Psychology and Youth Development

In previous chapters it has been discussed that the pre-natal and post-natal development of the infant as that of the pre-adolescent child is important for what kind of adult eventually emerges into the world. This is especially true in the context of cognitive prowess but also in the context of emotional and mental stability as discussed in the previous chapter. However, it may be possible for corrections to be made to optimise an individual’s behaviour as the child transitions into adolescence and youth. There are two frameworks which can be applied to analysing the development of the behaviours of children and adolescents. These frameworks include the Positive Youth Development (PYD) and Resilience Science (RS) frameworks. The PYD framework suggests that individual children and adolescents are both capable and do adapt to their environments. The implication is that adolescent behaviour is flexible, in which case suitable social programmes can be devised which enhance positive behaviours and remove negative behaviours. While the PYD framework asserts the flexibility of adolescent behaviour such that it can be changed for the better, the RS framework suggests that adolescents are resilient in character to overcome any negative aspects of their environment. This resilience may arise in human adolescents because of a psychological mechanism against adversity. If policies which enhance such a mechanism can be devised, then the implication is that the resilience of adolescents to an adverse environment may be strengthened. Studies have indicated that one such mechanism is access to education. This may allow children to develop advanced cognitive skills which will allow them to reason as to what would be the best action to take in minimising the impact of an adverse environment on their well-being. Moreover, the equal access of education to both males and females will also result in the reduction of gender inequality by giving girls the opportunity to be educated, enter the workforce in a skilled profession and earn an income. This will also help to ensure that women will be able to contribute to the productivity of the economy on an equal par with men. Adolescents may face an adverse environment particularly in the context of having to grow up in a poor socio-economic environment. This may be characterised as families living on low incomes and parents having to work long hours on lower pay. In such a scenario, children may be left to fend for themselves, the nutrition they receive may be sub-optimal and educational opportunities may not be available. Economic crises may also lead to a lower socio-economic condition, which may impact on the development of children as well as of adolescents. This may be because one or both parent lose their jobs, resulting in the other scenarios previously mentioned but also perhaps leading to stress, which may also negatively impact on the family environment. Elevated levels of stress may negatively impact on the nature of the relationship between the child and the caregiver. Studies have found that the predominance of caring relationships within the family, especially between the child and the primary care giver, are important in the shaping of a resilient personality for the child. However, it has also been found that the child also needs to maintain good relationships with not only his/her peers at school but also with his/her teacher to develop a resilient character. The development of the latter is also important in the context of an adolescent being resilient in the face of bullying. The latter may be seen as a behaviour in which a stronger individual intimidates a weaker individual to consciously weaken his/her well-being as well as to deny access to resources. In this case, bullying may be seen as an evolutionary adaptation rather than as a maladaptive behaviour.