Theory of Adolescent Development

University of People

EDUC 5420: Adolescent Development 

Dr. Augustine Panchoo

September, 10th 2021

 The theory of adolescent development has been widely reviewed by experts. There

are different estuaries and perspectives, but all show that change in adolescents is not

something that can be ignored. In this reflective portfolio, I would like to review some of the

theories of child development written in some of the reading assignments from this unit

course.

Freud Theory of development

Freud had looked at child development from a psychosexual perspective and he believed that

child development was closely linked to the development of certain psychosexual stages.

According to him, a child develops into a teenager along with his sexual changes and can

easily trigger conflict. This theory believes that life is built around tension and pleasure.

Tension is created due to increased libido (sexual energy) and pleasure comes when you

manage to release it. This is what affects the differences in the attitude of a child at each stage

of development and is better known as a theoretical idea known as fixation (McLeod, 2008). 

Erikson theory of development

In contrast to Freud's view of adolescent development, Erikson believed that

psychoanalysis affects every stage of development. The problem of self-image as a form of

"identity confusion" or better known as an identity crisis, according to him, is an important

aspect of any conceptual change in adolescent psychoanalysis. This is not just an internal

contradiction of self, role or opportunity, but a major nuisance that is dangerous for the entire

ecological interaction of the thinking organism with its "environment", its relationship with

humans. Furthermore, Erikson emphasizes his theory that the symptom of identity confusion,

then, can be found in both psychosomatic and psychosocial fields, at times as well as in

individuals. Erikson's theory of psychosocial identity proves to be "located" in three settings

in which humans have lived throughout time (Erikson, 1970).

 1. The somatic order, in which the organism (as emphasized by Ren Dubos in our

discussion) seeks to maintain its identity in the constant renewal of the mutual

adaptation of the environment and the environment.

2. The ego order, namely the integration of personal experience and behavior.

3. The social order is united by ego-organisms that share a historical-geographical

setting.

Furthermore, Erikson explains the study of identity crisis in adolescence, in that

context, strategic because at that stage of life, the organism is at the peak of its vitality and

potential, the ego must integrate new forms of intensive experience and social order. must

provide a new identity. for its new members, to reaffirm or renew its collective identity. At

this point, it should be somewhat clear why the concept of an identity crisis will also help us

recognize the transforming function of "great people" at certain historical points.

Piaget theory of development

In contrast to other theories, Piaget's theory considered that an adolescent

development is strongly influenced by cognitive aspects. According to Piaget, development

from childhood to adolescence has a role in cognitive abilities in terms of mental transitions

along with brain development. For him, the early stages of adolescent development are quite

critical which are marked by a deviant developmental path. However, this is not always a bad

thing because young people go a step further to develop opportunities for more abstract

thinking. This theory emphasizes on increasing the critical thinking of children and

adolescents. Piaget suggested that children can develop through four stages of maturation and

learning stages. The process of growth over time. For Piaget, childhood experiences will have

an important role as a form of motivation and are directly integrated with the environment so

as to shape the character of intelligence as a teenager. In other words, cognitive development

is believed to be closely related to the development of a teenager and there is a balance

between social and physical interactions (Kuhn, 2008). 

Vygotsky theory of development

The theory promoted by Lev Vygotsky is not so different from that proposed by

Piaget and Erikson that adolescent development is influenced by social and cultural

interactions. Vygotsky believed that communication was an important psychological tool in

the development of thought teenager. As children grow and develop, their simple speech

becomes more complicated. Therefore, the early stages of a child's growth are very important

for their continuation in the future. Children will grow through informal experiences and

social interactions as their speaking skills grow (Vygotsky, 1978).

Bronfenbrenner theory of development

Similar to the theory put forward by Bronfenbrenner, he explains the theory that

human development is influenced and influenced by the environment. The first environment

he emphasized playing a key role was that the family played a key role. The context is when

there is interaction between family members as a proximal process. Therefore, in this theory

Bronfenbrenner views the family as an institution that influences the development of a child.

Just as Erikson's theory focuses on context that affects individual development from

childhood to adulthood, Bronfenbrenner's theory believes that human interaction and context

play a role in the development process in several stages, namely interaction with the

environment, interaction with activities such as objects, symbols or people around. This

proximal process is so important that he symbolizes it with the use of the word ecology (Rosa

& Tudge, 2013).

Conclusion
The five theories above have very similar points to each other. Most of these theories

recognize the role of society and adults in the development of children's lives. A teenager's

personality is formed depending on how he lived his childhood, family, social and cultural

interactions. The difference is only seen in the theory put forward by Freud (McLeod, 2008)

which looks at the influence of psychosexuality on adolescent development. By studying the

theories above, of course, it will bring knowledge to me as an educator. How can I handle my

teenage students better. As a teacher, I can mediate with enough knowledge to adapt to my

different types of students. Minimizing problems that arise because of the difficulties they

face as a form of reaction to changes or transitions from childhood to adolescence.

 References

Erikson, E. H. (1970). Autobiographic notes on the identity crisis. Daedalus, 99 (4), 730-

759.  https://www.jstor.org/stable/20023973

Kuhn, D. (2008). Formal operations from a twenty-first century perspective. Human

Development, 51(1), 48-55. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26763967

McLeod, S. (2008). Psychosexual stages. Simply

Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/simplypsychology.org-Psychosexual-

Stages.pdf

Mortimer, J. T., & Larson, R. W. (Eds.). (2002). The changing adolescent experience:

Societal trends and the transition to adulthood. Cambridge University

Press. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?

doi=10.1.1.470.9408&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Rosa, E.M., & Tudge, J. (2013). Urie Bronfenbrenner's theory of human development: Its

evolution from ecology to bioecology. Journal of Family Theory and Review, 5, 243-

258. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Urie-Bronfenbrenner%27s-Theory-of-

Human-Development%3A-Rosa-Tudge/

5ad78d042a25ab1c40f7ad12f034e7f019951c62

Vygotsky, L. (1978). The interaction between learning and development. In Vygotsky,

L, Mind in Society. Harvard University

Press. https://www.oerafrica.org/sites/default/files/L%20%26%20L%20reader_section

%20one-reading_4.pdf