Coming of age in Samoa: A psychological study of primitive youth for western civilisation.

Mead based her study primarily on adolescent girls on the island of Ta'u in the Samoan Islands. The book detailed the sexual life of teenagers in Samoan society in the early 20th century, and theorized that culture has a leading influence on psychosexual development. Later editions revised the title to better reflect the content: Coming of age in Samoa: A study of adolescents and sex in primitive societies.