Chapter 16: Adolescence: Psychosocial Development

adolescence-limited offender

A person whose criminal activity stops by age 21.

life-course-persistent offender

A person whose criminal activity typically begins in early adolescence and continues throughout life; a career criminal.

First love

-Adolescents choose and are chosen by romantic partners, and then together they affect almost everything—not only sexual interactions but also music preferences, college plans, tattoos, and so on. -Exclusive commitment is the ideal, but the fluidity and rapidity of the selection process mitigate against permanency. "Cheating," flirting, switching, and disloyalty are rife. Breakups are common, as are unreciprocated crushes. -Emotions range from exhilaration to despair, leading to impulsive sex, cruel revenge, and deep depression. Peer support can be vital: Friends help adolescents cope with romantic ups and downs

Drug use and age trends

-Although drug use increases every year from ages 10 to 21, one drug follows another pattern—inhalants (fumes from aerosol containers, glue, cleaning fluid, etc.). -Sadly, the youngest adolescents are most likely to try inhalants, because inhalants are easiest to get and the adolescents' cognitive immaturity makes them less likely to understand the risk of one-time use—brain damage and even death.

gender dysphoria

-Among Western psychiatrists in former decades, people who had "a strong and persistent cross-gender identification" were said to have gender identity disorder, a serious diagnosis according to DSM-IV. -However, the DSM-5 instead describes gender dysphoria, when people are distressed at their biological gender. This is not simply a change in words: A "disorder" means something is amiss with the individual, no matter how he or she feels about it, whereas in dysphoria the problem is in the distress, which can be mitigated by social conditions and/or by perception

Breaking the Law

-Confidential self-reports suggest that most adolescents (male or female) break the law at least once before age 20. - Boys are three times as likely as girls to be caught, arrested, and convicted. In general, youth of minority ethnic groups, and low-SES families, are more likely to be arrested. -Regarding gender, it is true that boys are more overtly aggressive and rebellious at every age, but this may be nurture, not nature. -Some studies find that female aggression is typically limited to family and friends, and it is therefore less likely to lead to an arrest. -There are many reasons that a young person might confess falsely: Brain immaturity makes them less likely to consider long-term consequences, and sometimes they prioritize protecting family members, defending friends, and pleasing adults—including the police

Harm of drugs

-Few adolescents notice when they or their friends move past use (experimenting) to abuse (experiencing harm) and then to addiction (needing the drug to avoid feeling nervous, anxious, sick, or in pain). -Each drug is harmful in a particular way. An obvious negative effect of tobacco is that it impairs digestion and nutrition, slowing down growth. -Since internal organs continue to mature after the height spurt, drug-using teenagers who appear to be fully grown may damage their developing hearts, lungs, brains, and reproductive systems.

From the media

-Many adolescents learn about sex from the media. The Internet is a common source. -Unfortunately, Web sites are often frightening (featuring pictures of diseased sexual organs) or mesmerizing (containing pornography), and young adolescents are particularly naive. -Media consumption peaks at puberty. The television shows and videos most watched by teenagers include sexual content almost seven times per hour -Adolescents with intense exposure to sexual content on the screen and in music are more often sexually active, but the direction of this correlation is controversial -Instead, the sexual media may increase an adolescent's focus on external appearance and seeing the body as an object, which may lead to greater sexual activity. -One analysis concludes that "the most important influences on adolescents' sexual behavior may be closer to home than to Hollywood"

Marijuana

-Marijuana seems harmless to many people (especially teenagers), partly because users seem more relaxed than inebriated. Yet adolescents who regularly smoke marijuana are more likely to drop out of school, become teenage parents, be depressed, and later be unemployed. -It seems that marijuana affects memory, language proficiency, and motivation—all of which are especially crucial during adolescence -Many developmentalists fear that more acceptance of marijuana among adults will lead to less learning, reduced motivation, and poorer health among teenagers. -As noted, some people suggest that the connection between drug use (including cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, and illegal drugs) and later low achievement and poor health are correlations, not causes.

