Adolesence a Struggle For Identity

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Project on adolescence Adolescence struggle for identify Critically review a range of views on adolescence Adolescence is a well known period of stress and turmoil for many young people and achieving a sense of identity is the major development task of teenagers. During World War II, Erik Erikson coined a phrase to describe shell-shocked soldiers – ‘identity crisis’. This phrase stuck and has become a useful tool today in describing the struggle of growing up. Adolescence is with a doubt a conflicting and confusing time for young people striving to establish an identity and sense of self. Erikson identifies this period in stage 5 of his psychosocial model; identity v role confusion – where young people struggle to belong and to be accepted and affirmed, and yet also to become individuals. It has been said that adolescents are particularly egocentric, preoccupied with their own needs, inconsiderate of the needs of others, and with an exaggerated sense of their own importance in the world. Child psychologist David Elkind (1967) stated “adolescent egocentrism includes a belief by teenagers that they are special and unique”. Elkind proposed that adolescents create an "imaginary audience”; they believe that others, especially peers, are watching them, thinking about them, and interested in all their thoughts and behaviours. Adolescents assume that since they spend a considerable amount of time thinking about themselves, others must be doing the same thing, namely, thinking about and monitoring them. They fail to realize that while they may be preoccupied with themselves, others are not so inclined. Previous studies (e.g., Elkind & Bowen, 1979) have generally found that adolescent egocentrism is more prevalent in females and that it increases during early adolescence, peaks at about 14 to 16 years of age, and

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