ADOLESCENT

Questions
● Adolescense is a period of storm and stress - explain
● Adolescense is a period of storm and stress - do u consider this
statement to be a myth- justify

ADOLESCENT IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT

James Marcia (1980), a leading researcher on identity formation,has

provided this elaboration of what Identity is- it is a self-structure—an
internal, self-constructed, dynamic organization of drives, abilities, beliefs,
and individual history. The better developed this structure is, the more
aware individuals appear to be of their own uniqueness and similarity to
others and of their own strengths and weaknesses in making their way
in the world. The less developed this structure is, the more confused
individuals seem about their own distinctiveness from others and the more
they have to rely on external sources to evaluate themselves

Achieving a clear sense of one’s identity is usually the last step in the
several-year transition from childhood to adulthood.

Although identity formation is thus primarily an adolescent process, it

begins in infancy with life experiences that influence the concepts
people form of themselves.

THE NATURE OF IDENTITY FORMATION

The role of identity formation in adolescent development was first
delineated by Erik Erikson. Erikson’s developmental scheme divides the
life cycle into eight stages, each of which poses a particular psychosocial
challenge or “dialectical struggle” for the individual. He sees the primary
developmental challenge of adolescence as preparing to meet
adulthood with a cohesive and comfortable set of self perceptions and
aspirations

DIMENSIONS OF IDENTITY FORMATION

Erikson’s notions concerning identity formation as the central theme of
adolescent development have been extended by numerous personality
theorists and examined in an extensive research literature. This
subsequent work has clarified the following seven dimensions of what it
means to achieve a sense of identity:
1. People achieve identity to the extent that they are able to invest
themselves in a relatively stable set of commitments. The less willing
or able they are to make such commitments the more likely they
are to lack a sense of identity.
2. The kinds of relatively stable commitments necessary to achieve
a sense of identity involve deciding on
a. a set of values and beliefs to guide one’s actions, which
defines an ideological stance;
b. A set of educational and career goals to direct one’s efforts in
work, which constitutes an occupational stance; and
c. a gender orientation that influences one’s forms of
acquaintanceship and intimacy with males and females and
establishes an interpersonal stance.
3. Identity formation is influenced jointly by intrapersonal factors,
which comprise an individual’s inborn capacities and acquired
personality characteristics; and by interpersonal factors, which
include identifications with other people whose example is followed
and respect for other people whose advice is heeded; and by cultural
factors, which consist of the broad societal values to which a person
is exposed while growing up in a particular country, community,
and subcultural group.
4. Identity formation involves several-year process of trying roles and
ideologies on that fit. Adolescents consider various job and career
possibilities, they date and make friends with different kinds of
people, and they weigh the merits of alternative social, political,
economic, and religious attitudes. Because successful identity
formation requires an active effort to examine types of work, friends,
potential mates, and philosophies of life carefully before choosing
among them, young people typically vacillate for a time in what they
like to do and with whom.
5. The better developed their sense of identity has become, the more
fully people appreciate how they are similar to and different from
others, and the more clearly they recognize their assets and
limitations. The less well developed their identity, on the other hand,
the less well people comprehend their own distinctiveness, and the
more they need to rely on external opinions to evaluate themselves.
6. People who have a clear sense of their personal identity generally
feel good about themselves, work constructively toward well-defined
goals, seek out and feel comfortable in close relationships with
others, and remain relatively free of anxiety, depression, and other
symptoms of emotional distress. Identity confusion,on the other
hand, is often associated with low self-esteem, difficulties in setting
 and working effectively toward realistic goals, susceptibility to
becoming emotionally upset, and strained interpersonal
relationships.
7. Although achieving identity lends continuity and stability to people’s
lives, the process of identity formation never really ends.
Adolescence comes to a close with the establishment of fairly firm
commitments to ideological, occupational, and interpersonal
stances. However, most adults revise their identities from time to time
as they encounter new experiences and different roles, as, for
example, when they decide to make a career change or when they
first become a spouse, parent, boss, grandparent, widow, or retiree
(Adams, Gullotta, & Montemayor, 1992; Josselson,1989; Marcia,1980;
Waterman, 1982).

