This book discusses the characteristics of adolescence cross-culturally and examines the differences in the adolescent experience for males and females. Several relationships are tested in order to gain an understanding of cross-cultural patterns in adolescence.

The focus of this article is the frequency of violent crimes. Five fomative experiences that are correlated with frequent violent crime by individuals are presented. This study uses the same sample as Ember and Ember (1992).

This article uses factor analysis to identify the key variables underlying the many cross-cultural associations reported by Textor (1967). Twelve factors are identified.

Schlegel and Barry explore the conditions under which adolescent boys' initiation ceremonies involve rituals that frighten or cause pain to the initiates. The authors look for cross-cultural differences and similarities in cultural features associated with harsh rituals, in particular, genital operations.

This article uses ethnographic reports on a world wide sample of societies for rating frequency of participation by children in adult activities and degree of permissive treatment of children.

This article presents codes for adolescent initiation ceremonies in the standard cross-cultural sample. Commonly held assumptions about initiation ceremonies were not supported. Article focuses on differences between male and female ceremonies. Statistically significant correlations between the codes are indicated.

This study discusses childcare done by children. While no empirical hypotheses are tested, the authors identify some potential sociocultural and developmental correlates of childcare by children and provide relevant descriptive statistics. Possible correlates include mother-child relationships, conceptions and emergence of childhood stages, organization of play groups, development of social responsibility, sex differences, personality development, cognitive style and cognitive development, motivation and learning.

This book investigates a broad hypothesis linking social solidarity and initiation ceremonies. The author proposes that “the degree of solidarity of a given social system determines the degree to which status transitions within it will be dramatized” (1). A variety of operational hypotheses are supported for both male and female initiation ceremonies.

Adolescent initiation ceremonies are examined with regard to features of subsistence economy and social organization and differences among male and female ceremonies are examined.