Essay and Critical Thinking Questions. Comprehension and Application Essay Questions

Comprehension and Application Essay Questions

 

We recommend that you follow either our guidelines for "Answering Essay and Critical Thinking Questions," or those provided by your instructor, when preparing your response to these questions. Your answers to these kinds of questions demonstrate an ability to comprehend and apply ideas discussed in this chapter.

 

1. Explain why physical development during puberty seems to cause so much more concern to individuals at this age than physical development does at any other ages.

2. Explain why it is difficult to know when puberty begins and ends.

3. Compare and contrast early- and late-maturers, and discuss positive and negative consequences for each type of individual.

4. Compare and contrast Piaget's views about concrete operational and formal thought.

5. Explain the concepts of adolescent egocentrism, imaginary audience, and personal fable. Include at least two original examples of each in your response.

6. Summarize what developmentalists know about decision making by children and adolescents.

7. Explain the controversy in secondary education regarding the back-to-basics movement and its alternative views.

8. Analyze your own middle school or junior high school. How did it rate in terms of the criteria for effective schools for adolescents discussed in this chapter?

9. List and describe the various problems and disorders that trouble adolescents.

10. Discuss some causes, consequences, and cures for juvenile delinquency.

11. How does the incidence of adolescent sexual activity and pregnancy in the United States and European countries compare and contrast.

12. Imagine that you are in a situation with a potentially suicidal individual. Explain what you should and should not do.

13. Define and distinguish between anorexia nervosa and bulimia.

14. Explain what it means to say that American society sends mixed messages about and to adolescents.

15. Define and give some examples of at-risk youth.

 

Chapter 13 Socioemotional Development in Adolescence

Summary

1.0 Images of Life-Span Development: A 15-Year-Old Girl's Self-Description

 

Virtually every adolescent believes his or her experiences and feelings are unique. The search for identity is one of the main tasks of adolescence.

 

2.0 Families

 

Autonomy and Attachment. Autonomy is an important issue for adolescents and one that is difficult for adults. Autonomy can exist in some, but not all areas. Secure attachment to the parents provides an environment that allows exploration of the environment, one that includes relationships with others. Secure attachment also appears to foster identity development and carries over into relationships with peers.

 

 

Parent-Adolescent Conflict. Conflict between parents and adolescents increases during this developmental period, and parents can cope with it in different ways. Some parents damp down after infractions whereas others realize that it takes a while for adolescents to mature and deal more commonly with transgressions, Changes in both the parents and adolescents may be responsible for the increasing conflict, which eventually decreases in late adolescence. Conflicts focus on normal, everyday activities such as schoolwork and chores, and probably serve a positive developmental function of promoting autonomy and identity. Intense family conflict occurs in about 1 of 5 families and contributes to various adolescent problems.

 

The Maturation of Adolescents and Parents. Physical, cognitive, and social changes in adolescents occur. At the same time, changes in parents occur regarding marital dissatisfaction, economic burdens, career revaluation, and health concerns. Both kinds of changes influence adolescent-parent conflicts.

 

3.0 Peers

 

Peer Pressure and Conformity. Peers are an important socializing agent during adolescence. The pressure to conform to the peer group during adolescence is greatest at about the eighth or ninth grade.

 

Cliques and Crowds. Peer group relationships can be characterized by crowds, cliques, and individual friendships. There are usually three to six well-defined cliques in every secondary school. Crowds are larger and more impersonal than cliques, which involve greater intimacy and more group cohesion than crowds. Membership in certain cliques (e.g., jocks and populars) is associated with increased self-esteem; however, independents also display high self-esteem.

 

Adolescent Groups Versus Children Groups. Adolescent groups are different from groups of younger children. Adolescent groups are larger and more heterogeneous than younger children's groups and entail rules and regulations. Adolescent groups are also more likely to include both males and females than groups of younger children. Ethnic minority adolescents often have two sets of peer relationships, one at school and one in their home community. Dexter Dunphy observed mat the development of adolescent groups proceeds through five stages.

 

Dating. Dating, an important aspect of peer relationships for adolescents; serves various functions such as recreation, a source for status, learning about close relationships, and mate selection, In the United States, most girls begin dating around age 14, and most boys begin between ages 14 to 15. Females show more interest in personality exploration and self-disclosure than males. Dating varies cross-culturally,

 

4.0 Culture and Adolescent Development

 

Cross-Cultural Comparisons and Rites of Passage. Studies of adolescence has been overly ethnocentric, and must incorporate culture and ethnicity to remain relevant. Cross-cultural studies demonstrate to what extend adolescent development is universal or culture-specific Rites of passage mark transitions from one status to another, especially from childhood to adulthood. In some cultures, these occur at the onset of puberty and are well-defined. Graduation from high school and sexual intercourse provide the closest things to rites of passage in the United States, but the transition to adulthood is generally ambiguous.

