Title: Cultural and Societal Influences on Adolescent Development
Headings: Cultural and Societal Influences on Adolescent Development
Cultural and Societal Influences on Adolescent Development
The influence of parental and peer relationships, as well as the broader culture, shapes many aspects of adolescent development.
Learning Objective
Key Points
Terms
Full Text
Parental Relationships
The parent-child relationship
Peer Relationships
Community, Society, and Culture
Culture
Physical Development in Adulthood

Content: As children begin to create bonds with various people, they start to form friendships; high quality friendships may enhance a child's development regardless of the particular characteristics of those friends. Adolescents associate with friends of the opposite sex much more than in childhood and tend to identify with larger groups of peers based on shared characteristics. Peer groups offer members of the group the opportunity to develop social skills such as empathy, sharing, and leadership. Peer groups can have positive influences on an individual, such as academic motivation and performance; however, they can also have negative influences, such as peer pressure to engage in drug use, drinking, vandalism, stealing, or other risky behavior. Susceptibility to peer pressure increases during early adolescence, and while peers may facilitate positive social development for one another, they may also hinder it. Emotional reactions to problems and emotional instability—both characteristic of the hormonal changes in adolescence—have been linked with physical aggression among peers. Research has linked both physical and relational aggression to a vast number of enduring psychological difficulties, including depression. Community, Society, and Culture
There are certain characteristics of adolescent development that are more rooted in culture than in human biology or cognitive structures.