Transition to manhood: effects of the Great Depression on male youth

This paper has been an exploration into the social and psychological problems associated with male youth growing up in the 1930s. By first defining and understanding the major transitions to adulthood--exiting from school, leaving the house of origin, entering the labor force, getting married, and establishing a separate household--it was then possible to explore how these transitions were affected by social, economic, and political factors in the Depression. It was also possible to examine how these factors affected the search for identify and role development in male youth. The historical study of adolescence in America has concentrated primarily on demographic data and observable behavior. Likewise, psychological studies on adolescence have concentrated on the recent past, and have tended to look at the individual rather than the relationship between the individual and/or cohort, and the social values and mores as well as economic and political conditions of the period under study. Youth culture, which can be defined as a socially recognized and institutionalized adolescence, has undergone dramatic change since the late 19th century. The transition to adulthood has not been a smooth evolution, as this paper suggests. Rather, the transition has been affected by societal conditions. Future historical research of American youth should look more closely at the differences between the sexes, as well as the influence of socioeconomic status, ethnic background, environment, and so forth. For example, a possible study might look at social and psychological problems of male youth coming of age during World War II--or Korea or Vietnam--and how the transition to adulthood was affected during these times. Other questions that lend themselves to adolescent research include the following: How have youth been affected by the economic climate (i.e., prolonged during affluent times, shortened during hard times)? What has been the historical trend in the transition to adulthood, and what have been the corresponding social and psychological adjustments? How has the youth culture influenced the adolescent experience in American society? Finally, an area that invites further research--especially with the growing interest in women's studies and the new concern with the male role in society--is the different role expectations of male and female youth, and how these expectations relate to the transition process.