Chapter 14
Social and Emotional Development in Adolescence
Learning Objectives
When students have studied the material in this chapter, they will be able to answer the following:
•
Introduction
1. What are the major developmental tasks of adolescence?
2. How does the environment influence the ways teenagers address the major developmental
issues of adolescence?
3. How is individual functioning of adolescents related to their earlier developmental history?
•
The social world of adolescence: an overview
4. What factors influence the level of storm and stress present during adolescence?
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Development of the self
5. How does self-concept change from middle childhood to adolescence and from early to late
adolescence?
6. What individual and group differences are there in the process of identity formation?
•
Peer relationships in adolescence
7. How are peer relationships related to other areas of development during adolescence?
8. How do friendships, peer groups, and romantic relationships change over the course of
adolescence?
9. How does the influence of peers compare to that of parents during adolescence?
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Family relationships in adolescence
10. How do family structure and interaction patterns change during adolescence?
11. How do siblings, parenting patterns, and divorce affect adolescent development?
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Adolescents in the broader world
12. What influences do school and work have on adolescent development?
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The coherence of development in adolescence
13. How does development in adolescence show coherence?
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Chapter Summary Outline
Note: Terms in bold print are chapter vocabulary words.
Introduction
•
Adolescents face four major tasks:
1. Establishing a personal identity – a sense of an integrated, coherent, goal-directed self.
2. Achieving a new level of closeness and trust with peers.
3. Acquiring a new status in the family.
4. Moving toward a more autonomous stance toward the larger world (schoolwork,
employment, financial independence, future roles, career choices).
The Social World of Adolescence: An Overview
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How Stormy Is Adolescence?
1. Psychologists have disagreed about the extent of adolescent stress and conflict. It now
appears that conflict with parents varies across age, issue, and individual, with most
adolescents getting along well with their parents. Families that functioned well before
pubertal onset usually continue to function well.
2. Early adolescence is marked by more turmoil for the adolescent and their families than
middle and late adolescence.
3. There is less positive emotion and more unstable emotional states in early adolescence.
From 10th grade on, emotional life is more stable. Parents and adolescents agree more
on issues of independence and responsibility in later adolescence.
4. Mundane issues are the main sources of conflict between adolescents and parents.
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A Cross-Cultural Perspective on Adolescence
1. The turmoil experienced by adolescents in Western nations is partly due to the demands
of modern society, with their relatively long and unclear transition to adulthood. In
contrast, the transition to adulthood in many non-Western cultures is clearly marked by
puberty rites, or rites of passage, to mark entry into new adult roles. Children anticipate
these rites for years in advance and know exactly when they will be considered adults.
Development of the Self
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The Self-Concept During Adolescence
1. During adolescence, the self becomes more integrated, past and future roles begin to be
connected, and self-reflection becomes possible.
2. Changes from Middle Childhood to Adolescence
 During adolescence, self-concepts become more differentiated.

Self-concepts become more individuated.

Adolescents begin to focus on how they interact with others, focusing more on traits
that define their place and manner of operating in the social network.

View the self as more self-reflective.

Think of the self as a coherent system made up of diverse but integrated parts.

Table 14.1 illustrates some of these changes in the self-concept.
3. Changes from Early to Late Adolescence
 Older adolescents have a more sophisticated understanding of self than do younger
adolescents.

Older adolescents can unify or integrate contradictory aspects of the self. As selfunderstanding becomes more complex, self-consciousness wanes.
4. The Declining Fragility of the Self
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•

Young adolescents' sense of self is often fragile. They are unsure of the validity of
the new self and become more protective of self.

This is linked to other beliefs and behaviors of early adolescents, such as the
imaginary audience and personal fable.

Fragility is linked to conformity of dress issues in adolescence, helping to hide their
fragile sense of individual uniqueness while expressing belongingness to a group.

Fragility underlies the young adolescent’s tendency to fantasize different roles.

The decline in self-consciousness is accompanied by a growing ability for accurate
self-appraisal, including one's personal weaknesses as well as one's strengths.
The Concept of Personal Identity
1. Establishing a personal identity involves personally discovering a structure of abilities,
beliefs, and past experiences regarding the self. The process of identity formation
typically includes selecting and preparing for a career, reevaluating religious and moral
beliefs, working out a political ideology, and adopting social roles, including those related
to sexuality, marriage, and parenthood.
2. James Marcia states that identity refers to a structure of abilities, beliefs, and past
experiences regarding the self. The less developed the structure, the more the confusion
experienced.
3. Identity formation builds upon self-concept development, and is related to changes in
cognitive abilities experienced during adolescence.
4. Erikson called the difficulty that adolescents encounter in establishing a personal identity
an identity crisis. Adolescents are caught in the middle of two changing systems: the
biological system and the social system.
5. Individual Differences in Identity Formation
 Marcia identified four patterns of identity status.

Identity diffusion – not engaged in active exploration of roles and values, no serious
commitments to an adult identity

Foreclosure – commitment to a set of roles and values without going through a
period of crisis.

Moratorium – in the midst of actively exploring options for a personal identity, but
have not made commitments yet.

Identity achievement – occurs when a person commits to a particular set of roles
and values following a period of active exploration. Identity achievement is seldom
reached before late adolescence or early adulthood.

Across the adolescent years, there is a fairly steady increase in the percentage of
young people who can be classified as identity achievers and a decrease in the
percentage who are in a state of identity diffusion.

Identity achievers tend to have the highest self-esteem, followed by those in
moratorium, those who adopt foreclosure, and those in identity diffusion. Achievers
are more goal-oriented, choose more demanding college majors, show greater
cognitive sophistication, and take more personal responsibility for their actions.

