Social Development

As some young adolescents see it…

Because I am afraid of what my friends might think, I am afraid to be myself.

Rachel, age 14

Don’t worry about being popular.  I am super weird and I have lots of friends.

Sam, age 14

To be cool in my school you have to be funny, wear the right clothes,

and, of course, you have to be pretty.

Marcie, age 14

(Brighton, 2007)

Many young adolescents cite talking to friends as the key reason they attend school, although at Zion only about 50% of the seventh graders (2008-2009) said this was the main reason they come to school.  However, Zion students are concerned with what the people around them think about them, which is typical of young adolescents.  It is very important to young adolescents tht they fit in with a group and have friends.  A young adolescent's social development can positively or negatively impact them as they go through young adolescence and into adulthood.

Young adolescents:

• Want to be independent and unique, but do not want to get too far away from what is accepted by their friends
• Often experience feelings of romantic attraction to members of the opposite sex
• Are socially vulnerable to what society values (beauty, fame, money, power, etc.)
• Want to be valued by members of their peer group; searching for status
• Experience bullying behaviors first in elementary school, but peak in middle school as young adolescents try to gain status; cyber bullying is something parents and anyone who interacts with young adolescents need to be aware of and watch out for