 

Ethnicity. Much research on ethnic minority adolescents has not separated the influences of ethnicity and social class. Thus, many existing explanations really involve socioeconomic influences rather than ethnic influences. Poverty contributes to the stress of many ethnic minority families. Recognizing the legitimate differences between ethnic minorities and the White majority is important to cooperative living in an increasingly diverse, multicultural world. Ethnic groups are diverse rather than homogenous, and have experienced rather different social, historical, and economic backgrounds. Failure to recognize this diversity often produces stereotypes of an ethnic minority group. Value conflicts often characterize ethnic issues. One prominent value conflict concerns the alternatives of assimilation versus pluralism. One way to resolve value issues about sociocultural issues is to reconceptualize them in creative ways.

 

5.0 Identity

 

Erikson's theory provides a comprehensive theory of identity development. Identity versus identity confusion is the fifth stage in Erikson's life-cycle theory. During adolescence, world views become important and the adolescent enters a psychological moratorium, a gap between childhood security and adult autonomy.

 

Some Contemporary Thoughts about Identity. Identity is a major developmental task for adolescents. The process is lengthy and quite complex. Erikson believes that adolescents actively seek an identity and try out many different possibilities before committing to occupational choices, political, religious, moral, and sexual values and attitudes.

 

The Four Statuses of Identity. James Marcia has identified four different statuses of identity for adolescents: (a) Identity achieved describes individuals who have gone through an identity crisis and made commitments, (b) Individuals in the moratorium status are in the middle of a crisis and have not yet made a commitment, (c) Individuals experiencing identity foreclosure have made commitments without having gone through a crisis, (d) Identity-diffused individuals have not experienced an identity crisis and have made no commitments.

 

Developmental Changes. Identity development is a lengthy process. Some experts believe that the main identity changes occur late in adolescence or youth rather than in early adolescence. College upperclassmen are more likely to be identity achieved than freshmen or high school students; however, many struggle with ideological commitments. Individuals often follow "moratorium-achievement-moratorium-achievement."

 

Family Influences on Identity. Parents are important figures in an adolescents' identity development. Democratic parenting facilitates identity development whereas autocratic and permissive parenting does not. Both connectedness to parents and a family environment supportive of individuation may facilitate identity achievement. Enabling behaviors promote identity development more than constraining behaviors.

 

Cultural and Ethnic Aspects of Identity. An individual's culture affects development of identity. Erikson is particularly sensitive to the role of culture in identity development. For example, he notes that ethnic minority groups have struggled to maintain their cultural identities while blending into the dominant culture. Adolescence is a special juncture in the identity development of ethnic minority individuals because they consciously confront their ethnic identity for the first time.

 

Gender and Identity Development. Erikson argued for sex differences in identity development. More recent studies have shown that females growing interest in vocations have turned sex differences into similarities. Others argue, however, that emotional bonds and relationships are more fundamental to the identity development of females than males. Moreover, the development of female identity is more complex than that of males.

 

 

6.0 Contemporary Concerns

 

Sociocultural Worlds of Development 13.1: Education and the Development of Ethnic Minority Adolescents. Although parental attitudes and behavior influence school performance by adolescents, more than parenting styles are involved in the school performance of ethnic minority adolescents. One after-school tutoring program in Washington, DC has helped many ethnic minority adolescents do better in school.

 

Sociocultural Worlds of Development 13.2: 77ie Development of Identity in Native American Youth. Native American youth are often at risk for school failure and poor health that relate to substandard living conditions, poverty, and chronic unemployment.

 

Perspectives on Parenting and Education 13.1: Strategies for Reducing Parent-Adolescent Conflict. Laurence Steinberg recommends collaborative problem solving as a way to reduce parent-adolescent conflict. Such collaborative problem solving entails six basic steps that range from establishing ground rules to follow-up conversations.

 

Life-Span Practical Knowledge 13.1: Between Parent and Teenager. Haim Ginott has written a highly recommended book for parents who want to communicate more effectively with their teenagers. The author presents a number of common sense solutions and strategies.

 

Life-Span Practical Knowledge 13.2: The Adolescent and Young Adult Fact Book. Janet Simons, Belva Finlay, and Alice Yang document the roles that poverty and ethnicity play in adolescent development. The book also emphasizes prevention and intervention programs.

 

Life-Span Health and Well-Being: Explorations in Education, Work, and Identity Development. One goal is to develop programs for youth that promote active and realistic exploration of educational and occupational choices. This approach encourages recognition of the positive benefits of competence in domains other than education.

 

Key Terms

 

1.0 Images of Life-Span Development: A 15-Year-Old Girl's Self Description

 

 2.0 Families

autonomy                                                                                   

attachment

everyday conflicts

 

3.0 Peers

peer pressure

crowd                                                                                                                   

cliques

groups

dating

 

4.0 Culture and Adolescent Development

cross-cultural studies

rites of passage

ethnicity

model minority

diversity

prejudice

discrimination

bias

values conflict

assimilation

pluralism

 

5.0 Identity

crisis

commitment

identity diffusion

identity foreclosure

identity moratorium

identity achievement

individuation

connectedness

enabling behaviors

constraining behaviors

 

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