Derrington 2012 thesis.pdf - Anglia Ruskin Research Online

1.2 Adolescence and adolescent culture
Adolescence is the healthy age of rebellion, the argumentative or the ‘I don’t care’
phase, often characterised by phrases such as ‘whatever’, ‘yeah, right’ and other
monosyllabic utterances. Many books are written to help parents and carers cope with
this period of change, destabilisation and upheaval, such as ‘Get out of my life: but
first take me and Alex into town’ (Wolf and Franks, 2008) or ‘Teenagers! What every
parent has to know’ (Parsons, 2009).
Winnicott (1984) referred to this time as a necessary stage of socialisation which
ensures the growing young person can relate to peers, parent figures, society and
themselves without fear of losing their own sense of identity or resorting to antisocial
behaviour. This is a huge transition for the adolescent and therefore no surprise that
there are many problems inherent in this period of development. Winnicott goes on to
describe the unavoidable confusion and turbulence of adolescence which is universal
and regardless of social situation. This stage is not necessarily easier for young
people who have been brought up in a secure and loving environment.
Freud (1958) believed that adolescence was an interruption to peaceful growth. He
considered it usual that the adolescent fluctuated between love and hate of parents,
suffered conflict between excessive independence and dependence and experienced
other extremes, such as intense suffering and ecstatic happiness. This view was
endorsed by Boucher (1999) who further explains that ‘maintaining even moderate
psychological balance is particularly difficult if the previous stages of development
have not been peaceful or smooth…For adolescents who are vulnerable, these
struggles can be overwhelming and can adversely impact development’ (p.232).
Adolescence is the stage of development when the young person must develop a
sense of his or her own identity, which usually involves rejecting adult values. So, the
adolescent seeks a role for themselves in society and importantly a role with, and
acceptance by, their peers. At the same time as focussing on their individuality,
adolescents usually have a strong drive to fit in and belong. This can lead to conflict
because, at the same time as trying to effectively assert themselves as individuals,
they need to conform to societal norms (Geldard and Geldard, 2004). Thus, around
this time the peer group becomes more important and influential, and the adolescent
! $!