For Erikson, two sets of ingredients are needed to consolidate an optimal sense of
personal identity: 1) must carry forward an inner confidence about competence and
ability to master new tasks (prior stage resolutions) and 2) have ample opportunity to
experiment with new roles, both in fantasy and in practice, coupled with support from
parents and other adults.
6. Group Differences in Identity Formation
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
Gay and lesbian adolescents, as a group, have to contend with more social
disapproval than their heterosexual peers. Openness about homosexuality is related
to higher self-esteem.

Identity development proceeds differently for men and women. Girls’ identity and the
social domain are intertwined more than for boys. Girls are more worried about
balancing family and career.

Minority youth are confronted with two often-conflicting sets of cultural values—those
of their ethnic community and those of the larger society. Minority adolescents
appear more likely to avoid or cut short identity exploration than non-minorities.
Peer Relationships in Adolescence
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The cognitive advances of adolescence make possible a deeper, more mature understanding
of others.
•
Involvement with peers becomes increasingly critical to progress in self-understanding.
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Peer group membership contributes to the development of personal identity.
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Friendships with same-sex peers pave the way for romantic relationships.
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Advances in Understanding Others
1. Advances in self-understanding are accompanied by a growing sense of what others are
like. Understanding of others is usually at roughly the same level as self-understanding.
The Nature of Adolescent Friendships
1. Compared with younger children, adolescents have a greater capacity for mutual
understanding, a stronger desire for self-disclosure, and an increased capacity for
intimacy. This results in a deeper commitment to friendships. There is a greater need for
and capacity for keeping confidences. Words like trust, faith, and belief are key in their
descriptions of what friendships are about.
2. Increased intimacy and commitment appear in early to mid-adolescence. In later
adolescence, they are better able to coordinate a broader range of friends. Friendships
no longer need to be so exclusive. Patterns of friendships come closer to those found
among adults.
3. Gender Differences
 Gender differences in adolescent friendships include girls' more frequent intimate
interactions with same-sex friends and their more intimate knowledge of their friends.

