theory, cognitive development theory, and social learning theory. Not surprisingly, these theories correspond to well-known psychological theories of human socialization (Lueptow, 1984, 203). None of them really completely explain adolescent development, but each way provides a viewpoint for looking at a particular aspect of development. It is up to the parent to choose concepts which match his or her own value system in order to determine what to do in a particular case.
According to Freudian theory, the main task of adolescence is to overcome the childhood attachment to parents, particularly the parent of the opposite sex. According to psychodynamic theory, this process is called individuation, and its successful completion is believed to be necessary before young people can form their own personal identities and develop healthy sexual relationships with others (Nielsen, 1987, p. 17). During this individuation process, the child shifts allegiance from the parents to the peer group. This may take rather hair-raising forms of unusual dress, taste in music, language, and recreational pursuits. If the parent can retain a sense of humor about these strange aberrations and remember one's own adolescent strivings, these unusual rites of passage will not seem so foreign.
The parent might be careful about not trying to keep up with the youth culture and be a pal to the adolescent. This destroys the child's efforts to be different. It is the purpose of the adolescent lifestyle to become so obscure that the parent cannot understand, and if the parent does understand, then more obscurity must be developed in order for the child to separate. Most of all, the adolescent needs for the parent to unwaveringly to be an adult. The role of parent is essential for the adolescent to become an adult.
Theorist Havighurst developed several important tasks that are understood as part of adolescent maturation--acquiring mature social skil...