Views of Adolescence: Socialization and Development

Chapter 1

Origins of Adolescence Adolescence refers to a transitional period

between childhood and adulthood that typically begins with the onset of puberty and lasts until the ages of 18 to 21, when an individual enters young adulthood WHO defines an adolescent from 10 to 19 In many cultures children entered adulthood

without the gradual passage through adolescence

The term adolescence was made popular by psychologist G. Stanley Hall in his 1904 study, Adolescence Formally defined the developmental phase

between childhood and adulthood According to Hall, Western society began to

institute laws against child labour at the end of the twentieth century and secondary schools were becoming the norm This prolonged the period of children’s

dependence on parents ant older me members of the family

This delayed transition into adulthood meant that young people could develop psychologically and socially at a much slower pace

This gave children more time to mature and assume their positions and responsibilities in the adult world

Margret Mead: 1925 Travelled to the island of Ta’u in American

Samoa to observe, interview and interact with 68 girls between the ages of 9 and 20

Used participant observation as her mode of research, living, interacting and participating in daily life with the Samoan girls to recover important data about adolescence, stress, and cultural norms

Based on her data, Mead argued that cultural factors, rather than biological ones, caused the emotional and psychological stress of adolescence

Elkind’s Theory of Adolescent Egocentrism

David Elkind believe that the primary feature of adolescence is the immaturity of the thinking process This is a result of undeveloped skills in

formal reasoning abilities Adolescence is period marked with

extreme indecisiveness because of an exaggerated self-consciousness In the area of decision making, teenagers

are likely to keep many avenues open as they explore various alternatives and solutions to problems

Also, tend to be critical and idealistic

Elkind also studied the tendency among teens to think they are invincible and invulnerable These beliefs lead to risk taking behaviours like

speeding, extreme sports and other thrill seeking activities

The most prominent feature of adolescence is egocentrism Heightened self-awareness and self-

consciousness Teens tend to think that others are interested in

them as much as they interested in themselves Called this phenomenon the imaginary

audience Teens imagine a captive audience of observers

watching and scrutinizing their every actions and thought

The drama that unfolds before the imaginary audience in the personal fable The belief that they are special or unique and

somehow above reproach and the rules that govern the rest of society

Socialization Socialization is the

process by which we learn to become members of society by internalizing values, and norms of society and learning the roles we are expected to perform in society For a individual to participate

in society, he or she must first learn the rules that govern social interaction

The family is referred to as the primary agent or socialization because this is where socialization occurs School, media and religion

are important secondary agents of socialization

During adolescence, the role of the family diminishes as other forces take over

The Lasting Influence of the Family The Vanier Institute of the Family defines family as any

combination of two or more persons who are bound together over time by ties of mutual consent, birth, and/or adoption or placement and who, together, assume responsibilities for variant combinations of some of the following purposes Physical maintenance and care of group members Addition of new members through procreation or adoption Socialization of children Social control of members Production, consumption, distribution of goods and services Affective nurturance – “love”

The Growing Influence of Social Groups

During adolescence individuality is increasingly and social relationships beyond the family are increasing Peers and media contribute

more than ever to young people’s understanding of the world and influence helps to shape and form individual social values and attitudes

Culture and Identity An individual’s ethnic identity is

the basic notion an individual has a member of an ethnic group Ethnicity and culture are key

factors in how an individual sees himself

How an adolescent achieves stability and healthy personal identities depends on many factors, including, in some cases, confronting prejudice or discrimination from the dominant culture and perceived or real barriers to achieving their goals

Allison Davis and Socialized Anxiety Allison Davis outlined a

number of important forces that cause anxiety and stress in adolescents Research areas in learning and

personality, the relationship between academic performance and child development, attitudes and motivations of children from different social groups, and patterns of adolescent and young adult achievement

According to Davis the socialization process includes a phenomenon known as socialized anxiety Socialized anxiety refers to the tension and

discomfort felt by individuals that motivate and influence behaviour E.g.: senior high school students feel anxious

about being accepted to college or university and this anxiety motivates them to earn good

grades

A measure of successful socialization among teenagers can be related to the amount of imposed or learned anxiety that the individual is exposed to in his or her environment In the proper amount social anxiety can

be an important factor in pushing the individual towards maturity