Chapter 12

1. Chapter 12 Socio-emotional Development in Adolescence ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

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4. Self-Esteem • Positive adolescent self-esteem is related to positive family relationships. • Some critics argue that developmental changes and gender differences in self-esteem during adolescents have been exaggerated. • http://vad.mhhe.com/provided_module.cfm?ModuleID=223 (Search for Identity in Adolescence: “Adolescent Self-Concept at Age 16”) ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

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6. Identity • Erikson termed the period of adolescence a psychological moratorium, a gap between the security of childhood and autonomy of adulthood. • His fifth stage of development is characterized by the dilemma of identity versus identity confusion. • Adolescents experiment with the numerous roles and identities they draw from the surrounding culture. • Either they successfully cope with conflicting identities or they don’t resolve their identity crisis. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

7. Components of Self-Portrait • Vocational/Career Identity • Political Identity • Religious Identity • Relationship Identity • Achievement/Intellectual Identity • Sexual Identity • Cultural/Ethnic Identity • Interests • Personality • Physical Identity ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

8. Some Contemporary Thoughts about Identity • Identity development is a lengthy process. • Identity development is extraordinarily complex. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

9. Identity Statuses and Development • James Marcia concluded that four identity statuses, or modes of resolution, appear in Erikson’s theory. • The extent of an adolescent’s commitment and crisis is used to classify him or her according to one of the four statuses. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

10. Crisis and Commitment • Crisis – a period of identity development during which the adolescent is choosing among meaningful alternatives • Commitment – the part of identity development in which adolescents show a personal investment in what they are going to do ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

11. Marcia’s Identity Statuses • Identity Diffusion • Identity Foreclosure • Identity Moratorium • Identity Achievement ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

12. The Development of Identity • Young adolescents are primarily in identity diffusion, foreclosure, or moratorium status. • Three fundamental aspects of young adolescents’ development with regard to identity formation are: • confidence in parental support • a sense of industry • a self-reflective perspective on the future • Some researchers believe the most important identity changes take place during college. • MAMA cycles are common to individuals who develop positive identities. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

13. Family Influences on Identity • Democratic parents, who encourage adolescents to participate in family decision making, foster identity achievement. • Autocratic parents, who control the adolescents’ behaviour, encourage identity foreclosure. • Permissive parents, who provide little guidance to adolescents and allow them to make their own decisions, promote identity diffusion. • The presence of a family atmosphere that promotes both individuality and connectedness is important in adolescents’ identity development. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

14. Individuality and Connectedness • Individuality consists of two dimensions: self-assertion, the ability to have and communicate a point of view, and separateness, the use of communication patterns to express how one is different from others. • Connectedness also consists of two dimensions: mutuality, sensitivity to and respect for others’ views, and permeability, openness to others’ views. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

15. Ethnic Identity • Ethnic identity is an enduring, basic aspect of the self that includes a sense of membership in an ethnic group and the attitudes and feelings related to that membership. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

16. Cultural and Ethnic Aspects of Identity • Most ethnic minority individuals consciously confront their ethnicity for the first time in adolescence. • For adolescents from ethnic minority groups, the process of identity formation has an added dimension due to exposure to alternative sources of identification. • Ethnic identity increases with age. • Higher levels of ethnic identity are linked with more positive attitudes towards both one’s own group and members of other ethnic groups. • Racism, discrimination, and bigotry were cited as factors influencing their relationships with authority figures and their ability to find employment. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

17. Gender and Identity Development • Erikson asserted that males’ aspirations were mainly oriented towards career and ideological commitments. • He asserted that females’ aspirations were centred around marriage and child bearing. • Researchers in the 1960s and 1970s found support for these gender differences. • In the past 20 years, females have developed stronger vocational interests and thus the differences are turning into similarities. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

