Relationship Development

Relationship development that occurs during adolescence:

Changes in adolescent physical and cognitive development are also accompanied by major changes in an adolescent's relationships with others - including family members and friends. Family relationships are often reorganized with the onset of puberty, the desire for increased autonomy, and increased emotional distance between teens and their parents. Adolescent attention often shifts to a more intense focus on social interactions and friendships expanding from same sex friends to same sex groups of friends to heterosexual groups of friends. Sexual maturity marks the need to reorganize friendships again, to include an increased interest in opposite sex relationships and dating.

Developmental changes in relationship with self:


  • independence


  • identity

    Identity is defined as a sense of self or self knowledge about one's characteristics, or personality. One of the fundamental tasks of adolescence is to achieve a sense of a personal identity and a secure sense of self. As an adolescent gains comfort with, and acceptance of, a more mature physical body, learns to use his/her own judgment, learns to make decisions independently, and addresses his/her own problems, he/she begins to develop a concept of himself/herself as an individual, and thus an identity. Difficulty in developing a clear concept of self or identity occurs when an adolescent is unable to resolve struggles about who he/she is as a physical, sexual, and independent person.

  • self-esteem

    Self-esteem is defined as the feelings one has about one's self. Self-esteem is determined by answering the question "How much do I like myself?" With the onset of adolescence, a decrease in self-esteem is somewhat common - based on the many body changes occurring, new thoughts being developed, and new ways of thinking about things becoming more and more apparent. During adolescence, teens become more thoughtful about who they are and who they want to be. They notice differences in the way they act and the way they think they should act. Once teens start thinking about their actions and characteristics, they are confronted with how they judge themselves. Adolescent females tend to place importance on attractiveness. When teens do not perceive themselves as attractive, it often causes poor self-esteem. Females tend to have less self-esteem than males. Typically, self-esteem increases during late adolescence as teens develop a better sense of who they are.

Developmental changes in peer relationships:


Close friendships tend to develop between teens that are more similar in nature, interest, social class, and ethnic backgrounds, than younger age friendships. While childhood friends tend to be based on common activities, adolescent friendships expand to include similarities in attitudes, values, loyalty, and intimacy, as well as common activities. Teen friendships also tend to be more similar in level of involvement in academic and educational interest. Especially for girls, close, intimate, self-disclosing conversations with friends help to explore identities and define one's sense of self. Conversations within these important friendships also assist adolescents in exploring their sexuality and how they feel about it. The friendships of adolescent boys are less likely to be as intimate than those of girls. Boys are more prone to form an alliance with a group of friends who validate each other's worth through actions and deeds rather than interpersonal disclosure.

Developmental changes in male-female relationships:


Developmental changes in family relationships:


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