Week 14 — Adolescence: Social-Emotional Development

Why this matters

A high school teacher hearing a student say they have no idea what to study and a parent at the kitchen table talking about plans after high school both hear a teen's identity at work, and can listen without labelling the teen.

In plain language

This chapter is about how teenagers work out who they are and how the people around them figure in. You will meet identity vs. role confusion (Erikson's name for the teen years' big question, "Who am I?"). You will sort eight short teen statements by two questions: is the teen trying out options, and has the teen made a choice? Together those two questions build four identity statuses (research categories for patterns in what someone says, never labels for a real teen). Then you will look at how teens get along with parents and friends, why they sometimes take risks, and what research can and cannot yet say about screens and well-being.

• Already covered: Week 10's two-dimension grid and Week 13's teen brain.
• This week: identity, Marcia's statuses, culture, parents, peers, screens.
• How they connect: the same teen years, seen through identity and relationships.
• Where we're going next: Week 15, the contexts of development.

Focus

How do teenagers work out who they are, and how do you read a teen's statement fairly?

By the end of this module, you should be able to:

• [ ] place identity vs. role confusion among Erikson's stages
• [ ] rate a statement on exploration and commitment
• [ ] tell moratorium from foreclosure, and foreclosure from achievement
• [ ] describe how parent and peer relationships change in adolescence
• [ ] state the AAP's February 2026 media position as its own

To-do

Plan your week

1. Read Chapter 14 (~40–50 minutes), then the lecture and slides.
2. Work the lecture tutorial (60–90 minutes).
3. Try the practice set (15–25 minutes).
4. Do the workshop (about 90 minutes), the discussion, and the assignment, then the quiz.

This week's checkpoint: rate a teen's statement on both dimensions and describe the statement, not the teen.

You've got this

Take it in order, and ask your instructor if a step snags.

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