From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Adolescent Psychology addresses the specific
issues of adolescents.
Adolescence
Adolescence, the transitional stage of development
between
childhood and
adulthood, represents the period of time during
which a person experiences a variety of biological
changes and encounters a number of emotional issues. The
ages which are considered to be part of adolescence vary
by culture, and ranges from
preteens to nineteen years. According to the
World Health Organization (WHO), adolescence covers
the period of life between 10 and 20 years of age.
Adolescence is often divided by psychologists into three
distinct phases: early, mid and late adolescence.
Background
Adolescence can be a specifically turbulent as well
as a dynamic period of one's life. Adolescence
psychology addresses the issues associated with
adolescence, such as whether or not the aforementioned
"storm and stress" is a normal part of this period. The
American Psychological Association has a separate
division dedicated to adolescence, and the
psychologists specializing in this topic attempt to
answer questions dealing with the age group. One issue
in adolescent psychology discusses whether adolescence
is in fact a discrete developmental period, a point
along a continuum of human development, or a social
construction.
Psychological issues
Psychological issues of adolescents may include:
- Tendency and possibility of drug and alcohol
use.
- The emotional instability among some adolescents
also sometimes causes
youth crime.
- Searching for a unique
identity is one of the problems that adolescents
often face. At this age, role models such as
sports players,
rock stars and
movie and
television performers are very popular, and
adolescents often express a desire to be like their
chosen
role model.
Relationships with Peers
- "90% of adolescent identify themselves with a
peer group" (Palmonari, 1989)
- If peers give emotional support, adolescents in
a peer group are less likely to be depressed or have
anxiety. Depressed individuals may find it difficult
to make friends (Buhrmester, 1992)
- Conformity peaks at 11-13 years (Costanzo and
Shaw 1966)
- Studied behavior and the influence of peers,
results note that
pro-social behavior occurs when encouraged.
Peaks at 11-12 years or possibly anti-social 14-15
years (Bendt, 1979)
- Group socialism: "we are shaped more by our
peers than our parents as we often see identical
twins who behave differently" (Harris 1997)
