Adolescent Development and Challenges

This assignment delves into the complexities of adolescence, examining its developmental milestones, psychological and social changes, and the unique challenges faced by young people during this period. It analyzes various aspects of adolescent development, including cognitive growth, identity formation, peer relationships, risk-taking behaviors, and the transition to adulthood. The assignment draws upon research findings and scholarly literature to provide a comprehensive understanding of adolescent experiences and the factors that contribute to their well-being.

Transition to young
parenthood

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
1. Concepts of adolescence, its origins and emergence as a social construct and its relevance
within today’s society.............................................................................................................1
2. Range of sources (including fiction, film and newspapers) to determine the extent to which
‘moral panics’ shape and influence discourses on adolescence, youth and young people ....2
3. Youth transitions to young parenthood .............................................................................4
4. Contribution of social theory to the debates surrounding young people’s transition to
adulthood and our understanding of this process...................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCE...................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Transition to young parenthood comprises of a development process in which individual
goes from one stage such as childhood to being in another stage like youth or adolescence. In
every stage of development process, people learn new things which are always helpful in their
life. This present report will focus on concepts and origin of adolescence and it also will also
help in understanding the sources to investigate the basis of moral panic in respect to young
people. Along with it, this report will also critically emphasize on youth transition. This report
will further access to different theoretical perspectives to understand young people's transitions
to adulthood.
1. Concepts of adolescence, its origins and emergence as a social construct and its relevance
within today’s society
Adolescence is basically a transitional stage of psychological and physical development
of human and it occurs during development period from puberty stage to legal adulthood which
means age of majority. The time period of adolescence is associated with stage of teenage years
and in development, transition occurs both mentally and physically. The time period of
development involves changes such as biological, mental and social alterations. The term
adolescence is generally associated with more independence and little supervision as compared
to age of preadolescences (Tomanović and Ignjatović, 2006). Basically, this stage is a time to
acquire all necessary skills to participate in the adult world. Adolescence is divided into three
stages Early Adolescence, Middle Adolescence and Late Adolescence. Early stage is a stage
which consists of puberty transitions i.e. 8-12. Individuals in this stage become aware of their
rapidly changing body structure. Middle stage starts from 12-15, by the time puberty passes the
individual gets concerned as to how he/she looks and is perceived by the world. Later stages i.e.
15-18 feature the intellectual and developed side of the individual.
American psychologist, Granville Stanley Hall gives a concept of adolescence in which
he uses scientific methods to study adolescence. Hall describes that the period of adolescence
starts at puberty age of 12-13 years and it ends late between age of 22-25 years and in this he
also defines that adolescence is basically a period of storm and stress. With the help of
recapitulation theory, Hall describes period of adolescence as a moment which is related for
uplifting the mankind to directly super-anthropoid (Masten, 2004). According to theory of
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adolescence and recapitulation, Hall defines adolescence period as a new birth in which he states
that human traits are completely born in this stage. Further, he believes that characteristics of
adolescence include both childish selfishness and idealistic altruism and he also stated that
adolescent is wanting of both seclusion and solitude. According to Stanley Hall, during the stage
of development and transition there is also yearning for authority and idols which does not
exclude revolutionary against any kind of idols and authority. In this, Hall defines that in time
period of late adolescence the individual recapitulates begins the state of modern civilization and
this development stage corresponds to the ends process of maturity (Gee, 2007).
Even though, this theory plays an important role in study of adolescent development but
there was few criticism of Hall's work such as many of Hall's ideas have not stood test of time
and many writers do not agree that normal adolescence is a time period of stress and storm.
According to Bandura 2006, “many young people in USA do not feel stress and anxiety, so, he
felt that assumption about adolescence was an overstatement of real fact. He points out that if
society assumes adolescence as a time period of radical tension than it runs the risk of self
fulfilling prophecy” (Bandura, 1986). In the same way, according to Atwater 2010, “the
adolescence experience is heavily influenced by both social and cultural environment.”
From the above criticism of authors as well as the statement made by Hall, further it can
be concluded that difference between Hall's time and present time demonstrates culture changes,
so view of psychologists on adolescence also gets changed. In that, conservative time period Hall
frankly discussed the sexuality in adolescence and also viewed sexuality as a healthy and normal,
this discussion alarmed many people of that conservative time period and many of them did not
agree with sexuality in adolescence development (Learning and the Adolescent Mind, 2010).
2. Range of sources (including fiction, film and newspapers) to determine the extent to which
‘moral panics’ shape and influence discourses on adolescence, youth and young people
The term moral panic occurs when an episode, condition, person or person's group
emerges to threat to societal interests and values. In enforcing moral panic in society, media
sources such as newspaper, film and radio plays a massive role in it. Basically, moral panic is a
term which is used to define media presentation of something that has already happened and on
this presentation the public will react in a manner that promotes panic (Learning and the
Adolescent Mind, 2006). It is generally a feeling of fear which spread among large number of
people that some evils are trying to threaten the well being of society. The moral panic has
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various features such as concern, hostility, consensus and volatility etc. In this process, media
creates a folk devil and reports its actions in sensationalized form in front of public and through
this process public concern increases about these actions. Public start to think that moral panic
can disturb their life and may give threat to their social values. In this whole scenario,
adolescence and youth are mostly affected and influenced by moral panics in which according to
situation their behavior too changes (Schoeni and Ross, 2005).
