Adolescent Psychology Identity

1
Adolescent Psychology - Identity

• How might adolescents establish a stable identity
  and what challenges do they face in achieving
  this aim?

2
Adolescent Identity Development

• Sexual development
• Sexual experience
• Appropriate Image
• Body shape
• Being Cool
• Social Cultural identity

3
Erik Erikson (1902-1994)

• Each stage of development presents a crisis
• Each crisis has a healthy path and an unhealthy
  path
• Adolescence identity vs. role-confusion

4
The Secular Trend of Sexual Development

• Today we reach puberty much earlier than people
  did in the 18th Century
• Why would this trend exist?

5
Advertising Broader Culture

• How do prior beliefs expectations of
  menstruation relate to menarche distress?
• Early maturing girls are treated very differently
  than those who have late menarche
• Many young girls fear menstruation
• Generally spoken of as an embarrassment

6
How happy are men with the size of their penis?
7
Apache Sunrise Ceremony

• Pre-industrialized societies
• Puberty marks adult status biologically
• Initiation rites mark adult status socially

8
Margaret Mead

• Postfigurative culture rate of technological
  change is very slow
• Cofigurative culture technological change is
  rapid

9
Epitome of Angst-Ridden Teenager

• Film struck a chord resistance to
  school/parents, and authority in general
• Also highlighted inadequacies of parents
  authorities

10
First Sexual Experience

• 4yrs from kiss-coitus
• Masturbation experiences (differ by gender)
• Perceived pressure to have sex increases with
  increasing age

11
Body Image

• How do we feel about our size?
• How do we develop a body-image how soon do we
  do it?
• 89 of all female respondents wanted to lose
  weight

12

• 25 years ago, the top models weighed 8 less than
  the norm now they weigh 26 less.
• Media positively reinforces certain images (and
  creates the ideal body shape).

13
Men The Drive for Muscularity
14
Body Image Men

• I dont want to say it, but its true. Its like
  Im a woman. My sense of self-esteem too often
  depends upon how I see my body

15
Michael Brake

• Image dress, hairstyle, jewelry, etc that are
  distinctive to the youth group
• (e.g., eyebrow ring, dummy in mouth)

16
Michael Brake

• Demeanour distinctive form of gesture, gait, and
  posture (e.g., swagger of punks, high fives, etc)
• Argot certain vocabulary and way of speaking,
  dude.

17
Why Are There So Many Youth Subcultures Now?

• Youth challenge the social order less now
• Dominant culture is far from impressive
• No longer just ONE code of morals/values

18
James Marcia

• Early period of destructuring where we
  reconsider ones childhood values/identities
• Mid-Late period of restructuring where we
  explore and make decisions
• Late-Adult period of consolidation where we test
  our identities

19
Identity Development Among Ethnic Minorities

• Does identity reflect the majority culture or
  the values of the minority culture?
• Lighten Your Dark Skinbe Attractive

20
Disidentification

• If you withdraw from an area in which society
  expects you to fail
• Women and maths careers
• Black children and scholastic achievement

21
Identify With the Majority Culture the Ethnic
Group

• Identification
• Bicultural high majority/high ethnic
• Assimilated high majority/low ethnic
• Separated low majority/high ethnic
• Marginal low majority/low ethnic