Role of Family in Adolescent Development

2318 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The role of self-identity in the adolescent life stage

Adolescence is a significant developmental period for teenagers because of the adaptations they are forced to comply with including physical, emotional, cognitive, and social changes. Adolescents are given various developmental tasks that are often difficult to perform while they are facing stressors such as these changes. One task involves finding one’s self or identity. The adolescent’s identity is a construction of drives, abilities, beliefs, and individual history (Marcia, 1980). In addition to searching for personal identity, it is important for the adolescent to establish autonomy within his/her social context. As their peer interactions change, their family relationships do as well. However, the family context is very important in regard to adolescent development. The relationship quality between adolescents and their families greatly influence their self-esteem, ability to adjust, and relationships with others. Conversely, the relationship quality between adolescents and their families is often influenced by the number, birth order, and age spacing of siblings within the family. It is crucial that families grasp an understanding of this developmental period to help adolescents adjust through these various changes. This poses the question: What role does family play in adolescent development?

It is important to consider the environment in which an adolescent is raised. Parenting styles assist in explaining adolescent behavior. If an adolescent is raised in a safe and secure environment with parents that exhibit authoritative characteristics fostering an open and warm atmosphere, the adolescents are more psychosocially mature and competent (Yeh, 2003). These types of parents balance two very important tasks; they help to p...

... middle of paper ...

... interviewees, there is potential for bias which could significantly skew the data that I collected. Lastly, it would have been more beneficial to interview a sibling of the adolescent. I could have then explored the perspectives from all three roles within the family—the parent, sibling, and adolescent.

From my conducted research and interviews, I have concluded that parents act as the most influential force during adolescent development. More research is needed in the field of how siblings play a role in adolescent development. Adolescents exhibit behaviors based on the influences that emerge from the context of the home. This environment incorporates many different factors including the number, age spacing, and birth order of siblings within the family. These factors, along with parenting patterns, serve as a bidirectional relationship in adolescent development.

Show More
Related

  • Struggles of a Vietnamese American Adolescent

    2961 Words  | 6 Pages

    Young, P. (1991). “Families with adolescents,” in F. Brown (Ed.), Reweaving the Family Tapestry, (New York: Norton), pp. 131-148.

    Read More

  • The Influence Of Adolescence In The Breakfast Club

    645 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lastly, we look at identity without knowing it adolescents are searching for the answers to the question, “who am I?”. Although this is an important part of development for this stage it didn’t just being in this stage nor do adolescents have the capability to figure it all out. While growing up children are pushed one way or another by parents and peers some are pushed towards academics while others athletics. But how influential are parents and peers?

    Read More

  • The Goonies Movie Essay

    1067 Words  | 3 Pages

    We are introduced to adolescence in the 5th stage of development. Adolescence begins for boys around the age of 14 and continues up until the age of 21 years of age. At this stage of development, there are many changes that occur emotionally, physically, sexually and spiritually (McGoldrick, Carter, & Garcia Preto, 2011). At this time, adolescent kids are going through changes in their body. They are dealing with coming into their own sexuality. Skills pertaining to social skills and social relationships are being developed through experience. Adolescents are also increasing their skills of physical and mental coordination, such as learning about the world and working on their own coordination. Adolescence is also characterized by learning their own identity and where they fit in the world, as well as learning their relationship with peers and those around them. Spiritual identity is also developed along with a deeper understanding of life. Independence is something that is also weighing on the mind of an adolescent. Overall changes in the family structure can also occur when a child of this age reaches this

    Read More

  • Who is to Blame for Sibling Incest?

    1311 Words  | 3 Pages

    Their conclusion is that family dynamics have a key role in creating the context where sibling

    Read More

  • Social Support Essay

    845 Words  | 2 Pages

    The relationships with one’s family are typically the first an individual experiences, thus providing a foundation for identity formation. Consistent with Erikson’s model of identity development, Bosma and Kunnen (2001) suggest the outcomes of earlier developmental crises impacts the search for one’s identity. For example, positive outcomes from previous life challenges are more likely to produce a positive outcome in identity formation. In the early stages, parents help the individual develop a sense of trust by providing resources (e.g. food, water, shelter, etc.) and comfort when the individual enters the world. Similarly, the family also fosters autonomy and initiative in children when they allow children to make appropriate decisions and engage in new activities. Since family members play such a crucial role in the early experiences of children, it is easy to see the role that familial support plays in the formation of an individual’s identity. Successful negotiation of the early crises depends on support from the

    Read More

  • My Virtual Teen

    1187 Words  | 3 Pages

    Teen years are the most complicated and overwhelming years of a child's life. Every teen goes through different stages while they are in the transition in becoming into an adolescent. For the Virtual Teen program I had a teen daughter, she was very outgoing and social. She enjoyed trying new things and was very involved in school. She also did well academically, and was part of the gifted program at her school. She lives with both her biological parents and a younger sister. Her relationship with her sister was like any sister relationship, they had little arguments once in a while but where are able to easily resolve on their own. As she transitioned to her teen years, she went through many stages like puberty, school transition and experimentation on new things like alcohol. As she went through those stages, there was a lot of changes in her life like adjusting to her body as it changed though puberty and adjusting to a new enviroment while she transitioned to high school. Those changes became very familiar for me because as an adolescent I also went through those stages which made it easier for me to the choises that would help her to get through these difficult years.