The manner in which young people progress in their identity formation can
be elaborated in terms of some discrete steps along the way, which are
known as identity statuses.
Adolescence typically begins in a status that Erikson called identity
diffusion. Diffusion is a state of affairs in which the person has not made
any firm commitments to an ideological, occupational, or interpersonal
stance and is not currently considering any such commitments. Any
tentative commitments that do occur tend to be short lived and quickly
replaced by other equally tentative commitments.
After they grow to know themselves physically, cognitively, interpersonally,
socially, and sexually, adolescents begin to reflect on the kinds of
long-term commitments they might like to make. Erikson labeled this state
of affairs an identity moratorium: Alternative choices are considered,
different roles are experimented with, and final decisions are deferred
during a period of active uncertainty.
Sometimes adolescents find that the uncertainty of contemplating
alternatives while deferring decisions about the future causes more
anxiety than they wish to endure. Then they may choose to remain in or
revert to a state of identity diffusion, in which they put aside thinking
about choices and commitments, or they may opt for what Erikson termed
identity foreclosure. In the foreclosure status the person latches onto a
convenient set of beliefs and life goals that comes along early, usually
through being suggested or modeled by someone else, without ever going
through a process of weighing other alternatives.
Adolescents who are able to shake themselves loose from identity diffusion
and to avoid identity foreclosure slowly work their way through a period of
identity moratorium until they settle on the relatively stable commitments
that constitute identity achievement. Compared to people whose identity is
foreclosed, and who have taken on commitments belonging to others,
those who achieve identity are more likely to experience a sense of
ownership in relation to the choices they have made.

Our understanding of this developmental progression has been advanced

by the availability of reliable instruments for measuring these four
identity statuses and by research on the personality characteristics that
are associated with each of them. Empirical research on identity formation
began with the development of the Identity Status Interview by Marcia in
1966. In this method of measuring identity status, subjects are asked a
series of questions designed to reveal the extent to which they are
considering or have made commitments to an occupational goal and to
political and religious beliefs and attitudes . The currently mostwidely used
such measure is the Extended Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status
(EOM-EIS) developed by Grotevant and Adams (1984).

Adolescense is a period of storm and stress - do u consider this

statement to be a myth- justify
Adolescence is the most important period of human life. It is the spring of human
life and is the important year in the total lifespan. This period is a bridge
between childhood and adulthood, and is characterised by rapid changes in
physical, mental, behavioural, social skills in almost all developmental
dimensions and in attitudes and beliefs. It is the age of growing to sexual
maturity, discovering one’s real self, defining personality values and finding one’s
vocational and social directions.
The first psychologist who systematically conducted research on adolescence
was Stanley Hall. According to him, “adolescence is a period of storm and stress.”
Dorothy Rogers defines adolescence as “a process rather than a period, a
process of achieving attitudes and belief needed for effective participation in the
society.” According to him, adolescence is not a separate, but a continuous
process of growth.
Eisenberg defined adolescence as “ a critical period of human development,
manifested at the biological psychological, social skills by internalization of
variable, onset and duration, but marking the end of childhood and setting the
foundation for maturity. ”
Summarising all the above definitions, we can say that adolescence is a
developmental stage in human life which begins with puberty – a time in life when
sexual maturity and attainment of emotional, Social and other aspects of adult
maturity occurs.

Bodily Changes:- The physical changes in adolescents shift them from their
childhood bodies to their adult bodies and toward the attainment of “fertility.”
Some of the physical changes that happen during adolescence are internal and
not visible, others can be seen easily by others. These obvious changes in the
body can affect how adults and peers of all sexes view and treat young people.
Though there are some differences between adolescent male and female, they
exhibit some common changes, most notably, growth spurts in height and weight,
and also body odor, acne, and body hair ect.
Boys
● Growth spurt. Children get taller, chest and shoulders get broader. Some
parts of the body like the head, face and hands – might grow faster than
the limbs and torso.
● The external genitals (penis, testes and scrotum) start to grow. The
hormone testosterone is produced. Erections and ejaculations (releasing
sperm) evident. During this period, erections often happen for no reason.
● body hair: Body hair starts to grow around the pubic area, under the arms,
and on the face. Leg and arm hair thicken
● The larynx gets larger, and their voice ‘break’, eventually becoming deeper.
Girls
● Growth spurt. Increase not only in height and weight but also increase in
fat in the hips, buttocks, thighs, legs, and stomach and causes a general
rounding of the figure.
● Breast development:. Breasts become fuller and nipples may change
shape,
● Body hair: Coarser hair grows in the genital area, under the arms, and on
the legs.
● Menstruation: A girl's first period, or menarche, usually occurs during
adolescence. At this time they reach to the sexual maturity.
● Skin conditions: The face takes on a softer look. However acne is a
common symptom and is caused by hormonal changes.
● Body odor: A new sweat gland develops in the armpit and genital area,
which can lead to body odor.

Reactions to bodily changes

With newly developed bodily changes the adolescent boys and girls start to act
differently. If the body changes in a desirable direction and causes popularity in
peer group adolescents feel confident and integrated. Homeliness in
appearance cause inferiority, loneliness and depression in the Adolescents.

