Type:
Solution Manual
Resource:
Adolescent, The Development, Relationships, and Culture
Edition:
13th Edition
Author(s):
Kim Gale Dolgin
Chapter 1 The Social Context of Adolescence I. The Social Context of Adolescence A. The Word Adolescence 1. The word adolescence comes from the Latin verb adolescere, which means to grow or to grow to maturity B. Timing 1. Most people place the beginning of adolescence at the time in which children begin to physically mature into individuals capable of reproduction 2. The upper boundary of adolescence is less clear. Different criteria can be used, and none are universally agreed upon. Most adults tend to think of adolescence as ending with a combination of attaining financial independence, attaining emotional independence, and attaining a change in perspective in which one focuses on issues that are less adolescent and more adult II. Approaches to Studying Adolescents A. Biological 1. Discusses the process of sexual maturation and physical growth that take place during puberty B. Cognitive Approach 1. Deals with two aspects a. The qualitative changes that take place in the way adolescents think b. The quantitative changes that take place in intelligence and information processing C. Psychosexual Approach 1. Deals with the development of emotions and of the self, including the development of self-concept, self-esteem, gender, and identity D. Social Relationships 1. Parents a. Parent –adolescent conflicts b. Sibling relationships c. Parenting styles 2. Different family constellations a. Single- parent families b. Blended families c. Adoptive families 3. Peers 4. Friendships 5. Romantic Relationships 6. Moral Values a. Morality as an intrinsically social phenomenon 7. School & the Broader Social World a. School dropouts b. Career decisions and career education c. Social problems including suicide, delinquency, running away from home, and substance abuse .
1
E. Emerging Adulthood 1. Emerging adulthood has become an increasingly more common bridge stage. It is now normative enough that it deserves discussion, since it will be the next phase of life for many adolescents. F. Eclectic Approach 1. The approach is interdisciplinary. III. The Changing Face of American Adolescence A. Although there are increasingly more adolescents in the United States, they now make up a smaller proportion of the total population because people are living longer and the birthrate is dropping. B. The racial and ethnic makeup of American adolescents is also changing. More and more are of African, Hispanic, or Asian descent. IV. Our Evolving Society A. The society in which adolescents grow up has an important influence on their development. Due to rapid change, different cohorts have different characteristics. 1. Major Adolescent Cohorts since the Early 1900s a. The Lost Generation. These were individuals who were adolescents or young adults during or just after World War I. b. The G.I. Generation. This is the generation of Americans who were children during the Depression and youth during World War II. c. The Silent Generation. Born too late to serve in World War II and too early to be unconventional and antiauthoritarian. d. The Baby Boomers. This group was born during the years after World War II, after the GIs came home and began their adult civilian lives. e. Generation X. This group was born between the mid-1960s and about 1980. The name reflects this generation’s feelings of cynicism and alienation. f. Generation Y. Also known as the Millennial Generation, these are individuals born from about 1980 until 2000. g. Generation ? The most recent living generation. They will be the first generation raised solely in the post 9/11 era. B. The Evolving Prolongation of Adolescence 1. Adolescents are taking longer to finish their education, settle into a career, move out of their parents’ home, marry, and have children. a. This new “in-between” state is called emerging adulthood. C. Evolving Communication and Information Technologies 1. During the last 100 years, Americans have witnessed unprecedented advances. a. Computer The first personal computer was introduced in 1980. Computer use has skyrocketed. b. The Internet Conservative estimates put more than 1.5 billion users on the Internet. An unfortunate downside to the Internet is that it makes a wide variety of inappropriate materials readily available to children and adolescents. Communication Decency Act (1996) overturned in 1997 upholding right of free speech. .
2
D. Evolving World of Work and Consumption 1. Adults are working more and more hours and holding second jobs to keep up with material needs. More American adolescents are employed and the proportion of high school students who work has been rising steadily. Adolescent buying power has been growing at an enormous rate. Adolescents who work too many hours have a lowered academic achievement, increased substance abuse, and are at risk of delinquency. E. Evolving Educational Imperatives 1. Expanding technology and social complexity have increased the need for higher education and thus lengthened the period of adolescent dependency. In 2008, more than two-thirds of men between the ages of 18 and 24 lived at home with one or both of their parents; more than 63% of unmarried 18 to 24 year old women did as well. 2. The cost of college education is rising more rapidly than the standard of living. 3. Technology in education is helping teachers to develop classroom resources and use both interactive and virtual laboratories. F. The Evolving Family 1. Changes in Marriage and Parenthood a. Marriage rate has declined and the age of marriage has gone up. b. Declining birthrates have resulted in smaller families. 2. Changes in Family Dynamics a. Expectations that individuals bring to marriage have changed. Fulfillment of romantic and companionship, not economic necessity, are considered to be the primary function of getting married. 3. The Democratic Family a. A democratic form of the family has evolved. The patriarchal structure is no longer the norm. The feminist movement brought some economic power and freedom to women. Educational opportunities for women and the increase in the percentage of married women working outside the home encouraged the adoption of more egalitarian sex roles in the family. 4. The Child-Centered Family a. The focus shifted from what a child could do to serve family to a matter of what the family could contribute to the total development of the child. 5. Nonmarital Cohabitation a. The increase in the number of couples who cohabit before marriage means adolescents will be more likely to be raised by nonwed, cohabitating couples than in the past and they will be more likely to cohabitate themselves. 6. Out-of-Wedlock Births a. There has been a dramatic increase in the number of births to unwed and never-wed mothers. 7. Divorce a. In spite of downward trend, the United States has the highest divorce rate in the world. .
3
G. The Evolving Sexual Landscape 1. The Positive Effects of the Evolving Sexual Landscape a. Development of Scientific Knowledge of Sexual Functioning b. Treatment of Sexual Dysfunction c. Development of Contraceptives d. Willingness to Deal with Unwanted Sexual Behavior e. Flexibility of Gender Roles 2. Negative Effects of the Evolving Sexual Landscape a. An Earlier Beginning to Premarital Sexual Behavior b. Nonmarital Pregnancy c. Sexually Transmitted Disease and AIDS d. Confusion about Sex H. Evolving Safety Concerns 1. Increased fear of violence in children and adults. 2. Violent Crime a. The violent crime rate in the United States has fallen. Even so there is an overall perception that the United States is becoming an ever more dangerous place to live. 3. Violence in Society a. Today’s youth have seen killings in the nightly news. They have been bombarded with sensory information that affects emotions and feelings as well as cognitive perceptions. 4. Violence in the Home a. The greater the frequency of violence, the greater the chance that the young victims will grow up to be violent parents or partners. 5. Violent Deaths a. Among adolescents age 15 to 24 who die, more than three-fourths die violently.
Teaching Tips Suggest to students that they use the approaches to studying adolescents or the various perspectives as lenses from which to view behavior. Keep in mind the idea of putting on a different pair of glasses to look at the same behavior. What you see and the way you understand the behavior will depend in great part on the lens or perspective from which you are viewing the behavior.
Classroom Activities Divide the class into five groups. Each group should study one particular approach and use their understanding to explain a behavioral vignette. Using their expertise they should be able to explain to a parent why his or her adolescent is suddenly breaking curfew to hang out with friends.
.
4