The Evolution of Adolescence and the Adolescence of Evolution: The Coming of Age of Humans and the Theory About the Forces That Made Them

Adolescence is a period characterized by well‐documented growth and change, including reproductive, social, and cognitive development. Though not unheard of, modern evolutionary approaches to adolescence are still relatively uncommon. Recent treatises in developmental biology, however, have yielded new tools through which to explore human physiological and behavioral growth, highlighted the role of the environment, and provided new avenues of thought for amelioration. Life history, the integration of form with function, and the concept of evolutionary mismatch are discussed.