Transition to Young Parenthood

1. Concepts of adolescence, its origins and emergence as a social construct, and its relevance within today's society

Adolescence is basically a transitional stage of psychological and physical development for humans, and it occurs during the development period from puberty to legal adulthood, which means the age of majority. The time period of adolescence is associated with the stage of the teenage years, and in development, transition occurs both mentally and physically. The time period of development involves changes such as biological, mental, and social alterations. The term adolescence is generally associated with more independence and little supervision as compared to the age of preadolescence. Basically, this stage is a time to acquire all the necessary skills to participate in the adult world. Adolescence is divided into three stages. Early adolescence, middle adolescence, and late adolescence The early stage is a stage that consists of puberty transitions, i.e., 8-12. Individuals in this stage become aware of their rapidly changing body structure. The middle stage starts from 12-15, and by the time puberty passes, the individual gets concerned as to how he or she looks and is perceived by the world. Later stages, i.e., 15-18, feature the intellectual and developed sides of the individual.

An American psychologist, Granville Stanley Hall, gives a concept of adolescence in which he uses scientific methods to study adolescence. Hall describes that the period of adolescence starts at the puberty age of 12-13 years and ends late between the ages of 22-25 years. In this, he also defines that adolescence is basically a period of storms and stress. With the help of recapitulation theory, Hall describes the period of adolescence as a moment that is related to uplifting mankind to directly be super-anthropoid. According to the theory of adolescence and recapitulation, Hall defines the adolescence period as a new birth, in which he states that human traits are completely born in this stage. Further, he believes that characteristics of adolescence include both childish selfishness and idealistic altruism, and he also stated that adolescents want both seclusion and solitude. According to Stanley Hall, during the stage of development and transition, there is also a yearning for authority and idols, which does not exclude revolutionary action against any kind of idol or authority. In this, Hall defines that in the late adolescence period, the individual recapitulates and begins the state of modern civilization, and this development stage corresponds to the end of the process of maturity.

Even though this theory plays an important role in the study of adolescent development, there were few criticisms of Hall's work, such as that many of Hall's ideas have not stood the test of time and that many writers do not agree that normal adolescence is a time period of stress and storm. According to Bandura (2006), “many young people in the USA do not feel stress and anxiety, so he felt that the assumption about adolescence was an overstatement of a real fact. He points out that if society assumes adolescence as a time period of radical tension, then it runs the risk of self-fulfilling prophecy." In the same way, according to Atwater (2010), “the adolescent experience is heavily influenced by both the social and cultural environment.”

From the above criticism of authors as well as the statement made by Hall, further it can be concluded that the difference between Hall's time and the present time demonstrates culture changes, so the view of psychologists on adolescence also changes. In that conservative time period, Hall frankly discussed sexuality in adolescence and also viewed sexuality as healthy and normal. This discussion alarmed many people of that conservative time period, and many of them did not agree with sexuality in adolescent development.

2. Range of sources to determine the extent to which'moral panics' shape and influence discourses on adolescence, youth, and young people

The term moral panic occurs when an episode, condition, person, or person's group emerges as a threat to societal interests and values. In enforcing moral panic in society, media sources such as newspapers, films, and radio play a massive role. Basically, moral panic is a term that is used to define the media presentation of something that has already happened, and in this presentation, the public will react in a manner that promotes panic. It is generally a feeling of fear that spreads among a large number of people that some evils are trying to threaten the well-being of society. The moral panic has various features such as concern, hostility, consensus, volatility, etc. In this process, the media creates a folk devil and reports its actions in sensationalised form in front of the public, and through this process, public concern increases about these actions. The public starts to think that moral panic can disturb their lives and may pose a threat to their social values. In this whole scenario, adolescence and youth are mostly affected and influenced by moral panics, and according to the situation, their behaviour too changes.

Basis of moral panic

The basis of moral panic can be defined as how moral panic impacts people. In situations of moral panic, an individual or a group who poses harm to the norms and values of society is identified as a threat to society at the moral level. The nature of risk disclosure enables and influences young people towards moral panic, so the construction of moral panic is generally surrounded by youth whose behaviour is delinquent and deviant. They are associated with the emergence of different forms of youth culture, which are associated with violence.
Implications of moral panic for young people

Moral panic has an adverse impact on youth, adolescence, and their perception. According to the situation and condition, people immediately start to react to these situations, and the media plays an important role in covering those moral panic-related events. The amount of information related to these events is conveyed by the media to people, and according to that information, they start to form their own opinions and perceptions. The effects on people of moral panic have been stated below:

Start to fear.

Through the media, information directly reaches people, and according to that, people start to fear that they are in danger. The fear, such as a threat to their lives, both personal and professional, disturbs their daily activities and has a negative effect on society, such as harming norms and ethical values.

Discomfort feeling

In events of moral panic, people start feeling discomfort and perceive that event or episode as a hectic situation. For example, the effects of the Ebola virus on youth and other people created a situation of panic that further worsened the situation of the epidemic in the country. This situation is also a form of moral panic, which affects a large number of people.

Take a stand against that situation.

If moral panic-related events are not real or are a threat to society, then some people will take a stand against that event and try to encourage other people as well. People try to generate awareness among others. For example, many will say that this event is just a rumour, and they do not need to feel fear about that moral panic.

