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When 25 Is the New 18

September 21, 2017

Scientific American and a host of other media outlets reported on a new study by Jean Twenge, professor of psychology at San Diego State University, and Bryn Mawr Assistant Professor of Psychology Heejung Park, that argues that today's teens are less likely to engage in adult activities like having sex and drinking alcohol than teens from older generations.

From the Scientific American article:

Beyond just a drop in alcohol use and sexual activity, the study authors found that since around 2000, teens have become considerably less likely to drive, have an after-school job and date. By the early 2010s, it also appeared that 12th graders were going out far less frequently than 8th graders did in the 1990s. In 1991 54 percent of high schoolers reported having had sex at least once; in 2015 the number was down to 41 percent.

Park joined Bryn Mawr's faculty in 2015. Her research looks at how individuals and families around the world develop and negotiate values in the midst of social change and globalization.


The Department of Psychology offers the student a major program that allows a choice of courses from among a wide variety of fields in psychology: biological, clinical, cognitive, cultural, developmental, health, and social psychology.

Department of Psychology

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