. In the year 1904, Stanley Hall explained through his monumental work called
“Adolescence” that alteration in human development occurred due to transformation of society
in decades post civil war. It was observed that the practice of children laboring in the fields and
factories along with parents gradually disappeared (Gilles, 2015). This happened due to rise in
industrial productivity which kept teenagers labor force out of factories due to installation of
machinery to finish work. This new industrial society encouraged young individuals to learn and
gain education. Hall considered the stage of adolescence as an alteration in experience among
young adults. The author's work included the characteristics of adolescence and social effects.
Hall termed the phase of adolescence as a period of “storm and stress”. He explained that during
the transition from childhood to adulthood, teenagers encounter with inevitable turmoil. Stanley
Hall has broadly categorized stress and storm into three categories which are as follows:
 Conflicts with parents: During adolescence young adults tend to act rebellious against
parental control as they become independent. This causes conflicts between adolescents
and parents (Wyn, 2015).
 Risky behavior: The adolescents often exhibit risky behavior. This is due to emotional
immaturity coupled with neurological requirement for stimulation
 Mood swings: Uncontrollable disruption in mood usually happen during adolescence due
to hormonal alterations and psychological stress.
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Origin and emergence of adolescence as a social construct
According Stanley Hall, biological changes of puberty contribute to the period of stress
and storm among adolescents. It is found that human body get some time to adopt these
biological changes. Hormonal changes are responsible for causing majority of mood disruption
among adolescents (Arnett, 2006). Many young people may feel awkward in response to their
physical growth of body. According to Hall, the rate of physical growth and development of girls
and boys differ from each other. During this time, neurological connections rapidly grow due to
increased growth of dendrites which consequently encourage adolescents to seek stimulation.
Other than biological aspects Hall also featured psychological characteristics that are
very peculiar to adolescence. Adolescents behave in a rebellious manner against their parents or
other authority figures as they seek more independence with age. It is also found that there is an
increase in attention seeking behavior among adolescents during this period. Besides this, risk
taking behavior is also common among young people during adolescence. Individuals are more
likely to experience feelings of self consciousness, embarrassment and nervousness more as
compared to other phases of life. In addition to this, they also sometimes experiences loneliness
and depression.
Relevance of Adolescence within society
Adolescence as a concept is very relevant in terms of social construct. Human society
provides a common developmental path during the first two decades of individual's life.
Schooling is an integral part of childhood and adolescence. There are certain laws that guide
adults to deal with minors in specific ways. Adolescence is a critical link between childhood and
adulthood (Duan and et.al., 2015). The transition carry risks as well as opportunities that greatly
impact the future health of young adults. The health of young people become an important factor
of social and economic development. With the increasing adolescence population, there is an
increase in funding of research, policies and programs. This is done with an aim to improve the
health of young boys and girls so that grow into healthy and productive adults and are thus
capable of giving birth to healthy progeny.
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Range of sources to determine the extent to which moral panics shape and influence discourses
on adolescence
Moral panic can be defined as a feeling of fear that spreads across large number of
individuals that there is some evil which threatens the well-being of society (Butler, 2015). In
other words it is described as a process of arousing social fear among public over an issue
usually done by mass media. The media play very crucial role in the dissemination of moral
panic through reporting of facts which is sufficient to generate panic and concern among mass
public. Moral panics takes place when media convert an ordinary event and features it as an
extraordinary before society. Periods of rapid social change and agitation leads to occurrence of
moral panics (Schildkraut, Elsass and Stafford, 2015). The concept of Moral Panic was
developed by Criminologist Stanley Cohen in early 1960 when he explained the reactions of
public due to disturbances caused by group of young people called Mods and Rockers at seaside
resorts in UK. Cohen's work explained that these public reactions affected the formation and
enforcement of social policies, laws and perceptions in response to threats posed by group of
young people. Since then, the concept of moral panic has been employed to address broad range
of social problems. These problems include violence at school, child abuse, illegal immigration,
Satanism and terrorism.
History reveals that moral panic was focused on young people and youth crime way back
the invention of the term teenager. Since then sociologists are trying to protect the innocence of
adolescents as well as working towards overcoming threats related to youth crime (King, 2015).
