Adolescence and Theory of Psychosocial Development

Running head: ADOLESCENCE AND THEORY OF PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
ADOLESCENCE AND THEORY OF PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
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ADOLESCENCE AND THEORY OF PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Introduction
As discussed by Arnett (2012), adolescent is a critical time when many changes take
place that involve biological, cognitive and social development. Most prevalent problems
observed in the adolescent is psychological problem such as inferiority complex which gives rise
to the conflict that in turn make the majority of the adolescents socially distant since adolescent
is a very sensitize stage of development which shapes an individual as an adult, any minor
inconvenience affects the development of adolescent well-being which further affect quality of
life. This topic of inferiority complex and associated conflict catches the focus since a majority
of the adolescent suffering from the inferiority complex due to the peer pressures, influence
technological as well as the poor parental practice which affected their psychological
development. The aim of the paper is to evaluate the reason behind inferiority complex of
adolescent and the associated conflict with the assistance of Erikson’s theory of psychosocial
development. This paper will illustrate the details of research articles in order to provide an
empirical literature review in the following paragraphs.
Literature review
In the study, Jones et al. (2014), Erikson contended that during the psychosocial
development an individual goes through different stages of changes which shape them as an
adult. The author suggested that out of eight stages, the fifth stage of the psychosocial
development is the stage where individuals meet identity crisis due to the inferiority complex
that leads to the conflict in the family. The authors conducted research on the college students
who were from the department of psychology, sociology and human development and provided a

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ADOLESCENCE AND THEORY OF PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
questionnaire to identify the reason behind the inferiority complex that gives rise to the conflict.
The researchers used different assessment tool in order to assess the role of friendship and peer
influence in giving rise to the identity crisis followed by frequent conflict and social m isolation.
The study suggested that two friendship characters were directly related to the identity status
development. The supportive friendship or positive peer influence reduces the possibility of
developing conflict in adolescents; however, negative peer influence gives rise to the inferiority
complex and a sense of not feeling good about themselves. Consequently, the sense of not
feeling good enough or inferior gives rise to conflict not only within friendship but also with
family members. It also implants trust issues within the adolescent as well as compelled them to
be socially distant. It diminished the stability of the relationship with the family members due to
sudden aggression and violence. Therefore, in order to reduce the inferiority complex positive
peer influence, supportive friendship, supportive parental practice help in developing the
identity, resolve conflict with family member and friends and it helped to develop the trust
within the relationship which is a root of every relationship.
Duarte, Pinto-Gouveia, and Stubbs (2015) stated a similar kind of opinion regarding the
inferiority complex. Peers have a significant effect on the adolescent which shape their identity
as an adult and amend their personal values and beliefs. The authors stated that bullying by peers
has a significant effect on both body imaging and disorder eating. The researchers conducted
randomized trial control on 290 adolescent girls and involve them in assessments in order to
identify the reason behind inferiority complex and the possibility of involving in the conflict with
peers and family members. The researchers found out that bullying includes ridiculing someone
by calling them with different names, physically abused is another common experience,
experienced by the adolescent. Consequently, it leads to the victimizations and possibility of