Factors That Influence Youth Culture

1. Factors That Influence Youth Culture

2. Psychological Factors and Developmental Trends • Adolescents pull away from their parents to establish their own identities. • This is a developmental trend – it is a "normal" life-cycle process through which most adolescents journey

3. Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development • Adolescence (teen years into twenties) • Identity vs. Role Confusion • Teenager works at refining a sense of self by testing roles, then integrating them to form a single identity

4. Erikson…. • Argued that in order to establish a sense of identity, teens must engage in exploration (i.e., new ways of thinking and behaving) • New styles of appearance • New ideas • New groups of friends • New styles of music

5. 2 potential outcomes….. Identity achievement Identity Search Process Identity diffusion

6. Identity Achievement: Has come to a firm sense of self after engaging in exploration High self-esteem Socially skilled Does well in life Identity Diffusion: Has not achieved a sense of identity Low self-esteem Trouble making friends Much less successful than the identity-achieved person

7. Identity Diffused Individual • The adolescent that does not successfully resolve the identity crisis will have difficulty resolving the conflicts to come later in life. • Specifically, developing the capacity for intimacy in the next stage of development (intimacy vs. isolation) – developing healthy relationships

8. Separation-Individuation Process • Psychologist Peter Blos coined this term • Focus on how teens gradually pull away from their parents and become independent • Involves the restructuring of teens' entire network of significant others. Parents  Friends  Partner

9. Importance of Relationships: • Most important relationships are with friends • 93% cite friends as greatest source of enjoyment • 67% cite also having enjoyable relationships with their mothers • 60% report same with their fathers