The Final Roller Coaster. . .
All teens have different strengths and abilities, and no other teen will develop exactly like same. Health, personality, friends, and life experiences are important to your teen’s development; family, community, and cultural traditions also play important roles.
What To ExpectAlthough each teen is unique, all teens face social and emotional challenges during adolescence. This is a time of dramatic growth, from the early teen years (11-14) through late adolescence (ages 18-21). Adolescence is widely regarded as the period with emotional highs and lows, with behavior that is driven by impulse rather than thought. Some refer it as an emotional roller coaster. Teens begin to face the following challenges:
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Identity
The quest for identity is a life long one, but is particularly the task for adolescence. They focus on exploration and commitment. A key challenge of adolescence is forming a strong & stable identity through the process of identity development-process of which an individual achieves a sense of who they are and of their moral & political beliefs, their career preferences, and their relationship to their community & culture. Families can promote identity development by offering support and encourage exploration. According to many developmentalists, identity development can be affected by cultural factors (Lightfoot et al., 2013).
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Ethnic & Cultural Identity
Ethnic identity is described as a sense of oneself as a member of a particular ethnic group. This process can be difficult for young youth especially if their groups culture differs from the majority culture, or if the group faces prejudice. A positive ethnic formation is easiest when families uphold cultural traditions and if the group is well established in the community (Lightfoot et al.,2013) Sexual Identity
Sexual identity is how an individual understand his or herself as heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual. Adolescence who develop and identity as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgendered are known as sexual-minority youth. Adolescence seem to go through a series of stages in the process of defining themselves (Lightfoot et al., 2013). |
Reference's |
Cole, M., Cole, S., & Lightfoot, C. (2013). The Development Of Children (7th ed.). New York, New York: Worth.
Salisch, M., Zeman, J., Leupschen, N., & Kanevski, R. (2014). Prospective Relations Between Adolescents' Social-emotional Competencies and Their Friendships. Social Development, 23(4), 684-701. |