CHAPTER 12: ADOLESCENCE: SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT Adolescents are preoccupied not only with their present selves but also with what they want to become. 12-1a ERIKSON AND IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT • Erik Erikson’s fifth stage of psychosocial development is called ego identity versus role diffusion. - The primary task is for adolescents to develop ego identity: a sense of who they are and what they stand for. • ego identity versus role diffusion Erikson’s fifth life crisis, during which adolescents develop a firm sense of who they are and what they stand for (ego identity), or they do not develop a sense of who they are and tend to be subject to the whims of others. • psychological moratorium a period when adolescents experiment with different roles, values, beliefs, and relationships. During this time, adolescents undergo an identity crisis in which they examine their values and make decisions about their life roles. • identity crisis a turning point in development during which one examines one’s values and makes decisions about life roles. 12-1b IDENTITY STATUSES • James Marcia (2010) theorized four identity statuses that represent the four possible combinations of the dimensions of exploration and commitment that Erikson believed were critical to the development of identity. 1. Identity Diffusion 2. Foreclosure 3. Moratorium 4. Identity achievement • Exploration -> involves active questioning and searching among alternatives to establish goals, values, or beliefs. • Commitment -> is a stable investment in one’s goals, values, or beliefs. 1. Identity diffusion -> the least advanced status and includes adolescents who neither have commitments nor are trying to form them. -> This stage is characteristic of younger adolescents and of older adolescents who drift through life or become alienated and rebellious. -> an identity status that characterizes those who have no commitments and who are not in the process of exploring alternatives. 2. Foreclosure -> individuals make commitments without considering alternatives. -> commitments are usually established early in life and are often based on identification with parents, teachers, or religious leaders who have made a strong impression. 3. Moratorium -> refers to a person who is actively exploring alternatives in an attempt to make choices. Such individuals are often anxious and intense. -> an identity status that characterizes those who are actively exploring alternatives in an attempt to form an identity. 4. Identity achievement -> refers to those who have explored alternatives and developed relatively firm commitments. They generally have high selfesteem and self-acceptance. -> an identity status that characterizes those who have explored alternatives and have developed commitments. Development of Identity Statuses: Before high school, children show little interest in questions of identity. Most are either in identity diffusion or foreclosure statuses. During the high school and college years, adolescents increasingly move from the diffusion and foreclosure statuses to the moratorium and achievement statuses. 12-1c ETHNICITY AND DEVELOPMENT OF IDENTITY The development of self-identity is a key task for all adolescents. European Americans of Christian, especially Protestant, heritage— are usually faced with assimilating one set of cultural values into their identities. ethnic minority groups, such as African Americans and Islamic Americans, confront two sets of cultural values: the values of the dominant culture and those of their ethnic group. Some adolescents do it cafeteria style; they take a little bit of this and a little bit of that Adolescents from ethnic minority groups also often experience prejudice and discrimination. rejecting the dominant culture’s values for those of the minority group may limit opportunities for advancement in the larger society. • Ethnic identity a sense of belonging to an ethnic group. Some researchers hypothesize three stages in the development of ethnic identity. • unexamined ethnic identity the first stage of ethnic identity development; similar to the diffusion or foreclosure identity statuses. • ethnic identity search the second stage of ethnic identity development; similar to the moratorium identity status. • achieved ethnic identity the final stage of ethnic identity development; similar to the identity achievement status. involves self-acceptance as a member of one’s ethnic group and helps individuals withstand the stress that comes from societal discrimination 12-1d GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT OF IDENTITY Erikson assumed that relationships were more important to women’s development of identity, while occupational and ideological matters were relatively more important to men’s. - Studies today show that both adolescent females and males are concerned about occupational choices, even though females are more likely to expect that they will have to balance the demands of a career and a family 12-1e DEVELOPMENT OF THE SELF-CONCEPT Before adolescence, children describe themselves primarily in terms of their physical characteristics and their actions. As they approach adolescence, children begin to incorporate psychological characteristics and social relationships into their self-descriptions. 12-1f SELF-ESTEEM • Self-esteem tends to decline as the child progresses from middle childhood to about the age of 12 or 13. Emotional support from parents and peers is important in self-esteem. Adolescents who feel highly regarded by family and friends are more likely to feel positive about themselves. 