It has been observed that both media publicity and social reaction to the moral panic may lead to
further increase in the youth crime rates in future. In other words it can be said that reaction of
society may amplify such behavior among adolescents by provoking them to behave in an
undesired manner. Usually adolescents are considered as targets of moral panics and their
behavior is observed as a barometer to examine the health or illness of society. The stories of
crime are exaggerated by media related to youth crime such as physical or sexual abuse of young
people, out of control teenage groups, use of drugs, street violence, theft, bullying at school and
universities raise concerns for more social control over adolescents.
Psychologists believe that there is a direct link between violence shown in films,
television and computer games and violence occurring in real life. It is observed that violence
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portrayed by media negatively impact young adults behavior. Sociologists have constantly
argued that there is a direct influence of media content over adolescents to a great extent and
causes particular social responses in terms of behavior. Feminist sociologists have suggested
that there is a strong link between sexual crimes and pornography (Greer, 2015). In addition to
this, there is a direct relationship between representation of size zero models in fashion
magazines and development of eating disorders such as Bulimia and Anorexia among young
adults especially girls (Turton, 2014). Besides this, many sociologists also state that media
coverage on political issues greatly impact the voting behavior among youth. Therefore there
was a need to increase the control over media in UK to censor the content of their programs
being aired.
How youth transitions are conceptualized and explained
Youth transition is referred to transformation of individuals from the phases of childhood
into adulthood. Many authors have featured youth transitions in their literature. These are
reviewed and critically appraised in the following passages:
Cole (2004) has categorized three kinds of youth transitions and his work was highly regarded in
UK during mid 1970's (Cole, 2004).The first type of transition is known as “School to work
transition” which can be explained as adolescents leaving school at minimum age and securing
full time paid employment with less difficulties. The second category is referred to “Housing
transition” which can be elaborated as young people leaving their parents' home and residing at
place of their own. According to the author, housing transition is possible due to stability and
security of career that was undertaken by young people. Stable job enables youth to save for their
own housing plans. The last type is termed as “Family Transition” which states that young adults
form relationship, get engaged, married to spouses and have children to create their own family.
However it has been critically analyzed that traditional transitions have transformed to a
great extent in the past three decades. Youth transitions have become more complex and less
predictable. Due to this, a new term called “Extended Transitions” came into picture. The term
can be explained as the process of transformation from childhood to adulthood is taking longer
time. It has been observed that there is increased dependency on parents as 1 out of 3 young
adults are opting for higher education at universities. Similarly 4 out of 5 young people stay at
parents place after leaving school for further training or education extending the housing
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transition (Hier, 2015). However , it is also observed that housing transition has changed among
young people as they leave parents home at the age of 18 but do note get married but to stay
alone or with their peers or at hostels in universities. There are various social and economic
factors that significantly delayed the housing transition due to unavailability of affordable social
housing as well as reduced number of stable jobs which affect the financial freedom of young
adults.
On the contrary, it is observed that there are evidences of the term “Early Transitions”
which states that adolescents have undergone accelerated transitions during late 1990's.
Statistical figures suggest that there was an increase in number of incidents of school exclusions
in UK in late 1990s (Murphy, 2014). In addition to this, there is also a noticeable increase that
contributes to 20 percent in the number of young carers who are adults taking care of parents and
siblings in England (The Children Society, 2013). In addition to this, other complexity of youth
transition include challenges related to securing first job. Young people are opting for part time
and other insecure patterns of job which make it difficult for youth to have sound future pans for
financial savings. Thus due to unemployment issues youth undergo through problematic family
transition.
