- age of consent
- minimum age at which an individual can legally make decisions to engage in sexual behavior
- body image
- our mental image or representation of our body
- clique
- close group of three to a dozen or so friends
- crowd
- large social grouping of many dozens or more members in the social milieu of adolescents
- cultural heritage
- adaptations to the natural and social world that have shared meaning and are passed from generation to generation
- de-idealization
- tendency of adolescents to see a mismatch between the values their parents proclaim, the rules they put forward, and the way imperfect parents lead their own imperfect lives
- friendship
- intimate, emotionally close relationship between two individuals
- gender intensification hypothesis
- prediction that conforming to gender roles is of heightened relevance during adolescence
- gender nonconforming behavior
- behavior that does not match society’s expectations for the individual’s assigned gender
- heteronormativity
- idea that heterosexuality is the norm or preferred sexual orientation and that opposite-sex people are best suited for sexual and marital relationships
- identity
- individual’s complete sense of who they are, including their traits, capabilities, interests, values, and social roles
- identity achievement
- realization and commitment to a coherent understanding of oneself and our relationship with society after exploring various identities
- identity diffusion
- identity status in which the individual has low commitment and does not actively seek an identity; most closely aligns with Erikson’s role confusion
- identity foreclosure
- identity status in which an individual has shown an early commitment to an identity without any prior exploration
- identity moratorium
- stage in which individuals are actively exploring various identities but not declaring an identity to be fully formed
- identity versus role confusion
- fifth stage of Erikson’s psychosocial development, which involves forming a stable and whole identity by first exploring various roles and identities
- possible selves
- various identities toward which adolescents may work in the future
- relational aggression
- practice of including or excluding others or otherwise threatening a sense of belonging such as by spreading gossip
- rite of passage
- socially or culturally explicit markers to recognize the transitioning adolescent’s progress and achievement of adult status in one or more dimensions
- romantic relationship
- bond psychologically distinct from mere liking and including components of affection, intimacy, exclusivity, and interdependence
- stereotype threat
- phenomenon where individuals experience anxiety or fear of confirming negative stereotypes about their social group, which can impair their performance in academic or other achievement-related tasks