12-2a RELATIONSHIPS WITH PARENTS Adolescents who feel close to their parents have more self-reliance and self-esteem, better school performance, and fewer adjustment problems Early adolescence, in particular, is characterized by increased bickering and a decrease in shared activities and expressions of affection Parents and adolescents are usually quite similar in their values and beliefs regarding social, political, religious, and economic issues. Parenting Styles Adolescents from authoritative homes—whose parents are willing to exert control and explain the reasons for doing so—show the most competent behavior. They are more self-reliant, do better in school, have better mental health, and show the lowest incidence of psychological problems and misconduct, including drug use. 12-2b RELATIONSHIPS WITH PEERS the role of peers as a source of activities, influence, and support increases. Parents are perceived as the most frequent providers of social and emotional support by fourth-graders by seventh grade, friends of the same gender are seen to be as supportive as parents. By tenth grade, same-gender friends are viewed as providing more support than parents. Friendships in Adolescence Adolescents have more friends than younger children do. Most adolescents have one or two “best friends” and several good friends. The four top dislikes of Facebook users: ▸ People share too much information about themselves. ▸ Other people post information—including photos— about you without your permission. ▸ Other people see comments or posts that you meant to keep private. ▸ There is pressure to disclose too much information about yourself Peer Groups - Most adolescents belong to one or more peer groups: cliques and crowds. clique -> a group of five to ten individuals who hang around together and who share activities and confidences. crowd -> a large, loosely organized group of people who may or may not spend much time together and who are identified by the activities of the group. - Crowds are usually given labels by other adolescents— “jocks,” “brains,” “druggies,” or “nerds.” - ” The most negatively labeled groups (“druggies,” “rejects”) show higher levels of alcohol and drug abuse, delinquency, and depression. Dating and Romantic Relationships - Dating relationships tend to be casual and short-lived in early adolescence. Peer Influence - It peaks during mid-adolescence and declines after about age 17 12-3 Sexuality - Because of the flood of sex hormones, adolescents tend to experience a powerful sex drive. 12-3a ADOLESCENT SEXUAL BEHAVIOR masturbation -> sexual self-stimulation. - most common sexual outlet in adolescence. - About three-quarters of adolescent males and half of adolescent females masturbate. petting -> kissing and touching the breasts and genitals. - probability of having had sex rises dramatically between the ages of 15 and 19. - Adolescents use petting to express affection, satisfy their curiosities, heighten their sexual arousal, and reach orgasm while avoiding pregnancy and maintaining virginity Sexting -> sex texting and refers to sending or receiving text messages with sexual content. - Three in ten (31%) had requested a “sext” message, and more than half (57%) had asked someone else to send them a sexual text or email. 12-3b TEENAGE PREGNANCY - single teenage mothers—especially poor single teenage mothers—are less likely to have access to prenatal care or to obtain adequate nutrition. 12-3c SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND SEXUAL IDENTITY Heterosexual - > sexually attracted to and interested in forming romantic relationships with people of the other gender. homosexual -> referring to an erotic orientation toward members of one’s own gender. - Gay males - Lesbians bisexual -> attracted to individuals of both genders. transgender -> psychologically belonging to the other gender—that is, the gender that is inconsistent with one’s sexual anatomy. LGBT -> acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered. sexual identity -> the label a person uses to signal whom she or he is as a sexual being, especially concerning her or his sexual orientation. Swedish neuroscientists Ivanka Savic and her colleagues - report evidence that one’s gender identity as being male or female and one’s sexual orientation (heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, or transgender) can develop during the intrauterine period. - They point out that sexual differentiation of the sex organs occurs during the first two months of pregnancy, whereas sexual differentiation of the brain begins later, during the second half of pregnancy. Ritch Savin-Williams - according to him the development of sexual orientation in gay males and lesbians involves several steps: attraction to members of the same gender, self-labeling as gay or lesbian, sexual contact with members of the same gender, and eventual disclosure of one’s sexual orientation to other people. - gap of about ten years between initial attraction to members of the same gender, which tends to occur at about the age of eight or nine, and disclosure of one’s orientation to other people, which usually occurs at about age 18. - The process of “coming out”—that is, accepting one’s sexual minority identity and declaring it to others—can be a long and painful struggle. - Depression and suicide rates are higher among gay youth than among heterosexual adolescents. 