Impact of Parental and Peers on Adolescence

This study focusses on the role played by guardians and peers on the lives of adolescents and young adults. It discusses the implication of various theories such as Freud’s psychosexual theory and Erikson’s theory on different stages of human development.

Running head: IMPACT OF PARENTAL AND PEERS ON ADOLESCENCE
Impact of parents and peers on adolescence
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IMPACT OF PARENTAL AND PEERS ON ADOLESCENCE
Introduction
This study focusses on the role played by guardians and peers on the lives of adolescents
and young adults. This study sheds light on the stages of human development and the social,
emotional, behavioral, physical changes in these individuals, which are shaped by the lifestyle of
their parents and peers. Moreover, the implication of various theories such as Freud’s
psychosexual theory and Erikson’s theory on different stages of human development are
discussed in this particular study.
Discussion
It is seen that parenting style varies from one family to another family. Raising a child is a
complicated task for parents as children tends to idolize their guardians since childhood. Any
wrong behavior of parents creates a negative impact on the psychology of children. During their
transition from childhood to adolescence, these individuals, become aggressive and cruel by
nature. In accordance with Hickman & Campbell (2016), if a child experiences lack of care and
love from their parents, it might happen that they become a self-centered person. There are high
chances that these adolescents and young adults become an emotionless person. They might
become a non-affectionate person. This shows that emotional aspect of adolescents as well as
young adults are highly influenced by the parental style. In the opinion of Pinquart (2016), a
child whose upbringing has been done by his or her guardians in a negligent manner, might
become socially secluded adolescent in future. It may happen that these individuals may exhibit
unacceptable behavior whenever they have to communicate with other individuals. This shows

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that behavioral and social aspect of an individual is shaped up by the parental style from infancy
until adolescence.
Peers are considered as an integral part in the life of young adults along with adolescents.
Thus, peers play a significant role in shaping up the behavioral and emotional aspect of young
adults along with adolescents. As stated by Smokowski et al., (2015), sometimes these
individuals are unable to cope up with peer pressure and they become prone towards alcohol
consumption and smoking. In addition to this, adolescents often tend to isolate themselves from
their close associates including family members, relatives and friends. It has been observed that
extreme peer pressure often leads to create a negative influence on their academics. As a result,
such individuals becomes mentally upset because they are unable to unleash their emotions to
anyone.
According to this theory, there are overall eight stages of development through which a
child has to pass beginning from infancy until adulthood. Therefore, sociocultural elements
determine the personality of an individual. These stages are Trust Vs Mistrust, Autonomy vs
Shame, Initiative vs Guilt, Industry vs Inferiority, Identity vs Role Confusion, Intimacy vs
Isolation, Generativity vs. Stagnation and Ego Integrity vs. Despair (Bursztyn & Jensen, 2015).
Any kind of failure to finish each of these phases will result in the development of an unhealthy
personality having behavioral and emotional issues. A sense of mistrust towards other
individuals might make the adolescents and young adults socially secluded and such emotionally
distressed people might consume drugs, drinks on a regular basis.

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IMPACT OF PARENTAL AND PEERS ON ADOLESCENCE
This theory sheds light on how a child’s personality is being developed since childhood.
As per this theory, the id (pleasure-seeking energy) of the child concentrates on some erogenous
areas. In this context, it can be stated that libido (psychosexual energy) is considered as the
driving force that shapes up the behavior of the child. This theory implies that a child’s
personality is being developed after passing through different stages such as oral stage, anal
stage, phallic stage, latent stage and genital stage (Malone et al., 2016). It is seen that if an
adolescent and a young adult exhibits behavioral issues, it can be stated that such an individual
has been raised in an inappropriate way. In other words, they might have experienced rash
behavior from their parents. Adolescents with emotional issues might have experienced extreme
peer pressure. In addition to this, Malone et al., (2016) commented that young adults facing
extreme peer pressure might result in doing self-harm. Thus, self-harm or suicidal tendency are
the outcomes of extreme peer pressure in adolescence.
Conclusion
From the above discussion, it can be concluded that parental style as well as peer pressure
are the determinants of an individuals’ personality development. It has been observed that the
proper application of Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development and Freud’s psychosexual
development identifies the underlying reasons behind the emotional and behavioral issues faced
by an individual. In addition to this, these theories also help to understand the different factors
that affects the upbringing of a child since childhood.

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IMPACT OF PARENTAL AND PEERS ON ADOLESCENCE
Smokowski, P. R., Bacallao, M. L., Cotter, K. L., & Evans, C. B. (2015). The effects of
positive and negative parenting practices on adolescent mental health outcomes in a
multicultural sample of rural youth. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 46(3), 333-
345.
In the opinion of Smokowski et al., (2015), adolescents suffering from anxiety and
depression have been neglected by their parents since their children. In other words, it can be
stated that lack of affection and care from family members, especially guardians are responsible
for causing aggression among these adolescents as well as young adults. In addition to this, lack
of attention from parents might cause depression among these individuals (Kline, 2014). As a
result, they fail to perform well in their educational care. It has been observed that adolescents
experiencing negligence often suffers from low self-esteem.
Hickman, M., & Campbell, R. (2016). Among friends: a qualitative exploration of the role
of peers in young people’s alcohol use using Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus, field and
capital Georgie J. MacArthur, Nina Jacob 2, Pandora Pound. Sociology of Health and
Illness, 39(1), 30-46.
In accordance with Hickman, & Campbell (2016), teenagers often consume alcohol with
their peers because they are not taken care by their close ones. It is seen that adolescents
sometimes drink for spending quality time with their peers and this alcohol consumption
becomes an integral part of their life. Liberalized licensing legislations in the UK regarding
alcohol consumption also drives individuals to drink with their peers thereby hampering their
overall health.

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References
Bursztyn, L., & Jensen, R. (2015). How does peer pressure affect educational investments?. The
quarterly journal of economics, 130(3), 1329-1367.
Hickman, M., & Campbell, R. (2016). Among friends: a qualitative exploration of the role of
peers in young people’s alcohol use using Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus, field and
capital Georgie J. MacArthur, Nina Jacob 2, Pandora Pound. Sociology of Health and
Illness, 39(1), 30-46.
Kline, P. (2014). Psychology and Freudian theory: An introduction. Abingdon: Routledge.
Malone, J. C., Liu, S. R., Vaillant, G. E., Rentz, D. M., & Waldinger, R. J. (2016). Midlife
Eriksonian psychosocial development: Setting the stage for late-life cognitive and
emotional health. Developmental psychology, 52(3), 496.
Pinquart, M. (2016). Associations of parenting styles and dimensions with academic
achievement in children and adolescents: A meta-analysis. Educational Psychology
Review, 28(3), 475-493.
Smokowski, P. R., Bacallao, M. L., Cotter, K. L., & Evans, C. B. (2015). The effects of positive
and negative parenting practices on adolescent mental health outcomes in a multicultural
sample of rural youth. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 46(3), 333-345.