Adolescent Development

Wow, what an experience! I am a more 'mature' student so have not grown up with multimedia communication the way some of you have or in the digital age of my adolescent sons, therefore I was a little nervous (to say the least) about entering into the tumblr world. In saying this, I feel I have learned a great deal about my ability to interact in less traditional ways, and how this can be a useful tool for learning and development. I have also ventured into my past both as an individual and as a parent; at times this entailed tears and others laughter, either way I have seen it as a learning and growing experience. As an adult working with teens who have not been given the opportunity for healthy development and partake in many high detrimental risk-taking behaviors, I have thoroughly enjoyed reading posts that have been written by a diverse range of perspectives (genders, races, ages, and economic backgrounds). Moreover, I find it both encouraging and enlightening that there are so many adolescents who are 'formal operational thinkers', who have 'post conventional moral reasoning', and 'healthy sexual identities/attitudes', for me this experience has renewed and reinforced the enthusiasm to help distill this in others. 

Thanks again tumblr and my fellow students, its been a blast!

Adolescents and adults are often unaware that teens experience dating violence

"Unhealthy relationships can start early and last a lifetime"

Teen dating violence is an important aspect of adolescent development in that the trust, level of encouragement, and support that is experienced during these interactions set the stage for future relationships;and the health of those involved; psychological and physiological well-being.

From my own experience I had 'bad boy' boyfriends who consistently put me down, disregarded my feelings and needs or were physically rough. Later I married a man who was an alcoholic and physically and mentally abused me. This by no means implies that every adolescent that experiences a violent relationship will continue to attract abuse throughout their life; on the contrary, it can provide a learning experience that creates a resistance to re-entering into similar relationships in the future.

Premarital cohabitation has been positively correlated with marital instability and higher rates of divorce (Santrock, 2014). Other research advises this apparent positive relationship is weaker or even negatively associated than thought (Reinhold, 2010). Furthermore, explanations for why living together before marriage is said to result in more failed marriages seems to be linked to the lifestyle and beliefs of those who do it, rather than understanding the reasons people stay in marriages.

For instance, those who are less likely to cohabit before or without marriage may have less or no religious affiliations and may be less inclined to stay in a relationship they feel is unsatisfying or domineering. Whereas couples with higher religiosity may deem divorce as sinful regardless of marital satisfaction.  

Another explanation for variation in the association between premarital cohabitation and marital instability may be the cultural/environmental differences between racial/ethnic groups. Reinhold (2010) found marriage resolution after premarital cohabitation is greater for non-Hispanic white women but not for Mexican American women and non-Hispanic blacks, even though cohabitation is more common in these groups than among non-Hispanic white women.

Following from my previous post, the concept of youth organizations is one way of counteracting the pull some adolescents feel towards gangs. Religious orientated youth groups are beneficial to development in that "spirituality/religiosity is positively related to well-being, self-esteem, and three of the Big Five factors of personality" (Santrock, 2014, p. 253).

While high religiosity results in less risk-taking behavior for adolescents, other community youth groups can be just as affective for positive development. HBC Youth Centre is one such place; "The Hibiscus Coast Youth Centre is a non-profit organization whose mission is to empower, strengthen youth and their families by providing comprehensive youth development through education, physically challenging activities, employment and training advocacy and other support services. For more information see: http://hbcyouthcentre.webs.com/

Unfortunately, adolescents who are more likely to participate in youth groups tend to "come from families with higher incomes" (Santrock, 2014, p. 315). The big question here is WHY? Those most 'at-risk' for joining gangs, developing a mental disorder such as depression, suicide, and negative development are from low-income communities (Joe & Chesney-Lind, 1995). Importantly it is these communities that have significantly less accessibility to youth groups.  

In sum, "youth activities and organizations provide excellent developmental contexts in which adolescents can develop many positive qualities" (Santrock, 2014, p. 316), however, this is only if they are accessible and if not adolescents may look elsewhere for the acceptance they crave!

Santrock (2014), advises "Peer interaction is influenced by contexts, which can include the type of peer the adolescent interacts with..........and the situation or location where they are" (p. 302).

In Manukau, Auckland the police have said that young adolescents join gangs for a number of reasons, primarily "it is not just money, it's acceptance. Most of the teens come from broken homes".

I do not in any way condone the violence, drugs and crime that escalates from belonging to a gang, however, it is, at least in the context of growing adolescents' need for acceptance, easy to understand why gang membership is so attractive so some youth.

