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Adolescent Identity Development Insights

Chapter 16 discusses the psychosocial development of adolescents, focusing on Erik Erikson's stage of identity vs. role confusion, where individuals seek to establish their identity while navigating influences from parents and culture. It highlights four arenas of identity formation: religious, political, vocational, and sexual identity, and addresses the increase in depression rates during puberty, particularly among girls. The chapter also touches on rebellion, distinguishing between adolescence-limited and life-course-persistent offenders, emphasizing the importance of parental monitoring to prevent criminal behavior.

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4 views7 pages

Adolescent Identity Development Insights

Chapter 16 discusses the psychosocial development of adolescents, focusing on Erik Erikson's stage of identity vs. role confusion, where individuals seek to establish their identity while navigating influences from parents and culture. It highlights four arenas of identity formation: religious, political, vocational, and sexual identity, and addresses the increase in depression rates during puberty, particularly among girls. The chapter also touches on rebellion, distinguishing between adolescence-limited and life-course-persistent offenders, emphasizing the importance of parental monitoring to prevent criminal behavior.

Uploaded by

jasminepoindexter
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Chapter 16:

Adolescence
Psychosocial
Development
Erik Erikson
• Identity vs. Role Confusion: 5th stage wherein adolescents try
to answer the question “Who Am I?” but are confused as to
which of many possible roles to adopt.
• The ultimate goal is identity achievement: goals & values of
parents & culture are considered, accepting some &
discarding others in order to forge one’s own identity.
• Foreclosure: premature identity formation; occurs when parental
or societal roles & values are accepted w/o question or analysis.
• Moratorium: a socially acceptable way to postpone making
identity-achievement decisions.
• For some, college may have a very clear purpose. For others, maybe not so
much. Same for military and so on.
4 arenas of identity formation
• Religious Identity
• largely influenced by parents & culture (especially in good parent-child relations)
• even those who question certain aspects rarely “jump ship” altogether
• Political Identity
• also influenced by family & culture. However, bipartisan views appear to be
diminishing in younger cohorts.
• Vocational Identity
• changing times, changing patterns.
• adolescents who work or want to work more (20+ hours per week) tend to have
more problems with school, work, and family.
• Don’t be a fool, stay in school.

• Sexual Identity
• gender identity: a person’s acceptance of the roles & behaviors that a society
associates w/ the biological category of male or female.
• sexual orientation: sexual/romantic attraction to others of the same sex, opposite
sex, or both. (OR NONE)
Identity Process Theory
• Status vs. Process: it is through a process of developing multiple
identities that we create an overall sense of identity.
• Identities are often not static.
• Susan Whitbourne: merging Erikson & Piaget
• 3 styles:
• Identity Assimilation
• Identity Accommodation
• Identity Balance
• Developmental trajectories:
• Identity Assimilation Effect (IAE) produces an increase.
• Identity Accommodation tends to decrease.
• Identity Balance appears relatively stable throughout the adult lifespan.
Sigmund Freud
• Genital Stage: we seek pleasure/gratification via
erogenous zones.
• sexual partnerships & maintaining healthy relations.
• Starts w/ puberty & persists throughout
adulthood.
• the goal of a healthy life in adulthood is “to love and
to work”.
Depression
• Rates of depression more than double during puberty (about 15%
of all adolescents).
• Twice as common for girls (1 in 5) than boys (1 in 10).
• Public self-consciousness and rumination tend to be higher in girls.
• Hormonal changes, emotional stress, identity confusion, decreased
confidence, genetic factors, social influences…
• suicidal ideation: thinking about suicide, usually w/ some serious
emotional & intellectual or cognitive overtones.
• parasuicide: any potentially lethal act against oneself that does not
result in death.
• greater attempt rates in girls but higher completion rates in boys.
Rebellion & The Law
• Anna Freud said rebellion is a “welcome…beneficial…inevitable” part of
adolescence.
• Most dramatic example of rebellion, however, is when someone breaks
the law in such a way that results in arrest & conviction.
• 2 discernable types:
• Adolescence-Limited Offenders: criminal activity stops by age 21.
• Life-Course-Persistent Offenders: criminal activity typically begins in early
adolescence & continues throughout life (i.e. career criminal).
• Among other reasons, waning adult influence & increased peer influence
make adolescents more susceptible to rebellion.
• one way to help prevent rebellion from resulting in criminal behavior is parental
monitoring: ongoing awareness of what your child is doing, where they are & who
they are with.

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