The Simple People Amish Adolescence

1
The Simple PeopleAmish Adolescence

• Liana Cox

2
Population Distirbution

• In 2008 227,000 Amish nationwide
• Found in 28 different states
• Largest populations in Indiana, Ohio, and
  Pennsylvania

3
Simplicity A Way of Life

• Faith requires that they forgo modern amenities
• No electricity, no phones, and no automobiles
• Derived from the desire to separate themselves
  from the English
• First language is German
• Extremely Private

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Amish Dress
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Education

• Stops after 8th grade
• 2001-2002 35,866 Amish school children
• Young men and women of large or poorer families
  work in the English world
• Some young men begin apprenticeships
• Those women who dont work outside the home learn
  domestic skills

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Work Together, Eat Together, Play Together

• The family is the core of the Amish world
• Post-figurative culture
• The home is the center of activity

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Rumspringa The Amish Rite of Passage

• Translates to running around
• Begins at age 16
• Allows Amish adolescents to go out and experience
  the world they have been cut off from
• Purpose produces informed and consenting adults
  for baptism into the church

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The Straight and Narrow

• Most continue to live the way they always have
• They may use the time to go to the movies, drive
  a car, watch TV, or go on unsupervised dates
• They dont explore that far from home, they dont
  explore other religions or higher levels of
  education

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The Devils Playground

• There are some Amish teens who run head long into
  a life of partying, sex, and fast cars
• Extremely risky
• High number of alcohol related deaths
• Parental Control

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The Outsiders

• http//abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id5195105p
  age1

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Does it work?

• 85 return to their community and become
  steadfast members of the faith

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Future Adulthood

• Become a farmer
• Get married and multiply
• Supply care for the elders
• Carry on the Amish beliefs and lifestyle

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Typical American Teen

• Asking questions like
• Who am I
• Who do I want to be
• What do I want to de
• Metacognition

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Typical Amish Teen

• If they choose to adopt the Amish faith their
  life is already planned
• They do not undergo processes of individuation
  and autonomy
• Expected to give up their sense of self
• Identity comes from sacrificing personal autonomy

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Counseling Amish Youth

• Deemphasize the concept of self
• Recognize the limitations of standard assessment
• Understand the Amish world of work
• Respect the social distance Amish children
  maintain with non-Amish children
• Avoid probing into home or Amish community
  problems
• Realize that a caring relationship is not enough
• Accept the fact that parents may have asked
  children to avoid counselors
• Keep your own cultural bias in check

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References

• Amish Country Northern Indiana. (2008). The
  Amish Lifestyle. Retrieved from
  http//www.amishcountry.org/the.amish.lifestyle
• Associated Press. (2008, Aug 20). Amish
  Population nearly doubles in 16 years. MSNBC.
  Retrieved from http//www.msnbc.msn.com/id/263157
  90/
• Conan, N. (interviewer) Shachtman, T.
  (interviewee) (2006). Rumspringa Amish Teens
  Venture Into Modern Vices. Retrieved from NPR
  Website http//www.npr.org/templates/story/story.
  php?storyId5455572
• Hostetler, J.A. (1995). The Amish (Revised Ed.)
  Scottsdale, PA Herald Press.
• Igou, B. (1999). The Amish In Their Own Words
  Amish writings from 25 years of Family life
  magazine. Scottsdale, PA Herald Press
• Ohio Stat University. (2000). Graph illustration
  of existing and extinct Amish settlements, 2000.
  Amish Settlements Through Time. Retrieved from
  http//digitalunion.osu.edu/R2/summer07/eellis/ind
  ex.html
• Spiegel, A. (2009). One Man Tackles Psychotherapy
  For The Amish. Retrieved from http//www.npr.org/
  templates/story/story.php?storyId102053475
• Stevick, R.A. (2007). Growing Up Amish The
  Teenage Years. Baltimore, MD The John Hopkins
  University Press.
• Velmans, J. (2008). The Outsiders Amish
  Rumspringa. Televisions broadcast. New York,
  NY ABC Studios