Adolescent Development: Peer Acceptance or Rejection - Essay Example

? Adolescent self-development April Adolescence is depicted as that period when individuals begin to discover and explore psychological characteristics of the self so that they determine who they are, and role they fit into the society (Laurence and Amanda, 2001). In addition, adolescence is being characterized by crisis involving a struggle to achieve an authentic identity. When individuals move from childhood to adolescence, they develop imaginary ideas of themselves, the picture of they really are becomes more clear and more conceptualized. They consider themselves on such issues such as self-beliefs and personal benchmarks and probably not in terms of social comparisons (Laurence and Amanda, 2001). Adolescence looks at their strengths and weaknesses in different realms such as appearance, social relations, moral and proper conduct academics and athletic abilities (Masten, 1995). Moreover, female adolescents have been noted to be more wary of their physical appearance. Social interactions: Peer Acceptance or Rejection According to Nevid (2012), teenagers see themselves differently when they are with peers compared with parents and teachers. Teenagers who participates in false self-behavior tend to regard lightly their real personality this has a consequence of stress and depression. Human beings are social animals, they have a natural tendency to belong, and groups give them comfort, share ideas and concepts. Adolescence need of belonging to certain group is very important but in fast moving social environment, this is hardly fulfilled. Groups help them to develop certain traits and characteristics that will aid them in future especially relationship at place of work and in future family situations. In the early stages of adolescence the most important connection are peers and parents, peer rejection and acceptance have been indicated as key determinants of developmental outcomes since close relationships and social groups are crucial for biological and psychological security. As such, peer and parent support is associated with the positive outcomes in life while most adjustment problems have been associated rejection and hostile parenting behavior. Peers and parents rejection of an adolescent individual has been linked with emotional and behavioral misbalance that include aggression, depression and other anti social traits such suicidal thoughts. Common characterization of the adolescent stage gives the picture of peer culture that has belief systems contrary to that of the adult society. When children grow up factors such as schooling and others, enable them to spend more time with peers than with parents. According to Newman and Philip (2011), adolescents export many of their characters to their peer relationships that they acquire in their formative years that are brought about by socialization experiences within the family setting. Anderson and Miriam, 2012 posits that teenagers from such families that are warm and supportive develop to be more responsive to friends and the general idea of friendship. Peers influence individuals in different ways; it can be positive influence or negative influence. It has been researched that a certain level of peer influence is directly related to an individual’s academic improvements or athletic improvements; this can also be tied to the individuals being lured to substance abuse and delinquency. Studies indicate that peers do not force their perspectives amongst each other during this stage, individual adolescent are merely lured by admiration and respect for one another. Individuals in this stage are frequently the same, but not just, because they influence one another. These individuals seem to group into like-minded identities, behaviors and beliefs. Vulnerability to peer influence is not consistent among every individual in the adolescent stage this is affected by several other factors such as age, individual personality, how individual’s socialization history and perceptions are considered. Research indicates that individuals in the adolescent stage are more likely to be influenced in the mid-adolescent ages than in the late adolescent stage (Lerner and Laurence, 2009. Psychology authorities distinguish the two types of peer groupings, the crowd peers and clique peers. At the initial of individuals’ adolescent stage crowds’ surface, this is an extensive groupings of peers known by stereotypes and reputation for example the substance abusers, the popular teenagers group, the smart groups and etc. crowds aids individuals in establishing social networks and assist in identity recognition. Cliques on the other hand are much smaller than Crowds they are founded on friendship and those intimately shared activities, peers in cliques is more steady they even extend to adulthood. Peers acceptance is common amongst popular adolescents, this is characterized by close friendship and the individuals seem to be smart, humorous and friendly. On the other hand rejected adolescent exhibits characters that include withdrawn, aggressive or both aggressive and withdrawn (Laurence and Amanda, 2001) they are also easily irritated, suffer anxieties and look socially awkward. There are however, those adolescents who are withdrawn, aggressive or they are withdrawn and aggressive but are unpopular this is because of causes, correlates, and consequences of rejection, which are different crossways within the groups (Laurence and Amanda, 2001). Those who are aggressive naturally are in antisocial peer groups and seem to suffer from moral and ethical directions. The rejected adolescent display characters associated with low self-esteem, they are depressed, and lonely. There are those who are aggressive but popular their peers look up to tem because of their more than life personality they can always be found in sports teams where they take leadership position. The rejected adolescents who are unpopular usually victimization by their peers, this usually leads to development of poor self-conceptions as well as internalizing and externalizing problems (Laurence and Amanda, 2001). The victimized individuals do not have very many friends but they develop bondage with one or a few others. Cotterell (1996) cites evidence from longitudinal studies that show that social deviancy in adolescents is related to social rejection in childhood. It may be easier to define a connection between aggression and later antisocial behavior and delinquency than between peer rejection and delinquency, he posits that rejection in childhood is a warning to antisocial behavior. Research works indicate that peer rejection is related to dropping out of school. In the UK, when those who left school was compared to those who remained in school, 46 per cent of the male were found to drop from school early in their adolescent stage and this was attributable to peer rejection this when compared to 7 percent who stayed. Amongst female teenagers, 14 per cent of the dropouts were attributable to social rejection and the 4 per cent for female continuing in their education. Cotterell, 1996 argues that in acquiring status in the peer group, the behavior of the