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Social Norms Definition

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An examination of today’s social norms reflects significant changes in family lifestyles over previous generations. The American Psychology Association (n.d) reports that “40 to 50 percent of married couples in the United States divorce” (“Marriage & Divorce”). This data indicates children’s intimate parents are not staying together anymore. In a relatively short period of time, perceptions about living with one’s parents have changed considerably. In fact, failing to leave the house was “considered a sign of serious slackerdom [sic] 10 years ago, [while] today’s twentysomethings [sic] see living at home not as a sign of failure, but as a financially rational decision” (Prather, 2002). An article written about teen health …show more content…

Research indicates that conflict is a problem that surfaces between the teenager and his/her new step-parent. Robin Deutsch (2013) found that teens may feel a step-parent is “part of a disruptive process … rather than being seen as another loving adult, they may be seen as the enemy who is preventing their parents from reuniting.” The conflict can result in poor adolescent behaviour and actions. When researchers analyzed challenges in blended families, they discovered that “children who are reared in nuclear families have the best outcome …they have less substance abuse, lower-out of wedlock birth rates and higher graduation rates” (Hendrick, 2006). Further evidence shows that behaviour changes more negatively in older children than younger children during divorce and remarriage which is due to the fact that an adolescent’s “developmental task [is] to do the separating, to explore their identities…” (Deutsch, 2013). The Family life is essential to all human beings however, for teenagers a lack of stability brought on my blended families can promote an unstable lifestyle and poor decision-making subsequently, resulting in poor state of mind and emotions in the …show more content…

This problem with media can be especially concerning when the media messages are violent and destructive in nature. Studies have been conducted to determine the effects of violence on the minds of teenagers. Research indicates that dopamine—the same biological chemical that is released when people take drugs to induce that happy feeling— is released when teenagers are entertained by violence (Chaney, 2014) In fact, London’s Hammersmith Hospital showed that the level of dopamine doubled in the brains of kids playing video games which release of a pleasurable sensation makes kids increase their desire for more of what makes them happy, this cycle leads to an addiction for more violence (Chaney, 2014). Violent messages mixed with confusing and misleading instructions to take risks, experiment and spend without thinking about the consequences can lead teenagers to adopt the wrong values and eventually make poor

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