According to Erikson adolescence is an age of struggle to gain a positive role identity (Erikson, 1963; Gross, 1987; Rasmussen, 1964). Being an adolescent can be very difficult and stressful at times; not only for parents but also for individuals, because it is during this stage where ones self-esteem begins to deteriorate. Individuals begin to compare their grades, their appearances to their friends and to their favorite celebrities. Self-esteem remains to be one of the most commonly researched concepts in social psychology (Baumeister 1993; Mruk 1995,et al.). Self-esteem which is defined as an individual overall thought of their selves also plays an essential role in the process of self-acceptance within a group. Self-esteem is the development of side effect such as mastering difficult challenges, working successfully by one self or with others, overcoming frustration and boredom. There are two characteristics that affect self-esteem in teens are self-confidence and self-respect. Self-respect is the proper dignity a person has for their self while self-confident is the confident an individual has with his or her judgments. Depending on how an individual view their selves it can determine one’s sense of effectiveness and worthiness. According to identity theory, a person is composed of multiple identities that show the various social positions that an individual use in the larger social group (Burke, P. J., & Cast, A. D. (2002). A theory of self-esteem.Social Forces, 80,3). Self-esteem is composed of two distinct dimensions, competence and worth. Competence dimension which is efficacy-based self-esteem signifies the degree to which people see themselves as capable and successful. While worth dimension which is also know... ... middle of paper ... ... Teenagers can also increase their self-esteem by viewing their many mistakes as a learning opportunity. By Accepting that one will make mistakes, because making mistakes is inevitable and mistakes are part of learning. Individuals should also remember that their talents and creativity are constantly developing, and everyone stands out at different things, it's what makes people unique (Barnett, R. V., The costs and causes of low self-esteem (2005). Once a teen’s self-esteem is better, it inspires further success (Seligman, 2007 (p.33). When teens begin to feel connected with others around them, rather than feeling isolated and withdrawn they begin to open up and express their inner thought, which will then allow them to feel comfortable and confident in their self.
The psychosocial stage represented by adolescence, as we can see from Erikson’s model, is the resolution of the conflicts raised by the profusion of role changes in adolescent life. Healthy resolution of these conflicts would mean that the person would be able to adjust to the changing role demands of the period of adolescence while still retaining a strong sense of their own lasting personal identity. If the increasing role demands of adolescence placed too great a stress on the individual, then identity diffusion would result. This means that the individual would become confused about who they were, in view of all the different roles which they seem to be acting
During this stage, Erikson believes that the individual’s successful identity formation relies on social, cognitive and physical maturation (Pittman, Keiley, Kerpelman, & Vaughn, 2011). The individual tries out different roles for who they see in themselves and who they portray to others, eventually committing to their own personal role and occupational choice. Pittman et al. (2011) describe the identity formation as “consisting of decisions, investments, and commitments tied to current and future roles, goals, and relationships.” Additional considerations for identity formation include the context of the culture which is available to the adolescent during this time. After successful resolution of this stage during adolescence, individuals will typically progress into Erikson’s Intimacy versus Isolation stage during young
Erickson’s Psychosocial Theory is comprised of eight developmental stages ranging throughout the lifespan from infancy to adulthood (Boyd, 2015). However, Erikson puts significant emphasis on the adolescent stage, feeling it is a crucial period for developing an individual’s identity (McLeod, 2013). Erikson maintains that the task of adolescence is to resolve this identity crisis (Rageliene, 2016). Erikson’s theory is hierarchical, meaning that later stages are based on the outcomes of earlier stages, therefor it is rather complex (Markstrom, 1998). During each of these stages, an
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).
This period is marked by physical, social, moral and emotional development (Davies, Hartdegen, Haxell, Le Geyt & Mercier, 2012). It is a time when the adolescent’s sense of self or identity is becoming much more clear and they are beginning to understand their role in society, starting to question the morals of others and contemplating their own moral and ethical beliefs (Davies et al., 2012). During this time Erik Erikson believed that adolescents are faced with the psychosocial stage of identity versus role confusion (Berk, 2008). Adolescents explore their values and role in society, overcoming this conflict to better understand their own identity, however if they do not fully overcome this conflict, Erikson believed that the adolescent would be confused about their values and future adult roles (Berk, 2008). This conflict was clearly demonstrated in my own development during the late teenage years when I experienced both the results of failing to overcome and then overcoming Erikson’s fifth psychosocial stage. At age eighteen I finished secondary school and began my tertiary studies, I had been accepted into the degree I had wanted to study since middle childhood, however I quickly learnt that I was enjoying neither my studies nor my experience of life in halls of residence. I discontinued my studies after only
One of the most important psychological aspects is self-esteem; how people view themselves and their self-worth. It affects one 's personality, happiness and personal well-being. Self-esteem is defined as the "confidence in one 's own worth or abilities; self-respect" ("Self Esteem", 2010, p. 1615). With access to the internet and media twenty-four hours of the day, teenagers begin to take in and believe what is said on social media; believing that is what they are supposed to be, listening to other teenagers who do not have as much knowledge and experience dealing with self-esteem rather than parents. The self-esteem of young adolescences was usually stable before the media became more involved in the lives of teenagers and now their self-esteem
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
In 1967, Dr. David Elkind defined adolescent egocentrism as adolescents’ believing that everyone around them is as concerned about their appearance as they are. He reported that adolescents tend to relax with this idealism the older they get (Schwartz, Maynard, Uzelac page 441). Though the case study scenario depicts a younger student, the example it provides is relevant to the study. In chapter 2, Ericksons definition of identity is described as, “being at home with ones body” (Snowman, McGowan, & Biehler, 2009). He also points out that adolescents can enter into role confusion and if they are unable to identify a sense of self.
