Adolescence: Peers, Family, and Self - Exam Notes

Identity Development

  • Erikson's Theory:

    • Ego Identity: Individual uniqueness and continuity.

    • Identity Formation: Integrating previous identifications into a unique form.

    • Identity Crisis: Critical turning point with unsolvable questions.

    • Identity vs. Role Confusion: Finding resolution, leading to fidelity.

    • Psychosocial Moratorium: Experimenting with adult roles.

  • Marcia's Identity Status Model:

    • Focuses on vocational decisions, ideological values, and sexual identity through exploration and commitment.

    • Identity-Achieved: Explored meaningful directions before committing.

    • Foreclosed: Committed without significant exploration, based on parental values.

    • Moratorium: Searching for adult roles without firm commitments.

    • Diffusion: Lack of exploration and commitment.

  • Five-Dimensional Model of Identity Formation (Luyckx et al., 2008):

    • Commitment Making.

    • Identification with Commitment.

    • Exploration in Breadth: Searching for different alternatives.

    • Exploration in Depth: Evaluating existing commitments.

    • Ruminative Exploration: Repetitive, passive focus leading to hopelessness.

Self-Concept in Adolescence

  • Notable personality traits and value orientation.

  • Inconsistencies are typical.

  • More sophisticated, psychological, abstract, and coherent.

  • Advent of the Life-Story:

    • Biographical self after synchronic self-concept.

    • Understanding of calendar time and biography.

    • Formal operations: Knowledge requires interpretation.

    • Motivation to resolve conflicts between past and present.

    • Pressure of social and cultural expectations.

    • Autobiographical Reasoning is used.

Self-Esteem in Adolescence

  • Increasingly differentiated, with relationship-oriented dimensions.

  • Relational self-worth varies across contexts.

  • Perceptions of competencies in academics, social acceptance, physical skills, and appearance.

  • General self-esteem declines in early to middle adolescence but increases later.

  • Influences on Self-Concept/Self-Esteem Development:

    • Pubertal Timing: Deviance hypothesis (being off-time causes difficulties) and developmental stage termination hypothesis (early maturation interrupts skill acquisition).

    • School Transitions: Overload hypothesis (too many changes), cognitive sophistication leading to social comparison, and mismatch hypothesis (more control when striving for independence).

    • Role of Parents and Family: Warm, supportive parents promote higher self-esteem while permissive, neglectful, or harsh parenting leads to lower self-esteem.

Adolescent Development in the Context of Family

  • Role of Parents:

    • Responsiveness: Encouraging independence and providing support.

    • Proper monitoring minimizes problem behavior.

    • Involving adolescents in family decisions.

  • Conflict in Parent-Adolescent Relationships:

    • Conflicts arise due to discrepancies in expectations.

    • Developmentally functional for negotiating autonomy.

    • Constructive vs. destructive conflict resolution.

Peer Relationships During Adolescence

  • Structure of Peer Relationships:

    • Dyadic peer relationships (friendships).

    • Cliques: Small groups with friendship orientation.

    • Crowds or sets: Based on image, location, background, status, or interests.

  • Dyadic Friendships:

    • Growing more stable with equality, reciprocity, and similarity.

    • Secure attachment with parents leads to higher quality friendships.

  • Patterns of Influence in Friendships:

    • Normative regulation, modeling, and structuring opportunities.

  • Adolescent Cliques:

    • Vary in size; positions include member, isolate, and liaison.

    • Fluid membership.

    • Similarity among members.

    • Status hierarchy.

  • Crowds:

    • Require a higher number of young people to construct labels and reach consensus.

    • Reflect individual abilities and social standing.

  • Developmental Changes in Romantic Experiences (Dunphy, 1963):

    • Unisexual cliques emerge.

    • Male and female cliques socialize together.

    • Larger heterosexual groups emerge.

    • Peer crowd is fully developed.

    • Romantic relationships develop, and crowds disintegrate.

  • Changes in Features of Romantic Relationships Across Adolescence:

    • Differentiate other-sex friendships and romantic relationships (passion & commitment).

  • Significance of Romantic Experiences in Adolescence:

    • Source of support and strong emotions.

    • Influence intimacy and identity development.

    • Help establish autonomy.