Adolescents and Authority Figures

The purpose of this paper is to defend the proposition that the extent to which adolescents differ in values, beliefs, and behavior from the generation that preceded them is the result of their experiences with those in authority. Support for this perspective begins with the work of Jane Lave, Paul Duguid and Nadine Fernandez who, in their review of sociological theory on adolescent rebellion noted that sociological theorists have long reported a connection between rebellious adolescent behavior and negative attitudes toward authority. However, the authors point out that what social theorists have consistently failed to do is explain why some young people development negative anti-authority attitudes other than to relegate these attitudes to parental conflict or maturational restlessness.

With respect to the foregoing, Lave, Duguid and Fernandez expand the scope of sociological theory and analysis through the postulation that it is interaction with the members of one's social class and the neighborhood community that affect attitudes toward authority. In other words, adolescents do not merely develop resistance to authority for psychoemotional or biophysical reasons; rather, attitudes such as resistance to authority or the lack thereof are the result of social interrelationships within class and community collectives.

Given that, at least theoretically, it is reasonable to believe that anti-authority attitudes and cons

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Some common words found in the essay are:
Duguid Fernandez, Gary Schwartz, Cyril Simmons', Western Eastern, Nadine Fernandez, Birmingham England, EXPERIENCE AUTHORITY, University Press, Review Anthropology, attitudes authority, Lave Duguid, lave duguid fernandez, class community, duguid fernandez, anti-authority attitudes, lave duguid, lower class, interactions adolescent, rebellious adolescent, negative attitudes, preceding generation,
Approximate Word count = 928
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page)

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