CHAPTER 12
Adolescence: Social and Emotional
Development
Development of Identity: “Who Am I?”
Erikson and Identity Development
• Ego identity versus role diffusion
– Erikson’s fifth stage of psychosocial development
– Primary task of adolescence is to develop ego identity
• Sense of who they are and what they stand for
• Psychological moratorium
– Adolescents experiment with different roles, values, beliefs, and
relationships.
– Undergo identity crisis in which they examine their values and
make decisions about their life roles
Erikson and Identity Development (cont’d)
• Many adolescents join “IN” groups and fit in by imitating
peers’ dress, speech, hairstyles
• Most resolve identity crisis and know what they stand for
• Those who don’t are intolerant of people who are
different and follow people who adhere to convention
Identity Statuses
• Marcia (1991) theorized four identity statuses that
represent four possible combinations of the dimensions
of exploration and commitment that Erikson believed
were important to identity.
1) Identity diffusion
• Have no commitments and don’t try to form them
2) Foreclosure
• Commitments based on identification with parents, teachers, or
religious leaders
3) Moratorium
• Actively exploring alternatives in attempt to make a choice
4) Identity achievement
• Develop firm commitment
Table 12-1, p. 249
Development of Identity Statuses
• Before high school
– Identity diffusion or foreclosure
• During high school
– The movement is from diffusion and foreclosure to moratorium
and achievement statuses
• During college
– Greatest gains in identity formation
– Moratorium identity status is common during college
– Most college seniors have a stronger sense of identity than
first-year students as a result of resolving identity crisis
Ethnicity and Development of Identity
• If cultural values conflict between values of dominant culture and
those of particular ethnic group, then the adolescent needs to sort
out the values that are most meaningful to him or her and
incorporate them into his/her identity
• Cultural heroes of adolescents from ethnic minority groups may be
ignored.
– Scarcity of successful role models may be a problem, particularly for
youth living in poverty
• Too much identification with dominant culture may lead to rejection
from the minority group
• However, rejecting the dominant culture’s values for that of the
minority group may limit opportunities for advancement in the larger
society.
Ethnicity and Development of Identity (cont’d)
• Three stages in the development of ethnic identity are
hypothesized
1) Unexamined ethnic identity
• Similar to diffusion or foreclosure
2) Ethnic identity search
• Some incident makes teen aware of ethnic identity and causes
exploration
3) Achieved ethnic identity
• Involves a clear self-acceptance as a member of one’s ethnic
group
Gender and Development of Identity
• Erikson
– Believed males and females begin identity formation in
adolescence
• Females
– Relationships considered more important to identity formation
– Remain more likely to integrate occupational and family plans
• Males
– Occupational and ideological matters more important to identity
formation
• Recent studies show
– Males and females are both concerned about occupational
choices.
Development of the Self-Concept
• Adolescents incorporate psychological characteristics
and social relationships into self-descriptions.
• Adolescents’ self-perceptions become more complex
than those of younger children.
• Adolescents add more categories to their selfdescription.
– Contradictions in self-description peak at about age 14 and then
decline in later adolescence
Self-Esteem
• Self-esteem
– Declines as child progresses from middle childhood to about the
age of 12 or 13
• Boys fantasize about having physiques of warriors in video games
• Girls want to be thin
• Notion of ideal self may move to better reflect reality
• As adolescents develop better skills, they may grow less
self-critical.
• Low self-esteem can have serious consequences.
– Depressed and suicidal teens
• Emotional support from parents and peers important
– The more highly regarded the teen feels, the more likely to
regard him-/herself higher
Relationships with Parents and Peers
Relationships with Parents
• Mothers
– Teens spend more time with mothers, have more conflicts with
them, and report them as being more supportive and knowing
them better.
• Fathers
– Adverse relationships with fathers are often associated with
depression in adolescents.
– Good relations with fathers contribute to adolescents’
psychological well-being.
• Even though teens spend less time with parents, they
continue to maintain love, loyalty, and respect for them.
• Conflict greatest during puberty and declines in later
adolescence
Relationships with Parents (cont’d)
• Conflict occurs between what parent thinks they should
control such as curfews and chores versus what
teenager thinks they should control.
– Mothers encourage teen to do homework and clean room
• Less conflict as teens get older; more compromise
• Little evidence to support generation gap between
parents and teens; most teens are similar to parents with
their value system
• Teens are not in constant state of rebellion against their
parents
Parenting Styles
• Adolescents from authoritative homes (parents are
willing to exert control and explain reasons for doing so)
show more competent behavior than other groups of
teenagers.
•
•
•
•
More self-reliant
Do better in school
Have better mental health
Show the lowest incidence of psychological problems and
misconduct, including drug use
Friendships in Adolescence
• Teens have more friends than younger children.
• Tend to have one or two “best friends” and several good
friends
• Spend many hours a day with them
– Texting, conversing, and IM-ing
• Teens more likely to
– stress acceptance, intimate self-disclosure, and mutual
understanding
– stress loyalty and trustworthiness
– share with friends and less likely to compete with them
Friendships in Adolescence (cont’d)
• Teens and their friends typically similar in age and race
– Almost always same sex
– Romantic attachments increase but most still choose members
of same sex as best friend
• Friends are alike in
– attitudes, educational aspirations, and grades
– drinking, drug use, and sexual activity
• Friendship contributes to positive self-concept and
psychological adjustment.