12-4 Juvenile Delinquency juvenile delinquency -> conduct in a child or adolescent characterized by illegal activities. - Status offenses - Less serious offenses, such as truancy, underage drinking, running away from home, and sexual promiscuity, are considered illegal only when performed by minors 12-5UICIDE - second leading cause of death among adolescents. - rate has more than tripled for young people aged 15 to 24. - linked to feelings of depression and hopelessness 12-5a RISK FACTORS IN SUICIDE - Suicidal adolescents experience four areas of psychological problems: (1) confusion about the self, (2) impulsiveness, (3) emotional instability, and (4) interpersonal problems Researchers have found the following warning signs of suicide among adolescents: ▸ Belief that it is acceptable to kill oneself ▸ 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 the age from 11 to 21 12-5b Ethnicity, Gender, and Suicide Highest suicide rate – Native American and Latin American teenagers - About three times as many adolescent females as males attempt suicide, but about four times as many males complete a suicide CHAPTER 13: EARLY ADULTHOOD: PHYSICAL AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 13-1 EMERGING ADULTHOOD emerging adulthood -> a theoretical period of development, spanning the ages of 18 to 25, in which young people in developed nations engage in extended role exploration. Jeffrey Arnett -> hypothesizes that five features distinguish the stage of emerging adulthood: identity exploration, instability, self-focus, feeling in-between, and a sense of the possibilities. 13-1a THE AGE OF IDENTITY EXPLORATION - Many people age 18 or 20 to about 25 or 30 are on the path to making vital choices in terms of their love lives and their career lives. They are experimenting with romantic partners and career possibilities. 13-1b THE AGE OF INSTABILITY - Americans have on average about seven different jobs during the years between 20 and 29. 13-1c THE AGE OF SELF-FOCUS - It means, simply, that they are freer to make decisions than they were as children or adolescents. They are more mature and more independent from parental influences 13-1d THE AGE OF FEELING IN-BETWEEN - Many think that they have developed beyond the conflicts and exploratory voyages of adolescence, but they may not yet have the ability—or desire—to assume the financial and interpersonal responsibilities they associate with adulthood 13-1e THE AGE OF POSSIBILITIES - emerging adults have the feeling that they have the opportunity to make dramatic changes in their lives. 13-2 PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT - Physical development peaks in early adulthood. Most people are at their heights of sensory sharpness, strength, reaction time, and cardiovascular fitness. - - - Physical strength in both men and women peaks in the 20s and early 30s, then slowly declines. Hearing tends to decline once people reach their late 20s and early 30s, particularly for tones that are high in pitch. Fertility in both genders declines as early adulthood progresses and, after age 35, women are usually advised to have their fetuses checked for Down’s syndrome and other chromosomal abnormalities. 13-3 HEALTH AND FITNESS - - fewer than 20% of 18–24-year-olds are smokers. Obesity rates increase during adulthood, from about 23% among 20– 24-year-olds to 35% among those in their late 20s, 30s, and early 40s. only 12.2% of young adults eat the recommended amount of fruit, and 9.3% eat the recommended amount of vegetables 13-3a DIET AND WEIGHT - Overweight and obese young women are more likely than young men to report dieting adaptive thermogenesis -> the process by which the body converts food energy (calories) to heat at a lower rate when a person eats less, because of, for example, famine or dieting. - This mechanism causes the body to produce less energy (burn fewer calories) when someone goes on a diet. This does not mean that overweight people will not lose weight by dieting; it means that it may take longer than expected. 13-3b EXERCISE - adults 18 and older need at least 30 minutes of vigorous physical activity five days a week. - such as 30 minutes of brisk walking or raking leaves, 15 minutes of running, or 45 minutes of volleyball. - You can break 30 to 60 minutes of physical activity into smaller segments of 10 or 15 minutes through the day. - The “trick” for most young adults is to integrate exercise into their daily routines, perhaps by means of moderately vigorous activities for 15 minutes two times a day or for 10 minutes three times a day. 13-3c SUBSTANCE USE AND ABUSE IN EARLY ADULTHOOD - 81.3% of college students have used alcohol, and that increases somewhat to 85.9% for young adults 13-3d THE OPIOID CRISIS (!) Consider some facts about the opioid epidemic: ▸ ▸ Opioids are highly addictive. With repeated use, having the drug in your system becomes your “new normal”; once that happens, you crave it. ▸ ▸ Overdose rates are highest among young adults aged 25 to 34, European Americans, and men. The second largest age group is adults aged 35 to 44. But the crisis afflicts people from all racial/ethnic backgrounds and age groups. ▸ ▸ More than 42,000 Americans died from opioid overdoses in 2016, a 200% increase in overdose deaths since 2000. This exceeds the number who die from car crashes, firearms, or HIV/AIDS. ▸ ▸ Millions of people have prescribed opioids such as methadone, oxycodone, and hydrocodone