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Adolescent Paper
Abigail M. Constant
Social Work 3510
Wayne State University

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The behavioral learning that takes place during adolescent years can shape behaviors for
the rest of ones life. According to Bandura (1971), observation of family members and peers
contributes to a significant part of behavioral learning. This is the basis of the social learning
theory. In my life, this theory is demonstrated by my alcohol use during my high school years as
a result of observing and learning from my father and my peers. Another theory that is
demonstrated in my life is a theory developed by Margaret Mead. According to Cote (1992),
adolescent behavior is not a result of biology, but rather a result of cultural and environmental
stress. This research comes from a popular and controversial study conducted by Margaret Mead
and Derek Freeman. My adolescent years were plagued by stress that was brought on from my
environment at school and within the home that lead to self-mutilation and depression. These two
theories will help to explain my behaviors as an adolescent.
Banduras social learning theory does a tremendous job of explaining adolescent
behavior. According to Bandura (1971), humans learn by observing their family and peers. I
grew up listening to stories told by my father and other adults about the crazy things that used to
take place in high school. These stories involved big parties, school pranks, and excessive
alcohol. Although I did not observe this behavior first hand, I learned from the stories. When it
came my time to go to high school, which happened to be the same school that my father
attended many years ago, I had the expectation that there would be big parties, school pranks,
and excessive drinking. I was not disappointed. It seemed as though all the activities that my
father told me about were still taking place at the same high school, years later. As a freshman, I
observed the behaviors of my older peers. I began to learn that this was the norm at the high
school I attended and eventually, acted out these behaviors as well. By sophomore year, I was
attending big parties and drinking alcohol, just like my peers and just like the stories my father

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always told. I became friends with people who also enjoyed this type of lifestyle, and I let go of
friends that did not approve of the choices I was making. Although the party lifestyle that I
adopted was fun for a while, it eventually led to stresses that I was not accustomed to. The
drinking that I was doing caused numerous bad decisions. These bad decisions broke up
friendships, damaged my relationship with my parents, and contributed to significant grade drops
in school. By my senior year of high school, my attitude towards school and social events had
significantly changed.
As I was nearing the end of my time in high school, I developed a very angry and
frustrated attitude. I had lost several friends as a result of my own bad decisions. I also created a
bad relationship with my parents after numerous lies that were told in order to support my social
life. When these lies were found out, the trust between my parents and me was gone. In addition
to the poor relationships in my life, my school work had taken a severe turn for the worse. I felt
as though my life was spiraling out of control. In an attempt to regain control of my life, I began
cutting myself. This eventually turned into a terrible habit that was a part of my daily life. At my
worst time during my senior year of high school, I walked home from school during lunch period
to cut myself. I also cut myself every night before going to bed. This behavior went unnoticed for
a long time, mainly because on the outside, I acted as if nothing was wrong. My parents both
worked full time, so my daily trips home were unknown to them. I also hid the cuts from my
peers by wearing long-sleeved shirts all the time. I also became very introverted and stopped all
of the reckless social behavior that had previously consumed my life. According to Ross and
Heath (2001), self-mutilation among adolescents has a wide range of descriptions. Selfmutilation is prevalent in both male and female adolescents, although self-mutilation in females
is more prevalent. It also has a broad spectrum of severity, ranging from self-harm with no

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suicidal intent to self-harm with the intent of suicide. Personally, I had suicidal intent at any time
in my life, and my habits were never so severe that I needed medical attention. As an adolescent,
I felt extremely stressed out by my family and my peers. Cutting was my outlet for all of the
stress and emotions that I kept inside.
According to Cote, Mead argued that the culture and environmental stresses in the lives
of adolescents explains their behavior. She developed this theory after observing the lives of
adolescents in Samoa, which she described as easy, carefree, and unpressured. Ultimately, her
observations brought her to the conclusion that the storm of adolescent stress and emotions was
due to environment, not biology. This research contradicts many other theories that state that
adolescent behavior is a result of biology. In my opinion, Meads research correlates with my life
as an adolescent. The stress that I experienced was brought on from my environment. I felt the
need to fit in with my peers, to maintain good grades, and to have good relationships with my
loved ones. When my choices contradicted my desire, I created a stressful environment for
myself. I believe that if I had grown up in a different environment or culture, I would not have
been plagued by the same stress. My life may have been very different.
Looking back at my adolescent years, I can see now that much of the pressure and stress
that I experienced in high school was self-perpetuated. I have been very fortunate my whole life.
As a Caucasian female, I have not experienced many issues of diversity. Truthfully, the only
oppression I have ever felt was ageism from my older coworkers. I have been working at a yoga
studio since age fifteen. When I was hired, I was the youngest person to ever work within the
company. My older coworkers treated me with little respect; they assumed that I did not have
any knowledge because I was so young. This is the only issue of diversity that I have ever had to
deal with, and I recognize that I am very fortunate to be able to make such a claim.

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The issues of adolescent stress can be explained in many different ways. My life and my
behaviors can be easily explained with Banduras social learning theory and Meads Coming of
Age in Samoa theory. By listening to my fathers tales of his crazy high school years, as well as
the observations of my peers behaviors, I learned and developed my own behavior. I also chose
friends that displayed similar behaviors as my own. The environment that I created caused stress
and pressure that ultimately led me to self-mutilation in the attempt to gain control of my life.
My behaviors were shaped by my environment; they were not biologically predetermined. My
adolescent years shaped my behaviors today. Fortunately, I have moved on from my reckless and
self-harming behaviors and have adopted a carefree lifestyle.

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References

Bandura, A. (1971). Social learning theory. New York City, New York: General Learning Press.
Cote, J. E. (1992). Was Mead wrong about Coming of Age in Samoa? An analysis of the
Mead/Freeman controversy for scholars of adolescence and human development. Journal
of Youth and Adolescence 21(5) pg 499-527.
Ross, S. & Heath, N. (2002). A study of the frequency of self-mutilation in a community sample
of adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence 31(1) pg 67-77.