ROLE AND IMPORTANCE OF FAMILY IN SELF-IMAGE DEVELOPMENT OF ADOLESCENTS

Abstract

Adolescence is characterized as a period when young people begin to explore and examine the psychological characteristics of themselves in order to discover who they really are and how they fit into the social world in which they live. This period of time represent a turning point in developing of self-image which is, according to Havleka, "the totality of the persons contents, thoughts, feelings and evaluations and predictions about himself as experiential object and as a participant in the interaction with the physical and social environment" (Havelka, 1992, p. 175). The role of the peers in adolescent period is indisputable. Because of, conditionally speaking, weakening of family influence in the developimg of self-image in this period of time, the subject of our interest were role and importance of the socio-cultural and personal characteristics directly related to the family, while building self-image. Therefore, the purpose of the research is to analyze the sociocultural and personal characteristics such as family structure, birth order, family relationships, financial situation, parent education and family type and determine their connection with developing of self-image of adolescents.