for pain; one in four struggles with addiction ▸ ▸ Fentanyl, 30 to 50 times more powerful than heroin, is the most potent opioid prescribed. ▸ ▸ Fentanyl is responsible for most overdose deaths, partly because opioids bought on the street are often laced with fentanyl. Also, black market fentanyl is often laced with heroin or cocaine to enhance its euphoric effects. ▸ ▸ Street names for fentanyl or for fentanyllaced heroin include Apache, China Girl, China White, Dance Fever, Friend, Goodfella, Jackpot, Murder 8, TNT, and Tango and Cash. - Prescription opioids, heroin, and synthetic opioids— reduce perception of pain by binding to opioid receptors in the brain and elsewhere. - The risk of death occurs because stimulation of opioid receptors in deeper parts of the brain causes drowsiness and depresses respiration. - the body normally produces its own opioid like substances (endorphins), which help us deal naturally with discomfort and are also largely responsible for “runner’s high” - For many people a combination of acetaminophen (Tylenol) and ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) is as effective as an opioid 13-3e STRESS AND HEALTH - Stress causes us to worry and affects our moods. Stress also predicts physical and psychological health problems, such as heart disease and cancer. - listening to music (47%) and exercise or walking (46%) among their most common methods for coping with stress (American Psychological Association, 2017). Other methods mentioned recently include watching TV or movies (40%), surfing the Internet (38%), praying (29%), napping (27%), eating (23%), drinking alcohol (14%), yoga (12%), and smoking (12%) 13-4 SEXUALITY - Sexual activity with a partner usually peaks in the 20s. 13-4a SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS (STIs) - Each year millions of young American adults contract a sexually transmitted infection (STI), including about six million new infections caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV) - Genital HPV Infection which causes genital warts and is associated with cervical cancer. - Chlamydia, a bacterial infection of the vagina or urinary tract that can result in sterility, is the next most commonly occurring STI in young adults, followed by gonorrhea, HPV/genital warts, genital herpes, syphilis, and HIV/AIDS. - Nearly 2.9 million new chlamydia infections occur each year. The incidence of chlamydia is especially high among college students. Chlamydia is a major cause of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), which can lead to infertility. - HIV/AIDS is the most devastating STI. - 37 million people are living with HIV/AIDS, of which 2.5 million are children under the age of 15 - More than 1.1 million Americans are living with HIV/AIDS 13-4b MENSTRUAL PROBLEMS - The problems include dysmenorrhea, menstrual migraines, amenorrhea, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) Dysmenorrhea -> painful menstruation - most common menstrual problem, and pelvic cramps are the most common symptom - Cramps are most often brought about by high amounts of hormones called prostaglandins that cause muscles in the uterine wall to contract, as during labor. amenorrhea -> the absence of menstruation and sign of infertility premenstrual syndrome (PMS) -> the discomforting symptoms that affect many women during the four- to six-day day interval preceding their periods. premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) -> a condition similar to but more severe than PMS. - following symptoms be present most of the time during the week before the period and ending within a few days after the period begins: tension, mood changes, irritability and anger, difficulty concentrating, fatigue, changes in appetite, sleeping too much or too little, feeling overwhelmed, and physical discomfort. - treatment options for PMS: exercise, dietary control, hormone treatments, and medications that reduce anxiety or increase the activity of serotonin in the nervous system. 13-4c RAPE: THE MOST INTIMATE CRIME OF VIOLENCE - Rape has its sexual aspects, but it is also the subjugation of women by men. - defined as sex with a nonconsenting person by the use of force or the threat of force - Penile–vaginal penetration is usually not necessary to fit the definition. Most states permit the prosecution of husbands who rape their wives. TYPES OF RAPE: - 45% of rapes are committed by an acquaintance, and 25% are committed by a current or former spouse, boyfriend, or girlfriend (although rape by women is rare). - acquaintance rapes are reported to police, they may be treated as “misunderstandings” or lovers’ quarrels rather than crime - Date rape is a form of acquaintance rape. Date rape is more likely to occur when the couple has too much to drink and then parks in the man’s car or goes to his residence SOCIAL ATTITUDES AND CULTURAL FACTORS THAT SUPPORT RAPE - Gender typing and the camaraderie of the “team” prompt many males to reject “feminine” traits such as tenderness and empathy—traits that might restrain aggression. - There are also a number of cultural myths about relationships between women and men that have the effect of encouraging rape by blaming the victim MYTHS THAT LEGITIMIZE RAPE - These myths tend to blame the victim rather than the rapist. 