Basis of moral panic-
Basis of moral panic can be defined that how moral panic impact on people. In situation
of moral panic, individual person or a group who poses harms to norms and values of society are
identified as a threat to society at moral level. The nature of risk disclosure enable and influence
youth people towards moral panic, so, the construction of moral panic is generally surrounded by
youth in which their behavior is delinquent and deviant. They are associated with emergence of
different forms of youth culture which are associated with violence (Roisman, 2004).
Implications of moral panic on young people
Moral panic gives adverse impact on youth, adolescence and also on their perception.
According to the situations and condition, people immediately start to react on these situations
and in this media plays an important role in covering that moral panic related events. The
amounts of information which are related to these events are conveyed by media to people and
according to that information they start to build their own opinion and perception (Learning and
the Adolescent Mind, 2006). The effects on people from moral panic have been stated below:
 Start to fear-
Through media, information directly reaches to people and according to that people start
to fear that they are in danger. The fear such as threat to their life both personal and professional,
disturb their daily activities of life, negative effect on society such as harm to norms and ethical
values (Masten, 2004). Discomfort feeling-
In events of moral panic, people start feeling discomfort and perceive that event or
episode as a hectic situation. For example, affect of Ebola virus on youth and other people
created a situation of panic that further worsened the situation of epidemic in the country. This
situation is also a form of moral panic which affects large number of people. Take a stand against that situation-
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If moral panic related events are not real or are threat to society than some people take a
stand against that event and try to encourage other people also. People try to generate awareness
among others. For example, many will say that this event is just a rumor and they do not need to
feel fear towards that moral panic (Oesterle Johnson and Mortime, 2004). Aggression or violence behavior-
The events which are related to moral panic also have adverse impact on youth's
perception. Youth at their adolescences stage already is infuriated with the raging hormonal rush
in their biological structure. Any situation or event of panic worsens this condition and the
individuals start to become violent and generate violence in the event. For example, in a college
due to exam paper leak, if moral panic generates then management decides to postpone the
examination in spring break. This situation creates a panic situation as students do not favor the
same. Students start mass gathering and with violent behavior disarms the property of college.
(Schulenberg,, Sameroff and Cicchetti, 2004).
3. Youth transitions to young parenthood
Youth transitions are conceptualized because becoming a parent for the first time in
young age is a major transition for adolescents and young people. In this context, while age is an
important factor of readiness for young parenthood and however there are also other factors
which are important such as circumstances of family and social support system. All these factors
can influence success chances of young parents. Young people become major actors in
parenthood situation because they shape well-being and health of next generation. Young
parenthood faces many challenges in youth transitions such as mental, health, family
circumstances, low resources, economic conditions and less social control etc (Learning and the
Adolescent Mind, 2006). However, youth or young people who become parents and they have
shortage of resources, key life skills which are vital in process of parenting. In this regard,
according to The Urban Child Institute (2014), young or youth parenting is major risk factor
which is associated with development of childhood. When a baby is born, young parents faces
many difficulties acquiring language and cognitive skills as well as emotional and social skills
such as self-confidence and self control, less knowledge and experience about child development
is the main reason behind these difficulties. In young parenthood situations, there are various risk
factors which generally occur; these risk factors are discussed below:
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 Dream deferred- To raise a baby, many times young parenthood quit their school or
college to solve their difficulties. But in this, they stop the source through which they
gain further education and knowledge (Osgood, 2005). This hampers their growth and
knowledge base. They lose their carrier goals and perspectives in return of raising a baby.
This situation on the onset does not affect much but these effects are considered vital for
the future. These young parents are generally college drop outs who do not receive
handsome pay and enough job opportunities to raise their family. This situation adds to
the financial problems faced by the parenthood from many others issues generated as a
result of the same.
 Single parenting- Many times it is seen that adolescent or younger parents are not
married and in this case teenager fathers abandon their responsibilities due to inability
and fear. They leave teen mothers with less financial and moral support. In this regard,
the mother is left alone with less support to raise her kid in the world. Despite of this, in
many cases, it is evident that the family and friends lessen their support to the young
mother. Cases of depression and stress are prevailing in young mothers who are raising
their kids alone.
 Harsh parenting- Generally, it is found that young parents use harsh parenting style in
development of child because of less coping skills and experience. The fewer skills
generally create frustration and irritation while caring a new born baby. Low education
level and financial problems are two among many reasons faced by the young parents.
The young teens get infuriated and irritated by these daily problems which results in
harsh parenting styles for their kids.
In the process of youth transition to young parenthood, the most critical factors are adjustment
and family support which can help new parenthood for infant development. Both these factors
reduce challenges of mental and health which are important for parents (Oesterle Johnson and
Mortime, 2004).
4. Contribution of social theory to the debates surrounding young people’s transition to
adulthood and our understanding of this process.