•
Compared with boys, girls also report about twice as many disagreements with
friends and longer-lasting negative feelings following a disagreement. Boys have
more conflicts with friends regarding pressure to do things while girls report more
conflicts regarding betrayal.
Changes in the Nature of Peer Groups
1. The importance of being in a group and conforming to group norms increases in early
adolescence.
2. The two major adolescent group structures are the clique (a close-knit group of a few
friends who are intimately involved with each other) and the crowd (a larger, less
exclusive, and more loosely organized group). Crowds are identified by the interests,
abilities, attitudes, style of dress, and other personal characteristics shared by their
members. Crowds are made up of cliques.
3. Older adolescents are more likely to characterize crowds by their general dispositions or
interests, which mostly are based on reputation than actual behavior.
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Social and Emotional Development in Adolescence
4. Membership in cliques peaks in early adolescence. By late adolescence, the crowd
boundaries begin to disintegrate and more emphasis is placed on romantic relationships
and specific friendships.
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Dating and Sexual Activity
1. Dating and sexual activity are usually offshoots of crowd activities. 90% are dating by age
16.
2. Sexual experimentation usually does not begin until mid-adolescence. Couples are not
usually involved on an emotional level.
3. In late adolescence, opposite-sex relationships become as intimate as same-sex
relationships. May facilitate further development of empathy and prosocial behavior.
4. Adolescent sexual activity has increased over the last 40 years, with much of the
increase occurring from the 1960s to the 1980s. For girls the rate quadrupled and for
boys the rate doubled during these decades. The increase was accompanied by an
increase in teen pregnancies.
5. Rate of sexual intercourse remains relatively low in early adolescence but increases
substantially through middle and late adolescence (60% report having had sexual
intercourse by 12th grade); rates vary for region and ethnicity.
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The Relative Influence of Peers
1. High school students spend more than twice as much time with peers as with parents
and other adults.
2. As they become more autonomous of parents, they become more dependent upon
peers, who become important sources of intimacy.
3. The peak of conformity to peer group beliefs and behaviors comes in early adolescence,
and declines by age 16 or 17, to no more than seen in middle childhood by ages 19 to
21. This is related to the imaginary audience phase.
4. Throughout adolescence, level of conformity depends on status in the peer group. Middle
status peers are more conforming than low- or high-status adolescents. The source of
peer influence also makes a difference in whether an adolescent conforms (stronger
influence by friends than acquaintances).
5. Peer influence does not replace parental influence; instead, peers and parents seem to
influence different aspects of an adolescent's life. Peers have the greatest influence in
matters dealing with status in the peer group and outweigh parental influence in matters
such as smoking cigarettes and marijuana. Feelings of closeness to family influences
likelihood of conformity.
Family Relationships in Adolescence
•
•
The family remains a critical context for development during adolescence.
The Changing Family Structure
1. Family roles and interaction patterns must change to accommodate adolescent
development. Hypothetical reasoning skills usher in the adolescent’s push for increased
independence and a greater say in family decisions.
2. Adolescents have a new understanding of parent-child relationships and parental
authority. By late adolescence, they see mutual tolerance and respect as the basis of
interactions between themselves and their parents. No longer do they simply accept
parents’ dictates.
3. Most parents make appropriate changes in response to these pressures from their
children.
4. Mothers are closer to their teens than fathers are.
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5. Changes in patterns of family interaction with greater symmetry in the parent-child
relationship often involve conflict and stress, especially in early adolescence. Parents'
appraisal of the child’s cognitive capacities lags behind the child's development. Later
adolescence sees a more symmetrical family power structure.
6. Parental stress is generally low when children are between the ages of 10 and 12, peaks
at ages 14 to 15, and declines in late adolescence. Parental satisfaction shows a similar
trend.
7. High parent-child conflict in early adolescence does not indicate a family is not
functioning well—it is a normal part of the family realignment process. Total absence of
conflict is actually more worrisome—might indicate foreclosure in identity development.
•
Parenting Patterns and Adolescent Development
1. As power relationships in the family become more symmetrical, the tasks of parenting
change. Parents must respond to their children’s new ways of thinking and new strivings
for autonomy, self-expression, and influence. Parents must give their children increasing
responsibility while still providing guidance and involvement.
2. Many aspects of parenting style that were important earlier remain important in
adolescence. Authoritative or democratic style of parenting promotes identity
development. A family atmosphere of support, with an acceptance of conflict and a
willingness to compromise, seems most positive for adolescent development.
3. Authoritarian parenting is more likely to be associated with positive outcomes for AsianAmerican adolescents than for European-American adolescents.
4. Adolescents whose parents responded to their feelings, accepted disagreements, and
initiated compromises were more likely to perform at a relatively high level on 1) exploring
alternatives regarding the self, and 2) perceiving and coordinating different points of view.
Spills over into relationships with peers.
•
•
Bidirectional Influences
1. Adolescents have impacts on parents and family-interaction patterns, as well as being
influenced by them. Timing of puberty influences parent-child conflict, and boys and girls
elicit different parental behavior during adolescence.
The Impact of Divorce on Adolescents
1. Adolescents from divorced and remarried families are at increased risk for behavior
problems, drug use, early sexual activity, adolescent pregnancy, and poor school
performance, even when income is controlled for.
2. Divorce can prompt a sleeper effect.
3. During adolescence there are continuing differences in the effects of divorce on males
and females, just as during the childhood years. Girls are more likely to experience
academic difficulties, distress, and dissatisfaction with the family’s situation, whereas
boys are more likely to show problem behaviors.
4. Studies of teenagers in single-parent homes show that it is not simply the absence of a
father that has negative effects, it is the meaning attached to the loss of the father.
5. Sibling relationships show much emotional energy early in adolescence, which lessens in
later adolescence as teens separate in some ways from the family. Positive sibling
relationships are associated with school competence, sociability, positive self-worth, and
the promotion of individuality. Negative sibling relationships can promote aggression,
undermine parental authority, and promote deviance.
Adolescents in the Broader World
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Adolescents at School
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Social and Emotional Development in Adolescence
1. Secondary schools give students increasing responsibility and expose them to greater
peer diversity, but the secondary school environment may also be a negative influence
on development due to the peer culture.
2. Grades typically drop during adolescence, especially if students are under stress such as
adjustment to a new school.
3. Adolescents vary in their beliefs about their own abilities and the role of effort in success
or failure. Those with a strong belief in the importance of their own efforts are said to
have an internal locus of control. Adolescents who believe that nothing they do will
make a difference are said to have an external locus of control.
4. Gender also influences achievement at school. Girls are often socialized away from
feelings of instrumental competence and toward feelings of helplessness when
confronted with a challenge. They are more likely to attribute failure to immutable factors.
•
Adolescents at Work
1. Another setting in which adolescents can experience success or failure is the workplace.
About 60% of high school sophomores and 75% of high school seniors have a part-time
job, averaging 16 to 20 hours a week, most in retail or food service. Employment rates
vary by income and ethnic groups.
2. A job can contribute to adolescents' self-esteem and personal identity, increase their
sense of responsibility, and help them move further toward independence. However, it
can also have negative impacts on schoolwork and peer relationships.
The Coherence of Development in Adolescence
•
•
The various aspects of individual development fit together in a coherent way. There are close
links between the quality of parent-child relationships, peer relationships, and school
functioning.
There is also coherence in the course of individual development over time, with connections
between how well a youngster functions in adolescence and how well he or she functioned in
earlier developmental periods. During adolescence, some become better adjusted than they
were before, while for others the opposite is true. Developmentalists see these changes as
understandable reactions to changes in the environments in which the youngsters grow. Most
enter adulthood prepared to face the demands and challenges.
Lecture Topics
The following are lecture topic suggestions to complement Chapter 14 reading material.
Topic 1: Parent-Child Relationships and the Transition to Adolescence
•
•
•
Research Questions: How do parent-child relationships change during the transition to
adolescence? Why do parent-child relationships become more conflictual during this transition?
There is often some degree of conflict in the relationships between teens and their parents, especially
in the early teen years and especially between sons and mothers. However, there is also continued
and ever-growing closeness, even as the child strives toward autonomy. This seems to be especially
true for mothers and daughters. The relationships that exist between teenagers and their parents are
continuations of the relationships that developed earlier in life. The interaction history shared by a
parent and child is not wiped out or overridden by the child's progression into adolescence, although
the style and content of parent-child interactions and the expectations on which those interactions
rest do undergo some changes as the child makes the transition from childhood to adolescence.
Research Literature:
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1. Collins, W. A. (1995). Relationships and development: Family adaptation to individual change. In
S. Shulman (Ed.), Close relationships and socioemotional development. New York: Ablex.
2. Collins, W. A., & Laursen, B. (1992). Conflict and relationships during adolescence. In C. U.
Shantz & W. W. Hartup (Eds.), Conflict in child and adolescent development (pp. 216-241). New
York: Cambridge University Press.
3. Fuhrman, W., & Holmbeck, R. N. (1995). A contextual-moderator analysis of emotional autonomy
and adjustment in adolescence. Child Development, 66, 793-811.
4. Smetana, J. G. (1995). Parenting styles and conceptions of parental authority during
adolescence. Child Development, 66, 299-316.
5. Smetana, J. G., & Asquith, P. (1994). Adolescents' and parents' conceptions of parental authority
and adolescent autonomy. Child Development, 65, 1147-1162.
•
Methods and Results: One way in which parent-child relationships are likely to be temporarily
disrupted during adolescence is in the area of parental expectations of their children and children's
expectations of their parents (see, for example, Smetana, 1995; Smetana & Asquith, 1994). During
periods of rapid development, such as adolescence, interpersonal expectations are frequently
violated and need to be rapidly changed if they are to remain valid.
1. Andy Collins (e.g., Collins, 1995; Collins & Laursen, 1992) has suggested two ways in which
violations of expectations frequently occur during a child's transition to adolescence:

