Despite the pain and humiliation required for entry, many young people are willing to participate in these rites for the opportunity to join a binding social group and to transition away from childhood’s parental dependency and into peer-oriented young adulthood. This suggests that there may be a deep need among many adolescents for belonging and for the rites and rituals that create and express that belonging. Can we use that knowledge to improve adolescents’ transitions to adulthood?