Psychological changes
1. Intellectual Changes:
Intellectual capacity changes during this period and reaches to the
maximum level. Achievement in the field of education and other types of
intellectual activities becomes more prominent and efficient. This efficiency
sometimes becomes so high that it may lead to a type of conflict with social
educational authorities. Sometimes this conflict may lead to delinquent
behaviour. Adolescents who cannot perform up to the mark suffers inferiority
feeling and this may sometimes leads them to commit suicide, to leave home or to
give up education.

2. Personality Changes:
a) Desire for independence: Adolescents want to work independently
and express their independent view. Moreover, the adolescent often disregards
the daily routine and has a tendency to seek thrilling and sensational
experiences. This leads to desperate risk involving severe disregard of law and
convention. Parents usually don’t accept this spirit of independence and this
brings them into conflict with adolescents.
b) Identity Crisis: It's a time when children are more preoccupied with
trying to know themselves than at any other time in their lives. Seeking identity
involves searching for continuity, trying to get a clear sense of self. Formation of
identity helps teenagers to find meaning and relations between their values,
attitudes, interests, aspirations, and life goals. Adolescents who can't achieve a
sense of identity fail to reflect on his values, beliefs, and goals, and may face
confusion over what roles they can or should be playing in their life. This
produces strain, conflict in their mind.
c) Sexual urge: Adolescence is the time of sexual vulnerability. Adolescents
view involvement in sexual activities as a sign of maturity and as a status symbol
among adolescent peer groups. Masturbation is one of the most common
sources of problems in adolescence. As sex is looked upon as indecent and sex
talk as taboo in our society, the adolescent tries to receive sex information from
unscientific sources. Wrong information causes a sense of conflict, guilt, tension
and anxiety among adolescents
d) Socio Emotional changes: The emotional manifestations during this
period becomes more complicated due to accumulation of negative experiences
from the environment. The adolescent becomes capable of hiding his emotion
according to the situations. This hiding produces inner disturbances and more
conflicts with external authorities. In this stage the boundaries of the social
environment expands. Adolescents develop association with different persons.
They identify themselves with historical figures, politicians, or heroes of his
choice. The expansion of social boundaries widens the emotional attachment of
adolescents. That can cause conflicts with closest ones. The love and attachment
of the adolescents become most dramatic. They develop loving sentiments for
their parents, family members and motherland.
e) Religious Conflict: Religious consciousness appears during this stage
and quite often followed by an attitude of scepticism. Now they do not accept the
religious beliefs and values, or don't follow the religious rituals blindly without
questioning the authenticity of the teaching. This frequently leads to conflicts
with authorities.
f) Vocational selection: The major sources of stress entres around the
selection of vocation. The adolescents want to become independent. They like to
choose their own career goals and pathways to reach those goals. That causes
most of the time conflicts with the authority figures and in turn confusion in the
Adolescents. The sense of success during this period creates confidence and
failure causes doubts, frustrations resulting in tremendous pressure or storm in
the mind of adolescents.
g) Changing demand for love: Love is present in adolescence since birth.
The areas of love shift from age to age. In infancy, love is confined to the self and
as the child grows he begins to love siblings and other children of both the sexes
and in adolescence the love and adoration shifts to members of opposite sex with
sex motives. This change of attitudes produces inner conflict and conflicts with
authorities. Resolution of this conflict leads to the achievement of either
masculine or feminine social roles of the boys and girls.

3. Social Expectations:
As a child enters into adolescent society, parents expect him to think and act like
an adult for which he is not physically and intellectually mature. Shifting of roles
demands new adjustments in different social situations. The mental demands
together with the pressurised conditions of demands of society, causes stress in
adolescent's life.
However, sometimes when adolescents behave like adults, parents can't tolerate it.
Thus, the Adolescents fail to decide his status in social settings and failure to
meet social expectations results in emotional disturbances.

Hence, adolescence is a highly complex period when multiple changes cause

many demands on adolescents and if they fail to satisfy these demands, storms
and stresses result in.

However Hall's (1904) view that adolescence is a period of heightened "storm and
stress" is reconsidered in light of contemporary research. Contemporary
psychologists reject the view that adolescent storm and stress is universal and
inevitable (e.g., Eccles et al., 1993;Offer & Schonert-Reichl, 1992; Petersen et al., 1993;
Steinberg & Levine, 1997) Arnett, 1999 studied 3 key aspects: conflict with parents,
mood disruptions, and risk behavior. In all 3 areas, evidence supports a modified
storm-and-stress view that takes into account individual differences and cultural
variations. Not all adolescents experience storm and stress, but storm and stress
is more likely during adolescence than at other ages. Adolescent storms and
stress tends to be lower in traditional cultures than in the West but may increase
as globalization increases individualism. Similar issues apply to minority cultures
in American society