Medical practitioners involved in the care of adolescents must often deal with an arbitrarily set, chronological threshold between adolescence and adulthood, which varies from province to province and even between jurisdictions within a province. However, while adolescence is a recognizable phase of life, its end is not always easily demarcated. This poses problems for practitioners when adolescent patients require care in facilities with restrictive age limits.
The medical care of adolescents requires knowledge and clinical skills that have traditionally rested with the practice of paediatrics. The Canadian Paediatric Society believes that a definition of adolescence based solely on chronological age is unjustified and impractical. The Society favours a more functional definition based on the biopsychosocial readiness of young people to enter adulthood.
A DEFINITION OF ADOLESCENCE
Adolescence begins with the onset of physiologically normal puberty, and ends when an adult identity and behaviour are accepted. This period of development corresponds roughly to the period between the ages of 10 and 19 years, which is consistent with the World Health Organization’s definition of adolescence.
Those responsible for providing healthcare to adolescents must allow sufficient flexibility in this age span to encompass special situations such as the emancipated minor or the young person with a chronic condition leading to delayed development or prolonged dependency.
Footnotes
ADOLESCENT HEALTH COMMITTEE (2002–2003)
Members: Drs Sheri Findley, Children’s Hospital – Hamilton HSC, Hamilton, Ontario; Jean-Yves Frappier, Hôpital Sainte-Justine, Montreal, Quebec (co-chair); Eudice Goldberg, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario (co-chair); Norman Goldberg, Manitoba Clinic, Winnipeg, Manitoba (1999–2003); Karen Mary Leslie, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario (1997–2003); Douglas McMillan, Foothills Hospital, Calgary, Alberta (board representative); Michael Westwood, Beaconsfield, Quebec (1997–2003)
Liaison: Dr Jorge Pinzon, British Columbia’s Children’s Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia (Adolescent Health Section, Canadian Paediatric Society, 2002–2003)
Consultants: Drs Anna Maria Dominic, Janeway Child Health Centre, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador; Johanne Harvey, Chicoutimi, Quebec; Miriam Kaufman, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario; Andrew Lynk, Cape Breton Regional Hospital, Sydney, Nova Scotia; Diane Sacks, North York, Ontario; Roger Tonkin, Gabriola Island, British Columbia
Principal author: Dr Diane Sacks, North York General Hospital, North York, Ontario
The recommendations in this statement do not indicate an exclusive course of treatment or procedure to be followed. Variations, taking into account individual circumstances, may be appropriate.
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