– Teens with best friend have higher self-esteem than teens
without
Friendships in Adolescence (cont’d)
• Females
– More likely to share secrets, personal problems, thoughts, and
feelings to their friends
– Friendship networks are smaller and more exclusive
– More likely to engage in unstructured activities with friends such
as listening to music
• Males
– More likely to disclose information about their sex lives
– Congregate in larger, less intimate groups
– Engage in more organized activities, games, and sports
Peer Groups
• Cliques
– Consist of 5 to 10 individuals who hang out together and share
activities and confidences
• Crowds
– Larger groups who may or may not spend much time together
and are identified by the activity or attitude of the group
• Common labels are jocks, brains, druggies, nerds
– Negatively labeled groups show higher levels of drug use,
delinquency, and depression
• Adolescent peer group includes members of opposite
sex.
Dating and Romantic Relationships
• Adolescents start dating or going out by the time they
graduate high school.
• Heterosexual sequence for dating
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Putting oneself in situations where peers of opposite sex will be
Group activities including opposite sex peers
Group dating
Traditional two-person dating
• Functions of dating
– Have fun, enhance prestige with one’s peers, relate positively to
different people; preparation for adult courtship activities
Dating and Romantic Relationships (cont’d)
• Dating relationships short-lived in early adolescence
• Relationships more stable and committed in late
adolescence
• 18-year-olds more likely than 15-year-olds to mention
love, trust, and commitment when describing romantic
relationships
Peer Influence
• Peer pressure fairly weak in early adolescence; peaks
during mid adolescence; declines in late adolescence,
after age 17
• Parents and peers are usually complementary rather
than competing influences.
• Teens more likely to conform to peer standards in
matters of taste and style; more likely to agree with
parents on moral principles and future educational and
career goals
• Peer pressure tends to be positive and negative; may
influence friend to not do “too well” in school
Peer Influence (cont’d)
• Adolescents who smoke, drink, use drugs, and engage
in sexual activity often have friends who engage in those
behaviors.
– Teens tend to have friends who are similar to themselves
Sexuality
Sexual Orientation
• Most teens have heterosexual orientation.
• Homosexuality or bisexuality
– Males with a homosexual orientation are referred to as gay
– Females with a homosexual orientation are referred to as
lesbians
– Bisexual people are attracted to both males and females
• Savin-Williams and Diamond (2000, 2004; Savin-Williams,
2007)
– Found the development of sexual orientation in gay males and
lesbians involves the following steps
• attraction to members of the same sex, self-labeling
• sexual contact with members of same sex
• eventual disclosure of sexual orientation
Sexual Orientation (cont’d)
• Disclosure usually occurs around age 18.
– But some people such as parents are never told
• “Coming out” refers to accepting one’s homosexual
orientation and declaring it to others.
– Usually disclosed to intimate group first
• Gay adolescents oftentimes ostracized and rejected by
family and friends
– Eventually most families accept adolescent is gay
• Suicide and depression rates are higher among gay
youth than heterosexual youth.
Masturbation
• Masturbation
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–
–
–
Self-stimulation
Most common sexual outlet during adolescence
More common in males than females (Kinsey, 1948)
May be due to stronger sex drive in boys, greater social
constraints on girls, or both
• Inaccurate beliefs that masturbation is harmful and guilt
about masturbation lessen the incidence of
masturbation.
Male-Female Sexual Behavior
• Teens who date earlier are more likely to engage in
sexual activity during high school.
• The younger the teen when sexual activity occurs, the
less likely they are to use contraceptives, more likely to
become pregnant
• Petting
– Used to express affection, satisfy curiosity, heighten sexual
arousal, and reach orgasm while avoiding pregnancy and
maintaining virginity
– Many adolescents don’t see petting as sex
• Girls more likely to be coerced into petting
Male-Female Sexual Behavior (cont’d)
• Incidence of oral sex increases with age
– 42% of girls ages 15 to 17 reported engaging in oral sex
compared to 72% or girls aged 18 to 19
– Used as a means of preventing pregnancy
• Between 40% and 50% of high school students have
had sexual intercourse.
• Sexual involvement increases with age.
Effects of Puberty
• Hormonal changes of puberty partly responsible for
onset of sexual activity
• In boys
– Testosterone linked to sexual behavior
• In girls
– Testosterone linked to sexual interest
– But social factors play a greater role sexual behavior in girls
• Development of secondary sex characteristics may
make teen more sexually attractive.
• Early-maturing girls are more likely to have older friends,
which may draw them into sexual relationships.
Parental Influences
• Teens with close relationships to their parents are less
likely to initiate activity at an early age.
• Teens who communicate well with parents delay onset
of sexual activity; if these teens do have intercourse,
they are more likely to use birth control and have fewer
sex partners
Peer Influences
• Good predictor of sexual activity is the sexual activity of
a teen’s best friends.
