Overview of Journeys: Paths to Adulthood
Growing up isn’t easy. Journeys: Paths to Adulthood is a targeted identity exploration program built to give young people the space, support and tools they need to navigate the journey of adolescence as they grow to emerge as strong, healthy young adults. Journeys: Paths to Adulthood is meant to help young people reflect on their own sense of self in relation to aspects of their identity. Clubs support identity development in all kinds of interactions and experiences, but because adolescence is a key milestone for identity formation, this targeted program is intended for young people ages 10-14. Providing young people with the support they need during these formative years helps them develop healthy attitudes and lifestyles that they will carry into adulthood.
This targeted program:
- Allows for framing and exploration around all parts of a young person’s identity including race, ethnicity and gender.
- Builds essential social-emotional skills that support identity development.
- Incorporates reflection questions that connect session topics to larger themes.
- Features youth-centered learning to encourage participation.
- Facilitates intentional relationship building between youth via Community Builders and activities.
By participating in this program, young people will:
- Consider how they define themselves and determine their personal values.
- Reflect on how they express their various identities.
- Compare the social norms and messages they receive about various identities and reflect on how these influence their self-perception and perceptions around other identities.
- Understand puberty and how changes that occur during this process can influence their perception of their own identities.
- Develop their self-esteem, emotional expression and coping strategies as tools to support them during adolescence.
- Consider how their individual identities contribute to the larger complex community.
Identity Development
Identity is what makes a person who they are. This encompasses a person’s sense of self as it relates to all parts of their identity, including but not limited to culture, race, ethnicity, family role, sexuality, gender, religion/spirituality, ability and hobbies. Identity also includes how individuals perceive their goals and values. Identity development is a complex process during which a person begins to define their own sense of self and determine what makes them unique and different, as well as how they are connected to others through social groupings. Researchers assert that much of this process occurs during adolescence.
Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development proposes there are eight stages of development that occur during a person’s life from infancy to late adulthood. Each stage includes a different developmental task or conflict, and successfully completing each stage better prepares one for the next stage and the development of a healthy sense of self. The beginnings of identity formation occur in the sixth stage, “identity versus role confusion,” during the ages of 12-18[i].
During the identity versus role confusion stage, young people are exploring their unique, individual identities. They are considering thoughts around appearance, personality, interests, relationships, hopes/dreams, sexuality, and more with essential questions around “Who am I?” and “Who do I want to be?”
Identity development is dynamic and complex during adolescence[ii]. As youth enter adolescence, they gain a sense of their own abilities, a greater awareness of others, more mature reasoning and a growing awareness of their roles in life. Developing a positive self-identity is critical during this stage. Young people at this stage are self-conscious, concerned with fitting in and being liked, sensitive to criticism, and feeling a strong pull to conform to stereotypical images of who they think they should be. As a result, young people during this stage may compare themselves with others instead of discovering their own interests, passions and unique strengths. When young people are taught to value their uniqueness, they will begin to explore their own interests and characteristics.
Developmental Milestones of Early Adolescence/Tweens Ages 10-12 and 13-15 |
| Physical Development | - There is wide variation at the onset of puberty, with some youth maturing early and others maturing late.
- Physical changes of puberty become outwardly apparent, and children are more aware of their changing bodies.
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| Cognitive Development | - Youth develop greater cognitive abilities for logic and reasoning. Youth gradually can think more abstractly, imagine future possibilities and consider more complexity.
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| Emotional Development | - Parts of the brain responsible for emotional response develop quicker than those required for self-control, leading to strong emotional responses and moodiness.
- Youth become more self-conscious and worried about what others think about them. This leads to thinking they are unique and people don’t understand their experiences.
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| Social Development | - Peers’ attention and approval is very important. Young people feel intense peer pressure and may develop “best friends” or form cliques.
- It becomes emotionally important for children to have and keep friends.
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| Self-Development | - Self-esteem issues may develop.
- Youth seek independence and test authority as they push for autonomy. However, they need guidance and structure as they navigate new boundaries.
- Youth experiment with different identities, but identities are closely tied to peer groups.
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In addition to understanding how the developmental stages of adolescence contribute to identity development, there are some key takeaways to also consider:
- Identity expression is sensitive to external influences.
- Aspects of one’s identity can be more important or more present to youth at different times and in different spaces.
- Youth, and specifically adolescents, thrive when provided intentional opportunities to develop aspects of their identity.
Social-Emotional Skills |
| Self-Awareness | Recognizing one’s feelings, needs, thoughts and influence on behavior |
| Perspective-Taking | Taking the perspectives of others |
| Empathy | Ability to understand and share in the feelings of others |
| Respect for Others | How one feels about others and how they treat them |
| Inclusion | Cultivating a welcoming environment for everyone |
| Self-Confidence | Belief in one’s abilities |
| Identifying Emotions | Recognizing and expressing one’s feelings |
| Youth Connections | Peer relationships |
| Adult Connections | Adult relationships |
The Youth Development Professional’s Role in Supporting Identity Development
Positive youth development is an intentional approach that engages youth within their communities, schools, organizations, peer groups, and families in a manner that is productive and constructive. It recognizes, uses and enhances young people’s strengths and promotes positive outcomes by providing opportunities, fostering positive relationships and furnishing the support needed throughout adolescent identity development.