13-4d SEXUAL HARASSMENT—#MeToo - The hashtag #MeToo went viral in 2017 following revelations that film producer Harvey Weinstein and a host of other men in powerful positions had been sexually harassing women for many years. Sexual harassment: sexual harassment -> deliberate or repeated unwanted comments, gestures, or physical contact. - - - Online surveys by a nonprofit organization called Stop Street Harassment found that 65% to 99% of women respondents reported that they had been subjected to some combination of catcalls, leering, honking, vulgar gestures, sexually explicit and sexist remarks, homophobic and trans phobic insults, groping, stalking, flashing, and actual assault on the street. Street harassment is not only emotionally damaging and physically threatening. It also curtails women’s ability to access and enjoy public spaces. Sexual harassment sometimes has more to do with the abuse of power than sexual desire. 13-5 COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT crystallized intelligence -> one’s intellectual attainments, as shown, for example, by vocabulary and accumulated knowledge. - represents one’s lifetime of intellectual attainments, generally increasing with age. fluid intelligence -> mental flexibility; the ability to process information such as solving a math problem, rapidly—is more susceptible to the effects of aging. 13-5a COGNITION ACROSS AGE GROUPS AND GENDER - K. Walter Schaie sought to separate the effects of age-related changes within the individual from cohort effects. - found that late adolescents are likely to have the broadest general knowledge of the sciences, but young adults become more focused in their use of scientific expertise than adolescents are. 13-5b EPISTEMIC COGNITION epistemic cognition -> thought processes directed at considering how we arrive at our beliefs, facts, and ideas. dualistic thinking -> dividing the cognitive world into opposites, such as good versus bad, or us versus them. relativistic thinking -> recognition that judgments are often not absolute but made from a certain belief system or cultural background. pragmatic thought -> decision-making characterized by a willingness to accept reality and compromise. - Gisela Labouvie-Vief’s theory of pragmatic thought notes that adults must typically narrow possibilities into choices, whether these are choices about careers or graduate school or life partners. cognitive–affective complexity -> a mature form of thinking that permits people to harbor positive and negative feelings about their career choices and other matters. 13-5d POSTFORMAL THINKING - What researchers do not agree on is whether they should consider the cognitive abilities of young adults to be a fifth stage of cognitive development, perhaps called a postformal stage, that would extend beyond Piaget’s stage of formal operations. 13-5e COLLEGE AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT - higher percentages of men enter socalled STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) than women do. According to psychologists Stephen Ceci, Wendy Williams, and Susan Barnett, who have studied the issue extensively, the reasons are likely as follows: (1) Women who are proficient in math are more likely than math-proficient men to prefer careers that do not require skills in math; (2) more males than females obtain extremely high scores on the SAT math test and the quantitative reasoning sections of the Graduate Record Exam; (3) women who are proficient in math are more likely than men with this proficiency to have high verbal competence as well, which encourages many such women to choose other careers. - Diversity speaks to the differences we find among groups of people: ethnic and cultural diversity (race, religion, country of origin, language), socioeconomic level, gender, age, and sexual orientation. 13-6 CAREER DEVELOPMENT Why people work? - The first reason people work is obvious: Earning a living, fringe benefits, and ensuring future security all inspire people to pursue careers and employment. • Extrinsic motives -> external benefits of working • Intrinsic motives -> internal benefits of working - including the opportunities to engage in stimulating and satisfying activities and to develop one’s talents Intrinsic reasons for working: ▸ ▸ The work ethic. The view that we are morally obligated to avoid idleness. ▸ ▸ Self-identity. Our occupational identity can become intertwined with our self-identity. ▸ ▸ Self-fulfillment. We often express our personal needs and interests through our work. ▸ ▸ Self-worth. Recognition and respect for a job well done contribute to self-esteem. ▸ ▸ Socialization. The workplace extends our social contacts. ▸ ▸ Public roles. Work roles help define our functions in the community. 13-6a CHOOSING A CAREER AND STAGES OF CAREER DEVELOPMENT - psychologist Donald Super’s theory of career development. • The first or fantasy stage - involves the child’s unrealistic conception of self-potential and of the world of work, which dominates from early childhood until about age 11. - Young children focus on glamour professions, such as acting, medicine, sports, and law enforcement. • The second or tentative choice stage - from about 11 through high school, children base their choices on their interests, abilities, and limitations, as well as glamour. • The realistic choice stage - age 17; choices become narrowed as students weigh job requirements and rewards against their interests, abilities, and values. • The maintenance stage - we begin “settling” into our career roles, which often happens in the second half of our thirties. • The retirement stage - during which the individual severs bonds with the workplace.
