Development of Spirituality and Religiousness in Adolescence

This discussion post examines the development of spirituality and religiousness in adolescence, drawing on a scholarly article that explores spiritual development in affluent youth and its impact on mental health and long-term stability. The post summarizes the article's key findings, including ...Read More

Running head: DEVELOPMENT OF SPIRITUALITY AND ADOLESCENCE
DEVELOPMENT OF SPIRITUALITY AND ADOLESCENCE
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

1
DEVELOPMENT OF SPIRITUALITY AND ADOLESCENCE
In the article titled Filling the Void: Spiritual Development among Adolescents of the
Affluent, authors Barkin, Miller and Luthar (2015) talk about the implications of spiritual
development in the health outcomes of the affluent youth. the exploratory analyses of the authors
revealed that spiritual and religious development led to the long-term stability amongst the
adolescents aged 18 years and youth aged 24. They also found that spiritual development has
implications for the increase in mental health amongst adolescents and young people. In their
elaborate explanation on spirituality and religiosity, the authors state that the terms have not been
defined clearly yet. They further explain that the internalization of one’s beliefs and values are
investigative of the “flourishing during emerging adulthood”. In this age, spirituality is important
in constructing the identity of the individual.
Children’s cognitive development takes place from a very early age and continues
throughout life. Various theories have explained the cognitive development in children among
which, Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky’s theories have been the most influential. Jean Piaget’s
four stages of development – sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal
operational stage – clearly explain the development of children’s cognition at different stages
(Saxe, 2015). The development of spirituality and religiosity begins at the concrete operational
stage when the children develop the ability to be logical, less egocentric and increased awareness
about the world outside. It continues at the formal operational stage and beyond as well. Lev
Vygotsky’s theory on the other hand talks about the influence of culture on the children’s
cognitive development. Hence, according to Vygotsky’s theory, the development of spirituality
in children is the result of their cultural and social influence (McLeod, 2014). However, it could
not be asserted that these theories would be relevant in shaping the religious perspective of future

2
DEVELOPMENT OF SPIRITUALITY AND ADOLESCENCE
generations because the scenario is constantly changing. New theories and approaches are
emerging and children are acquiring new ways to learn and develop their cognitive ability.
Religious development witnesses an increase during the adulthood and middle age stages
of human development. during adulthood, both early and late adulthood, people become aware of
their surroundings and choose the course of their life. This is the stage when they are most likely
to feel frustrated and fed up of life. Spirituality and religiosity helps them tackle this frustration
and find positivity in life. Adulthood shapes the middle ages of human life and during the middle
age, the human tends to devote much of her or his time in exploring her or his spirituality.
However, as Barkin, Miller and Luthar (2015) have mentioned in their article, “Spirituality and
religiosity are “considered positive outcomes in their own right” during the emerging adulthood.
Religiousness in adolescence and early adulthood result in the increasing number of
people feeling emotionally and mentally alleviated. The consequences of religiousness in early
adulthood however indicate some negative pattern especially the negative influence of anti-social
groups who target these vulnerable young minds (Salas-Wright et al., 2017). The consequences
of true religiousness result in true spiritual experience in that the adolescents and early adults feel
mentally satisfied with their lives and everything around.

3
DEVELOPMENT OF SPIRITUALITY AND ADOLESCENCE
References:
Barkin, S. H., Miller, L., & Luthar, S. S. (2015). Filling the void: spiritual development among
adolescents of the affluent. Journal of religion and health, 54(3), 844-861.
McLeod, S. (2014). Lev vygotsky. Simply Psychology.
Salas-Wright, C. P., Vaughn, M. G., Maynard, B. R., Clark, T. T., & Snyder, S. (2017). Public or
private religiosity: Which is protective for adolescent substance use and by what
pathways?. Youth & Society, 49(2), 228-253.
Saxe, G. B. (2015). Culture and cognitive development: Studies in mathematical understanding.
Psychology Press.