Emotional Development

Teenagers are a mess of hormones, with emotions running every which way. But your emotional development is a result of all your experiences since you were a baby. Here are some facts that I found interesting:

• Relationships as you get older are based on relationships when you are younger. Specifically how you 'attach' to caregivers when you're a baby.
  • Attachments that babies have are put into four categories:
    • Secure - The healthiest option, babies are friendly with strangers and happy to see their caregiver
    • Insecure Ambivalent - Nervous about strangers, resentful if a caregiver leaves
    • Insecure Avoidant - Doesn't interact much with strangers, indifferent if caregiver leaves
    • Disorganized - Child cries when caregiver leaves but avoids them when they come back

Do not do this to your baby.

• There is a wide range of causes of attachment disorders
  • Drug Use
  • Premature Birth
  • Neglect
  • Death of a primary caregiver
  • Depression of a caregiver
  • Poor parenting
• There are a number of symptoms of poorly attached children, many of which may get confused with autism. Among them:
  • Poor Self-Esteem
  • Lack of emotional reactions
  • Inability to trust others
  • Destructive to self and others
  • Lack of eye contact
• According to researchers Costa and McCrae, personality types are a combination of the following:
  • Openness - Curious vs. Cautious
  • Conscientiousness - Organized vs. Careless
  • Extraversion - Outgoing vs. Reserved
  • Agreeableness - Compassionate vs. Unkind
  • Neuroticism - Nervous vs. Confident

You can take a test to see how your personality adds up here. Did your results surprise you?

• Abraham Maslow suggested human beings have a hierarchy of needs, and high levels of needs can't be met until lower levels are met. Lower levels include basic needs like hunger, thirst, and shelter. Higher levels are love and self-esteem, with the need for a fulfilled life at the top. In other words, if you're hungry then it's almost impossible to care about learning.

• Everyone comes from different cultures, and your identity in that culture changes overtime. James Marcia identified four stages of development:
  • Identity Diffusion - No exploration of ethnicity
  • Foreclosure - No exploration, with negative feelings towards your ethnicity
  • Moratorium - Confusion to exploration
  • Achievement - Clear, secure understanding and acceptance of ethnicity

How well do you know your own ethnicity?

• When you're a teenager, things like sexual orientation and gender identity also start to develop.
  • Sexual Orientation is who you are attracted to; boys who like girls are 'Straight' and boys who like boys are 'Gay'. People that like both are 'Bisexual'. Studies show about 10% of the population is gay.
    • You will often see the acronym LGBT, which stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered.
  • Gender Identity is how you identify your gender (which is different from your biological sex). Transgender people feel they are in the wrong physical body, such as a person who is physically a boy identifying as a girl.
    • Transgendered people are different from the drag queens you see on TV, and that Gender Identity develops independently of Sexual Orientation.
  • This process of figuring out your orientation and identity takes a long time and can be very difficult. Scientific research is showing that being gay or transgendered is perfectly normal, but many people think there is something wrong with gays and lesbians and transgendered persons. This type of thinking is wrong and hurtful to young people, and has resulted in a countless number of suicides across the globe.
  • If you think you might be going through this process, you should talk to someone like a counselor or a doctor. It is important to know that you are not alone, there is nothing wrong with you, and there are a number of people that can help. Other resources available are:
  • PFLAG: Parents, Family, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays
  • It Gets Better Project
  • The Trevor Project

Below is a video about young transgendered children that was shot partially in Mr. Baker's home town.