Social and Personality Development in Adolescence - Research Paper Example

? Social and Personality Development in Adolescence This paper draws round adolescent development incorporating psychological, cognitive and social development. The thought of identity formation is highlighted as a vital component of adolescent development. Two theories of identity development are showcased, such as Erikson’s Identity vs. Role Confusion and Marcia’s four identity classes. Identity is a person’s self definition, which centers on enduring traits of self. In a developed identity, the person is able to clarify the genesis of these self-defined traits and the power behind those geneses. Complete identity comprises of explaining of one's ethics, standards and morals, as well as a pledge to a future occupation. The ideas, which affect identity development, are tackled as is the significance of forming a consistent identity during teenage years. Social and Personality Development in Adolescence Adolescence is the time span of developmental change from childhood to adulthood. It concerns physical, social, intellectual, as well as personality changes. During this period, teenagers go through a lot of issues and have to make vital decisions in their lives (Bedard & Marks, 2010). Some of these issues include self-esteem, peer pressure, Tobacco, drugs and alcohol, sex, teenage pregnancies, tattoos and piercing, depression and suicide, self-concept, identity formation, rejection and delinquency. According to Erikson, suitable social development agitates for solving the key challenges of role diffusion vs. ego-identity (Bedard & Marks, 2010). To resolve this life crisis, teenagers must form an ego-identity, a well-built sense of whom they are and what they stand for or if not, then they will suffer role diffusion running from activity to activity, with an enhance probability of succumbing to peer pressure. Teenagers get into a psychological moratorium, which is a time of virtual freedom from societal expectations (Wong et al, 2010). During adolescence, teenagers feel free to try out with diverse roles and personalities. From Erikson’s view, everything, which was developed about self during childhood, is re-evaluated during teenage years (Tsang et al, 2012). Some of the elements of self worth and childhood personality might be rejected or retained in the teenager’s search for identity. They have to internalize an all-encompassing, as well as a consistent set of affirmations, concerning their personal weaknesses, strengths, values and career choices (Rubini et al, 2008). The identity developed during teenage years signifies a major achievement. By young adulthood, people who have established their identity are set to adapt and add to society. This paper will tackle this issue of identity development in teenagers, how they develop it and the consequences that would follow in later life if they form negative identities. The Key Theories of Identity Development A number of theories of development have somewhat diverse views of identity formation. However, two concepts stand out with regards to this topic: Erickson’s concept of psychological growth and Marcia’s identity status theory. Erikson Erikson’s thought is that all through someone’s life, they go through diverse conflicts or crisis. Every conflict arises at a certain time in life and should be effectively tackled for progression to the next stage of life. The particular state associated to identity formation occurs during adolescence. Erikson refers to this stage as Identity vs. Role Confusion (Bedard & Marks, 2010). The stage comprises of teenagers trying to discover whom they are so as to form a basic identity of themselves that they will apply all through the rest of their lives. The main concerns of a basic personality for their concept are occupational and social identities (Moin & Inge, 2013). Once a teenager has discovered who he or she is, they are then ready to advance to the next stage, Intimacy vs. Isolation, where they can form well-built association, as well as a sense of companionship with other people. Erikson wrote that if the Identity vs. Role Confusion dilemma is not dealt with, then a teenager will be puzzled on their identity, as well as the roles they should assume as adults (Moin & Inge, 2013). The notion is that the failure to establish one’s individual identity causes a failure to establish a joint identity with others, which, on the other hand, leads to instability in a lot of areas as adults. Therefore, the identity formation is an extremely crucial stage in life, which can make or break someone (Bedard & Marks, 2010). Marcia James Marcia, on the other hand, developed a structural interview planned to categorize teenagers into one of four classes of identity. The identity classes are utilized to explain and pinpoint the development of a teenager’s identity formation process (Meeus et al, 2012). In Marcia's concept, the operational meaning of identity is whether a person has explored a number of alternatives and made solid commitments to an occupation, sexual orientation religion, as well as a set of political values. The four identity classes in Marcia's theory are: Identity Foreclosure: When someone is