The rapid physical, cognitive, and emotional changes occurring in the child make past
behavior an unreliable basis for predicting the future. For example, a child who has typically
been compliant and easy to manage may suddenly begin to question parental demands and
seek rationales for them. Parents may see this behavior as resistant and obnoxious as well
as a departure from the child's "normal" behavior. They may respond to it by applying extra
pressure for compliance, not realizing that their expectations for their child's behavior no
longer match his or her current level of development.

Interpersonal expectations may also be violated by the formation of new but inappropriate
expectations. The child who questions parental demands may be acting on a new set of
expectations developed at school, where questioning is now encouraged, without considering
that the basis for interacting with parents at home has not undergone a similar
transformation. When expectations are violated, there are two possible ways of dealing with
the disruption that has been created. The person whose expectations have been violated
either (1) modifies those expectations to correspond to the new situation or (2) tries to modify
the other person's behavior to bring it back into line with the old expectations. The second
approach is almost never successful, but it is nevertheless commonly used by parents who
are suddenly mystified by their children's actions.
2. A smooth transition of the parent-child relationship to adolescence depends heavily on the
parents' ability to recognize developmental changes in their child and make the necessary
corresponding changes in their expectations. Judy Smetana (1995; Smetana & Asquith, 1994)
has documented some of these changes in expectations by investigating parents' and
adolescents' conceptions of parental authority and adolescent autonomy. Along with these
conceptions and expectations, the affective nature of the parent-adolescent relationship
continues to play an important role in adolescents' adjustment and emotional autonomy (e.g.,
Fuhrman & Holmbeck, 1995).
•
Discussion Questions: Can you remember instances from your own adolescence when your
parents seemed not to realize that you were no longer a child? How were those situations resolved?
Topic 2: Costs and Benefits of Adolescent Employment
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Social and Emotional Development in Adolescence
•
•
•
Research Question: What are the costs and benefits, developmentally speaking, of adolescent
employment?
A major social change in the last 20 years is in the number of adolescents who are part of the labor
force while still attending school. During the 1978-79 school year, over two-thirds of all 16- and 17year-old students in the United States were employed. The employment rate for students that age in
other countries was much lower—37% in Canada, 20% in Sweden, and less than 2% in Japan.
These differences are explained partly by the availability of fewer jobs for adolescents in other
countries, but also by more demanding school schedules and homework assignments. Although it is
often assumed that working helps teenagers develop a sense of responsibility and learn to handle
money, the actual pattern of costs and benefits created by employment is more complicated.
Research Literature:
1. Greenberger, E. (1983). A researcher in the policy arena: The case of child labor. American
Psychologist, 38, 104-111.
2. Greenberger, E., & Steinberg, L. (1986). When teenagers work: The psychological and social
costs of adolescent employment. New York: Basic Books.
3. Mortimer, J., Finch, M., Shanahan, M., & Ryu, S. (1992). Work experience, mental health, and
behavioral adjustment in adolescence. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 2, 25-57.
4. Steinberg, L., & Dornbusch, S. M. (1991). Negative correlates of part-time work in adolescence:
Replication and elaboration. Developmental Psychology, 17, 304-313.
5. Steinberg, L., Fegley, S., & Dornbusch, S. M. (1993). Negative impact of part-time work on
adolescent adjustment: Evidence from a longitudinal study. Developmental Psychology, 29, 171180.
6. Stern, D., Stone, J., Hopkins, C., & McMillion, M. (1990). Quality of students' work experience
and orientation toward work. Youth and Society, 22, 263-282.
•
Methods and Results: According to research by Steinberg and his colleagues, early work
experience has both benefits and costs for teenagers.
1. Benefits of adolescent employment. Benefits include increased understanding of consumer and
money matters; increased feelings of responsibility; increased self-reports of willingness to stick
to a job and of enjoyment of a job well done; and, for girls, increased feelings of self-reliance.
Most obviously, working provides teenagers with income that they can save for college, spend on
current needs and wants, or use to help out the family financially.
2. Costs of adolescent employment. Most working teenagers do not save their wages for college,
however, or help pay their family's bills. For many teenagers, money they earn at a job is
completely disposable income to be spent on clothes, CD's or tapes, movies, eating out, and
perhaps car payments or stereo equipment. Rather than learning how to budget and live on a
limited salary, these adolescents get an unrealistic idea of what lifestyle can be supported by a
small paycheck. Except for increasing the size of that paycheck, working longer hours does
nothing to add to potential benefits of working. In fact, Steinberg's research has found that the
negative effects of working are closely tied to the number of hours worked per week. It is not
employment per se that seems to have costs for teenagers, but long hours of employment. In
contrast, the benefits can be reaped from a very few hours of employment per week.
3. Effects on school achievement. Working long hours leads to decreased time spent on homework
and decreased involvement in school, which in turn leads to lower grades. For 10 th graders, the
major drop-off in grade point average comes when they work 15 hours or more per week; for 11 th
graders, an even more extreme drop-off occurs at 20 hours per week. It is possible that the
depressed performance of students who work long hours is what pushes them to find a job and
begin to withdraw from school. However, when working students were asked if their grades had
suffered because of their jobs, 27% said yes. And 41% of the nonworking students said that one
reason they did not work was because it would take too much time away from studying.
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Chapter 14
4. Effects on family life. The more hours teenagers work per week, the less likely they are to eat
dinner with the rest of the family or to help out at home as much as they did before starting to
work for pay outside of the home. For girls, working long hours makes them feel less close to
their family. All of these effects are exacerbated by the fact that teenagers tend to work most on
weekends and weekday evenings—exactly the times when parents and other family members