18. Hardy Personalities • Development of a hardy personality can be met through the acquisition of 8 specific skills: • Recognize and tolerate anxiety, and act anyway. • Separate fantasy from reality, and tackle reality. • Set goals and establish priorities. • Project into the future, and understand how today’s choices affect the future. • Discriminate, and make choices consistent with goals and values. • Set boundaries and limits. • Ask assertively for wants and desires. • Trust self and own perceptions. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

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20. Autonomy • The ability to attain autonomy and gain control over one’s behaviour in adolescence is acquired through appropriate adult reactions to the adolescent’s desire for control. • As the adolescent pushes for autonomy, the wise adult relinquishes control in those areas in which the adolescent can make reasonable decisions but continues to guide them. • Gradually, adolescents acquire the ability to make mature decisions on their own. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

21. Attachment • Researchers have found that securely attached adolescents were less likely than those who were insecurely attached to engage in problem behaviours, such as juvenile delinquency and drug abuse. • Other research has shown securely attached adolescents had better peer relations than their insecurely attached counterparts. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

22. Parent-Adolescent Conflict • Parents often expect their adolescents to become mature adults overnight, instead of understanding that the journey takes 10–15 years. • Conflicts primarily involve the everyday events of family life, rather than major dilemmas like drugs. • This kind of conflict is associated with a number of adolescent problems. • Conflict varies by culture. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

23. Old and New Models of Parent-Adolescent Relationships • Old Model: • Autonomy, detachment from parents • Parent and peer worlds are isolated • New Model: • Attachment and autonomy • Parents are important support systems and attachment figures • Adolescent-parent and adolescent-peer worlds have some important connections. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

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25. Peer Groups • Cliques • Adolescent Groups versus Children’s Groups ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

26. Cliques • Allegiance to cliques can exert powerful control over the lives of adolescents. • Group identity often overrides personal identity. • Clique leaders may place members in positions of considerable moral conflict by asking teens to choose between their “code” and that of their parents. • One study has found correlational data linking clique membership to self-esteem. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

27. Adolescent Groups versus Childhood Groups • Children groups are usually made up of friends or neighbourhood acquaintances. • Adolescent groups tend to include a broader array of members. • Adolescent groups are more likely to have a mixture of individuals from different ethnic groups than are peer groups in childhood. • Children groups are not as formalized as many adolescent groups. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

28. Friendships • Harry Stack Sullivan’s Perspective • Findings on Friendship ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

29. Harry Stack Sullivan’s Perspective • Sullivan believed that all people have a number of basic social needs that must be fulfilled for our emotional well-being. • Developmentally, friends become increasingly depended on to satisfy these needs during adolescence. • The need for intimacy intensifies during early adolescence, motivating teenagers to seek out close friends. • If teens fail to forge such close friendships, they experience painful feelings of loneliness and reduced sense of self-worth. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

30. Findings on Friendship • Research supports many of Sullivan’s ideas. • Adolescents report disclosing intimate and personal information to their friends more often than younger children. • Adolescents say they depend more on friends than on parents to satisfy their needs for intimacy, companionship, and reassurance of worth. • The quality of friendship is more strongly linked to feelings of well-being during adolescence than during childhood. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

31. Dating and Romantic Relationships • Types of Dating and Developmental Changes • Dating Scripts • Emotion and Romantic Relationships • Socio-cultural Contexts and Dating ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

32. Types of Dating and Developmental Changes • Early romantic relationships serve as a context for adolescents to explore: • how attractive they are • how they should romantically interact with someone • how it all looks to the peer group • After they have acquired the basic competencies in interacting with romantic partners, teens then begin to focus their relationships on fulfillment of attachment and sexual needs. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

33. The Progression of Dating • In early exploration of romantic relationships, adolescents find comfort in numbers and begin hanging out together in heterosexual groups. • A special concern is early dating and “going with” someone, as it is associated with adolescent pregnancy and problems at home and school. • Cyberdating is a new phenomenon in which adolescents “date” over the Internet. • By the time teens are in high school and can drive, dating becomes a more real-life venture. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

