THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
94 Friday, September 9, 1983
Israeli Psychological Study Looks at Maturing of Teens
May the coming
teenagers in the Western
world. The escape into
drugs, alcohol and cults is
alarming evidence of this
problem, say psychologists.
In too many cases, they re-
port, adolescents never do
mature.
Recently published re-
sults of a three-year study of
adolescents by an Israeli
psychologist throw light on
intimacy, a little-
By MICHAEL HOFFMAN
Israel Govt. Press Service
TEL AVIV — Growing up
emotionally has become in-
creasingly difficult for
year be filled
with health and
lanDn
happiness for
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to all
our' friends
all our family
and relatives
and friends
HARRY, EVELYN, ILENE
& JONI BERCH
EVE & BERNIE MARKOFSKY
nalt3 are,7
Wishing all our family and
friends a year of
health and happiness
MR. & MRS. HARRY EISENSHTADT
SARAH LEVIN
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understood factor which
psychologists believe to be
an important link between
adolescence and adulthood.
The research was con-
ducted by child psychologist
Sarah Levin, under the au-
spices of Tel Aviv Univer-
sity, on 185 high school
pupils living in urban and
rural areas of Israel.
"The process of matur-
ing in the Western
world," explains the
Jerusalem-born re-
searcher, "is more com-
plex than growing up
physically. It has been
neglected too long by
parents and teachers,
and with tragic results."
Child psychologists know
that successful maturing
depends on Jimmy's or
Jane's capacity to develop
an identity separate from
his or her parents. The kids
call it "independence." But
what determines whether a
truly independent identity
can develop?
Says Levin, "We believe
that intimacy between
peers is a determining in-
gredient."
She explains, "To help es-
tablish a strong identity
separate from olie's parents,
an adolescent normally
searches for family substi-
tutes with whom to share
his or her world. When a boy
or girl successfully estab-
lishes intimate relations
with a close friend, the
battle for adulthood is all
but won."
Wishing all our family and
friends a year of
health and happiness
NATE & SARA FEINSTEIN
rata njo,
Wishing all our family and
friends a year of
health and happiness
HERMAN, BARBARA & JEFFREY GOLDSMITH
A Very Happy and Healthy
New Year to All Our Friends
and Family
ROCHELLE & EDDIE CHINSKY
6200 Olivewood Circle, Lake Worth, Fla.
A Very Happy and Healthy
New Year to All Our Friends
and Family
In short, peers are an es-
sential help in the search for
one's self, including one's
sexual identity.
Psychiatrists and psy-
chologists have defined
intimacy narrowly either
as the responsibility
shown by one person for
another, the ability to ex-
press good and bad feel-
ings without fear of de-
stroying a relationship,
or two persons par-
ticipating in experiences
and goals.
Psychologist Levin found
in her study that intimacy
comes in many more coats
and colors. The extent to
FRANK, BETTY & CHARLIE ELLIAS
A Very Happy and Healthy
New Year to All Our Friends
and Family
FRANCES & HAL GREEN
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which an adolescent is in-
timate with friends of the
same sex can be judged
partly by his or her answers
to the following questions:
• How sensitive are you to
a friend's feelings, and how
familiar are you with your
friend's behavior and areas
of interest?
• Can you take advice
from your friend as well as
give it?
• Do you share and to
what extent?
• Do you listen closely to
your friend? "Listening to
your friend's experiences, to
what bothers him or her,
should be regarded as both
an accepting and a giving
experience," says Levin.
"The listener 'accepts' his
friends self and 'gives' em-
pathy simultaneously."
• Do you miss your friend
when he or she is not with
you? Is your dependency on
your friend exclusive and
unique?
In male-female rela-
tions, these salient fac-
tors must be present for
intimacy to thrive:
• Romantic feelings:
dreaming about one's boy or
girl friend, wanting to be
touched and excited by one's
friend.
• Exclusivity in candor:
the ability to express freely
both negative and positive
feelings, and the capacity to
keep each other's secrets.
Some surprising findings
emerged from the study:
• Intimacy among city
adolescents with a best
friend of the same sex
tends to be stronger than
intimacy among adoles-
cents living in a com-
munal environment such
as a kibutz. In the city,
Ashkenazi and upper-
middle-class adolescents
concentrate on one
friend while in the rural
setting, teenagers are
likely to spread the inten-
sity of their relationship
among several friends.
Children growing up in a
group environment have
less privacy than do urban
children and they often pre-
fer being alone to being with
a friend.
Expressions of intimacy
of male teenagers in all but
lower-class society are less
intense than those of girls of
the same background.
"We see a tendency
among lower-class urban
boys to be freer in express-
ing their feelings than boys
of upper-and-middle class
and rural societies," says
Levin. "On the whole, teen-
age girls, except for those of
the lower class; achieve
greater degrees of intimacy
with both sexes than do boys
with both sexes."
The reason, she be-
lieves, is that girls are still
expected by society to be
sensitive, empathetic,
warm and expressive of
feelings. Boys are ex-
pected to be assertive,
competitive and tough,
and therefore, says Le-
vin, "their identities are
not as well defined."
Some males create macho
images in their relations
with colleagues. They pre-
'
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tend that nothing can hurt
them, that they can succeed
if they only try. Power,
money and fame became es-
sential to their well-being.
Best wishes for a
happy, healthy
New Year
MR. & MRS. PHIL KATZ
- -
Wishing all our family and
friends a year of
health and happiness
MR. MRS. MAX DREW & FAMILY
IMO ;710,
Wishing all our family and
friends a year of
health and happiness
ABE & PHYLLIS KOLNIERZ & FAMILY
71:110 ;7,
Wishing all our family and
friends a year of
health and happiness
A Very Happy and Healthy
New Year to All Our Friends
and Family
THE HARNICK FAMILY
SAM, PEARL, BARRY, CAROLE,
SHELDON. MICHAEL
A Very Happy and Healthy
. New Year to All Our Friends
and Family
MAURRY & SHIRLEY NEEMAN,
MICHAEL & JODI
_A Very Happy and Healthy
New Year to All Our Friends
and Family
NATHAN & MAXINE OSSEPOW
A Very Happy and Healthy
New Year to All Our Friends
and Family
BEN & SALLY PASMAN
wk.-
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