In the process of transition to adulthood, many young people face many challenges in this.
Challenges like independent living can be demanding such as paying for housing and other
related expenses, managing new responsibilities without financial and emotional support. When
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a teenager or a younger person prepares for adulthood challenges then they are basically entering
in development and growth time period. In this development time period, they basically explore
themselves that how they are and what they want to become in the future. For this purpose, they
need new skills to take new responsibilities and roles. In the transition time period, changes
occur in behavior and thinking power (Piaget and Inhelder, 2013). In adulthood, people are
mature and think logically in every situation because at the time of growth changes also occur in
brain development. In adulthood phase, people are able to understand the difference between
right and wrong. In growth process, hormones contribute in developing physical changes and
powerful emotions.
In adulthood, people are regarded as independent, responsible and self sufficient because
in development process, intellectual maturity and physical have been fully attained. The
transition to adulthood from young to mid-life adults is all about accepting responsibilities and to
make decision on their own values and beliefs (Saigal, 2006). In transition process, young people
accept the importance of learning which helps them to stand alone in front of others. In transition
of young people to adulthood, they identifies that self sufficiency and independence are highly
valued. For the establishment and identification, adults need desired qualification and skills for
employment. In this situation, many youth experience very smooth transition to the adulthood
phase (Osgood, 2005). The aspects of adults are such as:
 Adults people gets duties and rights like they have the right to vote.
 To complete their economic needs they can start full time or part time work without
being dependent on parents.
 They are not eligible to claim full benefits of social security until the age of 25 years.
 They try to develop independent and separate identity and lifestyle.
In this development time period, young people are also contended with multiple
challenges and opportunities which can give important implications over life. Further, it is
observed that individual developments are always determined by decisions related to
employment, education, marriage, residential arrangement and parenthood (Christine, 2006). The
vital changes in social responsibilities and roles can develop stress and can also test their
individual capacity for adopting new changes. It might be possible that these changes can bring
new opportunities which can help them to overcome previous difficulties.
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CONCLUSION
Through the above report it is clearly articulated that transition process plays an
important role in stages of human life such as childhood, adolescence and adulthood. Further,
this report shows concepts of adolescence, importance of media in moral panic. Becoming
parents is a huge responsibility; in the process of transition to young parents there are various
issues and challenges faced by the teens. This research focuses on more aspects of youth
transition to adulthood and young parenthood.
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REFERENCE
Books and Journals
Oesterle, S., Johnson, M.K. and Mortimer, J.T., 2004. Volunteerism during the transition to
adulthood: A life course perspective. Social Forces. 82(3). pp.1123-1149.
Bandura, A., 1986. Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Prentice
Hall.
Gee, C.B. and et.al., 2007. Adolescent and young adult mothers’ relationship quality during the
transition to parenthood: Associations with father involvement in fragile families. Journal
of Youth and Adolescence. 36(2). pp.213-224.
Masten, A.S. and et.al., 2004. Resources and resilience in the transition to adulthood: Continuity
and change. Development and psychopathology. 16(04). pp.1071-1094.
Mwale, M., 2008. Behavioural change vis-à-vis HIV/AIDS Knowledge mismatch among
adolescents: The case of some selected schools in Zomba. Nordic Journal of African
Studies. 17(4). pp.288-299.
Osgood, D.W., 2005. On your own without a net: The transition to adulthood for vulnerable
populations. University of Chicago Press.
Piaget, J. and Inhelder, B., 2013. The growth of logical thinking from childhood to adolescence:
An essay on the construction of formal operational structures. 84. Routledge.
Roisman, G.I. and et.al., 2004. Salient and emerging developmental tasks in the transition to
adulthood. Child development. 75(1). pp.123-133.
Saigal, S. and et.al., 2006. Transition of extremely low-birth-weight infants from adolescence to
young adulthood: comparison with normal birth-weight controls. Jama. 295(6). pp.667-
675.
Schoeni, R.F. and Ross, K.E., 2005. Material Assistance from Families during the Transition to
Adulthood. University of Chicago Press.
Schulenberg, J.E., Sameroff, A.J. and Cicchetti, D., 2004. The transition to adulthood as a
critical juncture in the course of psychopathology and mental health. Development and
psychopathology. 16(04). pp.799-806.
Tomanović, S. and Ignjatović, S., 2006. The transition of young people in a transitional society:
The case of Serbia. Journal of youth studies. 9(3). pp.269-285.
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Online
Christine, F., 2006. Learning and the Adolescent Mind. [Online]. Available
through:<http://learningandtheadolescentmind.org/people_06.html>. [Accessed on 29th
December 2015].
Mwale. M., 2010. ADOLESCENCE AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHOLOGY: INTRODUCTORY
CONSIDERATIONS. [Online]. Available through:
<http://researchcooperative.org/profiles/blogs/adolescence-and-adolescent>. [Accessed on 29th
December 2015].
How Adolescent Parenting Affects Children, Families, and Communities. 2014. [Online].
Available through: <http://www.urbanchildinstitute.org/articles/editorials/how-adolescent-
parenting-affects-children-families-and-communities>. [Accessed on 30th December 2015].
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