Theories of Adolescence Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Theories of Adolescence - Assignment Example In addition to these developments, individuals going through the process of adolescence often experience a number of physical and sexual maturation changes. The adolescence stage of human development generally starts at puberty before eventually ending at the age of between 18 and 21 years. One of the main theories of adolescence is Erik Erikson’s psycho-social theory of personalitydevelopment. The core concept that is seen to be presented by Erikson’s theory is that the most essential characteristic of adolescence in humans is the undergoing of an identity crisis and the subsequent acquisition of an ego identity. Erikson argues that during the adolescent stage of development, individuals must establish a sense of personal identity in addition t avoiding the dangers seen to be posed by identify confusion and role diffusion (Ratele& Duncan, 2003). In my personal experience, I support the postulations made by Erikson’s psycho-social theory of personality developmentas they match my own personal experiences while I was undergoing through this stage of development. During my adolescent years, I underwent an identity crisis as I was easily impressionable and often tried to copy the behavior and characteristics of the â€Å"cool† kids in school and some of the characters in my favorite TV show. Although it took some considerable time, I was eventually able to develop my own unique identity. Another key theory of Adolescence is Roger Barker’s Somatopsychological theory of adolescence (GuerreroandChaÃŒ vez, 2009). According to Barker, during adolescence changes affecting an individual’s endocrinology, physique and body dimensions experienced at a significantly accelerated rate as compared to the rate at which they were experienced during the individual’s preadolescent years. As a result of these change, a number of corresponding psychological situations