ABSTRACT
The adolescent phase of the life cycle refers to a complex terrain of intersecting biological, intrapsychic, and social forces that together contribute to significant transformations in individual development. These varied forces lead to a diversity of developmental paths and coping patterns in adolescence. As numerous investigators have pointed out, significant biological changes usually occur during the early years of adolescence, often influencing other aspects of adolescent development (Brooks-Gunn, Petersen, & Eichorn, 1985; Petersen, 1988; Petersen & Spiga, 1982). Our vantage point is that besides these biologically defined aspects of adolescence, another way to understand this developmental era is with respect to individual differences among adolescents along the lines of impulse control, as well as cognitive and interpersonal style, dimensions representing components of ego development (Loevinger, 1976).