Develop Social-Emotional Skills That Build Character
All Boys & Girls Club and Youth Center programs offer opportunities for youth development professionals to model, recognize, reinforce and reflect on character development. Positive youth development provides direction for how you interact with, engage and model behavior for youth. You get to shape the lives of young people every day. As a result, you set the expectations and show youth what essential character traits (e.g., caring, citizenship, fairness, respect, responsibility and trustworthiness) mean, and how they look. These character traits come to life when youth practice social-emotional skills like teamwork, conflict management and emotional regulation.
Youth can start to build character using “caught and taught” approaches. Youth “catch” social-emotional skills when they observe youth development professionals modeling them, and when they interact with peers. Youth can also be “taught” skills to build good character when the skills are explicitly introduced and practiced through program sessions and activities. Use this formula to understand how character develops over time:
Staff Model Good Character + Youth Practice Skills Regularly = Character Development
Youth development professionals facilitating Journeys can model good character in the way they support all youth, offer feedback rather than criticism, and encourage honesty and responsibility.
To build character traits, include many opportunities for youth to practice the social-emotional skills embedded in Journeys. These include skills related to:
- How a young person feels about themselves
- Their relationships with others
- Their ability to regulate emotions
- Their ability to solve problems
Positive Youth Development Is Mindful of the Complexities of Identity
It is important for young people to experience encouragement and a place where they can explore their identities to develop their own unique, independent identities.
Boys & Girls Clubs and Youth Centers are a place to become – including becoming who you are by developing essential social-emotional skills – and a place to belong – a place to be included for who you are, whoever you are. Identity formation is about developing a strong sense of self, personality, connection to others and individuality. Therefore, positive adolescent self-identity is vital because it shapes an individual’s perception of belonging beyond their adolescent years.
Creating a culture of inclusion and respect within Clubs means being aware of implicit bias and the limitations of our individual identity experiences. Positive youth development is mindful of the complexities of identity and acknowledges the following.
- Identity is comprised of a variety of factors including gender, race, ability, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, values, religion and more.
- Identities change over time. While adolescence is a critical stage of identity development, this process is ongoing. For example, you can change the way you think about yourself when you experience changes in life, like getting a new job or changes to a family dynamic.
- It is important to not limit youth identity development through the lens of your individual experiences.
- Youth will have a wide variety of experiences around identity formation, and not all youth will have a trusted adult with whom they can discuss the subject of identity.
- Feeling safe and comfortable in how you express your identities in any given environment is a privilege.
Youth development professionals support all youth in identity development when they:
- Promote a safe, respectful, and non-judgmental environment for learning and identity exploration. As youth begin their journey of self-discovery, it is incredibly important to promote a welcoming environment that is inclusive and respectful of all youths’ identities. This includes offering support and encouragement to youth, while also fostering positive peer relationships.
- Support a young person’s positive sense of self. Adolescents are experiencing a lot of changes, and sometimes that can cause frustration are they are trying to reconcile their own perceptions of themselves and other social roles/expectations. So, encourage youth with positive affirmations and remind them that any anxiety or confusion they may be experiencing is normal.
- Do not form presumptions about youths’ bodies, identities or expressions.
- Use inclusive language to support the identities of all youth.
- Use neutral terms such as partner, friend, parent, etc.
- Avoid imposing your own values on young people. During this period of identity development, it’s important to allow young people space to explore their own identities and define their own values and beliefs. Your role is to support them by being there for them as they grow and develop. Talking with youth about their values, goals and identities is a way to show your support.
Youth development practices that support teaching and learning are core to the quality of Health and Wellness programs. Effective Health and Wellness programs, when facilitated with high-quality youth development practices, will help youth develop the attitudes, behaviors, and skills needed to become effective and engaged learners who are on track to graduate with a plan for the future.
Youth development professionals can help all youth build resiliency skills when they:
- Establish and maintain Group Agreements at the start of any routine programmatic experience to establish a safe environment for sharing and learning.
- Provide frequent opportunities for youth to reflect on their experiences.
- Respond to youths’ behaviors in ways that encourage them to communicate their feelings and self-regulate.
- Provide the opportunity and space for youth to check in emotionally during the Club day, recognize trends in emotions and modify programming as necessary.
- Allow programmatic and environmental adaptations to support the identities of all youth.
- Integrate trauma-informed approaches throughout the Club day, and especially within identity-based programs and activities.
[i] Erikson, Erik H. (1968) Identity Youth and Crisis. W.W. Norton & Company
[ii] “Who Am I?” – Identity Formation in Adolescence https://actforyouth.net/resources/n/n_identity-handout.pdf
Session 1