Sex education

-Millions of teenagers worry that they are oversexed, undersexed, or deviant, unaware that thousands, maybe millions, of people are just like them. -As a result, "students seem to waffle their way through sexually relevant encounters driven both by the allure of reward and the fear of negative consequences"

political identity

-Parents also influence their children's political identity. In the twenty-first century in the United States, more adults identify as independent than Republican, Democrat, or any other party. -Their teenage children reflect their lack of party affiliation. Some adolescents proudly say that they do not care about politics, echoing the parents' generation without realizing it. -Adolescents tend to be more liberal than their parents, especially on social issues (LGBTQ rights, reproduction, the environment), but major political shifts do not usually occur until later

ethnic identity

-Related to political identity is ethnic identity, a topic not discussed by Erikson. -Many of them also have ancestors of another ethnic group. Although official government categories are very broad, teenagers forging their personal ethnic identity must become more specific. - No teenager adopts, wholesale, their ancestors' identity, but every one reflects, somehow, their family's history.

Two kind of teenage law breakers

1. Most juvenile delinquents are adolescence-limited offenders, whose criminal activity stops by age 21. They break the law with their friends, facilitated by their chosen antisocial peers. 2. Some delinquents are life-course-persistent offenders, who break the law before and after adolescence as well as during it. Their lawbreaking is more often done alone than as part of a gang, and the cause is neurological impairment (either inborn or caused by early experiences). Symptoms include not only childhood defiance but also early problems with language and learning.

Gender Identity

A person's acceptance of the roles and behaviors that society associates with the biological categories of male and female. -A person's acceptance of the roles and behaviors that society associates with the biological categories of male and female. -Gender identity often (not always) begins with the person's biological sex and leads to a gender role, but many adolescents (who reach the questioning stage of hypothetical reasoning that Piaget described) question aspects of gender roles. -Fluidity and uncertainty regarding sexuality and gender is particularly common during early adolescence, which adds to the difficulty of self-acceptance.

role confusion

A situation in which an adolescent does not seem to know or care what his or her identity is. (Sometimes called identity or role diffusion.) -Erikson originally called this identity diffusion to emphasize that some adolescents seem diffuse, unfocused, and unconcerned about their future. ^ Perhaps worse, adolescents in role confusion see no goals or purpose in their life, and thus they flounder, unable to move forward

sexual orientation

A term that refers to whether a person is sexually and romantically attracted to others of the same sex, the opposite sex, or both sexes. -One meaning of orient is "to turn toward"; thus, sexual orientation refers to whether a person is romantically attracted to (turned on by) people of the other sex, the same sex, or both sexes. -Sexual orientation can be strong, weak, overt, secret, or unconscious. -Obviously, culture and cohort are powerful (Bailey et al., 2016). Some cultures accept youth who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender ^Other cultures criminalize them, even killing them -Worldwide, many gay youths date members of the other sex to hide their orientation; deception puts them at risk for binge drinking, suicidal thoughts, and drug use. -However, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth have a higher risk of depression and anxiety, for reasons from every level of Bronfenbrenner's ecological-systems approach -Sexual orientation is surprisingly fluid during the teen years. Girls often recognize their orientation only after their first sexual experiences; many adult lesbians had other-sex relationships in adolescence

Alcohol

Alcohol is the most frequently abused drug in North America. Heavy drinking impairs memory and self-control by damaging the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex, perhaps distorting the reward circuits of the brain lifelong -Adolescence is a particularly sensitive period, because the regions of the brain that are connected to pleasure are more strongly affected by alcohol during adolescence than at later ages. That makes teenagers less conscious of the "intoxicating, aversive, and sedative effects" of alcohol

moratorium

An adolescent's choice of a socially acceptable way to postpone making identity-achievement decisions. Going to college is a common example. -a time-out that includes some exploration, either in breadth (trying many things) or in depth (following one path but with a tentative, temporary commitment). Moratoria are rare before age 18,

parasuicide

Any potentially lethal action against the self that does not result in death. (Also called attempted suicide or failed suicide.) -Suicidal ideation can lead to parasuicide, also called attempted suicide or failed suicide. -Parasuicide includes any deliberate self-harm that could have been lethal. -Parasuicide is the best word to use because "failed" suicide implies that to die is to succeed (!). - Suicide "attempt" is likewise misleading because, especially in adolescence, the difference between attempt and completed suicide may be luck and prompt treatment, not intent.