(Jose & Pryor, 2010) explain connectedness is a psychological state regarding other persons (groups or institutions) that reflects a sense of belonging, a lack of aloneness, a perceived bond.

In relation to Santrock's (2014) explanation that "being rejected or overlooked by peers leads to..........delinquency and problem drinking to depression.........negative influences to an individual's subsequent mental health" (p. 303), I believe society is faced with an immediate and paradoxical dilemma; In the context of family/peer neglect, adolescents are at risk of a myriad of negative developmental issues as mentioned above - juxtaposed, gang acceptance may appease  the psychological need of belonging, respect, and social processing. However, the trade off is that gang affiliation also entails drug, crime, violence and excessive risk-taking behavior that negatively impacts adolescent development. 

The conclusion here is that, while it is important to ameliorate the drug, crime, and violence projected by gangs, more importantly society needs to instigate transformative policies that target the familial/social contexts  that drive the need for adolescents to seek gang acceptance in the first place.

Santrock (2014) advises "African American, Latino, and Asian American parents use the authoritarian style more than do non-Latino White parents, who more often use an authoritative style" (p. 268).

In considering these findings, I would like to offer a possible explanation for the diversity in utilizing styles between populations. For instance, in collectivist cultures, such as African/Latino/Asian, the authoritarian parenting style may be more beneficial to healthy adolescent development as it is conducive to and reinforces the attitudes of conformity and consideration of the family and wider community - In comparison, authoritative parenting style promotes autonomy and individual growth which are synonymous with western/individualistic cultures. 

However, as discussed by Santrock, parenting styles are not static or limited, rather they are flexible and many parents transition between styles depending on the context of a situation and what they perceive is required to encourage healthy adolescent development (and at times their own sanity!).

In this article Edwards, McCreanor and Moewaka-Barnes (2007) advised they "were concerned with building a database that would strongly reflect both common experience and the particular events and circumstances of individual lives" (p. 6) However, their research is overly bias toward lower-socioeconomic youth; "it is clear that the majority lived with a scarcity of income and resources which had definite impacts on their life experiences" (p. 6).

I also question if the research was initiated and were findings interpreted in participation with knowledgeable local Maori to account for bias western ideologies and world-views in interpreting youth experiences?

Furthermore, while they summarized that findings "reflect the stresses and impacts of living in conditions of scarcity and marginalization" (p. 12), their sample is restricted to a certain population of Maori and therefore, assumptions might not be generalized to other Maori (within different socioeconomic demographics), nor can it be implied that a breakdown in family relations within this lower-socioeconomic group is limited to the Maori population.  

Where do they come from? Understanding the morals of humanity is not innate....it is something we must be taught....we generally learn best from those we think highly of....who thinks highly of you....and what are you showing them is right and wrong?

Who says what is right or wrong?  Morals are one of the most ambiguous concepts an adolescent will come across....morals are globally, culturally, nationally, community, family, individually diverse! This has never before been more accentuated as it is for adolescence of the digital age....within the online society for which they spend most of their time, the diversity of morals they will encounter will enhance their moral development and hinder it all at once.

Bradley (2005) describes one side of the argument on adolescent morality and the online social context as saying "society used to be more harmonious than it is now". I ask, harmonious or under control of a dominant ideology? and "the greater degree of questioning of social and political institutions and cultural traditions represents a decay in community and morality". I ask, or is this a disruption of hegemonic society and a move toward democracy?

 The disintegration society is experiencing may not be due to our youth, but rather the lack of time we (parents and older role models) spend with them and guiding them. It is imperative that parents, relatives and the wider community  continue to guide and educate our children from a young age and continue to do so through adolescence. Help them understand what is right and wrong, to critically analyze the things they see and hear, and the basic rules of being human, respect, integrity, compassion etc. This new online social context encourages adolescents to question “their experiences and what they are taught, resolve conflict, and construct meaning about what is right, fair, and good, which does not necessarily entail accepting traditional values as moral” (Bradley, 2005) and therefore, could in fact be seen as the new revolutionary road to a more democratic society. Moreover, in following the concepts of social and moral domains of thought discussed by Turiel, adolescents may develop moral reasoning within this new social context (apart from their parents), but they can never be completely separated from the morality of parents and society, rather they may have a foot in both worlds, and perhaps in time they may prove to be the greater judge of what is morally correct and what is not!