Adolescence in the Light of Role Theory and Psychodrama: Conflicts, Parental Attitudes, and Solutions

Adolescence in the Light of Role Theory and Psychodrama: Conflicts, Parental Attitudes, and Solutions

Psych. M.A. Deniz ALTINAY (Psychodramatist) 

Introduction: A Crisis or a Transition Process?

The period of adolescence is historically characterized as a period of crisis for both the individual and the family system. Although some contemporary longitudinal studies demonstrate that this period does not necessarily have to be stormy and destructive—meaning that a definition of absolute crisis is not valid for every adolescent—it is an undeniable fact that deep-rooted biological, psychological, and social challenges specific to this era are experienced.

This article focuses on what the period of adolescence represents, what kinds of problems adolescents and families are forced to confront, the constructive or destructive roles of faulty parental attitudes in this process, and what can assist us in resolving these issues from a psychodramatic perspective. Looking at this period in the light of the "Role Theory", which holds a central importance within the school of psychodrama, provides us with a dynamic map to understand the origins of the conflicts experienced.

Childhood and the Development of Roles

The child's first and most critical learning window spans the period between the ages of 0 and 5. According to the role theory of Jacob Levi Moreno, the founder of psychodrama, infancy and childhood constitute a stage where the individual experiences their first "psychosomatic" and "social" roles. During this period, through their communication with the mother, the child experiences the phenomena of "being together," "feeling together," and "acting together" (co-existence). If this early period cannot be passed in a healthy, consistent, and secure manner, the foundations of the identity and role crises that may arise during adolescence are already being laid at this stage.

Two fundamental emotions are decisive in the developmental process: Courage and Anxiety.

"While courage leads us toward progression, growth, and health; anxiety directs us toward regression and unhealthiness."

At this exact juncture, the quality and functionality of parental roles come into play. In the process of acquiring a new identity—by which we mean primarily sexual and social identity—the adolescent either completes their development healthily with the support and encouragement of their family, or exhibits neurotic behaviors due to intense anxiety, thereby turning the family against them. In a climate dominated by anxiety, the adolescent experiences loneliness, cannot share their problems, and the parents turn out to be the last to know about many important developments in the youth's life.

Problematic Parental Profiles and Their Consequences

Clinical observations and psychodramatic studies point to specific, prominent parental patterns in the families of children experiencing these types of problems:

• Overprotective, Inhibiting, and Prohibitive Mothers: These mothers often over-control their children's lives in order to compensate for the absent, traumatic, or unfulfilled maternal/paternal figures in their own past experiences.
• Intolerant, Perfectionist, and Indifferent Fathers: These are father figures who do not invest sufficiently in the emotional world and problems of the child, focusing solely on achievement and rules.

Such parental attitudes lead to the formation of an introverted personality structure plagued by loneliness. If the parents are both indifferent and coercive toward problems, and if there is chronic conflict between the spouses, these children show an increased tendency to display aggressive, reactive, and antisocial behaviors.

Another problematic group consists of parents who make broken promises, offer very little love and sense of security, or practice emotional neglect under the assumption that "Our child already knows that we love them." Children raised in these families cannot establish healthy relationships with their environment; they lack a basic sense of trust and are in constant conflict.

Pre-Adolescence: Wavering, Double Standards, and Power Struggles

The pre-adolescent period is quite literally a phase of wavering. Erik Erikson, one of the pioneers of developmental psychology, defines this period as "Identity versus Role Confusion."

Erik Erikson states: "The adolescent youth, while mourning the loss of their childhood identity on one hand, is under the weight of constructing an authentic role and identity of their own in society on the other. The crisis in adolescence is an inevitable process of ego integration necessary for a healthy adulthood." (Erikson, 1968).

Female children have taken their first sexual role models from their mothers, and male children from their fathers; now, they are about to put these roles into practice and test them on the social stage. Along with this, being accepted as an independent "individual," rather than merely a child, becomes a vital need for them.

However, during this process, parents frequently apply double standards. When it suits their purpose, they resort to the discourse of "You are still a child," and when it doesn't, they claim, "You are grown up now, you are not a child anymore."This inconsistency increases resentment in the adolescent and fuels mistrust toward the family system.

Another communication error is the cliché statement used while restricting the child: "We trust you, but we do not trust the environment/others." Due to this implicit message, some children become excessively distrustful and anxious toward the outside world, while others perceive it as a covert form of control and "deception," harboring great anger toward their parents. As a result, communication bonds gradually rupture.

Power Struggles and Role Confusion

Parents generally demand children who conform to their own ideals and expectations, continuously trying to reshape them into their own molds. Adolescents, conversely, show an existential resistance against this invasion and enter into an open "power struggle" with the family. Restrictions inevitably breed anger in the adolescent. In return, the parents demand absolute respect and question whether "this rebellion" is the reward for their years of self-sacrifice. The conflict escalates.

It is a known fact that playing the role of a parent is not easy; however, during this process, parents frequently step outside of their primary roles. They try to simultaneously be a teacher, a friend, a confidant, and an authority figure. When viewed from the perspective of role theory, this generates a "Role Conflict." Because the parent cannot dissolve all these distinct roles in a single pot, they naturally face failure and feel inadequate. This sense of inadequacy causes parents to feel bad about themselves or to believe that there is a pathological problem with their child. Yet, neither assumption is true; the problem lies in the faulty construction of the roles.