Thus, the following will illustrate three different identity researchers and their theory on adolescence identity formation. Thus back to Erikson’s 8 stages of identity development as described earlier, it continues through adolescence as well. Individuals during the ages 12 to 18 years old are in the stage which Erikson called identity vs. role confusion.
According to the Psychology Today website, adolescents go through a period of disorientation and discovery. During this time adolescents can be very vulnerable to many different thing and this can lead to some mental health issues. One of these issues is how the adolescent identifies themselves. In the book " Developing Adolescents: a reference for professionals" (2002) it is state that there are two steps to identity. The first step is self concept and this refers to the traits that the adolescent think that they have e.g. height, intelligence, athletic ability. The second step is self-esteem, this is how the adolescent sees themselves. This could also be referred to as the concept of "possible selves" (Markus and Nurius,1986), which is basically how the adolescent sees themselves now and how they hope to see themselves in the future.
Jones, Cheryl. "Identity and Adolescents: How Adults Can Help." NCYL. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 May 2014. . fifth
The purpose of this paper is to identify James Marcia’s identity status theory and how it pertains to the author 's life during adolescence and early adulthood. The author will reflect as well as address the four statuses of development. Noting that Marcia’s theory has proven to be an effective and dependable tool in helping to determine the status of the identity development in adolescents.
Self-worth and confidence can be extremely important in preserving happiness and a feeling of accomplishment. Confidence is a significant element in the progression of success. Castells et al. stated that identity is a person’s basis of purpose and understanding of experience. He further emphasized that humans enter the world and develop an identity in regards to their gender, race, societal status, etc. This identity progresses and grows through the social interactions within a specific environment. (1) Social interactions may be referred to as an allowance among individuals within a specific framework to express particular facets of their identity. This interaction regularly takes place without thought; individuals comfortably reveal appropriate characteristics while evaluating what communication is being exchanged (1). Bezzi et al stated that identity is fluid and will change over time, but identity will never diminish. (2) Equally, Goffman’s theory stated that in the company of others, one will highlight specific aspects of their identity based on the importance of the context and situation they are in. (3) Accordingly, youth will view their identity as something that can be changed in reaction to both interior and exterior valuation. (4)
No matter which culture is examined, there are many different aspects to the well-being of the teenager. Many important aspects of well-being concern physical traits or habits, such as hygiene, body weight, and appearance (Feldman, 2012). Other aspects of well-being involve cognitive development, such as an adolescents ability to perform in school or think in shades of gray. The final aspect of well-being examines social and personality development, for example, how teenagers socially interact, their emotional state, and abuses of illicit substances (Feldman, 2012). In all of these aspects, an adolescent can find their identity and a sense of well-being, but they can also experience Erikson’s definition of crisis. That is why the adolescent age group must strive to maintain a strong sense of well-being while searching for their identity.
My physical development was not so difficult for me. I experienced the growth spurt when I was10 to 15-years old. I didn’t think it was difficult time for me because my range of growth spurt was not so large. Additionally, I did not belong to sports club, so I did not feel uncomfortable when I move my body. I think I am a late bloomer because I have never had boyfriend. But I think it is advantage for me because I am not a “boy-crazy”. I know some friends who are early bloomer and being “boy-crazy”, I do not want to be like them. I have my own interest and I have something what I want to do besides dating with boys. My physical developments have some effects on my character of today. I think it is because I was taller than others since very young, my friends often said to me “you are like my elder sister.” This phrase makes me think that I need to be like elder sister when I was child. It is related to more about psychological development, but this way of thinking came from my height. One of other physical development related issue that makes me struggle is my period. Every time I am in period, I have pain in stomach and back; I feel sleepy, hungry, and irritating; and I have skin problems. I think there are more people who have more heavy symptoms of period, however, sometimes I cannot endure these. My physical developments have some effects on me, but it was not so difficult for me to pass through.