    Read More

  • Rochester Youth Development Study: Relationship Between Family and Juvenile Delinquency

    1065 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to Krohn, Hall, & Lizotte (2009) changes in the structure of a family can be very disruptive in the positive development of adolescents who live within these families. The impact of these transitions is very detrimental to children of all ages. The problems among the situations with family, school, and social settings cause an increased chance of delinquent behaviors. In a sample done by (2009) that consisted of 646 boys and girls from the Rochester Youth Development Study they founded that there is little evidence to support the claim of direct or indirect effect of family t...

    Read More

  • Grief In Adolescence Essay

    1267 Words  | 3 Pages

    Adolescence is described as the period between childhood and adulthood. Loss of a sibling during teenage years intensifies matters related to the usual challenges of adolescence. Teenagers are capable of understanding death the way adults do, however their ways of grieving is related to both adults and children. Adolescents suffer more in the event of loss of a sibling than children do, because teens have developed their way of thinking.

    Read More

  • Comparison of Parenting Styles

    942 Words  | 2 Pages

    It can be said for most parents that they want their children to grow up to be successful contributing members of society. Being a parent is a difficult, yet rewarding task. But why do some types of parenting result in juvenile delinquency while others find success. There are four generally recognized parenting styles and are categorized: authoritarian, permissive, neglectful, and authoritative. This essay will break down the various styles, its type(s) of discipline and effectiveness.

    Read More

  • The Psychology of Parenting Styles

    1484 Words  | 3 Pages

    Would you have come out different if your parents used a different parenting style? If you are considered “cool” now could you have come out a nerd if your parents would have used a different parenting style? “Parenting style is one of the primary determinants of your child’s outcome whether he succeeds, achieves, meets the challenges, flounders, gives up, or runs from or fails in handling life.” (6) The purpose of this paper is to describe the outcomes, processes, labor, and techniques of parenting in a psychological point of view. Parenting styles are defined as the “manner in which parents express their beliefs on how to be a good or bad parent.” (4) Each parenting style has its weaknesses and strengths. All parents incorporate love and limit in their style of parenting. There are four different types of parenting styles: authoritarian, permissive, democratic, and uninvolved parents.

    Read More

  • The Value of Authoritative Parenting

    1964 Words  | 4 Pages

    Steinberg, Laurence, Elmen, Julie D., and Mounts, Nina S. “Authoritative Parenting, Psychosocial Maturity, and Academic Success among Adolescents.” Child Development, Vol. 60, No. 6 (Dec., 1989), pp. 1424-1436. Web. 1 May 2014.

    Read More

  • The Four Types of Parenting Styles

    882 Words  | 2 Pages

    With over three hundred million Americans and over six billion people worldwide parenting skills are essential to maintain a healthy society. Parenting involves many aspects and requires many skills. It is a time to nurture, instruct, and correct to develop fundamental skills children will need to be mature, responsible, and contributing adults to a society. There are four commonly identified parenting styles; authoritarian, authoritative, permissive, and uninvolved parenting. Of the four parenting styles, two remain on opposite ends of the parenting spectrum. These two styles; authoritarian, and permissive both have deleterious results that are often visible throughout different developmental stages, such as rebellious behavior. As well each style has its own advantages such as; acceptance by peers with commonality. Child rearing for most parents is an evolving set of skills. It could be said that, with any style of parenting, there is no explicit set of rules for every situation, and what works for one child may not be effective for another.

    Read More

  • Multidimensional Assessments In Social Work

    1094 Words  | 3 Pages

    Biological influences combined with societal and social expectations contribute to how well people learn to adapt to their environments (2013). According to Erikson, there are eight stages of development. Within these states, there are different psychological, emotional and cognitive tasks. In order to adjust, individuals must learn to develop these tasks. During adolescence, Erikson states that each person needs to navigate through the development task of ‘‘Identity vs. Identity confusion ’’ (2013). He defined this task by stating that adolescent children must learn to develop a sense of self and establish independence. Prior to this stage of development, a person’s parents largely influence their identity. In this stage the adolescent children begin to explore and develop their identity outside of their parents’ influence (Hill, Bromell, Tyson, & Flint, 2007). Adolescents are generally more egocentric at this stage and have an increased sense of self-consciousness. They also have a strong desire to conform to peer influence and develop concerns regarding their appearance. They develop concern about their level of competence in relation to their peer group as well. As peer influence increases, during this stage, parental influence decreases (Ashford & LeCroy, 2013; Hill et. al, 2007). Conflict generally increases between parent and child at this stage of development (2007).

    Read More

  • Critical Analysis Of Erikson's Theory Of Psychosocial Development

    1765 Words  | 4 Pages

    Adolescence refers to the transition period experienced by children that occur between childhood and adulthood (Shefer, 2011). Identity is first confronted in adolescence between the ages 12 – 19 years old, because of physical and hormonal changes in the body. It is also due to the introduction of formal operations in cognitive development and societal expectation that this contributes to an individual’s identity to be explored and established (McAdams, 2009). The forces within and outside (family, community) the individual that promote identity development usually create a sense of tension. The basic task is, in Erikson’s terms, “fidelity or truthfulness and consistency to one’s core self or faith in one’s ideology” (Fleming, 2004: 9), in a nutshell: "Who am I and where am I

    Read More

  • Parent and Teenager Relationships

    837 Words  | 2 Pages

    As a child begins to enter adolescence, there appears to be a rise in conflict between the adolescent and parents. The amount of conflict differs from family to family and is dependent on many factors. It is mainly due to the changing characteristics and growing of the adolescent and the way in which the rest of the family adjusts to these changes.

    Read More

More about Role of Family in Adolescent Development

Open Document