Adolescent psychiatry as a product of contemporary Anglo-American society.

Societies differ with respect to medical traditions. The kinds of healers and their emphases vary as a function of culture and social structure. In Western nations, a number of specialty disciplines have evolved. Psychiatry is a creation of the nineteenth century and linked to demographic and social changes of the period. Comparatively little attention has been given to the growth of Adolescent Psychiatry, a sub-discipline that has achieved definition in the last two decades. Its dependence on cultural and political economic transformations is unique insofar as it first required construction of its clientele, namely adolescence itself. The 'disorders' that are the focus of Adolescent Psychiatry appear to be very much linked symbolically and structurally to the unique social pressures impacting on this newly constructed group. The historical and cultural determinants of the developments that have culminated in the evolution of Adolescent Psychiatry are reviewed and discussed.