loyal to an identity, but that loyalty was made devoid of any exploration as to what, in reality, suits them best. Identity Diffusion: When someone has not yet mulled over or determined their identity plus they have not yet decided their future life direction. Identity Achievement: When someone has resolved the identity issues through making pledges to beliefs, goals and values. Identity Moratorium: When someone is, in reality, going through an identity crisis and keenly looking for the answers to queries they have concerning their life commitments (Meeus et al, 2012). Identity Formation Process The identity formation process engrosses trying on diverse values and roles and disposing of the ones that do not compliment the teenager. The teenager will discern the roles and values of significant individuals in his or her life, for instance their parents (Bedard & Marks, 2010). After that, he or she will decide which of these individuals’ personalities he or she wants to maintain because they compliment him or her and which values and roles of others do not function for him or her and will be discarded (Luyckx et al, 2010). Theorists argue that teenager require a moratorium stage to try on diverse roles and values. The moratorium stage is typified by trying diverse roles and activities over a period of time and having permission from society prior to developing identity commitments (Luyckx et al, 2010). Society should be at ease with teenagers trying out diverse roles, and be aware of labeling experimentations like delinquency and promiscuity as deviant. Erikson affirms that ideal identity formation occurs in a moratorium stage of active adolescent exploration, which is tracked by significant adult pledges to sexual, vocational and ideological values. Identity development in teenagers is a multifaceted process, which has many dedicated components (Klimstra et al, 2010). In addition to both Erikson’s and Marcia’s overall concept of identity formation, teenagers also create more dedicated identities, such as gender, political, ethnic/cultural, moral and sexual. Political identity development starts in adolescence as people become less susceptible to their influence figures and begin to develop their own personal beliefs. Teenagers frequently begin to assume an interest in civic and politics duty around age 14 (Bedard & Marks, 2010). With the information offered in this section. It is vital to look into fields of life that influence identity development of teenagers such as the school, home, as well as the broad society. Identity Development and School While in grade school, children are still developing their self image. Selecting the appropriate role models is extremely significant during this period(Klimstra et al, 2010). Also imperative, is a sense of industry and realizing what one’s skills are. The social interaction with peers plays a vital role in enhancing the self-image. Schooling influences the identity formation process of a lot of teenagers (Goth et al, 2012). The type of friends they interact with, their view on their education, as well as their teachers. A teacher can influence a teenager to assume a positive self image or a negative one if their relationship started off in the wrong foot. Also adjustment of schools might negatively or positively affect the identity development (Bedard & Marks, 2010). Teenagers’ self concept causes them to associate with peers and persuades the manner in which they relate to these peers. In trying to comprehend their skills, these teenagers evaluate themselves with others. Therefore, if that evaluation brings about a sense of self competence, then the teenager will wish to cooperate and associate with other teenagers more than if that comparison brings about a sense of incompetence. If teenagers see themselves as excellent students, then they will endeavor to live up to that self image. However, teenagers who perceive themselves as loners or outsiders will be more contented to stay far away from other teenagers (Goth et al, 2012). A major danger to the identity development of a school-age teenager is grade retention. One ordinary reason for holding teenagers back a year in the early on grades is that these students are not ready to follow their peers to the next class. Nevertheless, retention has not been proved to have any long-standing benefits and it might, in reality, harm the teenager emotionally (Crocetti et al, 2009). Teenagers rank retention as the third most terrible thing they can think of happening to them. Protective and Risk Factors for Successful Identify Development Effective identity achievement is established by acknowledging customary values and beliefs and expressing them in a modern manner. Hence, teenagers require the influence of their parents for customary values and the persuasion of friends for modern expression. Nevertheless, excessive persuasion from either friends or parents might hinder the teenager’s personal obligation. Parenting styles persuade the creation of identity in teenagers (Bedard & Marks, 2010). A parenting style stressing high standards and communication endorses teenagers’ exploration in a supportive surrounding. A proper parenting style, which stresses high standards, but low