Aggression or violent behaviour

The events that are related to moral panic also have an adverse impact on youth's perception. Youth in their adolescence stage are already infuriated with the raging hormonal rush in their biological structure. Any situation or event of panic worsens this condition, and the individuals start to become violent and generate violence in the event. For example, in a college, due to an exam paper leak, if moral panic generates, then management decides to postpone the examination until spring break. This situation creates a panic situation, as students do not favour the same. Students start mass gatherings, and violent behaviour disarms the property of the college.

3. Youth transitions to young parenthood

Youth transitions are conceptualised because becoming a parent for the first time at a young age is a major transition for adolescents and young people. In this context, age is an important factor in determining readiness for young parenthood; however, there are also other factors that are important, such as the circumstances of the family and the social support system. All these factors can influence the success chances of young parents. Young people become major actors in parenthood situations because they shape the well-being and health of the next generation. Young parenthood faces many challenges in youth transitions, such as mental health, family circumstances, low resources, economic conditions, less social control, etc. However, youth or young people who become parents have a shortage of resources and key life skills that are vital in the process of parenting. In this regard, according to The Urban Child Institute (2014), young or youth parenting is a major risk factor that is associated with the development of childhood. When a baby is born, young parents face many difficulties. Acquiring language and cognitive skills, as well as emotional and social skills such as self-confidence and self-control,  is the main reason behind these difficulties. In young parenthood situations, there are various risk factors that generally occur; these risk factors are discussed below:

Dream deferred

To raise a baby, many young parents quit school or college to solve their difficulties. But in this, they stop the source through which they gain further education and knowledge. This hampers their growth and knowledge base. They lose their career goals and perspectives in the process of raising a baby. This situation at the onset does not affect much, but these effects are considered vital for the future. These young parents are generally college dropouts who do not receive handsome pay and enough job opportunities to raise their family. This situation adds to the financial problems faced by parenthood from many other issues generated as a result of the same.

Single parenting

Many times, it is seen that adolescent or younger parents are not married, and in this case, teenager fathers abandon their responsibilities due to inability and fear. They leave teen mothers with less financial and moral support. In this regard, the mother is left alone with less support to raise her child in the world. Despite this, in many cases, it is evident that the family and friends lessen their support for the young mother. Cases of depression and stress are prevailing among young mothers who are raising their kids alone.

Harsh parenting

Generally, it is found that young parents use a harsh parenting style in the development of their children because of a lack of coping skills and experience. The fewer skills generally create frustration and irritation while caring for a new-born baby. Low education levels and financial problems are two of the many reasons faced by young parents. The young teens get infuriated and irritated by these daily problems, which results in harsh parenting styles for their kids.

In the process of youth transition to young parenthood, the most critical factors are adjustment and family support, which can help new parenthood with infant development. Both of these factors reduce the challenges of mental and physical health, which are important for parents.

4. The contribution of social theory to the debates surrounding young people's transition to adulthood and our understanding of this process

In the process of transitioning to adulthood, many young people face many challenges. Challenges like independent living can be demanding, such as paying for housing and other related expenses and managing new responsibilities without financial and emotional support. When a teenager or a younger person prepares for adulthood challenges, they are basically entering the development and growth period. During this developmental period, they basically explore themselves, how they are, and what they want to become in the future. For this purpose, they need new skills to take on new responsibilities and roles. During the transition period, changes occur in behaviour and thinking power. In adulthood, people are mature and think logically in every situation because, at the time of growth, changes also occur in brain development. In the adulthood phase, people are able to understand the difference between right and wrong. In the growth process, hormones contribute to the development of physical changes and powerful emotions.

In adulthood, people are regarded as independent, responsible, and self-sufficient because, in the development process, intellectual maturity and physical maturity have been fully attained. The transition to adulthood from young to mid-life adults is all about accepting responsibilities and making decisions based on their own values and beliefs. In the transition process, young people accept the importance of learning, which helps them stand alone in front of others. In the transition of young people to adulthood, they identify that self-sufficiency and independence are highly valued. For establishment and identification, adults need the desired qualifications and skills for employment. In this situation, many youth experience a very smooth transition to the adulthood phase. The aspects of adults are such as...

• Adults get duties and rights like the right to vote.
• To meet their economic needs, they can start full-time or part-time work without being dependent on their parents.
• They are not eligible to claim full benefits of social security until the age of 25.
• They try to develop an independent and separate identity and lifestyle.

During this developmental period, young people are also confronted with multiple challenges and opportunities that can have important implications for their lives. Further, it is observed that individual developments are always determined by decisions related to employment, education, marriage, residential arrangements, and parenthood. The vital changes in social responsibilities and roles can develop stress and can also test their individual capacity for adopting new changes. It might be possible that these changes can bring new opportunities, which can help them overcome previous difficulties.

Conclusion

Through the above report, it is clearly articulated that the transition process plays an important role in stages of human life such as childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Further, this report shows concepts of adolescence and the importance of media in moral panic. Becoming a parent is a huge responsibility. In the process of transitioning to being a young parent, there are various issues and challenges faced by teens. This research focuses on more aspects of youth transition to adulthood and young parenthood.

References

• Oesterle, S., Johnson, M.K., and Mortimer, J.T., 2004. Volunteerism during the transition to adulthood: A life-course perspective. Social Forces.
• Bandura, A. (1986. Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Prentice Hall.
• Gee, C.B., et al., 2007. Adolescent and young adult mothers' relationship quality during the transition to parenthood: associations with father involvement in fragile families. Journal of Youth and Adolescence.
• Masten, A.S., et al., 2004. Resources and resilience in the transition to adulthood: continuity and change. Development and psychopathology.

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