Transcript the adolescent in society

THE ADOLESCENT IN SOCIETY
4TH PARTIAL
Adolescents are caught in 2 worlds: no longer
children yet they are not adults in the eyes of
society.
It is the period between onset puberty and the
beginning of adulthood.
Puberty is the physical maturing that makes an
individual capable of reproduction.
• It is not an universal phenomenon.It doesn’t exist in many
societies. It is a creation of modern industrial societies.
• In some societies young jump from childhood to adulthood
once they have taken part in formal coming- of- age
ceremonies.These usually take place at the ages of 13 or 14
changing on certain societies. Some ceremonies show
strength,endurance,filing teeth,tattooing or scarring of the
teeth. Young people who complete those tasks are then
considered adults.
• For them adolescence is unknown.
Until the past century was adolescence acknowledged
as a stage of development in the industrialized countries.
These 3 factors have been important in the development of
adolescence in a distinctive life stage:
1. Education : In the U.S. and othercountries it is mandatory to
stay in school up to 16. There many stay and finish when they are
18.Then many go to college and graduate in their early 20’s.
Education extends the period of adolescence because many
students are dependent on others for their financial support.
2.Exclusion of youth from labor force.
In many places child labor laws stop youngnpeople
from working until age 16.Most lack the training for a
complete routine so they only work part-time jobs
and continue studying.
3. Development of juvenile –justice system.
By distinguishing adults and juvenile offenders
society has created a separate legal status for young
people. There are reformatories for youngs that have
committed crimes.
ASSIGNMENT p.p.p. 15pts.
• Investigate coming of age ceremonies in
different cultures. Show pictures.
• Groups of three
ASSIGNMENTS
1. Write a ten sentence paragraph about how
has your life changed in the last 3 years. Relate
this to :
• family relation,
• friends,
12 pts.
• school,grades,
• tastes,hobbies.
2. Write 2 paragraphs giving examples of peer
pressure; a negative and a possitive ,that you
have seen among your friends. 12 pts.
3.In couples,write 2 paragraphs explaining how
the adolescence experience varies according to
individual circumstances as:
• economic status
• family structure
16 pts.
• region of residence.
RESEARCH-ppp
15 pts.
• In groups of three investigate about teenage
pregnancy; media, drugs,consequences.
• 3 paragraphs.
There are 5 characteristics that apply to the lives of
all adolescents:
• 1.Biological and growth development: the brain
and the endicrine system comtrol the biological
development. PUBERTY is biological,it’s the period
when people become able to produce children.
Teens undergo growth spurts,voice changes and
development of sexual characteristics.Anxiety or
embarrassment is caused when certain teens don’t
develop physically as faster as others of the same
age.
Undefined status
• It is often difficult for adolescents to
determine their status.Some adults treat
adolescents as children while others treat
them as adults. Different people have
different attitudes toward them.Some are
youth oriented and have adopted some of the
values,language and dress that are popular
among adolescents.But others are often
critical on the way they dress,music they listen
and their behaviors.
Increased decision making
• When children reach adolescence they must
make decisions on their own like what
highschool courses should they take ,what
sports should they participate in,what clubs
should they join,should they consider a
college education.There seems no end to
these decisions to be made.
Increased pressure
• Adolescents have pressure from many sources. Parents have rules
for them, with whom they can go out, places to go and time to
come back . At the same time parents want their children to have
an active social life. So there is a pressure between peer pressure
and parental wishes.
• They also have pressure at school: classes to
attend,homeworks,exams,grades,activities.
• Maybe the greatest pressure comes from
their peers.Most want to be accepted and be
part of the in groups.They want to go along
with fashion and this creates a pressure
• Each year billions of dollars are spent in designing and marketing
clothes,cosmetics,sport equipments, movies, and music for
teenagers.In most cases the advertisement of these products
attempt to create peer pressure .
• Adolescents also have pressure on establishing relations.Acceptance
and popularity are main concerns.
• Some face job pressures ; to find a part-time job or summer job.
Then there is pressure for having enough time for family
,job,studies,and social activities.
The search for self
• Adolescents are mature enough to think
about themselves and know what they want
about life.Most can sort through their values
and know what things are really important for
them.They can establish norms that will guide
their behavior.They can set priorities for their
lives .Such abilities are extremely
important.When people know who they are,
what they want out of life and which values
will serve them best ,they are in a better
possition to make the most out of adulthood.
Can affect the life of an adolescent :
• Economic status,
• family composition
• place of residence
• race,ethnicity
• religion
All these can make a difference in the kind of
adolescent experience a person has.
Teenagers and dating
• Dating is a social behavior that is familiar to
the majority of people but it isn’t a universal
phenomenon.