communication, might hinder healthy examination of identity potential (Crocetti et al, 2009). Permissive parents who do not institute principles for adolescents are endorsing a diffused identity with no clear pledges. Conclusion It can be clearly seen from the literature that teenage is a time during which vast differentiation occurs on the social terrain. In reality any relationship that the teenager is involved in will influence the teenager’s identity formation depending on the type of relationship. This paper has discussed the key theories of identity development, identity formation process, identity development and school, as well as protective and risk factors for successful identify development. It is vital that every relationship that a teenager forms be positive seen, as this paper has discussed, will they will go a long way into deciding the identity of the teenager. References Bedard, K. K., & Marks, A. K. (2010). Current psychological perspectives on adolescent lesbian identity development. Journal of Lesbian Studies, 14(1), 16-25. This article discusses what makes the lesbian teenage identity development procedure unique and how the procedure can, or cannot, be conceptualized by current psychological replicas of sexual identity development. Crocetti, E., Klimstra, T., Keijsers, L., Hale, W. W., & Meeus, W. (2009). Anxiety trajectories and identity development in adolescence: a five-wave longitudinal study. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 38(6), 839-849. The purpose of this longitudinal study was to explore the relationship between anxiety and teenager identity development. Participants were 1,200 teenagers who yearly completed measures of identity and anxiety. Goth, K., Foelsch, P., Schluter-Muller S., Birkholzer, M., Jung, E., Pick, O., & Schmeck, K. (2012). Assessment of identity development and identity diffusion in adolescence - Theoretical basis and psychometric properties of the self-report questionnaire AIDA. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, 6(27), 45-60. This paper discusses concepts of fit identity development, as well as then concepts of disturbed identity, both times tackling psychodynamic, social-cognitive and empirical approaches. Klimstra, T. A., Hale, W. W., Raaijmakers, Q. A., Branje, S. J., & Meeus, T. (2010). Identity formation in adolescence: Change or stability? Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 39(2), 150–162. The purpose of this longitudinal survey of 923 early to middle teenagers (49.3% boys; 50.7% girls) and 390 middle to late teenagers (56.7% boys; 43.3% girls) is to offer a complete view on stability and change in identity formation from 12 to 19 years. Klimstra, T. A., Luyckx, K., Hale, W. A., Frijns, T., & Meeus, W. H. (2010). Short-term fluctuations in identity: introducing a micro-level approach to identity formation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 99(1), 191-202. The paper was aimed at assessing one relatively deserted part of the identity formation process: the temporary dynamics of identity formation. The temporary dynamics were evaluated through examining the daily course of two key dimensions of identity formation. Meeus, W., Schoot, R., Keijsers, L., & Branje, S. (2012). Identity statuses as developmental trajectories: A five-wave longitudinal study in early-to-middle and middle-to-late adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 41(8), 1008-1021. This article assessed whether Marcia's original identity classes of attainment, moratorium, diffusion and early closure, can be regarded as identity status trajectories. Moin, S., & Inge, S. (2013). Personality development from adolescence to emerging adulthood: Linking trajectories of ego development to the family context and identity formation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 104(2), 371-384. This longitudinal survey assessed personality development utilizing an individual approach through examining transformations in ego development across the change from teenage to emerging adulthood. Rubini, M., Crocetti, E., & Meeus W. (2008). Capturing the dynamics of identity formation in various ethnic groups: Development and validation of a three-dimensional model. Journal Adolescence, 31(2), 207-222. The purpose of this study was to create a replica of identity formation incorporating three structural dimensions: pledge, in detail exploration and review of commitment. Tsang, S. K., Hui, E. K., & Law, B. C. (2012). Positive identity as a positive youth development construct: a conceptual review. Scientific World Journal, 23(34), 45-56. This entry reviews literature on the structure and nature of identity and assesses its significance on adolescent developmental outcomes. It discusses vital determinants of identity formation strategies for forming positive identities. Wong, T. M., Branje, S. J., Vander, I. E., Hawk, S. T., & Meeus, W. H. (2010). The role of siblings in identity development in adolescence and emerging adulthood. Journal Adolescence, 33(5), 673-682. This article assessed the role of siblings on identity formation in teenagers, using a three-wave longitudinal technique. Procedures of identity formation were completed by 498 sibling dyads. Read More