Society seems to expect all teenagers to experience a period of rebellion before eventually becoming mature, tax-paying adults. This rebellious transition period is being attributed to a physical change in brain operation that the scientific community has documented through brain scans. The teens' brain scans displayed more activity at the back of the brain in the superior temporal sulcus, while the adults' brain scans displayed more activity in the front of the brain in the medial prefrontal cortex. These brain scan results indicate that during adolescence the neural strategy for processing intentions, changes.

Apparently, this means that the teenager’s brain responds with more of a gut reaction to emotional information, rather than a thoughtful kind of response. This would explain the impulsive behaviors so typical in teenagers but especially for those exposed to abuse, neglect, or substance abuse. Research is indicating that the brain doesn’t mature until around 25 years old, which raises the question, when should we as a society consider someone to be a capable adult?

Therefore, the ability in teenagers to make decisions is not what we once thought. Their brains are not as mature as we once believed them to be, before brain scans. They won’t process information the same way that adults do and they will not consider or appreciate the consequences the same way either. When the courts deal with this age group of individuals, especially where the death penalty is involved, these findings could affect how the U.S. handles these cases.

However, another study indicates that teenagers raised in cultures where they spend most of their time with adults don’t display antisocial or impulsive behavior nor did teens during pre-industrialized periods. Therefore, if teen rebellion is really a function of the brain shouldn’t we see this phenomenon crossing cultural and time lines? Apparently, during the 1980s when Western-style schooling and television were introduced to non-Western countries, delinquency there increased. Could the way society, parents, institutional schools, the media and other government agencies treat teenagers be the cause of the differences in the way their brains operate?

The 2004 study “Homeschooling Grows Up” Indicated that there was little evidence of teenage rebellion among homeschooled students who demonstrated their maturity by involvement in community activities. They also demonstrated personal maturity and reported generally good relationships with their parents. They suggest that we need to give our teens more responsibilities and expect more from them.
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