are most likely to be available for other activities.
5. Effects on substance use. The more hours a teenager works, the more cigarettes, alcohol, and
marijuana he or she consumes. This may be partly due to the presence of discretionary income,
but the amount of time spent at work independently predicts substance use. Substance use
seems to be explained by job stress in teenagers who work long hours for low wages, at menial
jobs, and under poor environmental conditions.
6. Differential selection versus differential socialization. In a recent longitudinal study, Steinberg,
Fegley, and Dornbusch (1993) asked whether negative correlates of extensive part-time
employment during adolescence are consequences of working or are due to differential selection
into the labor force. They found that, before working, adolescents who later worked more than 20
hours per week were less engaged in school and were granted more autonomy by their parents.
Taking on a job for more than 20 hours per week, however, further disengaged adolescents from
school, increased delinquency and drug use, furthered autonomy from parents, and diminished
self-reliance. Steinberg et al. also found that leaving the labor force after working long hours led
to improved school performance but did not reverse the other negative effects.
•
Discussion Questions: Do you agree or disagree with Steinberg's conclusions about the effects of
adolescent employment? How many class members worked during high school? What effects do they
think their jobs had on their development, on their school performance, and on their family life? What
influence does the type of job and work conditions have in determining whether an adolescent's
employment experience is a positive or negative experience? Some state legislatures have passed
laws severely limiting the conditions under which adolescents may work during the school year. Do
you support or oppose these measures? What kinds of limitations on adolescent employment would
you support?
Topic 3: Adolescent Drug Use and Psychological Health
•
•
•
•
Background: Shedler and Block (1990) published an article in American Psychologist (45(5), 612630) on “Adolescent Drug Use and Psychological Health: A Longitudinal Inquiry” that explores
antecedent issues (e.g., personality; parenting in early childhood) and the tendency to use drugs. The
article is available on-line at http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/kids/Adolescent_Drug_Use_ALL.htm.
Abstract: “The relation between psychological characteristics and drug use was investigated in
subjects studied longitudinally, from preschool through age 18. Adolescents who had engaged in
some drug experimentation (primarily with marijuana) were the best adjusted in the sample.
Adolescents who used drugs frequently were maladjusted, showing a distinct personality syndrome
marked by interpersonal alienation, poor impulse control, and manifest emotional distress.
Adolescents who, by age 18, had never experimented with any drug were relatively anxious,
emotionally constricted, and lacking in social skills. Psychological differences between frequent drug
users, experimenters, and abstainers could be traced to the earliest years of childhood and related to
the quality of parenting received. The findings indicated that (a) problem drug use is a symptom, not a
cause, of personal and social maladjustment, and (b) the meaning of drug use can be understood
only in the context of an individual’s personality structure and developmental history. It is suggested
that current efforts at drug prevention are misguided to the extent that they focus on symptoms, rather
than on the psychological syndrome underlying drug abuse.”
The longitudinal study spanned 13 years, involving 49 males and 52 females (ages 3 through 18).
Discussion Questions: Have students comment on the researchers emphasis on the need for more
prospective studies of drug use. Why is it important to consider drug use as a symptom rather than a
cause of maladaptive behavior for abusers of substances? How do the students feel about the
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statement in the article that “In a statistical sense it is not trying marijuana that has become deviant”?
How might experimentation with drugs like marijuana (over 67% of high schoolers say they have tried
it) be related to Erikson’s notions of the search for identity being the important task of adolescence?
Were your students surprised to learn from these data that abstainers are not the most well-adjusted
of the adolescents? How are these findings reflective of social-cultural-historical factors? How might
these data be looked at with respect to a “Just Say No” drug prevention program? What might be
more realistic to consider in drug education efforts? How do these results speak to the fact that peers
are not necessarily the problems regarding drug abuse, as is commonly accepted in models of drug
abuse among adolescents?
•
Additional information regarding mental health risk factors for adolescents is available at
http://education.indiana.edu/cas/adol/mental.html where articles and other information on topics of
drug abuse, ADHD, suicide, sexual abuse, and eating disorders are available.
Classroom Discussion Topics and Activities
1. Identity Portraits & Case Studies: Three adolescent female identity portraits are presented at
http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/n/x/nxd10/adolesce.htm. Students can read these portraits in
groups to discuss how the content of each corresponds to the lecture material and textbook chapters
on adolescence. In addition, two case studies are available at the above Web site, one on growing up
in a biracial family (African-American and Caucasian) and one on how a rebellious adolescent is
experiencing her parents’ divorce. These are great resources for integration of course material with
autobiographical details.
2. Rites of Passage: Have students answer the question, “Are tattoos and body piercings modern rites
of passage from childhood into adulthood?” After discussing the issue of whether there are modern
rites of passage in the US, and what types of rites of passage exist in the world, have students
address the pros and cons of permanent body art and piercings (a number of health officials have
concerns with the health risks of needles used, etc. in these procedures). The discussion should
extend to cultural issues surrounding ideals of beauty. Then, ask students how they would feel and
react if their own adolescent wanted a tattoo or a body piercing. How do their responses relate to the
issue of personal choice?
3. Adolescent Parenthood: At http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/n/x/nxd10/adolesce.htm, there are a
number of case studies and other information about being an adolescent parent. Have students
explore these entries and come together to discuss the issues and problems facing adolescents, the
families, school, and society. Students should be prepared to discuss sex education, and what is not
working, as well as offer reasonable ideas about what can work. How are we as a society failing
