Infants Children and Adolescents Eighth Edition Chapter 16

Infants, Children, and Adolescents Eighth Edition Chapter 16 Emotional and Social Development in Adolescence Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.

Learning Objectives (1 of 3) Adolescence • • • 1. According to Erikson, what is the major personality attainment of adolescence? 2. Describe changes in self-concept and self-esteem during adolescence. 3. Describe the four identity statuses, along with factors that promote identity development. 4. Describe Kohlberg’s theory of moral development, and evaluate its accuracy. 5. Describe influences on moral reasoning and its relationship to moral behavior. Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.

Learning Objectives (2 of 3) Socio-emotional Dev. • • • 6. How does gender typing change in adolescence? 7. Discuss changes in parent–child and sibling relationships during adolescence. 8. Describe adolescent friendships, peer groups, and dating relationships and their consequences for development. 16. 10 Discuss conformity to peer pressure in adolescence. 16. 11 Describe factors related to adolescent depression and suicide. Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.

Erikson’s Theory: Identity vs. Role Confusion Identity • Major personality attainment of adolescence. • Crucial step toward becoming a productive, content adult. • Involves who you are, what you value, and your direction in life. • Drives choice of vocation, interpersonal relationships, ethnic group membership, expression of one’s sexual orientation, ideals. Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.

Erikson’s Theory: Identity vs. Role Confusion (continued) Role confusion • Weak sense of trust, lack of faith in ideals • Little autonomy or initiative • Little active exploration during adolescence • Failure to choose vocation that matches interests and skills • May appear shallow, directionless Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.

Self-Concept in Adolescence • Unify separate traits into larger, abstract ones • Contradictory traits expressed in different social situations • Later, traits combined into organized system • More emphasis on social virtues and on being viewed positively by others Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.

Self-Esteem in Adolescence • Self-esteem continues to differentiate. • New components are close friendship, romantic appeal, job competence. • Self-esteem rises from mid- to late adolescence. • Individual differences are increasingly stable. • Factors affecting self-esteem include – pubertal timing. – parents’ child-rearing style. – larger social environment. Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.

Identity Statuses Level of Exploration Level of Commitment High Low High Identity achievement Identity moratorium Low Identity foreclosure Identity diffusion Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.

Identity Status and Psychological Well-Being (continued) Adolescents who are identity-achieved or exploring – have higher self-esteem. – are open to alternative ideas and values. – feel in control of their lives. – view school and work as avenues for realizing aspirations. – are more advanced in moral reasoning and more concerned with social justice. Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.

Identity Status and Psychological Well-Being Young people who are stuck in foreclosure – are passive in the face of identity concerns. – have adjustment difficulties. – display a dogmatic, inflexible cognitive style. – resist information that threatens their position. Young people who are long-term diffused § use a diffuse-avoidant cognitive style. § entrust themselves to luck or fate. § are at risk for depression and suicide. Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.

Factors That Affect Identity Development • Personality: Confident, flexible, self-reflective approach is helpful in identifying and pursuing life goals. • Family: Identity development is enhanced when family serves as “secure base. ” • Peers: Warm, trusting peer ties provide emotional support, assistance, models. • School, community, culture: Promote identity development by offering opportunities for exploration. Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.

Identity Development Among Ethnic Minority Adolescents • Ethnic identity: sense of ethnic group membership and attitudes, beliefs, and feelings associated with that membership • Acculturative stress: psychological distress resulting from conflict between minority and host culture • Bicultural identity: formed by exploring and adopting values from both one’s subculture and the dominant culture Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.

Supporting Healthy Identity Development • Engage in warm, open communication. • Initiate discussions that promote high-level thinking at home and at school. • Provide opportunities to participate in extracurricular activities and vocational training programs. • Provide opportunities to talk with adults and peers who have worked through similar identity questions. • Provide opportunities to explore ethnic heritage and learn about other cultures in atmosphere of respect. Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.

Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Understanding Preconventional Level Conventional Level Stage 1: Punishment and obedience orientation Stage 2: Instrumental purpose orientation Stage 3: “Good boy–good girl” orientation (morality of interpersonal cooperation) Stage 4: Social-order-maintaining orientation Stage 5: Social contract orientation Postconventional or Principled Level Stage 6: Universal ethical principle orientation Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.

Sex Differences in Moral Reasoning? • Kohlberg: Rights and justice orientation • Gilligan: Caring and responsiveness orientation • Both sexes use both orientations: – Themes of both justice and caring appear in both male and female responses. – Interpersonal concerns are not downgraded in Kohlberg’s system. – Female emphasis on care may reflect women’s greater involvement in care and concern for others. – Context profoundly affects use of a care orientation. Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.

