Editing Adolescence (section)

===Autonomy===
The degree to which adolescents are perceived as autonomous beings varies widely by culture, as do the behaviors that represent this emerging autonomy. Psychologists have identified three main types of [[autonomy]]: emotional independence, behavioral autonomy, and cognitive autonomy.<ref name="Lerner 2001 79">{{cite book|last=Lerner|first=Jacqueline V.|title=Adolescence in America: an encyclopedia|year=2001|publisher=ABC-CLIO|location=Santa Barbara, Calif.|isbn=978-1-57607-205-9|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781576072059/page/79 79]|editor=Rosenberg, Richard M.|editor2=Jordan Finkelstein|others=foreword by Mark L.|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781576072059/page/79}}</ref> Emotional autonomy is defined in terms of an adolescent's relationships with others, and often includes the development of more mature emotional connections with adults and peers.<ref name="Lerner 2001 79"/> Behavioral autonomy encompasses an adolescent's developing ability to regulate his or her own behavior, to act on personal decisions, and to self-govern. Cultural differences are especially visible in this category because it concerns issues of dating, social time with peers, and time-management decisions.<ref name="Lerner 2001 79"/> Cognitive autonomy describes the capacity for an adolescent to partake in processes of independent reasoning and decision-making without excessive reliance on social validation.<ref name="Lerner 2001 79"/> Converging influences from adolescent cognitive development, expanding social relationships, an increasingly adultlike appearance, and the acceptance of more rights and responsibilities enhance feelings of autonomy for adolescents.<ref name="Lerner 2001 79"/> Proper development of autonomy has been tied to good mental health, high self-esteem, self-motivated tendencies, positive self-concepts, and self-initiating and regulating behaviors.<ref name="Lerner 2001 79"/> Furthermore, it has been found that adolescents' mental health is best when their feelings about autonomy match closely with those of their parents.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Juang |first1=Linda P. |last2=Lerner |first2=Jacqueline V. |last3=McKinney |first3=John P. |last4=von Eye |first4=Alexander |title=The Goodness of Fit in Autonomy Timetable Expectations between Asian-American Late Adolescents and their Parents |journal=International Journal of Behavioral Development |date=December 1999 |volume=23 |issue=4 |pages=1023–1048 |doi=10.1080/016502599383658 |s2cid=54881083 }}</ref>

A questionnaire called the teen timetable has been used to measure the age at which individuals believe adolescents should be able to engage in behaviors associated with autonomy.<ref name="Steinberg, L. 2011">Steinberg, L. (2011). "Adolescence," 9th ed. 292. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.</ref> This questionnaire has been used to gauge differences in cultural perceptions of adolescent autonomy, finding, for instance, that White parents and adolescents tend to expect autonomy earlier than those of Asian descent.<ref name="Steinberg, L. 2011"/> It is, therefore, clear that cultural differences exist in perceptions of adolescent autonomy, and such differences have implications for the lifestyles and development of adolescents. In sub-Saharan African youth, the notions of individuality and freedom may not be useful in understanding adolescent development. Rather, African notions of childhood and adolescent development are relational and interdependent.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Brown |first1=B. Bradford |last2=Larson |first2=Reed W. |last3=Saraswathi |first3=T. S. |title=The World's Youth: Adolescence in Eight Regions of the Globe |date=2002 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-00605-7 |page=69 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PjK6A8NMuCIC&pg=PA69 }}</ref>