Subject(s)
Brain/growth & development , Child Development/physiology , Child Rearing , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Infant , Male , Nerve Net/physiology , Social EnvironmentSubject(s)
Adolescent Behavior , Social Change , Adolescent , Humans , Peer Group , Role , Sexual Behavior , Social Values , United StatesSubject(s)
Brain/physiology , Child , Child Development/physiology , Child, Preschool , Humans , Infant , Infant, Newborn , NeurosciencesSubject(s)
Behavior , Birds/physiology , Brain/physiology , Learning , Animals , Behavior, Animal , Humans , Neuronal PlasticityABSTRACT
Societal exploitation has produced a significant increase in stress-related adolescent problem behaviors. The author explores the attributes of contemporary society, changes in the role and function of families, and how the changing times may have increased the pressure on the adolescent population.
Subject(s)
Adolescent Behavior/psychology , Juvenile Delinquency/prevention & control , Mental Disorders/psychology , Adolescent , Family/psychology , Humans , Stress, Psychological/psychologyABSTRACT
After analyzing the role of the media in perceptions of adolescence and parenting, the author contrasts the traditional concept of adolescent immaturity with the postmodern concept of adolescent sophistication. Ramifications for family structure and family ties are explored, along with recommendations for the future.
ABSTRACT
Instrumental narcissism is a syndrome manifested by parents who feel compelled to transform their infants and young children into geniuses. The parents' effort devalues the child's own abilities and exaggerates the parents' self-perceived magical powers. Various historical and contemporary examples of instrumental narcissism provide the basis for the author's exploration of the syndrome in the context of contemporary clinical discussions of narcissism.
Subject(s)
Narcissism , Parent-Child Relations , Parents/psychology , Personality Development , Adult , Child , Child Rearing , Humans , Psychoanalytic TheoryABSTRACT
The author explains three approaches to the question addressed in the title of this article: (1) the biological/evolutionary perspective, (2) the sociological/historical perspective, and (3) the psychological perspective. His aim is to review the answers that each of these approaches provides and to arrive at a more general answer that takes all three approaches into account.
