IS PUBERTY A CRITICAL PERIOD FOR SOCIALIZATION

The period around puberty is unique in combining rapid biological and essential social changes. It is also a period that seems to be important for the development of certain types of problems, such as depression, eating disorders and norm-breaking behaviour. Interactional models have proposed to understand such problems not as a direct consequence of biological changes, but as an interaction between individual factors, the social context, and cultural values. Many of the small and serious problems occurring around puberty may be conceived of as socialization problems. It is not certain, however, that such problems should be considered as the result of ''unsuccessful'' socialization. Therefore, in this paper, factors are considered that may be involved in changes in the socialization process at puberty, and some central findings from the literature on pubertal changes are examined in a socialization perspective. Given the disconnection of several types of behaviour traditionally associated with maturation and the adult role and the general ambiguity of roles, it is concluded that today's primary agents may have difficulties in assuming their role around puberty. In sum, pubertal maturation is expected to be accompanied with socialization problems in terms of unclear and different expectations to the developing adolescent. Also, possible over-socialization problems may occur because of an extreme focus on norms that are contrary to normal body development in girls.