Adolescents Find Their Identity

Discuss the concept of adolescence as a social construct and its validity for different cultures.

The life transitions are the major changes that occur throughout individual’s lifespan. Adolescence is often classified as one of the most challenging and significant stage during life transition. In this phrase, the individuals not only developing physical and sexual maturation but also experiencing the development of identity and transitions into social and economic independence (WHO, 2014). This essay will discuss the different concept of self-identity for adolescents, the important predictable and unpredictable elements during the transition, as well as the nurses’ role in relation to adolescence care.

The life pursuits and subjective judgments of many contemporary young people indicate that the transition to adult roles has become so delayed and prolonged that it has spawned a new transitional period extending from the late teens to the mid-to late-twenties, called emerging adulthood. During the college years, young people often refine their approach to forming their own identity. In these years, young people have left adolescence, but most have not yet assumed adult responsibilities. Many have dreams and those are what guides them in their decision making. In the video, 22 year old Casey describes her dream and comments on her identity development. Casey says that she became interested in Psychology in high school during her junior year when she took a psych course. She knew from then on that was what she wanted to do, but she hadn't picked a career yet. Casey said that she picked a career during her first year of graduate school, when she decided on gerontology. She said her happy and active grandparents had a lot to do with picking a career and wanting to work with the population. Casey thinks her identity was a gradual process and it's only really formed since last year. She feels her parents helped shape her morals and beliefs, but in between her senior year and her first year of graduate school, she started to form her own and integrated some of her own ideas. 24 year old Elizabeth and 25 year old Joel are shown discussing

Teens are more likely to binge drink, and they do this for a variety of reasons; low self esteem, impulsiveness og by being peer pressured. Eleven percent of alcohol consumption in the US are underage drinking. By High School two out of three have tried alcohol, most likely not just a few sips. Teens often starts to drink because they are curious and since it is illegal it becomes a “forbidden fruit” syndrome. Teenagers does not know their limit, and tend to drink too much too fast which can lead to them getting extremely drunk.

Teens have different metabolisms than adults, and they get drunk more quickly and from fewer drinks. This can lead to injury from alcohol poisoning, drowning, falls, fires, and car crashes. If you drink and drive, not only you can

Students in 8th and 10th grades represent the developmental stage when adolescents explore autonomy and form identity influenced by internal and external influences (Muuss, Velder, & Porton, 1996; Dudovitz, Li, & Chung, 2013). At this stage, adolescents start forming their perceptions about the family, society, self, and peers. Their life course, such as interpersonal relationships with family members and peers and support (moderator) are the protective factors, and their victimizations (predictor) at school or work are the risk factors (Brook, et al., 1998), as shown in Figure 2. Family and peer relationships and victimization are associated and victimization (predictor) can influence family and peer relationships (Brook, et al., 1998). Interpersonal

In an overall perspective, it is confusing for teenagers to understand the real dangers of alcohol. It is shown in many ways, but yet to be understood why it is not okay to drink and drive (Saunders). Alcohol interferes with judgment and upsets the brain (Kowalski). The younger the age, the more the problem turns into as they start to grow up. The major effect alcohol can have on a teenager has to do with the brain. It makes the process of brain development go slower, kills brain cells, and leads to alcoholism (Mokeyane). Alcohol is shown in magazines, books, movies, and commercials, all in a positive way. Teenagers seem to watch or read these things and think that alcohol is actually a good thing. Now when alcohol is involved adolescents seem to be confused why it is used to promote certain things, yet it has a negative impact on them when driving. Alcohol abuse upon juvenile people tends to have a threatening effect on their bodies. Some of the effects it has on a person's body are not as bad as others. The dangerous one can include a person thinking that they are not drunk when really they are impaired (Saunders).