these young parents? Have students take this perspective instead of the usual perspective on how
are these young parents making such a mess of their lives. There is a wealth of information on
reproductive health, both mental and physical, at the Planned Parenthood Web page at
http://www.plannedparenthood.org. There are fact sheets, articles, and other links to explore. They
also have a specific site for information about and for adolescents at http://teenwire.com/index.asp.
•
Have students consider how well informed they felt about their bodies and psychological issues
involving sexuality. Have them comment on what types of sex education they received. This is
especially an interesting discussion if your class is diverse in age. How would they present
information to others, such as younger siblings, their own children, their students? What factors
should be considered—that is, how does cognition influence how information should be
presented (consider the personal fable, for instance)? Should information be presented differently
to adolescents with high vs. low self-esteem? Should free health clinics be available to high
school and college students on/near campus where free birth control is available along with
health and sex advice? Explore http://www.teenpregnancy.org/Default.asp?bhcp=1 for more
information.
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Were many pregnant adolescents attending your high school? Was there a daycare for the
children of the students? Comment on how important your students believe social and parental
support is for the adolescent parents.
How was drug education presented to your students in the home and/or at school? What ideas do
they have on how to best handle drug use and abuse education? Perhaps this discussion could
be integrated with Lecture Topic 3.
4. Interview with an Adolescent – Peer Relations: This task can be completed as a classroom interview
with adolescents or as an independent project for your students to conduct. It is best to have students
generate questions in advance for you to screen. Here are some sample questions:
 Describe your peers (ages, sexes, etc.). How has who your friends are changed in the last few
years, if at all?
 What determines if someone is your friend?
 How sensitive do you feel your peers are to different cliques in the school?
 What sorts of activities do you do with your peers?
 How do your peers influence you in positive ways? Negative ways?
 How do you cope with peer pressures? Has this changed in the last year or two?
 How much adult supervision do you experience when with your friends?
5. Class Discussion – Male Self-Development Book: Have students explore the points made by Michael
Gurian (1998) in his book A Fine Young Man: What Parents, Mentors, and Educators Can Do to
Shape Adolescent Boys into Exceptional Men. Comment on his notion that adolescent males are our
most undernourished population. Do your students agree with his premises about how to shape boys
into men?
6. Class Discussion – Female Self-Development Books: Discuss issues addressed in Mary Pipher’s
(1994) book Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls, a book which has been well
received in the general public and in academic domains. Dr. Piper addresses issues particular to
being a female adolescent in our present-day culture. She offers clear ideas regarding “girl-poisoning”
and how to build and maintain a strong sense of self in the adolescent girls you may know. In
addition, students could review a publication by a young female college student who answers Dr.
Pipher’s issues in a book called Ophelia Speaks: Adolescent Girls Write about Their Search for Self
by Sara Shandler (1999). This is a compilation of essays, poems, and commentary from adolescent
girls throughout the country. Have students comment on the issues for adolescent females and the
search for self. Are they encouraged by the responses of the adolescents to Dr. Pipher’s concerns?
And, a third book is about the mothers of the Ophelias is Ophelia's Mom: Women Speak Out About
Loving and Letting Go of Their Adolescent Daughters (2001) by family therapist Shandler, mother to
Sara Shandler. This book rounds out the perspectives of “Ophelia” and her adolescent life. From 110
entries received from mothers of adolescent daughters, the author focused on what she regards as
the biggest problem confronting mothers of adolescents, “the paradoxical challenge to love daughters
and let go of them." The book, which includes a foreword by Sara, discusses hormones, school, sex,
drugs, alcohol, sibling rivalry, and divorce. The stories are all heartfelt.
7. Observational Task: Have your students make informal observations of adolescents at their place of
employment, at the mall, at a restaurant, etc. Have them casually note the estimated ages of these
adolescents on the basis of their physical development (e.g., height, weight, voice, evidence of
secondary sex characteristics). What do they note about cliques they can identify? Can they see
these groups as major vehicles of socialization during adolescence? Can your students name the
groups that were evident in their own middle school and high school? What do they remember most
about peer pressure and conformity issues? Can they see these same issues in the “subjects” they
are observing? Have them make informal comments to class about their observations.
8. Four Adolescents: From the vignettes about Malcolm, Mikey, Maggie, and Meryl at the beginning of
the adolescence section of the text, have your students note evidence of self-concept and selfesteem issues, identity issues, friends, peers and peer pressures, dating, sexual activity and sex
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education, issues in parenting an adolescent, divorce and its impact on adolescent development, and
adolescent employment. Further, have them comment on the issues facing Meryl’s mother Karen as
a teen mom? Is Meryl at greater risk for adolescent pregnancy? Are her parents handling her social
and emotional development well?
9. Interview with an Adolescent – Self Development: If students know an adolescent available for an
informal interview, have them ask the adolescent to describe the self. Look for cognitive
underpinnings of the self-descriptions. What evidence for identity development is notable? From your
students’ informal class reports, see whether there are differences between early, mid, and late
adolescents’ concepts of self (if different aged teens are interviewed). What about self-esteem? Is it
positive? Are there any notable gender differences or age differences? Have students look at the
imaginary audience scale in Table 14-2 before interviewing the adolescent; see if they can
incorporate this scale into their discussions.
10. Video and Discussion: Show the video “House of Tomorrow” from the Childhood Series (available
from Ambrose Video), which is a cross-cultural exploration of the experience of early adolescence
from the U.S., Japan, Brazil, and Russia. Have students look for similarities in the experiences of
