Based on the Theory of Social Representation the present work analyses how adolescents from different social background represent and understand adolescence. Three hundred and sixty adolescents from 14 to 23 years old participated in this research: 180 (90 female and 90 male) live in an urban area and study in a private school located in a high-middle class and high class neighborhood, and 180 (90 female and 90 male) live in a rural area and attend an agrotechnical public school.The results pointed out that both groups are anchored on a traditional perception of adolescence as a universal and transitory period. There is, however, a differentiation according to cultural elements present in both groups. Therefore, we observe different forms of experiencing adolescence which confirms the most recent tendency to see adolescence as a historically constructed condition.
Social psychology; social representation; adolescence
