Stanley Hall: Theory on Adolescence

Stanley Hall: Theory on Adolescence

Stanley is known for being a pioneer in child and education psychology.  His work shaped the way society views adolescents in terms of education, psychology, and culture. According to Stanley, adolescence is a time marked by intense turmoil. The reason for the ‘storm and stress’ in their lives is because they are trying to maintain a balance in nearly all aspects of their lives. Adolescents often struggle with self-doubt and over-confidence. They also go through periods of dependence on their own ability and independence on parents and family. There is also the element of biological influences brought about by raging hormones as their bodies deal with the transition from children to adults.

Stanley Hall touched on a lot of areas affecting adolescents. His research ranged from depression to sexuality, among many others. Stanley indicated that adolescents are more likely to be depressed. The causes of depression are mainly centered on friends and lovers. There is an increase in self-criticism and consciousness as an adolescent is very alert when it comes to him and others (Stirrups, 2018). Stanley also noted that this period is marked with suspicion of being disliked by others because of some character flaw that is irredeemable. On lovers, many adolescents either have crushes that do not notice them or are heart-broken by romantic partners in school and at home.

Another theory by Stanley is that adolescence is marked with an increase in crime (Stirrups, 2018). He indicated that semi-criminality is to be expected, especially when it comes to boys. However, there is a distinction between adolescent-limited and life-course-persistent criminality. He stated that for adolescents whose surroundings and environment are stable, their antics would be limited to the teenage years. Life-course persistent criminality is to be expected of adolescents who were troubled way before adolescence. Factors that may contribute to sustained criminality are divorce and separation of parents, single-parenthood, and bad (violent) homes (Stirrups, 2018).

Hall goes further ahead to touch on the issue of heightened sensation in adolescents. The sensation is highly sought after by the adolescents as the feeling is new and painfully intense (Stirrups, 2018). Due to sensation, Stanley found out that boring stuff is not likely to be tolerated. Routine, details, and monotony are the three main causes of boredom for adolescents. The outlets for this sensation comes in the form of sex and drugs. However, other adolescents react to the sensation by engaging in intellectual and moral activities.

Another finding by the renowned psychologists was that media has a big role to play in influencing adolescents. During those days, that is the early 1900s, the common and most popular form of media was print. Crimes and violence were a typically topic in the print media and, ultimately, affected adolescents as viewing crime in terms of heroism. Hall goes further to state that adolescence is distinctively marked with a ‘reading craze’ (Stirrups, 2018). Teenagers do so in order to be stirred.

Hall also talks about the influence of friends and peers. He noted that the youngsters are less focused on themselves but are dependable on their mates for their fulfillment and happiness. Moreover, when they engage in high risk activities, they do so in the company of their friends. Another factor in the relationship among adolescent friends is aggression. For boys, they resort more to physical confrontation while girls use gossip, the spread of rumors, and exclusion of others as a way of fighting. Hall said that a girl may, ‘use her tongue in place of her fists (Stirrups, 2018).’

Hall, as stated earlier, has had a major influence on the understanding of adolescents in the current world. His theory on adolescents has had an influence on parental involvement as a current educational approach. Nearly all of the facts pointed out by Hall can be addressed if there is a cooperation between teachers and parents.

Parental involvement covers a wide scope of areas. The most obvious is the cooperation between teachers and parents in ensuring that their children are succeeding academically. During adolescence, nearly everyone is still in school. The majority of time is spent at home and in school. The effects of adolescence, such as depression and crime, can be noticed faster by teachers than parents because they spend the majority of time with the pupils. Another important note to take is that the ups and downs of depression affect children’s academic performance.

Parental involvement as an education practice ensures that parents and guardians directly participate in their children’s learning. There are many ways through which parents can get involved in schools. One of the ways is through showing interest in their adolescent’s academic records. Depression, drugs, fear, and crime, all possible scenarios in an adolescent’s life, have been shown to affect adolescent’s morale to study. When a child’s performance drops, teachers often monitor the student’s behavior and then summon the parents of the concerned child. The adults then have a talk on the possible causes of the child’s underperformance, with both sides weighing in their opinions.

Apart from academic excellence, parental involvement consists of providing adolescents with encouragement, motivation, and advice on matters that may affect their school life. Research by Lemmer (2007) showed that a child benefits from pare by getting high self-esteem and positive social behavior. Lemmer’s theory was further supported by Benner et alt., (2016a), when he stated that parental involvement results in optimistic attitudes and overall improved behavior.

Personal perspective

The work of Hall has span decades and still proves to be beneficial to the current society. The majority of his theories hold true in the current world. However, there are some differences that can be noted mainly due to technology and change in some societal expectations.