34. Dating Scripts • Dating scripts are the cognitive models that guide individuals’ dating interactions. • One study showed that first dates are highly scripted along gender lines. • Males were found to follow a proactive dating script, while females followed a reactive one. • Another study showed males and females bring different motivations to the dating experience. • Girls were more likely to describe romance in terms of interpersonal qualities, while boys described it in terms of physical attraction. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

35. Emotion and Romantic Relationships • Romantic relationships often are involved in an adolescents’ emotional experience. • The strong emotions of adolescent romance can have both disruptive effects and provide a source for possible mastery and growth. • Learning to manage the strong emotions can give adolescents a sense of competence. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

36. Socio-cultural Contexts and Dating • Values and religious beliefs of people in various cultures often dictate: • the age at which dating begins • how much freedom in dating is allowed • whether dates must be chaperoned • the roles of males and females in dating • Dating may be a source of cultural conflict for immigrants and their families ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

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38. Cross-Cultural Comparisons • Cross-cultural studies involve the comparison of a culture with one or more other cultures. • This provides information about the degree to which development is similar or universal across cultures, or the degree to which it is culture-specific. • The study of adolescence has emerged in the context of Western industrialized society, with the practical needs and social norms of this culture dominating thinking about all adolescents. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

39. Rites of Passage • A rite of passage is a ceremony or ritual that marks an individual’s transition from one status to another. • Most rites of passage focus on the transition to adult status. • In many cultures, rites of passage often involve dramatic practices and are the avenue through which adolescents gain access to sacred adult practices, knowledge, and sexuality. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

40. Rites of Passage in Canada • No universal formal ceremonies exist in Canada. • Certain religious and social groups have initiation ceremonies that indicate an advance in maturity. • High school graduation has become almost universal but does not result in universal changes. • Sexual intercourse is an other rite of passage for many Canadian adolescents. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

41. Ethnicity • Ethnicity and Socio-economic Status • Differences and Diversity • Value Conflicts, Assimilation, and Multiculturalism ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

42. Ethnicity and Socio-economic Status • Much of the research on ethnic minority adolescents has failed to tease apart the influences of ethnicity and socio-economic status. • Poverty contributes to the stressful life experiences of many ethnic minority adolescents. • Not all ethnic minorities are poor, however. • Middle-income ethnic minority youth still encounter much of the prejudice, discrimination, and bias associated with being a minority. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

43. Differences and Diversity • There are legitimate differences between various ethnic minority groups, as well as between ethnic minority groups and the majority White group. • Historical, economic, and social experiences produce differences in ethnic groups. • Ethnic minority groups are not homogeneous; they have different social, historical, and economic backgrounds. • Recognizing and respecting these differences are important aspects of getting along with others in a multicultural world. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

44. Value Conflicts, Assimilation, and Multiculturalism • Assimilation – the absorption of ethnic minority groups into the dominant group. • This often means the loss of some or virtually all of the behavior and values of the minority group. • Multiculturalism– is the coexistence of distinct ethnic and cultural groups in the same society. • Canada’s policy of multiculturalism preserves the right of choice. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

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46. Young Offenders • Young offenders – are those young people between 10 and 18 who commit criminal acts • The Youth Criminal Justice Act defines youth as an individual, who, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, appears to be between 12 and 18 years. • About 14% of the young offenders charged by police were charged with crimes of violence. • Youth violence is not only more intense, with more harm being inflicted, but it often escalates very rapidly to a serious level. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

47. Causes of Adolescent Problems • Young children who engage in criminal activities often suffered from child maltreatment, such as abuse or neglect. • These youth often become repeat offenders. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

48. Street Youth • Street youth are troubled young people who have left home and live “on the street,” in shelters or abandoned buildings. • About half of the youth have addiction problems and about 25% are involved in the sex trade. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

49. The Interrelation of Problems and Successful Prevention/Intervention Programs • Most at-risk adolescents have more than one problem. • Many of these problems are interrelated. • It is important to develop programs that reduce adolescent problems. • New resources were allocated in 1999–2000 budget for the Youth Justice Renewal Initiative. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.