Final answer:
Contemporary adolescents are found to have different concerns and behaviors compared to past generations, influenced by unique societal pressures and technological advances. They experience psychosocial changes such as developing personal identity, increasing emotional separation from parents, and greater peer group influence. Research challenges the stereotype of adolescents being more impulsive, showing intricate relationships between brain activity and behavior.
Step-by-step explanation:
Research about contemporary adolescents is clear that these adolescents have different concerns and behaviors than adolescents in previous times. Contemporary adolescents face unique social challenges and stresses due to changes in technology, social media, and societal expectations. They are also navigating a complex world that is significantly different from that of their parents' adolescence. Additionally, they are more connected with peers and influenced by peer groups as a primary source of socialization and self-identity confirmation during this stage of life.
Psychosocial changes such as the development of personal identity and a personal system of moral and ethical values figure strongly into the adolescent experience. This can lead to increased emotional separation from parents and a greater focus on peer acceptance. Despite the notion that adolescents might be impulsive risk-takers, findings such as those by Galvan et al. (2007) suggest that while there is a correlation between risk-taking and brain activity in the neural reward center, adolescents may not necessarily be more impulsive than other demographics.
Understanding these psychosocial changes in contemporary adolescence can help explain why teens might make different decisions than adults, even when they may have a similar capacity for evaluating risks and rewards. Societal pressures today, including virtual interactions and online personas, add a different dimension to adolescent development, presenting both similar and unique challenges compared to past generations.