Margaret is an American cultural anthropologist who travels to the island of Taʻū to study adolescent girls. She challenges biological determinism by investigating whether the turmoil of youth is culturally produced rather than biologically innate. Her immersive, nine-month field research shapes her career as a prominent public intellectual and curator at the American Museum of Natural History.

Franz is a German-born American anthropologist and professor at Columbia University. He advocates for cultural relativism and trains a generation of scholars to study societies on their own terms, rejecting theories of universal biological determinism. He provides the theoretical justification for the Samoan research and lends his academic authority to the published findings.

Derek is a New Zealand anthropologist based at the Australian National University. Decades after the initial fieldwork, he publishes a book arguing that the original Samoan study misinterprets the culture's sexual norms and social constraints. His critique sparks a major scientific controversy regarding ethnographic reliability and researcher bias.

Mary is an American cultural anthropologist and the daughter of the original author. She writes a preface emphasizing the ongoing relevance of the study to child-rearing and social participation. She notes how her mother viewed anthropology as a practical tool for understanding social arrangements.

Mary is an American clinical psychologist who draws parallels between her clinical work in the 1990s and the 1920s Samoan research. She highlights the continued relevance of the book's concepts regarding gender differences and adolescent development in modern society.

Lola is a 17-year-old girl described as intelligent but highly emotional. Raised in a fatherless household lacking firm authority, she frequently quarrels and moves between relatives' homes. Her immense need for affection goes unmet, contributing to her status as a social outcast and violent disruptor.

Siva is an 11-year-old girl who shows behavioral issues similar to her delinquent older sister. However, because she is placed under stricter supervision at an earlier age, she avoids becoming a complete outcast. She uses humor and mimicry to make herself more acceptable to the community.

Pusa is the strong-willed wife of a Samoan uncle. She temporarily houses a rebellious niece and provides a brief period of improvement through firm authority before the living arrangement ultimately breaks down.

Fuativa is a middle-aged man who becomes romantically involved with a young social outcast. He ultimately abandons this relationship to propose marriage to a visiting ceremonial princess, an action that prompts a public confrontation and scandal.

Mala is a young girl living with an uncle and his childless wife. Identified from childhood as a thief, she is avoided by other girls and spends time with boys. Her delinquency stems from a lack of emotional support in her unusual home conditions.

Sila is an older half-sister who considers remarrying simply to provide her aging stepfather's household with another adult worker. She exhibits intense distress over family relationships, particularly regarding her uncle's romantic involvements and marriages.

Moana is a young Samoan girl whose conduct leads her parents to relocate her to another household. Her living situation creates severe friction and prompts differing views within the village regarding household morality.

Malae is a high chief whose household dynamics demonstrate how rank and title politics affect young people. He holds the authority to select the future ceremonial princess from among his dependents, shaping their social trajectories long before adulthood.

Timu is a shy but well-born girl living in a high chief's household. She is chosen over more capable peers to become the future village princess, demonstrating how hereditary rank supersedes individual competence in certain social roles.

Meta is a highly capable but distantly related girl living in a chief's household. She transitions steadily from play to productive work as she approaches puberty, lacking the rank needed for formal ceremonial elevation.

Fitu is the eldest daughter in one of the village's rare small biological families. She quickly assumes heavy household management and organizational roles as she approaches puberty, which distances her from her former neighborhood playmates.

Ula is a younger sister growing up in a small biological family. She leverages her physical attractiveness to avoid taking on the heavier domestic responsibilities required to maintain the household.

Lalala is the mother of two daughters living in a small nuclear family. Instead of managing the daily labor directly, she delegates much of the household management to her eldest child.

Ela is a girl taken back into a pastor's home despite having previous sexual experience. She maintains a close, intimate bond with her cousin, seeking companionship and release within the household's strict religious regulations.

Talo is a physically precocious girl who gains sexual experience before the onset of menstruation. She maintains an intimate relationship with her cousin within a highly structured pastor's household.

Fala is a hardworking Samoan girl who engages in frequent romantic liaisons. She balances her adult household tasks with casual relationships involving local and visiting youths.

Tolu is a Samoan girl who shares an active romantic life alongside her cousins while successfully maintaining her daily domestic duties in the village.

Namu is a young woman who, like her cousins, engages in frequent casual relationships while fulfilling her communal and domestic responsibilities in the village.

Sona is an orphan with failing eyesight who models her behavior after an older relative. She shows a strong preference for education and alternative future roles rather than following the traditional path of marriage.

Manita is an unmarried woman who is declared a ceremonial princess despite lacking the strict hereditary right usually required for the role. She serves as a strong, non-traditional role model for her younger cousin.

William is an American publisher who encourages the translation of academic anthropological findings into formats accessible to the general public. He urges his authors to explicitly connect cross-cultural studies to American domestic life.