(855) 4-ESSAYS

Type a new keyword(s) and press Enter to search

The Tumultuous Years of Adolescence


Concurrently, failure to adequately adhere to popular fads and trends can lead to being socially ostracized. In between these extremes are those subgroups that purposefully place themselves apart from one sub-group by forming a different or oppositional sub-group. The complexities of navigating through the conflicting social forces can be difficult to manage, and many adolescents experience depression, anxiety, and other mental or emotional challenges triggered by the stress of trying to fit in with their peers.
             In order to discuss the concept of popularity among adolescents, it is first necessary to place the term "popularity" in the proper context, and to discuss the various definitions and forms of popularity as they pertain to this discussion. The question of how and why certain adolescents become popular among their peers, while others do not, has challenged sociologists and psychologists for as long as those fields of study have existed. In recent decades, a new wrinkle has been added to the discussion of popularity, and researchers have developed a new paradigm for understanding what "popularity" means. In many contemporary studies on the subject, popularity is now divided into two separate forms. The first is "sociometric popularity;" the second is "perceived popularity" (Parkhurst, 1998). Sociometric popularity describes what might be considered actual popularity. Those who score high on the scale of sociometric popularity are well liked and well respected by their peers. Those who score high on the scale of perceived popularity are often believed to be popular by other students, yet they measure poorly in sociometric popularity.
             The means of identifying and differentiating between the two forms of popularity take several forms. The simplest method for measuring sociometric popularity is to simply ask a group of adolescent subjects to rank their peers according to which ones they like the least and which ones they like the most.


Essays Related to The Tumultuous Years of Adolescence


Got a writing question? Ask our professional writer!
Submit My Question