Question

Write a one to two page paper:

Describe how self-concept, self-understanding, and self-esteem change in adolescence.

Answer 1

Adolescence is a transitional stage between childhood and adulthood and is marked by various kind of changes in the lives of individuals including physical, cognitive, psychological and socio-cultural. The experience of adolescents during teen years would vary considerably according to the cultural and social values of the network of social identities they grow in. Physical and biological changes are universal and take place due to maturation but the psychosocial and behavioral manifestations are determined by the meaning given to these changes within a cultural system. These usually tend to determine how the child views himself/herself in their respective context and thereby create a lens to view themselves. This is called the self-concept. The developmental goals of the adolescent age therefore comprise of self identity and capacity for intimacy. The concept of adolescence as it is commonly understood as a period of storms and stress G. Stanley Hall of Clark University in the U.S.A . Subsequently the Adolescent Psychology with an emphasis on psychological upheaval during this stage dominated the literature for several decades. Erickson (1975) a well-known psychologist, viewed adolescence as a natural period of up rootedness in human life. Drawing a parallel between an adolescent and trapeze artist, he conceptualizes the young person as being in vigorous motion between two landings one representing childhood and the other adulthood, ‘who must let go his safe hold on childhood and reach out for a firm grasp on adulthood’. He also theorized adolescence as a stage of life during which inner identity is to be achieved and called it a period of identity crisis. The crisis term has been used by Erickson in a developmental sense to connote a ‘threat of catastrophe, but a turning point, a crucial period of increased potential (Erickson 1968). Adolescence is described by Erikson as the period during which the individual must establish a sense of personal identity and avoid the dangers of role diffusion and identity confusion (Erikson, 1950). Adolescents must answer questions for themselves about where they came from, who they are, and what they will become.

The search for an identity involves the production of a meaningful self-concept in which past, present, and future are linked together. Consequently, the task is more difficult in a historical period in which the past has lost the anchorage of family and community tradition, the present is characterized by social change, and the future has become less predictable.

According to Erikson, in a period of rapid social change, the older generation is no longer able to provide adequate role models for the younger generation. Even if the older generation can provide adequate role models, adolescents may reject them as inappropriate for their situation. Therefore, Erikson believes that the importance of the peer group cannot be overemphasized.

Peers help adolescents find answers to the question "Who Am I?" as they depend on social feedback as to what others feel and how they react to the individual. Therefore, this is a time when constructive feedback is an essential component for their growth, development and well-being.

Several lines of evidence suggest that the brain circuitry involved in emotional responses is changing during the teen years. Functional brain imaging studies, for example, suggest that the responses of teens to emotionally loaded images and situations are heightened relative to younger children and adults. This essentially makes them view themselves and the world around them from a different perspective.

Due to the increase in brain matter, the teen brain becomes more interconnected and gains processing power. Adolescents start to have the computational and decision-making skills of an adult –if given time and access to information.

But in the heat of the moment, their decision-making can be overly influenced by emotions, because their brains rely more on the limbic system (the emotional seat of the brain) than the more rational prefrontal cortex.

This duality of adolescent competence can be very confusing for parents, meaning that sometimes teens do things, like punch a wall or drive too fast, when, if asked, they clearly know better.

As teens become better at thinking abstractly, their social anxiety increases, Abstract reasoning makes it possible to consider oneself from the eyes of another. Teens may use this new skill to ruminate about what others are thinking of them. In particular, peer approval has been shown to be highly rewarding to the teen brain, which may be why teens are more likely to take risks when other teens are around. Friends also provide teens with opportunities to learn skills such as negotiating, compromise and group planning. "They are practicing adult social skills in a safe setting and they are really not good at it at first. So even if all they do is sit around with their friends, teens are hard at work acquiring important life skills. Moreover, puberty leads to a lot of physical and hormonal changes in their body that adds up to the turbulence that they already go through! Young people therefore need information about upcoming body changes and their significance at an earlier age so that they can cope with these physical and hormonal changes. Sex education at age 13 might be too late and needs to begin as early as the cognitive capacity to comprehend such facts begins. Sexuality therefore needs to be normalised rather than creating a taboo around the theme.