ISTICS OF THE ADOLESCENT AGE

The interests of the adolescent boy are general and not specialized
between the twelfth and eighteenth years. The boy gets his impressions
of the community objectively, in addition to increasing his
knowledge of the external world through his acquaintanceship with
its phenomena. The Universe and the Community are extensive and many
sided. The step also between twelve and eighteen years is short. The
boy's contact with these, then, must be rapid and general.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE EARLY ADOLESCENT AGE

The early adolescent age from twelve to fifteen years is characterized
by a rapid and uneven growth during which vitality and energy alternate
with languorousness, and the boy is awkward and lazy, with bones greatly
outgrowing muscle. The boy also begins to take a new interest in sex and
sex relations, his features and voice change, and the inherited
tendencies begin to assert themselves. His health is usually at its
best, and during his active moments he is boisterous and vigorously
energetic. He is selfish, but shows signs of altruism; his regard for
law increases; the spirit of gang leadership begins to show itself; his
longing for friendship is noticeable; his sense of secretiveness is
apparent; and his self-assertiveness first begins to be manifested. He
is creative in imagination, shows marvelous powers of inference, becomes
strongly intellectual, begins to manifest analytic reasoning, imitates
the ideal, is uncertain in making decisions, is influenced by
suggestion, and possesses generally a strong but not a logical memory.
He develops natural religious notions, has strong impulses to do big
things, has definite convictions as to his belief in God and Heaven and
the understanding of traditional religious terms, shows a noticeable
lack of interest in the forms of worship, but a keen appreciation of the
spiritual, and is passing through a period when great resolves are most
often made.

CHARACTERISTICS OF LATER ADOLESCENCE

During the period of later adolescence from fifteen to eighteen years of
age, the body nearly attains its maximum growth, the mind begins to show
its dominance over the body, and all the bodily impulses grow stronger
and more vigorous. Altruism steadily increases; the consciousness of
society grows; an appreciation of individual worth and thought develops;
the call of sex and the love emotion grows in strength; sentiment is
inclined to become strong; boundles