Social Development in Adolescence

Definition of Social Development in Adolescence

Adolescence is in many ways the most important stage for social development. According to Erik Erikson's psychosocial stages of development, adolescence is the point at which an individual faces a crisis of identity vs. role confusion. Identity begins to form.

Teens begin to ask the question, "Who am I?" and "Who do I want to be?" Adolescence is the stage in which past, present, and future come together to begin to form an identity. Teens begin to desire more independence from parents and closer connections to peers.

What is identity vs. role confusion?

Erikson refers to adolescence as a crisis of identity vs. role confusion because it is a time of exploration. During this time, adolescents try to discover where they fit in and who they want to be in the future as members of society. They also seek to understand and solidify their identities. During adolescence, teens often experiment with several different identities in order to discover theirs. They may be one way around parents, another way around peers, and another way around teachers.

When an adolescent is placed in a situation in which two roles overlap (like when a friend comes over for dinner) it can be an incredibly confusing experience. Erikson believed that if this identity crisis can be resolved positively, it can lead to a more stable identity. A stable identity helps a young adult achieve the next stage in development. However, if the crisis is negatively resolved, it can lead to ongoing confusion.

How does identity develop?

Several elements contribute to the shaping of identity during adolescence. Our gender, ethnicity, and other attributes place us into several different social groups. These social groups play a large role in shaping who we are during our teen years. When describing ourselves, we often talk about our group memberships. As members of a specific ethnic group, we describe ourselves as African-American or Korean. As part of a family with several siblings, we may describe ourselves as the youngest child.

Fig. 1 Team identity, pixabay.com

Another element of identity is our personal characteristics. We can describe ourselves as shy or outgoing, or as a rule-follower or risk-taker. Personality is a highly heritable trait, meaning that our genetics play a large role in the differences in personalities within a group. During adolescence, we begin to discover and understand our personalities more fully. Finally, our goals and values are a large part of our identity. Who we want to be in the future, what we believe is right or wrong, and our religious or spiritual beliefs, all begin to take shape during adolescence.

Stages of Social Development in Adolescence

Expanding on Erik Erikson's ideas, James Marcia (2002) developed his Identity Status Theory. Not all teens will move through every stage during adolescence. Many remain in the diffusion or foreclosure stage.

1. Diffusion: Adolescents in the diffusion stage have not begun the process of forming their identity. They have not begun any exploration of their identity and have made little to no commitment to a set of values. Adolescents in the diffusion stage adamantly avoid conflict or discomfort and are highly motivated by pleasure. They do not have any real goals in life and passively move through life.

2. Foreclosure: Similar to the diffusion stage, adolescents in the foreclosure stage of identity development have not gone through an identity crisis. However, it is not due to a lack of any identity or commitment to values. Instead, teens in the foreclosure stage have not moved past an identity that was previously established by family or culture. For these teens, commitment is high, but exploration is low. Adolescents who are in foreclosure feel no need to question the identities already assigned to them nor do they consider any alternatives.

3. Moratorium: At the moratorium stage of identity development, adolescents have begun the process of establishing a clear identity for themselves. They are in the thick of their identity crisis and have not yet resolved it. At this point, exploration is high yet commitment is low and adolescents begin to experiment with several different identities, values, and beliefs. They are keeping their options open.

4. Achievement: Finally, during identity achievement, adolescents have made their way through their identity crisis and have established and committed to a set of values. At this stage, adolescents have learned to prioritize what is most important to them and have begun to form an idea of their goals, mission, and purpose in life. Adolescents who have made their way through identity achievement feel confident and positive about the decisions they have made.

Fig. 2 Question of identity, freepik.com

Examples of Social Development in Adolescence

Social development in adolescence can be reflected in several different behaviors. Let's take a look at a few examples.

• Significantly more time spent with friends than with parents or families.

• Social circle expanding to include more than just family, a few friends, and teachers.

• Differentiation between friends and acquaintances.

• Aggression and antisocial behaviors begin to take root.

• Increased sense of responsibility.

• Formation of sexual identity.

• Active search for new (sometimes risky) experiences.

• More established sense of self-concept.

Factors Affecting Social Development in Adolescence

Several factors affect social development during adolescence. Identity exploration and a commitment to values are influenced by several different parts of an adolescent's life including family, peers, media, and culture.

Family

In Western cultures, adolescents begin to pull away from their parents as they begin to discover their own identities. The transition from the toddler who won't leave their mother's side to the teen who wouldn't want to be caught dead holding her hand occurs gradually. Arguments between the parent and the child become more frequent during adolescence. However, for most, it does not lead to real divisions and is over small disagreements.

While the relationship between a teen and their parent can become more strained, many remain positive overall. The nature of a parent-child relationship and the level of affection can affect peer relationships. For example, girls who had more affectionate relationships with their mothers tend to have more intimate friendships with their girlfriends. Contrarily, teens who have a more strained relationship with their parents are often more likely to misbehave.

Peers

As parental influence diminishes in a teen's life, peer influence increases. An adolescent's peers can contribute to forming temperament and personality differences where heredity may not. They function similarly to an animal herd by dressing, talking, and acting alike. Teens tend to focus less on the future and more on immediate rewards when around their peers. Conformity is, in a sense, a survival method during adolescence because it feels good to fit in and to like what everybody else likes. Adolescents commonly adopt the identity of their peer group.

Social Media

Due to the use of social media, peer and media influence can go hand-in-hand. Social media simply reflects how powerful peer influence can be. The more likes a photo has, the more likely a teen may prefer it, even if it relates to content they don't agree with. The self-disclosure required through social media can have both positive and negative outcomes. The definition of "friend" has changed and now our social connections are bigger than ever before.

Culture

Finally, culture can play a large role in social development in adolescence. Individuals who grow up in an individualistic culture may develop a deeper sense of autonomy and clear separation from other people. However, individuals in collectivistic cultures may view their identity as a connection between people. Bicultural adolescents may form more complex identities due to being members of multiple cultural groups.

Characteristics of Social Development in Adolescence

Other than the development of identity, other primary characteristics of social development in adolescence are increased intimacy, fluctuations in self-esteem, and the stage of emerging adulthood

Intimacy

As adolescents begin to inch their way toward young adulthood, their capacity for intimacy begins to grow. Erikson referred to this as intimacy vs. isolation. At this stage, we begin to form emotionally close relationships by sharing more intimate details about our thoughts, feelings, and emotions than in childhood relationships. Additionally, our romantic relationships begin to intensify. If an individual has a high-quality relationship with family and friends, it increases their likelihood of having high-quality romantic partnerships. For most, romantic relationships become a source of great pleasure.

Self-Esteem

Finally, as one begins to form their identity and sense of self, self-esteem may be impacted. Self-esteem usually diminishes during early- to mid-adolescence. Depression and anxiety, especially for teen girls, begin to increase but diminish and even out across genders by the late teens. Additionally, due to how powerful peer influence can be during adolescence, bullying can take a remarkable toll. Individuals who feel excluded or bullied are deeply affected by the experience, potentially resulting in greater psychological distress and even diminished physical health later in life.

Emerging Adulthood

Another characteristic of social development in adolescence is the stage of emerging adulthood Emerging adulthood is the "in-between" that we experience as we transition from adolescence to adulthood. Emerging adulthood lasts from age 18 to around 24. In the 1960s, way more men and women were finished with school, living away from home, financially stable, married, and parents by age 30 than young adults today (Henig, 2010). The average age to get married today is 29 for men and 27 for women. Even government policies reflect emerging adulthood through things like the extension of health benefits to children up to the age of 26.