Ritos de Passagem da Adolescência à Vida Adulta: Diferen as Etárias e de Gênero

This work aims at describing the choices of adults for rites of passage from adolescence to adulthood. The objectiveis also to identify the most significant rites, as well as age and gender differences. Participants included 191university students, enrolled at a federal public institution in Porto Alegre (RS). We used as an instrument theQuestionnaire of Rites of Passage. The three most cited were: making major decisions with no help from the family,responsibility for other people, and financial independence from parents. There were more women indicatingfinancial independence, and more men indicating marriage as rite of passage to adulthood. The only age differencefound was in relation to being responsible for other people, which was the most cited rite by older participants. Theresults are discussed based on the social influence on the perceptions regarding the granting of the status of an adultindividual.