Adolescent crisis can be defined in many ways. Typically, it refers to the upheaval that happens during this period, such as the changes that can take place in multiple dimensions, including emotional components, psychological factors, and physical development. The adolescent period has been conceptualized as rife with often dramatic shifts leading to viewing psychological events during this period as crises in and of themselves due to their being important to address before reaching maturity. This view was one adopted by Erik Erikson who conceived of a psychological theory proposing that exploration was at the heart of the identity crisis that needed to be resolved before youth could address other psychosocial tasks (Erikson 1968). Importantly, however, his view of crisis was not the one typically associated with the term “crisis”; rather it was a much tamer one involving the need to come to terms with key developmental issues, and those “crises” continued throughout the life span as...
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References
Boyes, M. C., & Chandler, M. (1992). Cognitive development, epistemic doubt, and identity formation in adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 21, 277–304
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Levesque, R.J.R. (2011). Adolescent Crisis. In: Levesque, R.J.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Adolescence. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1695-2_489
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1695-2_489
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