Child Development 3e by Robert Feldman Chapter 16

• How does the development of self-concept, self-esteem, and identity proceed during adolescence? • What dangers do adolescents face as they deal with the stresses of adolescence? • How does the quality of the relationships with family and peers change during adolescence? • What are gender, race, and ethnic relations like in adolescence? • What does it mean to be popular and unpopular in adolescence, and how do adolescents respond to peer pressure? • What are the functions and characteristics of dating during adolescence? • How does sexuality develop in the adolescent years? • Why is teenage pregnancy more of a problem in the United States than in many other countries? Feldman Child Development, 3/e © 2004 Prentice Hall

Identity • Self-concept: characterizing the self (understanding who you are) • Self-esteem: evaluating the self • Knowing who you are and liking who you are = two different things Feldman Child Development, 3/e © 2004 Prentice Hall

Identity Formation • Erikson’s Identity vs. Identity Confusion – the period during which teenagers seek to determine what is unique and distinctive about themselves • Adolescents increasingly rely on their friends and peers as sources of information about their identity • Psychological moratorium – a period during which adolescents take time off from the upcoming responsibilities of adulthood and explore various roles and possibilities Feldman Child Development, 3/e © 2004 Prentice Hall

Marcia’s Approach to Identity Development • Identity achievement – the status of adolescents who commit to a particular identity following a period of crisis during which they consider various alternatives • Identity foreclosure – the status of adolescents who prematurely commit to an identity without adequately exploring alternatives • Moratorium – the status of adolescents who may have explored various identity alternatives to some degrees but have not yet committed themselves • Identity diffusion – the status of adolescents who consider various identity alternatives but never commit to one or never consider identity options in any conscious way Feldman Child Development, 3/e © 2004 Prentice Hall

Cultural Identity Feldman Child Development, 3/e © 2004 Prentice Hall

Depression and Suicide • 20 -35% of boys and 25 -40% of girls report having depressed moods in the previous 6 months • About 3% experience major depression • One teenage suicide occurs every 90 minutes for an annual rate of 12. 2 suicides per 100, 000 adolescents • Cluster suicide – a situation in which one suicide leads to attempts by others to kill themselves Feldman Child Development, 3/e © 2004 Prentice Hall

Adolescent Difficulties Feldman Child Development, 3/e © 2004 Prentice Hall

Relationships: Family and Friends • Autonomy – having independence and sense of control over one’s life • Generation gap – a divide between parents and adolescents in attitudes, values, aspirations, and worldviews Feldman Child Development, 3/e © 2004 Prentice Hall

Changing Views of Parents Feldman Child Development, 3/e © 2004 Prentice Hall

Family Obligations Feldman Child Development, 3/e © 2004 Prentice Hall

Parental Conflict in Adolescence Parents and teens may hold similar attitudes about social and political issues but very different attitudes about matters of personal taste Feldman Child Development, 3/e © 2004 Prentice Hall

What’s the Problem? Feldman Child Development, 3/e © 2004 Prentice Hall

Relationships with Peers • Reference group – any group of people with whom one compares oneself • Cliques – groups of 2 to 12 people whose members have frequent social interactions with one another • Crowds – larger groups than cliques, composed of individuals who share particular characteristics but who may not interact with one another • Sex cleavage – sex segregation in which boys interact primarily with boys and girls primarily with girls Feldman Child Development, 3/e © 2004 Prentice Hall

The Social World Of Adolescence Feldman Child Development, 3/e © 2004 Prentice Hall

Popularity and Rejection • Controversial adolescents – teenagers who are liked by some peers and disliked by others • Rejected adolescents – teenagers who are actively disliked and whose peers may react to them in an obviously negative manner • Neglected adolescents – children who receive relatively little attention from their peers in the form of either positive or negative interactions Feldman Child Development, 3/e © 2004 Prentice Hall

• Peer pressure – the influence of one’s peers to conform to their behavior and attitudes • Undersocialized delinquents – adolescents who are raised with little discipline or with harsh, uncaring parental supervision • Socialized delinquents – adolescents who know and subscribe to the norms of society and who are fairly normal psychologically Feldman Child Development, 3/e © 2004 Prentice Hall

Dating and Sexual Behavior • Dating is a way to establish intimacy with others. Dating can also provide entertainment and prestige • Masturbation is sexual self-stimulation • Sexual intercourse begins for about half of all adolescents in the 15 -18 age range. At least 80% of adolescents have sex before the age of 20 • Heterosexuality – sexual attraction and behavior directed at the opposite sex • Homosexuality – sexual attraction to members of the same sex Feldman Child Development, 3/e © 2004 Prentice Hall