16 - ADOLESCENCE: PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENTAges 11 to 18

IDENTITY

Erikson Identity vs. role confusion

“Who am I”

IDENTITY NOT YET ACHIEVED

Role confusion (Identity diffusion) Don’t know, don’t care Few commitments to goals or values Apathy

Foreclosure Premature identity formation Adopting parents’ or society’s roles and values

rather than exploring their own Moratorium

Postponing identity achievement decisions College may be one way

FOUR AREAS OF IDENTITY FORMATION

Religious identity Often similar to parents

Political identity

– Often similar to parents Vocational identity

Sometimes similar to parents Adults often change vocations

Sexual (Gender) identity Accepting socially approved roles and behavior

of their gender Gender identity disorder

Does not identify with their biological sex

RELATIONSHIPS WITH ADULTS

Conflicts with parents Peaks in early adolescence More a sign of attachment rather than distance

Distant relationships ignore the other

Neglect Can be destructive for teenagers

(Even though they want to feel independent)

CLOSENESS WITHIN THE FAMILY

Four aspects of closeness Communication

Can both talk openly? Support

Do they rely on each other? Connectedness

Emotional closeness Control

How do parents exercise control? Encourage or limit adolescent autonomy

CLOSENESS WITHIN THE FAMILY (CONT.) Parental monitoring

Monitoring of peers, friends, websites Positive – When warm, supportive Negative - When overly restrictive and

controlling

PEER POWER (PRESSURE)

SELECTING FRIENDS

Selection Choosing friends with common values and

interests E.g. Academics, music, athletics

Facilitation Friends encourage behavior similar to the peer

group Positive

Studying together, church, sports Destructive

Skipping school, drinking, drugs

LEARNING ABOUT SEX

Peers Strongly influence sexual behavior Only half U.S. adolescents discuss pregnancy or

STD’s before being sexually active Parents

Underestimate need for information Wait too long before talking about sex

School Preferred by most parents Sex education varies dramatically by nation Abstinence-only programs

No significant impact on sexual activity Does education change behavior?

Depends more on family, peers, and culture than classes

SADNESS AND ANGER

SUICIDE

Suicidal ideas (Ideation) Ideas are common – completed suicides are not Adolescents are less likely to kill themselves than

adults are Gender differences

More girls attempt suicide than boys Boys are 4 times as successful Methods

Males shoot themselves Females use pills and hanging

DRUG USE AND ABUSE

Age Widespread ages 10-25 then decreases Drug use before 18 = best predictor of later drug

use 20% of adolescents never use drugs

Gender Boys use more drugs more often than girls

“If I don’t smoke, I am not a man.”

HARM FROM DRUGS

TOBACCO

Slows down growth Damages heart, lungs, brains, and

reproductive systems

ALCOHOL

Heavy drinking may permanently impair memory Damaged hippocampus

May impair self control Damaged prefrontal cortex

Denial of problems Problems get worse

MARIJUANA

People who regularly smoke marijuana are more likely to: Drop out of school Become teenage parents Be unemployed

Affects: Memory Language Motivation

PREVENTING DRUG ABUSE

Focus on friends and peers First use is social

Delay first use Younger when starting = more likely addiction

Massive ad campaigns E.g. Smoking Generational forgetting

Each generation forgets what previous generations learned

Drug users tend to be more emotional & less reflective Interference with prefrontal cortex

SCARE TACTICS

May increase drug use Drugs seem exciting Adolescents recognize exaggeration Show a way to show defiance