Term Paper on "Developmental Crisis in Adolescence"

Term Paper 5 pages (1489 words) Sources: 1

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Developmental Crises in Adolescence

Developmental Crises

Developmental crises: The nature vs. nurture debate

Our culture regards adolescence as an inherently stressful period, because of the environmental pressures it places upon teens. However, there is also a great deal of evidence that 'nature' affects the ability of the individual to withstand stresses as much as 'nurture' and there is a certain consistency in a person's character throughout his or her lifetime regarding the ability to cope with stress. Adults may simply be better able to regulate stress because of their greater ability to control and choose their life situations but they may still exhibit the same easily stressed personality they manifested in childhood and adolescence. A longitudinal study of children who were chronically shy found that they tended to self-select careers that offered them greater control over their environment, versus their more daring peers (Kagan 2010: 5-6). Studies of infants' reactions to new stimuli, whether fearful or open, foreshadowed their reaction to later events as they aged (Kagan 2010: 10).

Yet social modeling can affect also affect the individual's responses, regardless of temperament, as seen in Bandura's studies of children modeling violent behavior only when it was suggested they do so, as well as chimpanzee's responses to snakes and potentially threatening stimuli (although not to non-threatening stimuli in the form of flowers). The nature-nurture conundrum is not a black-and-white debate. A host of different environmental and genetic factors interact in terms of how they may influence the reactions and behaviors of developing adolescents.

For example, some research which indicated that while some unpleasant smells and stimuli produced extremely negative reactions in infants, others did not. Social conditioning is not necessary for infants to react strongly to bitter smells and tastes, but even in the absence of stimuli, infants may mimic the responses of caretakers, demonstrating how they are 'social beings.' Even the most genetically-oriented theorists acknowledge that there may be certain developmental universals, such as the need for a secure attachment with a caretaker. "Because being attached to other humans is key to survival, disorders of attachment are regarded as serious; babies and toddlers who don't have a preference for primary caregivers are in danger of severe emotional disabilities. Some may seem independent, others appear too clingy, still others are too ready to take off with anyone" (Lecture notes 2011). A host of individualistic and general 'human' biological responses combined with environment shape the character.

Adolescence is a difficult time for young people, and the stressors that occur in utero can intensify those pressures. It has been found that the time of year, illnesses, and even weather conditions can increase the propensity of infants to develop schizophrenia. Although schizophrenia has a clear biological, genetic component, environmental conditions can cause those genes to manifest themselves more obviously. Similarly, sexual orientation can be affected by birth order and even 'handedness.' Later-born boys who are right-handed have a stronger propensity to be gay than first-born boys (Kagan 2010: 24).

Within the psychiatric profession, there have been oscillations between favoring the 'nature' and 'nurture' hypothesis. At present, after many years emphasizing Freudian conceptions of development, there has been a shift back to favoring a nature, or genetic and biologically-based thesis of development. The new understanding of the degree to which genes affect the brain and the explosion of experimental research has been a primary reason for this shift within the profession. Anxiety disorders and reactivity to new stimuli are not something that suddenly emerges during adolescence, although the biological and to some degree the cultural pressures of this time period may make them more evident. Even infants show high-reactive and low- reactive behavior patterns that continue in later life. When interviewed in adolescence, the high-reactive babies in one study became more worried, moody adolescents who reported more irrational fears than their low-reactive counterparts (Kagan 2010: 32-33). All adolescents manifest anxiety to some degree, but the more reactive teens reported frequent worries about talking to strangers, versus more practical concerns about athletic or academic performance. These teens reported not exhibiting positive risk-taking behaviors because of fears about talking to new people or trying new things. Unpredictability generated fear, not excitement.

A fear of unpredictability and uncertainty makes it difficult to cope with adolescence, when life is in a continual state of flux for even the most stable and grounded individual. "Students would burn out if forced to spend the entire day amidst the social intensity of the cafeteria and the… READ MORE

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