adolescence for the adolescents and their families depicted in the video. Have them look for signs of
interest in the opposite sex, interest in peer groups, interest in the future, understanding of more
abstract concepts, and changing relationships with parents. Have them note some of the common
elements they see involving parents, such as the surprises they experience at the fact that their
children are growing up. Have them comment on the pregnant adolescents and the plight of the
teenage mother. Have them comment on what the discussants had to say about the most effective
prevention of teen motherhood being hope for the future.
11. Film Critique: Another way to begin a discussion comparing adolescence today with adolescence in
the past is to show the film Sixteen in Webster Groves, which portrays suburban adolescent life in the
mid-1960's. After students have viewed the film, ask them how the experiences of the teenagers
portrayed in the film compared to their own experiences during adolescence. What has stayed the
same over the last 25 to 35 years? What has changed? How is the society in which teenagers live
today different than in the past? (In other words, what old sources of support are missing or not as
strong—and what new sources of support are there that might not have been present in the past?)
Are teenagers being pushed into adult activities and confronted with adult dilemmas at an earlier age
than previous generations were? Are the basic developmental tasks of adolescence still the same?
12. Generation Gap? – Interviews: Interviews can be used to help students gain a perspective on
changes in adolescence over the last 60 years. Assign students to interview people of various ages
(junior high and high school students, college students, 30- to 40-year-olds, 50- to 60-year-olds, and
people over 70, for example) or concentrate on the contrast between two age groups—college
students and people over 70, for example. Give the students a list of standard questions to ask their
subjects, covering topics such as school, dating, work, parents, fashion, recreation, problems and
conflict areas, and perceived similarities and differences in comparison to current teenagers.
Students can be encouraged to add questions of their own, or the standard set of questions to be
asked can be developed by the class. Students can write up their interviews individually or in groups.
The results can be used as the basis of a class discussion or can be woven into a lecture, with
relevant research results presented along with interview results. [Adapted from Schwanenflugel, P. J.
(1987). An interview method for teaching adolescent psychology, Teaching of Psychology, 14, 167168. Schwanenflugel also presents ideas for interviews on other topics related to adolescents.]
13. Adolescent Employment Discussion: One topic that most of the class will have experience with and
opinions about is adolescent employment. You can easily start a discussion by asking students about
their own employment experiences during high school and what they saw as the positive and
negative effects of employment for them. How did their experiences compare to the research findings
discussed in Chapter 14? What changes could be made in adolescent employment situations that
would emphasize the positive effects of employment and minimize the negative effects? What could
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be done to make adolescent work experience more useful in career decision-making and more
relevant to teenagers' later careers?
14. Case Studies: Case studies are an effective way to get students to think about issues in adolescent
social development. The instructor can construct case studies focusing on various aspects of
adolescent development and present them to the class for discussion. An alternative involves the
student more actively: have groups construct case studies based on their own experiences and
information from the textbook.
•
•
Each group should be assigned (or instructed to select) a topic of interest (e.g., parent-teenager
communication problems, school problems, vocational decisions, teenage pregnancy, drug
abuse, decisions about sexual activity, drinking) and then told to construct a case study focusing
on a more specific problem or dilemma. The case studies can take the form of a critical incident,
a well-defined issue, or an unresolved vignette describing a situation.
Each group then generates as many solutions for the problem raised in their case study as
possible; if time allows, each group could provide copies of their case study to the rest of the
class and generate solutions to one or more case studies from other groups. A final step is to
present the case studies to members of selected target groups outside the class (e.g., teenagers,
parents of teenagers, counselors, clergy, teachers, people of varying age, ethnicity, or SES) and
ask for their solutions. The solutions proposed by various groups can then be compared to each
other and to the class's responses, either in a group or individual write-up and/or in a class
discussion. [Adapted from: McManus, J. L. (1986). Student composed case study in adolescent
psychology, Teaching of Psychology, 13, 92-93.]
15. Mass Media Messages: Assigning students to observe systematically a medium to which teenagers
are regularly exposed (e.g., television, popular movies, music videos, magazines, Top 40 radio) can
be an effective way of examining specific cultural influences on adolescents. Possible topics for
observation might include vocational roles of men and women on television, portrayals of love and
sex in popular songs, parent-teenager relations on television, or images of physical beauty in teenage
fashion magazine advertisements.
•
•
•
The assignment usually works best if students are given (or asked to select) a very specific topic
for observation, along with specific instructions about length or amount of observation (e.g., how
many TV shows or movies to watch, how many magazines to survey, etc.). It is also important to
provide (or have the students develop) specific criteria for the categories to be observed and to
instruct students on tallying, summarizing, interpreting, and reporting the results of their
observations.
After completing their observations, students should be asked to suggest what effects the media
characteristics they have observed might have on specific areas of adolescent development—
how vocational roles on TV might affect teenagers' own career aspirations, for example. This can
be included in an individual or group written assignment, but it can also make for an interesting
class discussion.
For more specifics on using such an assignment, see Ward, T. B. (1985). The media project:
Enhancing student interest in the psychology of adolescence, Teaching of Psychology, 12, 87-89.
Films, Videos, and Internet Resources
Films and Videos:
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Adolescent Development (1990, 30 min., Insight Media). Covers diverse aspects of physical, social,
and psychological development. Discusses developmental tasks, puberty, and self-image, Elkind on
