ABSTRACT
The change at adolescence. T he poet K eats once wrote, ‘The im agination o f a young boy is healthy, and the m ature im - agination of a m an is healthy; b u t there is a space of life in between in which the soul is in a ferment, the character un - decided, the way of life uncerta in .’ W e m ay agree a t once th a t this is an illum inating com m ent upon the peculiar characteristics o f adolescence in a large num ber of cases. For many, this is, a t times, a period of storm and stress, and of instability, not only of im agination bu t also of emotions, impulses, and in - terests. T he youth w ith little m ore experience than th a t of a child m ay have the physical m aturity of an adult, and he hates to be treated as a child. T he developm ent of sex brings disturbing emotions and new problems of self-control. T here is often increased independence, or even opposition, in the a ttitude towards parents and others in au thority ; indeed, there should be now some weaning from too great a dependence on parents. A t the same period for most youths there is the grave problem of the choice of a job , and for m any the first experience of rom antic love. I t is a period of difficult adjustm ent w ithin the self and in relation to others.