However, the research paper done by Kok, J.K., 2015, explains that young people of past
generations were more aware of their social roles and responsibilities that were incorporated in
them by their parents and elders (Kok, 2015).The paper suggest that emerging adults have been
presented as a concept of developmental stage that is full of ambiguity and uncertainty. It has
been researched by the author that late adolescents and emerging childhood are new concepts of
developmental phases due to social alterations in the modern era. Most of the young adults in
modern society are expected to attend universities to pursue higher studies in order to explore
greater opportunities for healthier and successful living. This was in contrast was not very
common in young adults of past generations. Though there are number of opportunities for
young people to explore their studies, career, relationships and other life directions, they are also
susceptible to vulnerabilities related to copying with extended transitional changes. The author
characterized the emerging adulthood as a specific period of development with numerous
unexpected variables and diversity especially when they start their higher education or when
they enter into a romantic relationship.
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It has been observed that due to lack of proper sex education and contraception methods
among the rate of young teenage mother has recorded a remarkable increase. This leads to severe
factors that affect their health. Pregnant mothers are more likely to develop post natal depression
than than their older counterparts (Brown, 2015). There are other severe consequences related to
teenage parenthood such as teenage mothers lack proper knowledge of child raising. From
statistical data it can be inferred that one third of teenage mothers are less likely to breastfeed
their newly born. This raises severe concerns for slow physical and mental growth of children
due to unmet nutritional needs. These concerns of young parents need to be addressed effectively
in order to make them aware of the consequences of early parenthood. The societies and
government of UK can help the young people to make them aware of different health and legal
policies which can help them to make choices about pregnancy and parenthood.
Evaluate the contribution of social theory to the debates surrounding young people’s transition to
adulthood and our understanding of this process.
Social theory is referred to the use of complex theoretical frameworks to explain and
analyze the concepts of social world or societies. Though it is considered as a branch of
Sociology, it has various interdisciplinary aspects. Sociological subjects became an integral part
of Social Theory to understand society as well as its development. It has been observed that
social theory largely reflected traditional views of families and marriages prevailing in societies
during that period. The social theory lays emphasis on ideas about the ways societies changes
and develop (Wyn, 2015).In addition to this, it also features explanation for social behavior and
structure, gender, civilization, modernity and ethnicity of a societal framework. The Modern
Social Theory states that transition of young people is determined by their environment. The key
aspects of this theory is individual identity of young people and their roles in their relationships.
In a civilized society, young people are expected to complete their school education, followed by
higher university education, get a reputed and stable job and then get married followed by raising
their own children. Childhood is considered as a dependent stage where children depend on their
parents and family members for most of their physical and emotional needs such as food,
clothing, housing, education, love affection, safety and security from potential harms. On the
contrary, adulthood is an independent phase of young adults life where they are self sufficient to
meet their overall needs. During adulthood, young people achieve biological as well as
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intellectual maturity (Arnett, 2006). They are capable enough to take major decisions of their life
such as choosing sound career options, financing housing plans, getting married and planning for
family.
However Transition to adulthood is quite challenging for any young adult. Attaining self
sufficiency is pretty daunting for young people as they have to struggle hard for a stable and
secured job and manage their expenses accordingly. It has been evaluated that many young
people live with their parents for a longer time and are dependent on families for financial as
well as emotional support. Research has suggested that young people who are exposed to
protective determinants are more likely to succeed in their future ventures as compared to young
adults who lack these factors especially people who are brought up under foster care (Helping
Youth Transition to Adulthood: Guidance for Foster Parents, 2013). The transition of young
people to adulthood can be evaluated on the basis of various social, biological, intellectual and
educational outcomes. It has been observed that transition to adulthood is not an overnight
process. In addition to this, it has been found that there are certain issues that may arise in the
life of young adults once they start their own families. This is due to the fact that there are
several strains related to increased finances and household needs of the new family. Young
couples are often seen fighting over share of household responsibilities which negatively affect
their mutual relationship. Hence there is a need of maintaining a harmonious relationship in
marriage to manage transition to adulthood effectively. There is a need to empower youth so
that they can take better charge of their future. Beside this, parents need to find ways in which
they can prepare their younger children for transitioning into adults for creating better
individuals of society.
CONCLUSION
In a nutshell, the present report presents key points on Youth Transition. It has been
learned that there are various concepts that explain the origin and emergence of adolescence and
its relevance in today's society. The concepts of adolescence are explained with the help of
seminal work of Stanley Hall through his popular work “Adolescence”. In addition to this, role
of media including film, television and print media is also elaborated to show the impact of
moral panic among young adults. It has been learned that moral panics significantly influence
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and shape discourses among youth and determine their behavioral responses by provoking them.
