Introduction

The actual movement toward age-mates during adolescence in modern societies is symptomatic of a general shift in psychological ties. Other adolescents are a major reference set even for youth who are not members of clear-cut groups or cliques. The tendency of human beings to gravitate toward others who seem to be facing a common dilemma or predicament is not at all specific to adolescence. It is a general tendency whenever people see a common problem which is incapable of solution by single individuals. Like any human group, an adolescent group does not form overnight by spontaneous generation, nor is it totally isolated from its environment. The desires and aspirations of the individual members, as well as the ramifications of their personal dilemmas, are referable to the physical and social arrangements in their ken. The tendency of human beings to gravitate toward others who seem to be facing a common dilemma or predicament is not at all specific to adolescence.