First, there is the issue of sexuality. Rathus (2013), states that the majority of teenagers are preoccupied with sexual thoughts to a certain extent. This is because of the changes in hormones that result in extremely powerful sex drive. According to Rathus (2013), adolescence is the period between adulthood and childhood and is often characterized with the question of ‘Who am I?’  With the new urges at hand, teenagers often don’t know what to do, and they end up looking for advice from the parents or friends. The parents, in the majority of cases, answer with a ‘no’ or ‘wait’. On the other hand, the current culture makes it seem as if everybody is engaging in sexual intercourse. This situation ends up being a source of emotional disturbance in adolescents.

Another factor that affects sexuality is the issue of early maturity in some children. Ramus (2013), noticed that early maturity is both positive and negative when it comes to boys, but mainly negative to girls. When boys mature early, they are revered by their classmates and friends. Signs of adolescence in boys, such as broad shoulders and an increase in height, are coveted. This praise from fellow boys results to increase in self-worth. Ramus (2013) also noted that such boys are often good-natured, poised, and relaxed. The negative aspects of early maturity come in when they are expected to engage in things before they are ready. These things range from drugs, fights to sexual activities. It is important to note that although they look like adults physically, mentally, and emotionally they are still developing, and such pressures could lead to adverse effects.

When it comes to girls, early maturity often brings negative consequences. First, girls enter into adolescence earlier than boys. With adolescence being marked with a growth spurt in terms of weight and height, the girls end up feeling conspicuous among the mates. Ramus (2013) indicated that there is some form of sexual harassment and teasing from boys. Also, the shorter boys isolate them and avoid to be seen in their company. Girls, who are matured early, cope by walking with a slight hunch so as to appear shorter. Another main revelation by Ramus (2013) was that they are more likely to experience sexual abuse and also initiate sexual activities earlier.

Ramus (2013) states that the majority of adolescents have poor judgment because of the immaturity of their frontal lobe. Poor judgment increases their affinity for high-risk behavior. Looking back at Hall’s work on the increase in seeking sensation, they can resort to sexual activities. Research shows that half of the US adolescents have had sex (Ramus, 2013). There are also other factors that can increase the likelihood of teenagers engaging in sexual activities. The factors are drugs, peer pressure, and media, as mentioned by Hall.

However, when it comes to media, there is a difference as Stanley’s work was authored in the early 1900s. Currently, the most popular and influential media is the internet, followed closely by television. The media has made it seem as though everyone is having sex. Adolescents are extremely vulnerable to peer pressure, and fear feeling left out. The media has also glorified drugs. Alcohol and cigarettes are the most commonly abused drugs by adolescents. However, in the current years, there has been an increase in teenagers who abuse marijuana (Ramus, 2013). Alcohol lessens one’s inhibitions and can lead to engagement in sex. Also, there are a lot of cases of people being raped by people who were under the influence of alcohol.

In the modern world, Hall’s theories still affect educational approaches. This has been witnessed because of the introduction of sexual education in schools. Teachers, parents, and society at large are well aware that sex is a complex topic to discuss. Therefore, it was paramount to introduce a healthy discussion and dissemination of knowledge about sexual health, sexuality, and sex in schools.

There are two main systems of sexual education, which are abstinence-only sex education and comprehensive sex education (Zimmerman, 2016). The latter is the widely used version as it is very clear that nearly half of the adolescents are not abstaining. Children are given the freedom to ask questions relating to sex. The teachers are trained about sexual matters so as to give the teenagers the right information.

Myths and misconceptions are talked about. Comprehensive sexual education teaches children the importance of abstinence. Abstinence is a personal choice, and the adolescents are advised on the several methods of dealing with pressure from peers to engage in sex. The program goes further to talk about protective measures available to those who are ready to be sexually active. Research shows that the majority of adolescents engaging in sex do not use effective means of birth control or prevention of STIs (Ramus, 2013). Therefore, condoms, contraceptive pills, and STIs are discussed.

In conclusion, Stanley Hall has influenced a lot of educational practices in the current world. His work made society aware of the physical, behavioral, and emotional changes adolescents go through and that these changes, in most cases, are inevitable. Therefore, society has a responsibility to ensure that they make the right decisions during this critical time. The education system included sexual education and parental involvement as educational practices meant to help them transition smoothly from childhood to adulthood.

References

Benner, A. D., Boyle, A. E., & Sadler, S. (2016). Parental involvement and adolescents’ educational success: The roles of prior achievement and socioeconomic status. Journal of youth and adolescence, 45(6), 1053-1064.

Lemmer, E. M. (2013). The parent-teacher relationship as partnership: a conceptual analysis. Journal for Christian Scholarship= Tydskrif vir Christelike Wetenskap, 49(1-2), 25-54.

Rathus, S. A. (2013). Childhood and adolescence: Voyages in development. Cengage Learning.

Stirrups, R. (2018). The storm and stress in the adolescent brain. The Lancet Neurology, 17(5), 404. (Stirrups, 2018)

Zimmerman, J. (2016). Too hot to handle: A global history of sex education. Princeton University Press.