Apart from this, the report critically analysis on literature related to youth transitions. Further it
also draws perspectives of social theory and its contribution regarding young people's transition
to adulthood.
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REFERENCE
Books and Journals
Arnett, J. J., 2006. G. STANLEY HALL’S ADOLESCENCE: Brilliance and Nonsense. History
of Psychology. Vol. 9. No. 3. pp.186–197
Brown, S., 2015. The wrong type of mother: moral panic and teenage parenting. Revisiting
Moral Panics. p.39.
Butler, I., 2015. Child protection and moral panic. Revisiting Moral Panics. p.73.
Cole, B., 2004, Welfare Services for Young People: Better Connections? Youth in Society,
London, Sage
Diemer, M.A., 2015. Different Social Class Dimensions Play Different Roles in the Transition to
Adulthood. In Families in an Era of Increasing Inequality (pp. 159-164). Springer
International Publishing.
Duan, Y. and et.al., 2015. Transition to Adulthood: Relationships Among Psychosocial
Correlates, Stages of Change for Physical Activity and Health Outcomes in a Cross-Cultural
Sample. Journal of physical activity & health.
Embrett, M.G. And et.al., 2015. Effectiveness of Health System Services and Programs for
Youth to Adult Transitions in Mental Health Care: A Systematic Review of Academic
Literature. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services
Research. pp.1-11.
Greer, J., 2015. Children and internet pornography: a moral panic, a salvation for censors and
Trojan horse for government colonisation of the digital frontier. The State. p.7.
Hier, S.P., 2015. The Cultural Politics of Contemporary Moral Panic Studies: Reflections on a
Changing Research Agenda. Czech Sociological Review. 51(3). pp.362-373.
King, M., 2015. The ‘knockout game’: moral panic and the politics of white victimhood. Race &
Class. 56(4). pp.85-94.
Klatt, M., Filip, P. and Grzebyk, M., 2015. Understanding youth transition system in Poland
through the analysis of partnerships between vocational upper secondary schools and
industry.Journal of Youth Studies. pp.1-18.
Kok, J.K., 2015. Life Transition for the Emerging Adults and Their Mental Health. Genders.4.
p.5.
Punch, S., 2015. Possibilities for Learning Between Childhoods and Youth in the Minority and
Majority Worlds: Youth Transitions as an Example of Cross-World Dialogue.Handbook of
Children and Youth Studies. pp.689-701.
Schildkraut, J., Elsass, H.J. and Stafford, M.C., 2015. Could it happen here? Moral panic, school
shootings, and fear of crime among college students. Crime, Law and Social Change. 63(1-
2). pp.91-110.
Wyn, J., 2015. Thinking About Childhood and Youth Youth Childhood. Handbook of Children
and Youth Studies. pp.3-20.
Online
Gilles K., 2015. The Importance of Adolescence. [Online] Available through:
<http://www.prb.org/Publications/Articles/2014/lancet-adolescent-health.aspx>. [Accessed on
29th December 2015].
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The Children Society, 2013. Hidden from view: The experiences of young carers in England.
[Pdf]. Available through:
<http://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/sites/default/files/tcs/report_hidden-from-view_young-
carers_final.pdf>. [Accessed on 4th January 2016].
Helping Youth Transition to Adulthood: Guidance for Foster Parents, 2013. [Pdf]. Available
through: <https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/youth_transition.pdf>. [Accessed on 4th
January 2016].
Murphy, S., 2014. The meaning of 'Youth Transitions'. [Online] Available through:
<https://youththink.wordpress.com/2014/02/05/the-meaning-of-youth-transitions/>.
[Accessed on 4th January 2016].
Turton, J., 2014. Moral panics and youth crime – where are the girls? [Online] Available
through: <http://discoversociety.org/2014/02/15/moral-panics-and-youth-crime-where-are-
the-girls/>. [Accessed on 4th January 2016].
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