According to the developmental psychologist, Erik Erickson, the psychological task facing teenagers is to separate from their parents and form an independent adult identity. In traditional cultures, this was accomplished by undergoing a "rite of passage". 

Teenagers were removed from their communities and taken to an isolated place. There they received instruction from respected elders. Teenagers were sometimes also required to test themselves by fasting, spending time alone, or enduring pain. When teenagers returned to their homes, they were recognised by everyone as adults.

As traditional cultures evolved, community rites of passage were replaced with individual ones. For example, children were assigned apprenticeships with adults who taught them a trade and a set of values such as family, friendship, thrift, and honesty. Apprenticeships fulfilled the same purpose as rites of passage; they helped teenagers make the transition to adulthood.

Today, rites of passage (and most apprenticeships) have disappeared from our community. Yet teenagers need them as much as ever. So, they invent their own. They try to prove their bravery and independence by taking chances with alcohol and drugs, by driving fast, or by having unprotected sex. 

These dangerous behaviours are meagre substitutes for modern society's lack of officially sanctioned rites of passage. But dangerous behaviour is not inevitable. This article contains suggestions about what you can do to guide your teenager safely across the bridge to adulthood.

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