The Adolescent's Inner World and Behavioral Patterns

Children in this period are uneasy, fastidious, and reactive. They experience sudden ups and downs in their affect (emotional lability). Interest in schoolwork may decline; while they find the rights granted to them insufficient, they tend to evade responsibilities. The rules of the house now feel like suffocating shackles to them. Untidiness begins, they show up late for dinner, and passive resistance against authority is displayed.

Their fields of interest change constantly and never remain fixed. In reality, this situation is a natural part of a coherent search for identity and a way of rehearsing different social roles (role-playing). However, we frequently witness parents accusing them of being "fickle" or "short-lived in their enthusiasms."

Sins of Omission: The Need for Boundaries and Privacy

Details regarding their body (acne, height, weight, clothing) become extremely important for the adolescent. During this period, privacy is sacred. The adolescent locks themselves in their room and does not want anyone entering without permission; because that room is a spatial part of their autonomous identity and boundaries. Mostly mothers, and rarely fathers, make a profound mistake by interfering with these boundaries (ransacking the room, entering without knocking).

When restricted and angered, the adolescent responds in one of two ways:

1. Passive Response: They express their anger in a passive-aggressive way by refusing to study, neglecting their responsibilities, or becoming silent.
2. Active Response: They can shatter everything around them with impulsive, volatile behaviors, which can even escalate to the point of self-harm (risky behaviors).

The adolescent is highly keen on throwing the contradictions and past inconsistencies of their parents back in their faces. Mostly, they "oppose for the sake of opposing"; their sole purpose is to test their own independent power and boundaries.

Sexual Awakening and Traumas

The rapid sexual awakening and hormonal surge during this period catch the youth unprepared and overwhelm them. Bodily growth and change progress at a geometric speed, whereas psychological maturation lags behind and fails to keep pace. The youth's experience and role repertoire are still very limited; this imbalance burdens the adolescent with intense anxiety.

Moreover, primitive attitudes that traumatize adolescents—especially young girls—are still prevalent in society (such as traditional myths like slapping a young girl when she experiences her first menstruation). In these restrictive structures, sexuality and guilt go hand in hand, leading to deep neurotic conflicts in the youth.

Sex education for the child during this period is of vital importance. Mothers and fathers must provide clear, accurate, and objective information to their daughters and sons regarding this matter. If the child asks a question, it should not be brushed aside, the child must not be frightened, and professional help should definitely be sought at points where parents feel inadequate. Children of families who handle sexuality as something dangerous, shameful, or forbidden learn this vital information from their peers or from unsupervised, unhealthy internet sources in a superficial and distorted manner.

Peer Groups and the Quest for Independence

Despite their impatience to grow up, adolescents naturally cannot completely break free from their childish comfort zones and behaviors either. While wavering within this ambivalence, parents do not hesitate to criticize them for acting childishly, and the communication link snaps once more. The youth desires to escape the absolute influence of their parents, and the tragedy is that they believe they must fight and clash with them to achieve this.

At this point, the need for "Peer Belonging" becomes pronounced. The peer group is the adolescent's first safe haven outside of the family and the most crucial step taken on the path to finding their own identity. Often, when pressures from the family push the youth into depression, the friend group can become a symbol of struggle and protest against the family.

The Four Levels of Intergenerational Conflict

It is well-known that intergenerational conflict is inevitable and natural. According to the psychodramatic and systemic approach, these conflicts occur at four different levels, and the resolution path for each is distinct:

Fundamental Communication Errors and the Resolving Power of Psychodrama

At the core of bottlenecks within the family lie certain rigidified and obsolete cultural/mental codes (cultural conserves). The fundamental communication errors that lock relationships are as follows:

• Viewing an argument as a "war" and a power race that must be absolutely won.
• Deeming rude and hurtful behavior justified in times of incompatibility or disagreement.
• Confusing "understanding" the adolescent with "accepting and approving" their every behavior.
• Perceiving trusting someone as being easily deceived or being played for a fool.
• Believing that maintaining a dialogue implies condoning the adolescent's negative behavior.
• Evaluating being honest and open in a relationship as a sign of "naivety and vulnerability."
• Seeing showing flexibility or changing one's position as a "step backward/defeat."
• Implementing directing the other party to be rational as a means to "bring them to their knees and force submission."

Conclusion: Spontaneity, Creativity, and Psychodrama

As J. L. Moreno emphasizes: "Man is born and lives with a repertoire of roles. A healthy individual is one who can provide adequate and new responses to changing new situations—that is, one who is spontaneous and creative." (Moreno, 1953).

Listening and empathy are the two most vital skills a parent must possess. Unfortunately, in modern society, we either do not listen to our children at all or we fail to put ourselves in their shoes (role reversal).

Creativity and Spontaneity are two crucial existential phenomena that parents and the traditional education system systematically stifle in children from an early age. Psychodrama, through the action methods it offers (role reversal, mirror, and doubling techniques), aims to help the individual regain these atrophied capacities.

Psychodrama offers an extremely broad therapeutic and educational repertoire that shatters static molds for both adolescents and families, flexes roles, and allows the capacity for empathy to be experienced directly on stage. Hoping that we raise individuals who are not restricted in their creativity, alienated from their own potential, and blindly dependent/passive members of society...

Bibliography

• Altınay, D. (2003). Psikodrama Grup Psikoterapisi El Kitabı. Sistem Yayıncılık.
• Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity: Youth and crisis (No. 7). W. W. Norton & Company.
• Moreno, J. L. (1953). Who shall survive?: Foundations of sociometry, group psychotherapy and sociodrama. Beacon House.
• Moreno, J. L. (1972). Psychodrama: First Volume. Beacon House.
• Santrock, J. W. (2019). Adolescence (17th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.