Coordinating Moral, Social. Conventional, and Personal Concerns • Concern with matters of personal choice strengthens during adolescence. • Adolescents think more intently about conflicts between personal choice and community obligations. • As grasp of fairness deepens, adolescents realize that social conventions may have moral implications. Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.

Influences on Moral Reasoning • Personality: Flexible, open-minded approach is linked to gains in moral reasoning. • Child-rearing practices: Authoritative, warm parenting is associated with moral maturity in adolescence. • Schooling: Moral reasoning typically advances as long as a person remains in school. • Peer interaction: Interacting with peers who present differing viewpoints promotes moral understanding. • Culture: Individuals in industrialized nations move through Kohlberg’s stages more quickly and advance to higher levels than those in village societies. Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.

Moral Reasoning and Behavior • Moral identity: degree to which morality is central to self-concept • Parenting practices that strengthen moral identity: – inductive discipline – clearly conveyed moral expectations • Other positive influences on moral identity: – just educational environments – opportunities for civic engagement Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.

Development of Civic Engagement • Family influences: – Parents who stress compassion for less fortunate and engage in community service – Open communication, discussion of social problems • School and community influences: – Democratic climate at school – Participation in extracurricular activities aimed at inducing social change – High school service-learning programs, which integrate service activities into academic curriculum Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.

Religious Involvement and Moral Development • Religion is especially important in U. S. family life. • Formal religious involvement declines as adolescents search for personally meaningful identity. • Teenagers who remain part of a religious community – – – are more involved in community service. engage in less misconduct. have lower rates of drug and alcohol use. are less likely to engage in early sexual activity. are less likely to engage in antisocial behavior. Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.

Challenges to Kohlberg’s Theory • Some researchers claim Kohlberg’s stages inadequately account for everyday morality. • Pragmatic approach: – People make moral judgments at varying levels of maturity, depending on context and motivations. – Everyday moral judgments are tools used to achieve personal goals. • Kohlberg’s theory remains influential. Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.

Gender Typing in Adolescence Gender intensification: • Increased gender stereotyping of attitudes and behavior • Movement toward more traditional gender identity • When evident, stronger for adolescent girls • Biological, social, and cognitive factors involved • Typically declines by late adolescence • Benefits of androgynous gender identity Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.

Parent–Child Relationships in Adolescence • Autonomy: – Sense of oneself as separate, self-governing individual – Emotional: relying more on oneself, less on parents – Behavioral: making decisions by weighing one’s own judgment and others’ suggestions • Teenagers deidealize parents. • Effective parenting strikes balance between connection and separation. Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.

Parenting Practices That Foster Adolescent Competence • Project warmth and acceptance. • Monitor activities. • Engage in democratic decision making and verbal give-and-take. • Establish firm control and consistent discipline. • Provide information and model effective skills. Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.

Adolescents and Their Families • Cultural factors: – Teenagers in cultures valuing interdependence conceive of autonomy as self-endorsed (not independent) decision making. – Clash between immigrant parents’ culture and Western culture can lead to acculturative stress over independent decision making, associated with decline in self-esteem. • Reorganized parent–child relationship: – Parent–child relationship quality predicts mental health in adolescence. – Mild conflict facilitates adolescent identity and autonomy. – Drop in family time is not universal, depends on culture. Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.

Adolescents and Their Families (continued) • Family circumstances: – Less than 10% of families with adolescents have seriously troubled relationships. – Teenagers who develop well despite family stress benefit from factors that foster resilience in earlier years. • Siblings: – – Older siblings have less influence on younger siblings. Attachment between siblings usually remains strong. Sibling ties vary with gender and culture. Warm adolescent sibling relationships contribute to more gratifying friendships. Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.

Friendships in Adolescence • Number of “best friends” declines. • Most important characteristics of friendship are – intimacy (psychological closeness). – mutual understanding. – loyalty. • Teenage friends tend to be alike in – – identity status. educational aspirations. political beliefs. willingness to try drugs and engage in lawbreaking acts. Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.

Age-Related Self-Disclosure in Relationships Figure 16. 1 (From D. Buhrmester, 1996, “Need Fulfillment, Interpersonal Competence, and the Developmental Contexts of Early Adolescent Friendship, ” in W. M. Bukowski, A. F. Newcomb, & W. W. Hartup, (Eds. ), The Company They Keep: Friendship in Childhood and Adolescence, New York: Cambridge University Press, p. 168. Reprinted by permission of Cambridge University Press. ) Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.

Gender Differences in Friendship Quality • Emotional closeness is more common between girls than boys. • Girls’ friendships focus on communal concerns, boys’ on achievement and status. • Quality of boys’ friendships is more variable. • Friendship closeness can lead to corumination, triggering anxiety and depression. • Number of other-sex friends increases with age, but same-sex friends remain more common. Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.

