Biophysical Development In Nursing

The peer reviewed article “Ethnic and Racial Identity During Adolescence into Young Adulthood: An Integrated Conceptualization” is a well written article on the struggle that people of color face when coming face to face with their identity in social situations. Umana-Taylor, Quintana, Lee, Cross, Rivas-Drake, Schwartz and Seaton (2014) analyzed ethnic and racial identity or ERI and how it relates to important developments and issues from early childhood well on into young adulthood. They worked to find the most important milestones during the development or ERI as well (Umana-Taylor et. al 2014). This paper will consist of the information given from the article and how I’ve dealt with my own ERI.

While during the internalization-commitment stage, they are satisfied and secure about their race and welcome other racial and ethnic groups; in this stage, they apply their internalized racial identities into their behaviors and actions (Cross, 1991). The frequently used instrument to operationalize Cross’s model is called the Racial Identity Attitude

The childhood development of the individual followed the normal development patterns that are expected. In the childhood stage the individual development changed rapidly and their ability to be active and learn new skills improves on a daily basis. During childhood a child will grow steadier compared to an infant. A child’s body and organs size grows at a steady pace. By the age of 6 a child’s head will be 90% of a full adult size even though the rest of a child’s body has a lot more to grow and to develop. Until a child reaches late childhood, and entering adolescence, an individual’s reproductive organs are still not fully developed. Infants and children can suffer from delayed development. This could cause potential effects

My pre-adolescent years were spent in a community thick with diversity. My friendships were as diverse as the environment in which I lived. It never struck me that racial and ethnic ideals separated people in society. However, upon moving to a predominately white upper-class community I began to question such racial and ethnic ideas. From my adolescent years through today I began noticing that certain people are viewed differently for reasons relating to race and ethnicity. As a result, the most recent community I grew up in has kept me sheltered from aspects of society. As a product of a community where majorities existed, I found myself unexposed to the full understanding of race and ethnicity. Prior to the class I had never fully dealt with issues of race or ethnicity, as a result I wondered why they would be of any importance in my life.

It is not clear why adolescence starts at a specific time. What is clear is that natural and social elements assume a part. This trend towards early maturation is believed to be a result of improved nutritional intake and a reduced amount of illness over the past century (Feldman, 2014). Additional factors that can influence early maturation in girls, according to Feldman (2014), would be the percentage of fat to muscle, moreover the

Along with that, racial identity is another big contributor to the degradation of African American’s youth mental health, as a weak racial identity results in poorly mishandled ways of coping with racism and stress. African American students as early as middle school engage in introspection of their racial identity, where they begin to discover who they are and the negative stereotypes surrounding their identity (Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy, 2007, p.256). The results of a study of 297 African American adolescents by McCreary, Slavin, and Berry found that a strong pride in racial identity was important in handling stress in a positive manner and decreasing poor mental health (Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy, 2007, p.256). Students were less likely to internalize negative racial stereotypes that devalue their worth and build resistance towards it. If not, students were more susceptible to succumbing to stereotype threat, racial bias, and a negative self-fulfilling prophecy that could alter their well-being and threaten their mental health. Chronic exposure to this can severely damage African Americans adolescents’ mental health, which is evident by their mental withdrawal in school and loss of interest or motivation to achieve academic success.

The growth of identity is a practice molded by a person’s family history, environmental experiences, and societal attachments. Identity endures ordeals to make the person secure and attentive so that it’s easier for the person to know what to expect out of their life. Although changes in our surroundings can be accepted, adjustments to one’s identity can often be challenging. Particularly in African American identity, there is difficulty in accepting who one is and knowing one’s place in society. There is an even greater difficulty if one is a biracial African American.

Healthy racial identity development among older white youth is a bit more complex. Often, white students must come to understand that society attaches meaning to their whiteness and that they have a choice about how to be white in a multicultural society.

As a teenage minority, it was a slight struggle in the beginning in trying to identify myself. Miller (2010) argues that this struggle started early as a child due to the fact that minority children are often told how they should identify themselves in a politically correct manner which alters the child’s “racial identity development” (39). For the longest time, I wasn’t quite sure how to identify myself in a racial manner; should I refer to myself as being Black, or should I say African American? Society created difficulties for me to be able to identify myself, especially since both labels can have different connotations. To be Black in a Black community meant that you had pride and confidence, whereas in society, it meant that you were

These students individuals attempt to redefine their Whiteness. The last status is autonomy stage is when they are motivated to educate themselves about their personal Whiteness and they do by revising their internal definition of what it means to be White. In addition, they are motivated to develop a new capacity to let go of the privileges of racism. It is important to mention White racial identity because for one to assist others in processing and development, he or she must be able to be willing to explore and examine their own identity. Although, Helms White Racial Identity development model has six stages and could assist in the experiences that a White individual may have, there have been several critiques about the

The reality is Asian American is still struggling in racism nowadays. In “Unraveling the ‘Model Minority’ Stereotype: Listening to Asian American Youth”, Stacey Lee revisited the four identity groups in academic high school and discussed how the “model minority” stereotype influence relationship between race and how different races view racial

Reflecting on and changing the face of ethnic minority psychology is very important in today’s society. Race, ethnicity, culture and diversity are pressing societal issues that have existed for several years. Many people face issues everyday with their identity, which is the sense of self being independent of one’s ethnic background; empowering it and then transforming it; whether transforming is for the good or for the bad. People in our society, mainly our youth, have to deal with the pressures of being talked about when it comes down to what race they are, how many freckles they have or their face, how short or tall they are, their size as well as various other things. Interpersonal relationships are considered to have a

Cutler’s (2007) work shows that for white youth, there is a struggle for authenticity when youth negotiate their identities across cultural spaces. Much of the research on authenticity (Bucholtz 1999; Cutler 1999, 20003, 2007; Morgan 2005) highlight the notion of ‘keeping it real’ that represents the “quest for the coalescence and interface of ever-shifting arts, politics, representation, performance and individual accountability that reflects all aspects of youth experiences” (Morgan 2005:211). Spears (1998) in Cutler (2007:10) says “the dual personality caused by the cohabitation of two consciousness’s or cultural systems within one mind, [in this case] the white and the African American.” Cutler (2007) shows that there are certain ideas

The following paper will discuss two of the major dimensions of my cultural identity, and analyze the way in which my identity holds privileges, or has exposed me to oppression. Being that I am white, I have lived a life of privilege simply because of the color of my skin. I have been afforded opportunities, and lived a life free from persecution due to my skin color. I have also lived a life that has been impacted by oppression because of my female identity. This unique position between privilege and oppression is where I live my life.

The Journal of Youth and Adolescence manifests that divorce does not damage a child's existence as, "being exposed to conflict within the family in the form of arguments and violence is positively related to feelings of anger and depressed mood among adolescents" (LIRN). The various authors of this complex article attempt to clarify that there is a definite correlation between depression and anger as well as family conflict. The article distinguishes that divorce does not harm children but in actuality provides relief from continuous turmoil and an oppressive environment. This