Article Version of Record

The Changing Concept of Adolescence in Kenya: Three Generations Speak

Author(s) / Creator(s)

Ginsberg, Pauline E.
Kariuki, Priscilla Wanjiru
Kimamo, Charles

Abstract / Description

Kenya has at least 42 tribes. Each of these tribes had a unique way of marking the boundary between childhood and adulthood. It is like once pubertal signs emerged, the adolescent was said to be ready for adulthood. Traditional conceptualization of adolescence is not clearly defined, because while puberty marks the beginning of adolescence today, this was not the case in the traditional society. In the traditional society, when a girl started getting her menstrual periods, she was considered mature and arrangements for marriage were started. Modern rites of passage tend to come closer to how modern text books define adolescence. Most boys undertake circumcision after completing primary school, as they wait to join high school. Upon realizing that the hospital ceremony, unlike the traditional one, is lacking in complementary teachings, some Churches have organized teachings prior to circumcision. For girls, after circumcision for them was banned, alternative rites of passage (ARPs) are being instituted, most often targeting urban girls, but these, too, raise questions: Do alternative rites of passage fulfill the same functions for modern society that traditional ceremonies once fulfilled? And, if they do so for girls, is there reason to believe that they ought to be developed for both genders? This paper examines self-reports of Kenyans spanning three generations regarding social roles and identity-seeking among those who did (primarily older men) and did not (primarily younger men and women of all ages) participate in traditional initiation ceremonies.

Keyword(s)

adolescence puberty rites of passage

Persistent Identifier

Date of first publication

2014-04-30

Journal title

Psychological Thought

Volume

7

Issue

1

Page numbers

55–65

Publisher

PsychOpen GOLD

Publication status

publishedVersion

Review status

peerReviewed

Is version of

Citation

Ginsberg, P. E., Kariuki, P. W., & Kimamo, C. (2014). The Changing Concept of Adolescence in Kenya: Three Generations Speak. Psychological Thought, 7(1), 55–65. https://doi.org/10.5964/psyct.v7i1.97
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Ginsberg, Pauline E.
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Kariuki, Priscilla Wanjiru
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Kimamo, Charles
  • PsychArchives acquisition timestamp
    2018-11-28T10:01:59Z
  • Made available on
    2018-11-28T10:01:59Z
  • Date of first publication
    2014-04-30
  • Abstract / Description
    Kenya has at least 42 tribes. Each of these tribes had a unique way of marking the boundary between childhood and adulthood. It is like once pubertal signs emerged, the adolescent was said to be ready for adulthood. Traditional conceptualization of adolescence is not clearly defined, because while puberty marks the beginning of adolescence today, this was not the case in the traditional society. In the traditional society, when a girl started getting her menstrual periods, she was considered mature and arrangements for marriage were started. Modern rites of passage tend to come closer to how modern text books define adolescence. Most boys undertake circumcision after completing primary school, as they wait to join high school. Upon realizing that the hospital ceremony, unlike the traditional one, is lacking in complementary teachings, some Churches have organized teachings prior to circumcision. For girls, after circumcision for them was banned, alternative rites of passage (ARPs) are being instituted, most often targeting urban girls, but these, too, raise questions: Do alternative rites of passage fulfill the same functions for modern society that traditional ceremonies once fulfilled? And, if they do so for girls, is there reason to believe that they ought to be developed for both genders? This paper examines self-reports of Kenyans spanning three generations regarding social roles and identity-seeking among those who did (primarily older men) and did not (primarily younger men and women of all ages) participate in traditional initiation ceremonies.
    en_US
  • Publication status
    publishedVersion
  • Review status
    peerReviewed
  • Citation
    Ginsberg, P. E., Kariuki, P. W., & Kimamo, C. (2014). The Changing Concept of Adolescence in Kenya: Three Generations Speak. Psychological Thought, 7(1), 55–65. https://doi.org/10.5964/psyct.v7i1.97
    en_US
  • ISSN
    2193-7281
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12034/1581
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.1947
  • Language of content
    eng
  • Publisher
    PsychOpen GOLD
  • Is version of
    https://doi.org/10.5964/psyct.v7i1.97
  • Keyword(s)
    adolescence
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    puberty
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    rites of passage
    en_US
  • Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)
    150
  • Title
    The Changing Concept of Adolescence in Kenya: Three Generations Speak
    en_US
  • DRO type
    article
  • Issue
    1
  • Journal title
    Psychological Thought
  • Page numbers
    55–65
  • Volume
    7
  • Visible tag(s)
    Version of Record