deviancy training

Destructive peer support in which one person shows another how to rebel against authority or social norms. -To further understand the impact of peers, examination of two concepts is helpful: selection and facilitation. -Teenagers select friends whose values and interests they share, abandoning former friends who follow other paths. -Then, friends facilitate destructive or constructive behaviors. It is easier to do wrong ("Let's all skip school on Friday") or right ("Let's study together for the chem exam") with friends. - Peer facilitation helps adolescents do things they are unlikely to do alone.

peer pressure

Encouragement to conform to one's friends or contemporaries in behavior, dress, and attitude; usually considered a negative force, as when adolescent peers encourage one another to defy adult authority. -the idea that peers will push a teenager to do something that adults disapprove, such as using drugs or breaking laws. - It is true that adolescents are influenced by their friends, but peer pressure can be more helpful than harmful. -This is especially true in early adolescence, when adults do not seem to understand biological and social stresses. -Peers may be particularly important for adolescents of minority and immigrant groups as they strive to achieve ethnic identity (not confused or foreclosed). -The larger society provides stereotypes and prejudice; parents seem stuck in past prejudices, although, ideally, they also describe ethnic heroes; and then peers help with self-esteem.

4 arenas of identity

Erikson (1968/1994) highlighted four aspects of identity: religious, political, vocational, and sexual. -Terminology and timing have changed, yet the crucial question remains: Does the person ponder the possibilities and actively seek an identity

foreclosure

Erikson's term for premature identity formation, which occurs when an adolescent adopts his or her parents' or society's roles and values wholesale, without questioning or analysis. -They might follow customs transmitted from their parents or culture, never exploring alternatives. -Or they might foreclose on an oppositional, negative identity—the direct opposite of whatever their parents want—again without thoughtful questioning. Foreclosure is comfortable. -For many, it is a temporary shelter, to be followed by more exploration

identity achievement

Erikson's term for the attainment of identity, or the point at which a person understands who he or she is as a unique individual, in accord with past experiences and future plans.

identity versus role confusion

Erikson's term for the fifth stage of development, in which the person tries to figure out "Who am I?" but is confused as to which of many possible roles to adopt.

Closeness within the family

Family closeness may be crucial. Specifically: 1. Communication (Do family members talk openly with one another?) 2. Support (Do they rely on one another?) 3. Connectedness (How emotionally close are they?) 4. Control (Do parents encourage or limit adolescent autonomy?)

major depression

Feelings of hopelessness, lethargy, and worthlessness that last two weeks or more. -Some adolescents sink into major depression, a deep sadness and hopelessness that disrupts all normal, regular activities. -The causes, including genes and early care, predate adolescence. Then the onset of puberty—with its myriad physical and emotional ups and downs—pushes some vulnerable children, especially girls, into despair.

Delinquency and Defiance

Like low self-esteem and suicidal ideation, bouts of anger are common in adolescence. In fact, a moody adolescent could be both depressed and delinquent because externalizing and internalizing behavior are closely connected during these years -Externalizing actions are obvious. Many adolescents slam doors, curse parents, and tell friends exactly how badly other teenagers (or siblings or teachers) have behaved.

Religious Identity

Most adolescents begin to question some aspects of their faith, but their religious identity is similar to that of their parents. -Few reject religion if they have grown up following a particular faith, especially if they have a good relationship with their parents -They may express their religious identity more devoutly.

Psychoactive drugs `

Most teenagers try psychoactive drugs, that is, drugs that activate the brain. Cigarettes, alcohol, and many prescription medicines are as addictive and damaging as illegal drugs such as cocaine and heroin.

Decreasing teen crime

No explanation for this decline is accepted by all scholars. Among the possibilities: 1. fewer high school dropouts (more education means less crime); 2. wiser judges (using more community service than prison); better policing (arrests for misdemeanors are up, which may warn parents); 3. better policing (arrests for misdemeanors are up, which may warn parents); 4. smaller families (parents are more attentive to each of 2 children than each of 12); 5. better contraception and legal abortion (wanted children are less likely to become criminals); 6.stricter drug laws (binge drinking and crack use increase crime); 7. more immigrants (who are more law-abiding); 8. less lead in the blood (early lead poisoning reduces brain functioning); and more.