social cognition, formal operations, and Kohlberg’s theory of moral development.
Adolescence: Social and Emotional Development (1995, Magna Systems). Looks at how parents,
peers, and values influence adolescents’ search for identity.
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American Adolescence (1999, 30 minutes, Films for the Humanities and Sciences). A rising divorce
rate, frequent relocation, and a fascination with TV, video games, and computers are leaving more
and more teenagers under-supervised, rootless, and isolated. Increasingly detached from traditional
values and lifestyles, these young adults face daunting obstacles without the support base enjoyed by
previous generations. This program investigates the hurdles faced by today’s teens and discusses
how their hopes, fears, and expectations will shape American society. Experts include top officers of
the Families and Work Institute, National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Research Center, and National
Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse Control.
Coping with Peer Pressure (1994, 15 min., Films for the Humanities and Sciences). Viewers learn to
cope with peer pressure by looking ahead to the consequences of their actions and being honest with
themselves.
The Development of Self (1991, 60 minutes, Insight Media). Discusses self-concept, self-esteem, and
self-worth, with a focus on Susan Harter’s work. Relates development in these areas to puberty and
clinical disorders.
Educating Pregnant Teens (1994, 25 min., Films for the Humanities and Sciences). This program
takes a candid look at teenage pregnancy and attitudes toward it through the forthright views of a
young group of women.
High School Stories: One Day in America's Schools (1993, 60 min., Films for the Humanities and
Sciences). In this documentary, produced by Wisconsin Public Television, public television stations in
seven different locations across America document a day in the life of high school seniors. Explore
how classroom experiences help young people form their sense of who they are and what they want
to become.
The House of Tomorrow (1991, 57 min., Ambrose Video). Childhood Series (video 7). Features the
ways various cultures celebrate the passage from childhood to adolescence. Includes Baka boys
from Camaroon and a young girl in Brazil.
Ignoring the Risks: Teenage Pregnancy and AIDS (1994, 28 min., Films for the Humanities and
Sciences). In this specially adapted Phil Donahue program, teens themselves explain why they ignore
the warning that unprotected sex can cost them their lives.
Sixteen in Webster Groves (1966, Black & white, 47 min., 16 mm.). Classic CBS Reports program
based on National Opinion Research Center survey conducted among 16-year-olds in an affluent
suburban community. Discusses preoccupation with status and conformity, tensions imposed by adult
standards, and attitudes toward school, parents, and the future.
Student-Directed Learning in the Alpha Program: A Middle School Approach That Works (1993, 44
min.). Documents the Alpha Program in a multiage junior high school classroom in Shelburne,
Vermont, based on collaboration and peer mentoring. Students determine their own learning goals,
either as individuals, small groups, or in whole class meetings, while teachers act as facilitators.
Teenage Relationships (1991, 60 min., Insight Media). Examines social development during early and
late adolescence, differentiating peer and family influences.
Teens, Sex, and AIDS (1994, 28 min., Films for the Humanities and Sciences). This program
combines an open discussion among teens about their AIDS concerns with dramatizations of teens
dealing with decisions about sex.
A-V Resource List Information:
•
List of providers for most of the videos listed above:
1. Ambrose Video at www.ambrosevideo.com or 800-526-4663
2. Davidson Films at www.davidsonfilms.com or 888-437-4200.
3. Films for the Humanities and Sciences at www.films.com or 800-257-5126.
4. Insight Media at www.insight-media.com or 212-721-6316.
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5. Magna Systems at 708-382-6477.
6. Public Broadcasting Service at 1-800-949-8670 or www.shop.pbs.org
7. Yale University Films at 203-432-0148.
Additional Internet Resource Options for Chapter 14:
http://www.mhhe.com/dehart5
A variety of teaching tools for this textbook are available from the Web site for McGraw-Hill.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/georgia/
Frontline produced a show titled “The lost children of Rockdale County” based on a syphilis outbreak
among adolescents in Rockdale County, Georgia in 1996. It is an interesting story, especially from the
perspective of what parents did NOT know about their children’s lives. Transcripts and segments from the
video are available at this Web site. Ordering information for the video is also available.
http://www.anred.com/toc.html
This site gives statistics, definitions, and descriptions of eating disorders, including obesity. Links to
additional sources of information are also available.
http://www.ucalgary.ca/~egallery/volume2/small.html
Addressing body image, self-esteem, and eating disorders
http://dir.yahoo.com/Society_and_Culture/Cultures_and_Groups/Teenagers/
This site is the Yahoo directory to topics pertaining to the culture of adolescence. Dating relationships,
teenage pregnancy, substance abuse, investment guides, driving tips, and options for post-secondary
education are a few of the topics that can be accessed from this site.
http://education.indiana.edu/cas/adol/adol.html
This is the site of Adolescence Directory On-Line (ADOL), an electronic guide to information on adolescent
topics. Conflict and violence issues, mental health, and health issues, resources for counselors, and
additional references can be obtained from this site.
http://www.aboutourkids.org
This is the site of New York University's Child Study Center. Its staff offers mental health services for
children and families, focusing on early diagnosis and intervention. The "Parenting" and "Is My Kid OK?"
sections contain advice for parents—for example, how to handle violence, and concerns about a child's
friends and friendships. The site also gives a rundown of different parenting styles, and a section on
"Matching Parenting Styles/Children's Temperaments."
http://www.talkwithkids.org/twk-press-release-030199.html
This survey found that kids in families who talk openly about sex and relationships are more likely to say
they would turn to a parent first if faced with a crisis. Read more details about this interesting survey and
examine related charts and graphs which go with it. (The survey was conducted by the Kaiser Family
Foundation and Children Now.)
http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/n/x/nxd10/adolesce.htm
This site links to articles on peer pressure, the popularity issue, the decreasing influence of parents, and
the increasing influence of the peer group. Information on cliques and crowds, adolescent dating, and
additional readings are accessible from the site.
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