• Dating or meeting of people as a romantic
engagement is found in societies that allow
individuals to choose their own marriage
partner. In some societies marriages are
arranged by parents who negotiates a
marriage contract between families.
• Dating didn’t emerge as a formal interaction
b/w sexes until after WWI .Only in the past 60
years have sociologists studied dating.
• Dating may eventually lead to marriage.In its
casual stages the main purpose is entertainment.It
is the means through which most choose spouse
in the modern society.Then the process is a
continuum.
• The continuum starts with casual dating then
going steady, later engagement and finally
wedding.As individuals move in the continuum
there is more commitment in the relation.
Courtship
The purpose is to get married.
It was not casual and the roles were strictly
defined.To court a women a young man had to
meet the parents first and ask their permission.
At the same time it was expected that the
intentions were honorable.
• There was close supervision and rarely was
the couple left alone.
• Young people had fun together but the main
purpose was to find a spouse.
• Prior to the Industrial Revolution the U.S.
economy was based on agriculture.The time of
marriage was when a man could support a family.
So it depended on the fathers desire when to give
land to the son so he could be independent and
start a family. Because of this, parents controlled
the choices of partners of their children.
• During Industrial Revolution people moved to the
cities away from the farms and as result they
became more independent from their
parents.This economic freedom reduced parental
control over courtship and developed dating.
Factors that lead emergence of dating
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Industrial Revolution
Coeducational highschools
Telephones
Cars
All these gave independence and equality to
women.
FUNCTIONS OF DATING
Casual Dating is a form of entertainment
Psychological needs met by dating:
conversation,companionship,understanding
Dating is a means of socialization:
Teaches individuals of members of the opposite sex
and how to behave in social settings, defines self
concept.
Dating helps individuals attain status. In some
societies dating a person who is valued by others can
raise one’s own status.
Spouse selection becomes a great issue.
• Dating patterns
• There are traditional dating patterns and at the same time
the informal patterns characteristics of dating today.
• Traditional dating patterns
• Men took the first step.
• Rules of conduct were well defined. Peer pressure to
conform to certain behavior was strong and behavior that
was not in line with group expectation was strongly
dissaproved.
• In most cases there was an expected time for asking out. If
later, then the person asked out was considered a second
choice .Dating was so expected and tied to a social status
that individuals that didn’t have one hid in their rooms in
shame.
• They were centered in the couple.
• If a couple continued to date over time they
went steady.This brought expectations and
commitments.This was an anticipatory
socialization for marriage.
• CONTEMPORARY DATING PATTERNS
• Dating doesn’t have formal patterns.Men and
women interact informally.Both sexes initiate
dates.Anyone of them can pay for the
date.Todays dating is based on frienship and
the group more than in the couple.It is not
necessary to make an effort on creating the
best impression or selling themselves well.
CHALLENGES IN ADOLESCENTS
• Teen agers try to figure who they are and who
they want to be.
• They are confronted for the first time with
important life decisions and their decisions
can have serious consequences .
• They face situations that involve risky
behaviors: sexual behavior,drug use and
suicide.
• How they make difficult decisions shapes who
they are and who they will become.
SEXUAL BEHAVIOR
• The norms of sexual behavior vary widely
from society to society.
• Some preindustrial societies permit sexual
relations before marriage while others even
encourage it.
• In the western countries there are strict norms
against premarital sexuality.
Sexual revolution
• During the 1960’s and the 70’s the birth
control pill was developed so as the emerge
of the Feminist movement (liberation)
• Human sexuality became a topic openly
discussed and explored. So then sexuality
became a familiar feature of the American
culture.
MEDIA INFLUENCES
• Media influences early sexual behavior.Teens
exposed to sexual content are likely to have early
sexual activity . Media: TV,music,movies and
magazines.
• During the 1990’s programs were established
with the objective of promoting ABSTINENCE
among teen agers.Those unwilling to abstain
were encouraged to use effective methods of
birth control. These programs have been effective
since teen pregnancy has decreased.
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE EARLY SEX. ACTIVITY
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Family income level
Parents marital status
Religion participation
High income level -2 parent family: lower rates of sexual
activity
• Low income-one parent family: higher rate of sexual
activity.
• Teenager participating in religion: less experienced
sexually.
• Teen agers whose friends have premarital sex are more
likely to be sexually active than those whose friends are
not sexually active.
Consequences of early Sex. Activity
• Babies born to teen age moms have lower
birth weight and are more likely to die in their
first year of life.
• Teenagers are less likely to finish highschool
and college.
• Lower earnings because of lower education
• Children of teenage parents are more likely to
have learning problems.
• These children have an increased risk of
becoming teenage parents.