• Main reason for sexual activity is peer pressure.
• Peers and media sources (TV shows, films, magazines,
and the Internet) — not parents — serve as source of
sex education
Teenage Pregnancy
• 9 in 10 adolescents who become pregnant do so
accidentally and without committed partners.
• Most young women in developed nations defer
pregnancy until after they have completed most or all of
their education.
• Girls get pregnant because
– they have little information about how to address boys’ sexual
advances
– they fail to use contraceptives, and younger teens have less
access to contraceptive devices
• fewer than half use them reliably
Teen Pregnancy (cont’d)
• Causes for teen pregnancy
– Some girls get pregnant to force partner to make a commitment
– Some get pregnant to rebel
– Most get pregnant due to lack of knowledge of reproduction and
contraception
• 750,000 teen girls get pregnant a year
• Results in 400,000 births a year
• 10 to 20 years ago, 1 million girls were getting pregnant each year
• CDCP attribute drop-off in careless sex to educational
efforts by schools, the media, religious institutions, and
communities
• Half of pregnant teens get abortions.
Consequences of Teenage Pregnancy
• Outcomes for teen mothers who have resources to
nurture their babies are generally good.
• Pregnant teens more likely to have medical
complications during the months of pregnancy, and their
labor is likely to be prolonged
• Babies at a greater risk of being premature and LBW;
most likely due to SES of the teen mother
• Teen mother less likely to graduate high school or move
on to postsecondary education, more likely to need
public assistance, and less likely to have assistance from
the baby’s father
Preventing Teenage Pregnancy
• Some sexual education programs help to delay the onset
of sexual activity.
• Among teenagers already sexually active, sex education
is associated with the increased use of effective
contraceptives.
Juvenile Delinquency
Juvenile Delinquency
• Juvenile delinquency
– Children or adolescents who engage in illegal
activities and come into contact with the criminal
justice system
• Can include serious behaviors as homicide, rape, and robbery
• Truancy, underage drinking, running away from home, and sexual
promiscuity are considered illegal only when performed by a minor
– These are termed status offenses
• 4 in 10 crimes in the U.S. committed by individuals under
the age of 21; 3 in 10 by adolescents under 18
• Many delinquent acts are referred to mental health
agency
Ethnicity, Gender, and Juvenile Delinquency
• African-American adolescents more likely to be arrested
than European-American adolescents
• African-American youths are 13% of the adolescent
population in the U.S.
– One-fourth of the juvenile arrests
– One-half of those arrested for violent crimes
• African-American children less likely than EuropeanAmerican children to be living with both parents
Ethnicity, Gender, and Juvenile Delinquency
(cont’d)
• Bishop (2005) notes two explanations for the European
American-African American difference
– 1) Differential offending hypothesis
• Actual racial differences contribute to the seriousness of delinquent
behavior
– 2) Differential treatment hypothesis
• No behavioral differences between the two, yet groups are treated
differently by the juvenile justice system
Ethnicity, Gender, and Juvenile Delinquency
(cont’d)
• Risk factors
– Poverty
• African-American and Latino-American children are three times as
likely as European-American youth to be living in poverty.
– Broken families
• African Americans less likely to be living with both of their biological
parents
– Gender
• Boys more likely than girls to engage in crimes of violence
• Girls more likely than boys to commit status offenses
Suicide: When the Adolescent Has
Nothing - Except Everything - to Lose
Suicide: When the Adolescent Has Nothing —
Except Everything — to Lose
• Suicide is the third leading cause of death among
adolescents.
• Since 1960, the suicide rate has tripled for young people,
ages 15 to 24.
• 1 to 2 American adolescents in 10,000 commit suicide
each year.
• 1 in 10 has attempted suicide at least once.
Risk Factors in Suicide
• Suicidal adolescents experience four areas of
psychological problems
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(1) Confusion about the self
(2) Impulsiveness
(3) Emotional instability
(4) Interpersonal problems
• Some suicidal teenagers are high achieving, rigid
perfectionists who have set impossibly high expectations
for themselves.
– Feel depressed when they compare themselves to others
negatively
• Adolescent suicide attempts more common after
stressful life event
Risk Factors in Suicide (cont’d)
• Stressful life events can include
– breaking up with a boyfriend/girlfriend
– death of a parent or friend
– a family member leaving home
• Other factors include concerns over sexuality, school
grades, problems at home, substance abuse, being
“found out” for something like failing grades, or getting
arrested
• Suicide runs in families.
Risk Factors in Suicide (cont’d)
• Suicidal warning signs include
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belief that it is acceptable to kill one’s self
drug abuse and other kinds of delinquency
victimization by bullying
extensive body piercing
stress, hostility, depression, and other psychological disorders
heavy smoking
low self-esteem
increasing age from 11 to 21
Ethnicity, Gender, and Suicide
• Native-American and Latin-American teenagers have
highest suicide rates
– due in part to stresses they are exposed to
– lack of access to healthcare
• European-American teens are next highest rate
• African-American teens least likely to attempt or think
about suicide
• 3 times as many female as males attempt a suicide
• 4 times as many males complete a suicide
– Males use rapid and lethal methods, females use drugs