adolescents is primal whereas the behavior in the peer group is merely secondary. Adolescents actively determine the direction of their personal growth and development; this leads to them creating their own niche in their group (Cotterell, 1996). He says that the rejected adolescents are rated by their peers as lacking in cooperatives and trustworthiness. Sources of adolescent rejection can be found in their social behavior more than in the general identity of the group (Coie, 367). When the rejected adolescents withdraw from the group, this implies that they are increasingly getting aware of what others think about them. Cotterell asserts that adolescents without a close friend reported being more lonely than those with best friend, this despite the extent of group acceptance. What then is the minimum standard of appearance from peers in reducing feelings of loneliness? This question demands comprehensive research work being undertaken to determine whether attachment relations provided by one or two friends are enough to enable normal adjustments in childhood, and to prevent uncertainties about being liked, being left out of peer activities, and thereafter the feeling of being lonely (Cotterel, 1996). The adolescent suffering from peer rejection and hence are lonely, does it mean that they lack social skills? Or is it by their own design? Or is it developed from early childhood development? Patterns of interactions amongst teenagers have developed early in their childhood life; these are strongly embossed in the fabrics of their personality. It is true from research work that lonely people have low self-esteem and lack confidence in their own capabilities and they look down upon others. An adolescent over indulgence in thought of gaining acceptance leads them to become very sensitive that any clue of peer rejection can distort the social messages that are being sent by others. Cotterrell, (1996) says that pessimism over the outcomes of social interaction colors their expectations of others behavior towards them, and contributes to lower rates of inclusion in social activities. Likeability or peer acceptance is manifested by attitudes and expectations this in respect of personal and in respect to others. Lonely teenagers are affected by having conversational difficulty, this is a deficit associated with social skills, which include inability to initiate conversation, inability to engage in intimate conversation and communication. Conclusions and recommendations A relationship between peer acceptance and positive performance in school activities (both academics and co-curricular) exists in terms of peers, teachers, and objective test scores and within various mediums. Adolescents are at their most crucial stage of personal and interpersonal growth and development. The accepted individuals at this stage exhibit stronger cognitive capabilities than those adolescent individuals who experience peer rejection. There is also a strong relationship between acceptance and academic performance and conversely the strong relationship between peer rejection and low levels of academic performance. Peer acceptance goes a long way to include issues like interests in school, perceived school activities performance, pursuit of personal objectives, school satisfaction and general motivated self. When adolescents are rejected this pushes them to exclusion from the peers or being ignored by peers. Teachers and parents should be at the forefront in guiding them to form friendship; this is because peer rejection can be detrimental to the well being of them. At high school level, they should be guided in forming specific clubs and groups to enhance peer acceptance amongst them. Parents and teachers need to impart into pre adolescent child the importance of developing peer relationships. Understanding the values of society and regulating behavior accordingly are important parts of development in all stages of life. However, rejection of some level is inevitable in life, not only amongst adolescents but also across the age divide. In adult life, there are ‘only members’ club, who admit only elite amongst them to join them in their own social forums. Rejection nonetheless becomes a problem if it is elongated, this points towards the importance of developing early relationships amongst children before they become teenagers. There is general difference in adolescent social interactions amongst various countries, depiction of high school interactions in numerous Hollywood films usually aids in the understanding of this interactions. The kind of peer rejection and peer acceptance in the UK is different from that in America, Australia, New Zealand and other countries. Owing to the effects of rejection, it is critical that sound measures are implemented in an effort to accommodate the affected parties. Persistent emotional challenges during child development have demonstrated to influence enormously on the child’s future with regard to educational success, relationships and social adjustment. In this respect, well thought measures should be formulated to ensure that parents are provided with information on how nurture the relationship with their children. This would promote participation and encourage the child’s healthy social-emotional development. Similarly, services with regard to mental health and behavioral consultation should be provided at the family level through early childhood care programs. The programs should provide comprehensive assessment of underlying factors in relation to the child’s environment. In addition, similar aspects of care should be extended to learning facilities, which would see the establishment of interventions that foster peer acceptance in a school setting. Such interventions should encourage participants to forge new alliances based on teamwork and mutual respect generated by the activities. This would aid in ensuring that the peers appreciate each other’s strengths and weaknesses. The above require participation of all parties including the government, teachers, parents and the children for a successful implementation. The implementation process should also be maintained and guarded jealously as it holds the key to a more efficient society in the near future. References Moshman, D. (2005). Adolescent Psychological Development: Rationality, Morality, and Identity. London: Routledge. Masten, A.S. (1995). "The Structure and Coherence of Competence from Childhood through Adolescence." Child Development. 66.6: 1635-59. Nevid, J.S. (2012). Psychology: Concepts and Applications. Stamford: Cengage Learning. Newman, B.M, and Philip, R.N. (2011). Development Through Life: A Psychosocial Approach. Stamford: Cengage Learning. Anderson, V. and Miriam H.B. (2012). Developmental Social Neuroscience and Childhood Brain Insult: Theory and Practice. New York: Guilford Press. Lerner, R.M, and Laurence D.S. (2009). Handbook of Adolescent Psychology. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2009. Print. Cotterell, J. (1996). Social Networks and Social Influences in Adolescence. London: Routledge,. Print. Laurence S. and Amanda S.M. (2001). “Adolescent Development”. Annual Review Psychology.. 52:83–110. Read More