From parents to educators

Parents should not shy away from discussions about sex, but honest conversation between parent and child provides better protection than detailed sex-related discussion. -Especially when parents are silent, forbidding, or vague, adolescent sexual behavior is strongly influenced by peers. -Some schools begin sex education in the sixth grade; others wait until senior year of high school. Some middle school sex-education programs successfully increase condom use and delay the age when adolescents become sexually active, but other programs have no impact -One controversy has been whether sexual abstinence should be taught as the only acceptable strategy. It is true, of course, that abstaining from sex (including oral and anal sex) prevents STIs, and that abstinence precludes pregnancy, but longitudinal data on abstinence-only education, four to six years after adolescents were taught, are disappointing.

Parental monitoring

Parents' ongoing awareness of what their children are doing, where, and with whom. -that is, parental knowledge about each child's whereabouts, activities, and companions. -Many studies have shown that when parental knowledge is the result of a warm, supportive relationship, adolescents are likely to become confident, well-educated adults, avoiding drugs and risky sex. - However, if the parents are cold, strict, and punitive, monitoring may lead to rebellion.

rumination

Repeatedly thinking and talking about past experiences; can contribute to depression. —talking about, brooding, and mentally replaying past experiences. Girls ruminate much more than boys, and rumination often leads to depression -However, when rumination occurs with a close friend after a stressful event, the friend's support may be helpful

cluster suicides

Several suicides committed by members of a group within a brief period. -That makes them susceptible to cluster suicides, which are several suicides within a group over a brief span of time. -For that reason, media portrayals of a tragic suicide may inadvertently trigger more deaths.

Causes of Delinquency

Strong and protective social relationships, emotional regulation, and moral values from childhood keep many teenagers from jail. In early adolescence, three signs predict delinquency: 1. Stubbornness can lead to defiance, which can lead to running away. Runaways are often victims as well as criminals (e.g., falling in with prostitutes and petty thieves). 2. Shoplifting can lead to arson and burglary. Things become more important than people. 3. Bullying can lead to assault, rape, and murder.

Familism

The belief that family members should support one another, sacrificing individual freedom and success, if necessary, in order to preserve family unity and protect the family from outside forces. -Parent-child conflict is less evident in cultures that stress familism, the belief that family members should sacrifice personal freedom and success to care for one another.

Depression

The general emotional trend from early childhood to early adolescence is toward less confidence and higher rates of depression. -Then, gradually, self-esteem increases in late adolescence and early adulthood. -A dip in self-esteem at puberty is found for children of every ethnicity and gender -Self-esteem tends to be higher in boys than girls, African Americans than European Americans, who themselves have higher self-esteem than Asian Americans. - All studies find notable variability among people the same age, yet continuity within each person. Severe depression may lift, but it rarely disappears. Context and values matter.

generational forgetting

The idea that each new generation forgets what the previous generation learned. As used here, the term refers to knowledge about the harm drugs can do. -Mistrust of the older generation, added to loyalty to one's peers, leads not only to generational forgetting but also to a backlash. -When adults forbid something, that is a reason to try it, especially if the adolescent realizes that some adults exaggerate the dangers. If a friend passes out from drug use, adolescents may hesitate to get medical help.

suicidal ideation

Thinking about suicide, usually with some serious emotional and intellectual or cognitive overtones. -More than one-third (40 percent) of U.S. high school girls felt so hopeless that they stopped doing some usual activities for two weeks or more in the previous year (an indication of depression), and nearly one-fourth (23 percent) seriously thought about suicide.

Vocational identity

Vocational identity originally meant envisioning oneself as a worker in a particular occupation. -Choosing a future career made sense for teenagers a century ago, when most girls became housewives and most boys became farmers, small businessmen, or factory workers. -Those few in professions were mostly generalists (doctors did family medicine, lawyers handled all kinds of cases, teachers taught all subjects). -Early vocational identity is no longer appropriate. No teenager can realistically choose among the tens of thousands of careers; most adults change vocations (not just employers) many times. -Currently, vocational identity is best seen as a dynamic, flexible path: Adults eventually find a career, or, even better, a calling, that can lead to a variety of specific jobs -It is a myth that having a job will keep teenagers out of trouble and establish vocational identity. ^Research that controlled for SES found that adolescents who are employed more than 20 hours a week during the school year tend to quit school, fight with parents, smoke cigarettes, and hate their jobs—not only when they are teenagers but also later on (although sometimes work that is steady and not too time-consuming may be beneficial)