Adolescence is a concept that is socially constructed. Initially. Children were regarded as frown ups when they attained physical maturity, however that period between childhood and adulthood is currently referred to as adolescence. Most parents view adolescence as a period where adolescents develop their own independence while still at the care of their parents. Adolescents constantly get to define themselves as they interact with their peers. They try to find their own identities and this happens through drawing away from their parents while listening and behaving like their peers. When adolescents draw further away from their parents, it does not mean that their relationship is broken, rather it gives room for the adolescents to explore changes happening in them. Better relationships between parents and adolescent children result in exemplary performance in educational and extra-curriculum activities.
Erik Erikson Theory
Erikson believes that the development of an adolescent’s personality is determined by their psychological evolution from infancy to adulthood. An adolescent who received reliability and consistency as an infant has the probability if developing a sense of trust throughout any relationships built during this adolescence period (Reynolds, 2010). However, unpredictability and inconsistency in the infancy period of an adolescent result into mistrust, low self-esteem and lack of confidence. During adolescence, independence is so important for the childhood to adulthood transition. This is the phase when the children try to gain their own identity and it is filled with so much confusion as they get to explore different goals, personal values, and beliefs. The adolescents get to explore the morals and ethics acquired as children which they get to ultimately utilize as adults. Adolescents who accept themselves and the diversity in physique attain the virtue of fidelity that allows them to commit to themselves and others regardless of ideological differences.
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Erik Erikson’s theory establishes that an individual’s background determines the scope of relationships they have and how they get to handle them. Therefore, culture and genetics are so important in structuring the personality of an individual as well as how they handle themselves and relationships. The advantage of the theory is that it accounts for the progress and transformation of an individual’s personality development (Reynolds, 2010). However, the disadvantage of the theory is that the development patterns are typically idealized thus unsuitable for explaining the complexities and diversities in personalities. Therefore, this aspect of the concept makes it unsuitable in working with individuals with different values and cultures because their personalities are most likely different (Weis, 2017). I do not believe that this is the best theory to work with my client and adolescents because it is not inclusive in nature due to the seclusion of non-idealized development patterns and personalities of individuals.
Jean Piaget Theory
Piaget’s theory illustrates the construction of a child’s mental model of the universe. Piaget believes that the psychological state of an adolescent is as a result of interaction and maturation within the environment an individual lives in. The basic building component of intelligence behavior is known as a schema. Schema enables individuals to organize and assemble knowledge from various aspects of the universe (Weis, 2017). Therefore, an increased number and diversity in schemata allows an individual to develop their mentality and processes in decision making. Schema allows an adolescent to get a better perception of the world depending on their interests and understanding (Weis, 2017). Ideally, a scheme contains a mental representation of the universe to an individual and it is usually specific to each and every person. This allows an adolescent to have a say of their own depending on the perception and idea of the world.
Equilibrium, accommodation, and assimilation enable individuals to adapt better and easily in their environment. The equilibrium allows an individual to evaluate the schema’s perception of the world and the current message from the environment (Weis, 2017). Assimilation allows an individual to acquire new information about the schema that is existing. It enhances the present idea of a subject by modifying the information and experience. The accommodation provides solutions to insufficiencies from assimilation because assimilation is the first trial of understanding an experience. Ideally, accommodation takes place when schema fails, that is it happens when the present knowledge fails to assist or is ineffective when in a situation that needs assistance (Carr, 2010). Therefore, through equilibrium, an adolescent is able to strike a balance between accommodation and assimilation through applying the previously known knowledge and new information to handle issues they are facing.
The advantage of the theory is that it immensely contributes to the world’s perception of the world to an individual. Therefore, an individual’s perspective and ideas through assimilation and accommodation of the environment they are in allow them to tackle issues they face in their life, (Carr, 2010). The disadvantage is that the theory is achieved through observation of a few individuals thus it does not wholesomely including different behavioral aspects of diverse people (Weis, 2017). However, I believe that is theory is perfect for working with adolescents and my client because it encompasses different aspects of an individual’s life regardless of their backgrounds. It may be helpful in understanding the diverse aspects of adolescent psychology.
References
Carr, A. (2015). The handbook of child and adolescent clinical psychology: A contextual approach. Routledge.
Reynolds, W. M. (2010). Reynolds adolescent depression scale. The Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology, 1-1.
Weis, R. (2017). Introduction to abnormal child and adolescent psychology. Sage Publications.
