Gender Differences In Adolescence

Erikson defines the age of adolescence as the early teen years, in between the age of twelve and the young adult stage. Those in the age of adolescence are faced with the large question “Who am I?” Their conflict lies between a settled identity and role confusion. Often in the young teenage years one is starting to develop and change in many ways. A lot happens physically, emotionally, and socially. In many Western societies, according to the textbook, it is common for adolescents to begin to consider what they are going to do with their life and how they want to spend it. To do this, they consider many different identities. Adolescents try to find themselves and figure out not only who they are but also who they will be. Firstly gender affects the need to define an identity. …show more content…
Authoritative parents are loving and emotionally attached but also set rules and standards. Authoritarian parents are emotionally distant but still set rules and have expectations for their children. Permissive parents do not control their children and set rules but are very loving and supporting. Indifferent of uninvolved parents do no more than provide for their children. The type of parenting an adolescent grows up with will affect how they define themselves. For example, if they are neglected and they feel their parents do not care in the case of uninvolved parents, they may see them selves as unimportant. Maybe they will see themselves as the person who tries not to be noticed or does not matter. According to the textbook, children with authoritative parents tend to be independent and to succeed in school. This means that when defining their identity they may see themselves as a good student and an independent person who can do things for themselves and achieve goals. They may see themselves as the next class president or the smart academic competition