Reflections on Youth Subcultures (From Youth Subcultures: Theory, History and the Australian Experience, P 99-104, 1993, Rob White, ed. -- See NCJ-162536)

• NCJ Number: 162551
• Author(s): K Polk
• Date Published: 1993
• Length: 6 pages
• Sale Source: National Clearinghouse for Youth Studies
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: Australia

Annotation

In reflecting on youth subcultures in Australia, the author indicates young people must struggle with the bonds that tie them to their dependency on adults in order to eventually be independent.

Abstract

Becoming an adult often involves experimentation with gender and sex roles that stretch acceptable moral boundaries imposed by adults. Such experimentation is frequently related to economic and social changes and to the increased importance of education in the social setting. The rapid movement into a postindustrialized society has unsettled traditional social patterns in Australia, and youth cultures should be viewed against the backdrop of social change. The concept of "appropriate behavior" is analyzed in terms of youth cultures, and the way in which the structure of social class and school existence combines to create an exceptional range of adolescent environments is examined. The diverse nature of youth cultures is emphasized in relation to the social goals and needs of young people. 1 photograph