Adolescents may experience a crisis regarding their sexuality and sexual attractiveness, feel inferior or different when compared to other teens, or find themselves engage in role-related conflicts with peers and other adults.
1c. Aspects of privilege and lack of privilege that intersected with and/or created challenges to and opportunities for strong ego development.
In the development of the ego, the valuation of certain characteristics within society as 'superior' can reinforce an individual's positive self-perception. Class status, including wealth, can give individuals a strong sense of ego, as can intelligence, beauty, and other valued talents and skills. The social acceptance of peers can also create a sense of 'privilege.' Individuals who are socially awkward and experience rejection are less likely to develop strong egos than people whom are embraced...
However, others who feel highly competent at a skill (such as music or math) or have been given a strong sense of identity through familial support might be able to weather difficulties in peer adjustment.
Individuals, in contrast, who lack strong egos, may have experienced rejection by being perceived as different -- for example, if they come from a lower class status than their peers, or have a different ethnic or racial background -- and lack such coping mechanisms. Being judged by society as a whole as 'different' because of personal qualities can also inhibit the development of a positive sense of self-esteem. Physical and intellectual challenges, such as disabilities, can cause a sense of stigmatization because of teasing. And a failure of the family to support autonomy and growth can cause the individual to feel less than competent.
