Running head: SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AS A TEENAGER 1

Social Development as a Teenager

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Social Development as a Teenager

The teenage development stage is considered to be one of the most significant stages in life. The

stage starts with considerable changes in the hormonal levels, body changes and changes in

behaviour (Burnett, & Blakemore, 2009). Teenage development is also accompanied by

development in the social abilities and neuroanatomical maturation in the brain within the

process of social cognition(Burnett, & Blakemore, 2009). Moreover, social development in

teenagers is considered to be a period of realizing ones identity as well as a period of

confusion(Burnett, & Blakemore, 2009). Some of the teenagers tend to adopt the behaviours that

their parents and guardians expect from them. In contrast, others take other acts from their peers

as they oppose the acts they have been taught by their paren(Burnett, & Blakemore, 2009). s. As

teenagers develop their social behavior, they tend to shift away from their parents and spend

more time with their teens. However, most of the peak positive about their parents, depending on

the type of relationship the parent had with the child while she was young. Research shows that

positive parent-child relationship at a young age enhances positive behaviour of the teenager,

better grades, as well as a few behavioural problems in school(Burnett, & Blakemore, 2009).

Therefore, this paper aims at discussing the social development in teenage as well as the

psychological and behavioural changes.

Social changes during the social development of teenagers

The most important aspect of the social changes in teenage is the relationship between parents

and teenagers. Teenagers seem to spend more time with their friends (Smetana, Villalobos, 2009).

However, their relationship with their families and parents tend to get stronger depending on the
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extent to which the parent supervise the behaviour of their children (Parke, Roisman & Rose,

2019). Parents tend to set rules to govern the behaviour of the teenagers, get to know their friends

and supervise their daily activities to keep track of their behaviours (Parke, Roisman & Rose,

2019). Parent-child relationship at this point becomes important in shaping the behavior of

teenagers. Parents tend to influence the emotional and cognitive world of teenagers to direct

them to behave and think in a particular manner.

The other aspect of social development in teenage is peer relationships. As teenagers spend more

time with their peers, they tend to form groups of teenagers with the same behaviours (Smetana,

Villalobos, 2009). They influence each other to behave in a particular manner. During childhood,

children tend to have single-sex friendships (Smetana, Villalobos, 2009). However, as children

enter adolescence, they move from single-sex associations to a mixed-sex group of friends. Peer

relationships may result in both positive and negative impacts (Smetana, Villalobos, 2009). Some

of the adverse effects of peer relationships in influence to adopt negative behaviours such as

bullying at school, drug and alcohol abuse as well as sex which may lead to early and unwanted

pregnancies (Parke, Roisman & Rose, 2019). During the teenage social development stage,

teenagers tend to be curious and want to explore almost every kind of behavior (Parke, Roisman &

Rose, 2019). The stage becomes more delicate if there is no parental supervision of their acts.

However, peer relationships can also have positive impacts (Parke, Roisman & Rose, 2019).  For

instance, a peer group may influence one another to attend academic discussion groups or attend

church meetings (Smetana, Villalobos, 2009). Also, there are definite health impacts related to peer

relationships. For instance, a teenager with peer friends to whom he shares his problems is less
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likely to suffer from psychological disorders such as depression, stress and anxiety (Smetana,

Villalobos, 2009).

Another aspect of social changes in the social development of teenagers is the development of

romantic relationships. As teenagers develop mixed-sex friendships, they tend to develop

emotional feelings towards the opposite sex (Smetana, Villalobos, 2009). Romantic relationships in

teenage have both positive and negative impacts in the life of a teenager. One of the most

significant positive impacts of romantic relationships in a teenager is that they get to know their

identity (Allen & Antonishak, 2008). For instance, through romantic relationships, teenager tends to

know whether they are lesbians, gays or heterosexuals (Allen & Antonishak, 2008). Some of the

negative impacts of romantic relationships in adolescent social development are involved in

sexual intercourse, early and unwanted pregnancies, and contraception.

Psychological and behavioural adjustments

Psychological and behavioural changes take place during adolescent social development.

Teenagers tend to form their identity during their social development process (Smetana,

Villalobos, 2009). They begin to socialize with a particular group of people based on ethnicity,

socioeconomic status and character traits of different people (Allen & Antonishak, 2008). Besides,

during the social development stage in teenagers, adolescents either become aggressive or

develop antisocial behaviour (Allen & Antonishak, 2008). Teenagers with antisocial behaviour

prefer to spend most of their time on their own; they do not like playing and spending time with

their friends and family (Allen & Antonishak, 2008). Such teenagers may develop psychological

disorders such as depression and anxiety since in most cases, they do not share their problems
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with anyone. Moreover, the academic achievement of teenagers may also be determined at this

stage (Allen & Antonishak, 2008). The relationship between teenagers and parents, teachers and

their peers profoundly affect their concentration and motivation levels to work hard in school.

In conclusion, social development as a teenager serves as one of the essential processes in one's

life. During the development, teenagers tend to change their social behaviours by spending more

time with their peers than their families and parents. They also shift from single-sex friendships

in childhood to mixed-sex friendships. They tend to influence each other to adopt certain

behaviors. Some of the negative impacts of peer relationships include influence into unhealthy

behaviours such as alcohol and drug abuse and bullying in school. Some positive effects of peer

relationships include fewer cases of psychological disorders such as anxiety, stress and

depression as teenagers become more social and ted to share their problems with friends.

Teenagers also develop romantic relationships which are crucial for their identity, for instance,

knowing if they are lesbians, gays or heterosexuals. However, sometimes romantic relationships

result in contraception and unwanted pregnancies.

Teenagers also undergo psychological and behavioural adjustments during their social

development. They tend to identify themselves with specific people in the society concerning

such aspects as religion, ethnicity, politics and occupations. They also either become aggressive

or antisocial. Psychological adjustments with regard to stress, anxiety and depression also occur

during social development in teenage.

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References

Allen, J. P., & Antonishak, J. (2008). Adolescent peer influences. Understanding peer influence in

children and adolescents, 141-160.

Burnett, S., & Blakemore, S. J. (2009). The development of adolescent social cognition. Annals of the

New York Academy of Sciences, 1167(1), 51.

Parke, R. D., Roisman, G. I., & Rose, A. J. (2019). Social development. John Wiley & Sons.

Smetana, J. G., & Villalobos, M. (2009). Social cognitive development in adolescence. Handbook of

adolescent psychology, 1.