Adolescence

Challenges during Adolescence

There are many challenges of adolescence, though most psychologists these days would not adopt the ‘storm and stress’ model. Coleman saw adolescents as being active in their own development and his focal theory sees problems as emerging when the individual has more than one issue to deal with at any one time.

BODY IMAGE

Adolescence is a time for the individual to adjust to biological changes in the body and to develop the self-image. Some may also have to cope with physical variations and a physique that is not considered idea, and deviations from the norm due to late or early physical development, both of which can result in great self-consciousness or distress.

Eating disorders such as Anorexia Nervosa can arise from deeply felt insecurities about the body, and are a major problem among adolescents. While Anorexia seems to also have other psychological causes, such as an overdeveloped perfectionism, doctors have been able to help treat the illness. One way is to show them videos and family photographs so that they can see what they used to look like. Dr. Freeman at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital in the UK found that photos and videos allow patients to see their bodies and faces from different angles and perspectives, giving them a truer picture of what they really look like when wasted by anorexia. “Seeing these videos can give anorexics a new perspective on their bodies and can be a very powerful tool in their recovery” (Freeman quoted in the Gold Coast Bulletin, Australia, July, 2003).

SELF ESTEEM

Adolescents with high self-esteem are more likely to believe in themselves and have a sense of importance and self-respect. Self-esteem affects how children will approach new tasks or challenges and how they interact with others. Teenage children with low self-esteem may avoid challenging activities or may give up quickly, quit, or cheat when things aren't going their way. A child with low self esteem may also be a bully, bossy, controlling, have a low level of self control, and have difficulty making friends.

In adolescence self-esteem can be affected by the physical and hormone changes, and most importantly by how they look or how they think they look. Young people who have a goal in life often do a bit better in the self esteem stakes. So do those whose families are there to support them. Belonging to a group of friends is also very important to adolescents' self esteem. This is why they seem so attached to the telephone and to wanting to do what their friends are doing.

Keep in mind that many children's self esteem will drop as they begin adolescence. They can be helped at this time by making sure that they understand about and are prepared for all of the changes their body and mind are going through.

PEER GROUPS

Adolescence is the time of identity development, when relationships and school identities contribute in different ways. As adolescence proceeds, thoughts about relationships increase, prospects about college emerge, and thoughts formalize about occupational choices. One significant differentiating characteristic between childhood and adolescence lies within the realm of friends and peers. As the role of parents as primary caregivers starts to fade, peers begin to replace parents as the most important reference point in their lives.

Satisfying peer group relations need to be developed whilst maintaining good family relations, so as to cope with the demands of school and of future careers, of intimacy within relationships and so on.

Through adolescence form peer groups which are able to sustain their everyday growth and which play a vital part in their development of acceptable language and behaviour. These peer groups form an important part of an adolescent’s network and, as Seifert, Hoffnung & Hoffnung (2000) state, “the network of social relationships that follow a person over his or her lifetime, changing in structure but providing continuity in the exchange of support”. Therefore, peer groups are very important throughout the period of adolescence as they allow young people to form strong attachments to peers, and as a result, provide the adolescent with a clearer identity within themselves and their peer group. Satisfying peer groups form the basis of harmonious family relationships, positive experiences at school and an overall healthy self image.

Although many parents have negative reactions to the word "teenager," parents must remember the major task for adolescents is to re-evaluate who they are and how their bodies and identities have changed. They strive to establish final independence from their families and others their age to become their own person. They struggle to understand the meaning of life and how to interact with others of the opposite sex. They are faced with answering the question of how they want to spend the rest of their lives or if they are going to prepare for college or directly enter an occupation. How they see themselves strongly influences their options for their future. They strongly desire group acceptance more so than the middle years and become aware of their insecurities. Teenagers are faced with group pressures, such as conforming to group opinions in order to "fit in." Withstanding some group pressures comes easier for adolescents who feel they are more adequate and worthy, which demonstrates their level of confidence in themselves.

IDENTITY VS ROLE CONFUSION

Individuation is a process whereby a person becomes an individual. Individuation is a process created by psychologist Carl Jung. It describes a process where we become aware of ourselves, of our make-up, and the way to discover our true inner-self. It helps us to answer “Who am I?”

Identity vs. role confusion occurs during adolescence, when we explore different possibilities for career, interests, friends, etc. At this age, adolescents are trying different behaviours and values from what they have learned at home. They may experiment with alcohol, drugs, sex, minor crimes, new religions, new hobbies. They are trying to define themselves separate from their parents, although, in the end, most adolescents adopt many of their parents' same values and behaviours as well as unique views of their own.

Erikson saw adolescence as the resolution of the many role conflicts raised by adolescent life.

Successful resolution would result in the individual adjusting to their changing role whilst still retaining a strong sense of their own personality. Too great a stress on the individual would result in role diffusion where they become confused about who they really are.

Adolescents form a clearer identity of who they are by examining their feelings, achievements, capabilities, popularity amongst peers, relationships with parents and siblings and their view of the world around them. It is common for adolescents to experiment with different roles in their search for a true identity and a feeling that they are behaving and acting as their real self, and not as a projection of anther person. The concept of ‘peer group pressure’ is a universally acceptable idea that states adolescents form a clear picture of who they really are through their interactions with peers, the decisions they make with their peers and the influences they develop from the thoughts and feelings of their peers.

During adolescence, there are dramatic physical changes. These can worry the teenager, especially if they do not like to ask questions. Whilst some teenagers may brag about their sexual ability and experiences. Puberty can be a time of sexual curiosity.

THE ACQUISITION OF GENDER IDENTITY AND SEX ROLE IDENTITY

For the sake of clarity, some developmental psychologists distinguish between gender identity and sex role identity. Gender identity refers to the child's realisation that there are two genders - male and female - and identifying with the gender to which they belong. Sex role identity is concerned with the psychological differences attributed to the sexes. The child realises that different attitudes and behaviours are expected and prescribed for two sexes, and through this realisation, acquires the sex-typed behaviour expected of them. Social learning theorists have been mainly responsible for prevalent theories on how children develop a sense of sexual identity, and beliefs in sexual differences.