Lifespan Development Analysis: Britney Spears

Many people believe that they know Britney Spears. Having grown up in front of a camera — first on The Mickey Mouse Club and then as a major worldwide pop star — her life was extensively documented in the public eye. Unfortunately, Spears may be more notable for her personal problems than for her considerable professional success. She had a very public marriage followed quickly by two children and a divorce. It was her post-divorce behavior, however, that garnered the most significant public attention. She engaged in erratic public behavior that was, by many accounts, even more dramatic behind the scenes. Her breakdown led to widespread speculation that Spears was suffering from a biochemical disorder, with many observers suggesting she was bipolar. It also led to her father becoming her legal guardian.

All of these events have fueled intense public speculation about Spears — including questions about her own adulthood and her impact on the development of others. This should come as no surprise. "In cultures without clearly defined rites of passage, defining oneself as an adult rests on one's perception of whether personally relevant key criteria have been met. In U.S. society, this can be very complicated, for example, when success comes at a young age. Is Britney Spears...an adult?" (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2007, p. 383). Biologically, the answer is clearly yes. The more meaningful question, however, is whether Spears displays the behavior one generally associates with adulthood.

At this point in time, the answer to that question appears to be yes. Unlike many tragic Hollywood stories, Spears' story seems to have a relatively positive trajectory. She is currently in a stable romantic relationship. Her father remains her guardian, but she appears to be managing herself and her career with sufficient ability. She maintains relationships with both of her children and an apparently friendly relationship with her ex-husband. She therefore appears to be functioning as a stable adult in both her personal and professional life.

Because so much of Spears' life was lived in public, one does not have to speculate about the major milestones in her life. Instead, one can examine the persona she chose to project and observe what appear to be several clear turning points. It is critical to keep in mind, however, that these milestones are derived from her public persona. How that public persona relates to her private experience is something that may never be fully understood; to date, none of her biographers have demonstrated the kind of insider access that would suggest an unusual degree of personal insight.

One of the more significant milestones in Spears' life occurred before she ever entered the public consciousness — a dance recital with her cousin Laura Lynn Covington:

"For their first dance recital, Britney and Laura Lynn did a routine together. Both wore frilly pink costumes, and they had their hair done the same way. Nervously waiting their turn to perform, they looked like two adorable peas in a pod, but when the music started, that abruptly changed. Laura Lynn giggled and repeated the dance moves she liked over and over. But Britney, a look of intense determination on her face, completed the routine exactly as she had learned it, even though she was out of time with the music" (Heard, 2010).

In other words, at the very first opportunity to be a perfectionist performer, Britney embraced that role. Throughout her childhood she was known as a performer and competed in gymnastics and other athletic endeavors. What is interesting, however, is that even though many people perceive Spears' parents as the archetypal stage parents, they did make some effort to steer Britney toward pursuits that would genuinely fulfill her. Spears was considered for training by the celebrated gymnastics coach Béla Károlyi, but her mother Lynne Spears viewed Károlyi's methods as too intense and harsh for a young child (Heard, 2010). Instead, the family sought other performance outlets, and Britney began singing at a young age, competing in child talent contests and beauty pageants.

One website compiled a list capturing the many public twists and turns of Spears' life over the past decade. Though somewhat facetious in tone, the list did document several significant phases. It began with "Mickey Mouse Club Britney" — the young Britney's public introduction through The Mickey Mouse Club (ListAfterList.com, 2010). Next came "Sexy Schoolgirl Britney," marking Spears' transition from child to woman, including provocative videos and magazine covers (ListAfterList.com, 2010). This was followed by "Incredibly Ripped & Oversexed Britney," hallmarked by Spears' physical confidence, impressive physique, and her emergence into the dating world beyond Justin Timberlake (ListAfterList.com, 2010).

At this point, Spears had many of the outward markers of adult success but was still attempting to inhabit an adolescent persona. "Only 17 when her debut album was released, she worked hard to maintain her image as a wholesome teen. However, sales from the album quickly made her a multimillionaire and a worldwide celebrity. Clearly, she had achieved financial independence" (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2007, p. 383). Whether financial independence alone was sufficient to signal a true transition to adulthood remained an open question.

It is also important to note that her transition from Mouseketeer to pop star was not uninterrupted. When the television show was canceled, she returned to Louisiana. "Gradually Britney became a normal teenager. Her MMC memories faded, and she became interested in other things — including, eventually, boys. She progressed from grade 7 to grade 9, and sometime that year, perhaps due to her lingering celebrity status, she attracted the attention of Mason Stratham, a popular boy who was a year older than she and who had been unofficially dubbed 'most handsome boy in school'" (Heard, 2010). Another high school boyfriend later claimed that she lost her virginity to him at the age of 14 (Heard, 2010).

The website then describes "Rebellious Britney," characterized by behavior such as smoking cigarettes and dressing in what was perceived as an unflattering manner — regarded as the beginning of Spears' initial public downfall (ListAfterList.com, 2010). This was followed by "Pregnant Britney," featuring Spears' two back-to-back pregnancies (ListAfterList.com, 2010). After her pregnancies, Spears appeared to begin engaging in increasingly erratic behavior. The website describes this phase as "White Trash Britney," during which Spears was observed wearing disheveled clothing, appearing barefoot in public, and generally looking unkempt (ListAfterList.com, 2010).

Spears' erratic behavior reached a climax in what the website calls "Dangerous Bald Britney," during which she shaved her head, entered rehab, reportedly attempted suicide, and attacked a paparazzo's car with an umbrella (ListAfterList.com, 2010). During this phase, she also failed to appear at court hearings related to her children's guardianship and engaged in very public partying. She was eventually hospitalized for a mental health evaluation (ListAfterList.com, 2010).

What is noteworthy is that, although Spears' shaved head was characterized by the media as a dramatic sign of mental instability, her stated reasons were more mundane. The hairdresser she approached, Esther Tognozzi, reported that Spears said she was tired of her long hair and that her extensions were uncomfortably tight (Heard, 2010). When one considers the chronic discomfort of pulled hair extensions, the decision to shave her head no longer seems like an obviously irrational act.