The extremes people can go to were explained in the following article, it discusses early adulthood and the importance of developing a sense of self-identification. It explains that early adulthood may be a common time for people to self-harm because it is a period in which people may deal with different social issues, such as bullying and negative self-concept. Although this article provides insight on the different methods a person going through early adulthood with negative self-concept endure in order to deal with the feelings of negativity. Instead of committing suicide they may perform socially accepted constructs with the intent of harming themselves. For example, getting a tattoo or piercing, for the pain and not so much the actual thing. (Breen 1) This idea could become a big issue in society, it makes it less noticeable for others to know if something is going on with a person or if they are dealing with something, because it’s disguised as a social norm. The idea that people cannot be their true selves and it makes them resort to this level is something that is common. It relates back to all of the factors that contribute to self-harm or identity issues. Family issues, lack of confidence, childhood issues, etc. Lack of acceptance is one of the biggest contributing factors that can drive individuals to different extremes. Society reacts to self-harm and suicide in many different ways. Many times people who encounter a situation that involves a person who is

Firstly drink driving. Alcohol is widely used by young people. Almost 90 per cent of Australian teenagers over the age of 14 years have tried alcohol at least once. Studies suggest that around half of teenagers over 14 years drink alcohol at least weekly. Now imagine how much of these teenagers also drive as well as drink. Car accidents are a leading cause of death for teenagers. Stats show that 60%

Within the package of individuality comes with a long journey of discovery. Especially, when entering high school we are faced with the ultimate task of finding ourselves. We are told by many, that this journey that we are forced to part-take in, is not gonna be an easy one. The process may take the entire four year term, or less, maybe even more. Once you find the identity that your destiny desires, you feel a sense of having your own spot in this very different world. All you have to do is follow these simple steps of finding your identity, such as: making mistakes, falling, learning when to get back up, and using those lessons to shape you into the individual that you were meant to be.

The chart above denotes the major theories of adolescence development; however in this study we limit ourselves to Erik Erikson’s identity development theory.

From an article Adolescent Culture- The Creation Of The Teenager, Diana West, states, “The word “teenager” was not really used until 1941. In virtually every other culture in the history of the world prior to late 20th century Western Culture, kids became adults. No so anymore. They now become teenagers, or, to put it in more sociologically acceptable terms, they become adolescents.” Since we live in a society that is so multicultural individual teens have different background cultures that affect the adolescent’s development. “Culture has a strong influence on development, behavior, values and beliefs. Teens who come from different backgrounds are influenced by different cultural norms and parental expectations that stem from different attitudes

Have you ever witnessed a teenager taking a risk? Adolescents are taking more risks than ever, such as drinking, vaping, texting while driving, having unprotected sex, and participating in extreme sports. Research suggests that there are, in fact, specific reasons why teens take risks. Three important effects of the drive to take risks in young people include dopamine, peer pressure, and a parents influence on their children.

Since a collection of studies have highlighted the beneficial effects of youthful self-identity, it is important to understand predictors of self-identity. Many empirical studies conducted in Western countries have documented that self-identity is associated with sociodemographics (Bara, & Stern, 1986; Barrett, 2003), physical health (Barak & stern, 1986; Macia et al., 2012; Stephan, Demulier, & Terracciano, 2012), psychosocial factors (Bergland, Nicolaisen, & Thorsen, 2013) and social status (Marques, Swift, Vauclair, Lima, Bratt, & Abrams, 2015). Three studies on Chinese older adults also find correlations between self-identity and sociodemographics such as age, gender, education (Du & Wu, 2008; Ying & Yao, 2010), self-rated health (Du & Wu, 2008; Xie & Huang, 2014), mental health, and physical functioning (Liang, 2014) among older people in general and those of advanced old age in particular. Other studies indicate that productive engagement, especially volunteering, is positively correlated with older people’s social image, which can help to reduce ageism. For instance, Henkin and Zapf (2006) found that civic engagement among the older population can reduce age stereotypes and increase social integration. Moreover, older people’s contribution to communities can turn the pitcure of older adults as social burdens into social assets (Vitman et al, 2013). Bowen and her colleagues (2013) compared 28 European countries and found that old people were viewed as more

Adolescent identity is the point in time in a young adult's life where they begin to find their identity and who they are. There and many different aspects and challenges young adults go through that are shown throughout many novels. There are different types of novels such a regular reading novel, graphic novels or novels that include both. In both novels, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and American Born Chinese both either a graphic novel or show a handful of images. In both of these novels it shows how the main characters struggle through their daily lives by how the main characters sees themselves through images, stereotypes and how the author uses these stereotypes for or against the novel.