Adolescent Self-Portrait Essay Example

Erik Erikson’s 8 stages of psychological development, he writes about the adolescent going through the crisis of identity versus role confusion. This is Erikson’s stage 5 of his psychological development. It is during this stage the adolescents will try to determine who they are and form their identity. For instance, as the adolescent transitions from childhood to adulthood they will look at the different roles that they play, such as a sibling, a student, or a child to their parents. When these roles are incorporated, they make up who the adolescent is and their identity.

However, role confusion will occur when the adolescent cannot incorporate their roles and have a difficult time coping with differing roles. The greatest effects that this will have on the adolescent’s personality are the feelings of being unsure and confused about their identity. The most striking change in social development is the adolescent’s need to be independent. When the adolescent becomes independent it is done so emotionally, socially and economically. It includes the child going from a parent-child relationship to adult-adult relationship.

It is also when the adolescent is capable of making the right decision financially and becomes a self-directed individual. The greatest effect that social change has on the personality of an adolescent is rebellion. The adolescent will not listen and try to live the way they want to, and also do things to distress their parents. Adolescence is a time to mature and find oneself while learning to deal with life on life’s terms. Every adult has experienced this and every child will experience this. There is no single event or boundary line, which denotes the

end of childhood or the beginning of adolescence.

Experts think of the passage from childhood into and through adolescence as composed of a set of transitions that unfold gradually and that touch upon many aspects of the individual's behavior, development, and relationships. These transitions are biological, cognitive, social, and emotional. Technically, puberty refers to the period during which an individual becomes capable of sexual reproduction.

More broadly speaking, however, puberty is a collective term to refer to all the physical changes that occur in the growing girl or boy as the individual passes from childhood into adulthood (Steinberg, Ph. D. , 2013). Boys and girls each go through changes particular to each sex. Boys try playing sports while girls try on makeup and learn the art of shopping. The duration of puberty also varies greatly: eighteen months to six years in girls and two to five years in boys. Hormones are chemical substances in the body that jump start specific organs and tissues. These chemical changes produce physical changes in boys and girls that start them on the journey to becoming men and women.

In boys, a male sex hormone called testosterone is produced, which causes the male genital to enlarge and prepare to be used in procreation. It also causes hair to grow in this area and under the arms, and causes the voice to lower. In girls, a female sex hormone called estrogen is produced, which causes hair to grow in the pubic area, breasts to enlarge, and the female genital to activate. These changes cause the ovaries to start releasing eggs, thus allowing pregnancy to occur. Release of both testosterone

and estrogen cause growth spurts, which causes change in weight and height.