Friendships, Cell Phones, and the Internet • Calling/texting, social networking, and instant messaging support close friendships. • Adolescents use the Internet – to meet new people. – to explore central adolescent concerns in less threatening contexts. • Very high social media use is linked to unsatisfying real-world social experiences. • Parents are wise to point out risks of Internet communication, including harassment and exploitation. Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.

12 - to 17 -Year-Olds’ Daily Use of Various Communication Channels Figure 16. 2 (Based on Lenhart, 2012. ) Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.

Benefits of Adolescent Friendships Close friendships • provide opportunities to explore the self and form deep understanding of another. • provide a foundation for future intimate relationships. • help young people deal with stresses of adolescence. • can improve attitudes toward and involvement in school. Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.

Cliques and Crowds • Clique: group of 5– 8 members who are friends – Similar in family background, attitudes, values, interests – Membership more important to girls – Provides context for acquiring social skills, experimenting with values and roles • Crowd: larger group made up of several cliques – Membership based on reputation, stereotype – Grants adolescents an identity within the social structure of the school. • Clique or crowd membership can modify beliefs and behaviors. • As dating increases, cliques and crowds decline in importance. Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.

Dating in Adolescence • Cultural expectations determine when dating begins. • Early adolescents date for recreation, group activities; form shallow relationships. • By late adolescence, teens seek greater psychological intimacy with dating partners. • Too-early dating is related to drug use, delinquency, and poor academic achievement. • About 10– 20% of adolescents experience dating violence. • Lesbian and gay youths face special challenges in romantic relationships because of prejudice. Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.

Increase in Romantic Relationships During Adolescence Figure 16. 3 (Based on Carver, Joyner, & Udry, 2003. ) Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.

Peer Conformity • Adolescents feel greatest pressure to conform to dress, grooming, participation in social activities. • Peer pressure is also strong to engage in proadult behavior. • Brain changes contribute to increased rewardseeking and receptiveness to peer influence, which decline with age. • Authoritative parenting acts as antidote to unfavorable peer pressure. Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.

Depression in Adolescence • Depression is the most common psychological problem of adolescence. • About 15– 20% of adolescents experience one or more major depressive episodes. • Teenage girls are twice as likely as boys to report persistent depressed mood. • Factors influencing depression include heredity, childrearing practices, “feminine” gender-typed coping styles, multiple negative life events. Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.

Adolescent Suicide • Suicide rate jumps sharply in adolescence. • Number of boys who kill themselves exceeds number of girls by 4: 1 ratio. • Those at greatest risk are – Caucasian Americans, African-American males, Native Americans. – gay, lesbian, and bisexual youths. – highly intelligent, socially withdrawn young people. – youths with antisocial tendencies who engage in bullying, fighting, stealing, risk taking, and drug abuse. Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.

Ways to Respond to a Potentially Suicidal Young Person • Be psychologically and physically available. • Communicate a caring, capable attitude. • Assess the immediacy of risk. • Empathize with the young person’s feelings. • Oppose the suicidal intent. • Offer a plan for help. • Obtain a commitment. Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.

Adolescent Delinquency • Adolescents account for 11% of arrests: – Most adolescents commit some (usually minor) crime. – Delinquency rises over early and mid-adolescence, then declines. – Motivation is usually reward-seeking and peer approval. • SES and ethnicity are strong predictors of arrests, reflecting tendency to arrest, charge, and punish low-SES ethnic minority youths more often than higher-SES white and Asian counterparts. • Chronic delinquency is linked to difficult temperament, low intelligence, academic failure, peer rejection, involvement with antisocial peers. Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.

Two Routes to Adolescent Delinquency • Early-onset: – Behavior begins in childhood. – Biological risk factors and child-rearing practices combine. • Late-onset: – Behavior begins around puberty. – Conduct problems arise from peer context of early adolescence. Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.

Path to Chronic Delinquency for Adolescents with Childhood -Onset Antisocial Behavior Figure 16. 4 Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.

Prevention and Treatment of Adolescent Delinquency • Prevention must start early and take place at multiple levels. • Zero-tolerance policies in schools have not been effective at reducing misconduct. • Treating serious offenders requires intensive, lengthy approach, including – training parents in communication, monitoring, and discipline strategies. – providing youths with experiences that improve cognitive and social skills. Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.

Factors That Foster Resilience in Adolescence • Balance between family connection and separation • Effective family problem solving that models and encourages rational decision making • Parental monitoring and school involvement • Close, supportive friendships • High-quality vocational education • Culturally sensitive school and community • Affiliation with a religious organization • Opportunities in extracurricular activities, youth organizations, and community service Copyright © 2016 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.