Social Development Essay

Social development can be defined as changes in social and emotional skills across the lifespan, including childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Adolescents usually fall under 18 - 25 years old while adulthood ranges from 25 years old onwards. There are numerous factors that can shape social development such as peers and parents.

Attachment plays a vital role in one’s social development. Bowlby (1969) states that attachment is a form of strong emotional bond that develops from one person to another, and that children have an innate instinct to form attachments with others as it helps in survival. This provides groundwork in understanding the formation of close relationships among people. A close relationship with parents can contribute

One of it is through forming friendships. Friendships are formed among those who similar to each other such as having common interests, having the same ethnic background or attitudes. This can then lead to them being able to form their own social identity. Erikson’s (1959) theory of developmental stages states that adolescence are characterised as identity versus role confusion as such being able to identify with a group of similar people can also shape the way a person acts and behaves in any social setting Burk et al. (2012) conducted a study among 950 youths of different age groups and found that adolescent categorize themselves in the group where their drinking behaviour are most similar with others, especially among males who have just entered adolescents. Having close same-sex relationships with peers can be a source of support for adolescents. Peer pressure can also influence the social behaviour of children and teenagers. Having positive peer influence can encourage the conformity of healthy behaviours while negative peer pressure can lead to the adolescents engaging in risky behaviours. As such, having a social identity can influence how a person

As people enter adulthood, they will focus on forming romantic relationships and starting their own family. Thus, their social circle will shrink as new responsibilities, such as caring for children and earning money for financial stability, began to emerge. This is consistent with Cartensen’s (1992) socioemotional selectivity theory which states that as aging across the lifespan occurs, adults will be selective of their social circle in order to satisfy their emotional needs. Individuals usually go through life with a group of people, also known as a social convoy, who provides support and a sense of stability (Kahn & Antonucci, 1980). Over the years, the social networks will usually be narrowed down to family members such as siblings, and a few close friends. Although the social networks have been reduced, the emotional closeness experienced by both parties does not suffer (Cartensen,