Transition into Adulthood Essay Paper

The transition into adulthood may differ depending on cultural traditions and rites of passage from adolescence to adulthood. The transition into adulthood is also a time for relationships and romance from a normative perspective.

Describe at least two unique rites of passage to adulthood on the basis of ethnic or cultural variations.
Explain the concepts of pluralism and assimilation and describe how they affect the rites of passage of individuals.
Describe different attachment styles.
Explain the attachment style you feel would be most effective in forming lasting relationships.
Describe the different types of attraction.
Explain the type of attraction you feel would be most effective in establishing lasting relationships.

Transition into adulthood

Describe at least two unique rites of passage to adulthood on the basis of ethnic or cultural variations.

Two unique rites of passage for transitioning into adulthood have been identified. Firstly, ‘bullet ant initiation’ practiced among the Sateré-Mawé tribe in the Brazilian Amazon. It is a coming of age tradition in which 13 year old members of the community wear gloves lined with agitated bullet ants whose stingers are facing inwards. The boys demonstrate their maturity by enduring the painful bites without crying out for ten minutes. The activity is conducted repeatedly over the course of several months. Secondly, ‘rumspringa’ practiced among the Amish. Amish youth who turn 16 undergo this tradition by taking unsupervised weekends away from their families where they see and experience the world beyond their upbringing and culture before making the conscious choice to return to the Amish way of life. These youth can experience the tradition for as long as ten years, and those who rejoin the community are baptized and further integrated into the Amish community as committed members (Nuñez and Pfeffer, par. 3-4).  Transition into Adulthood Essay Paper

Explain the concepts of pluralism and assimilation and describe how they affect the rites of passage of individuals.

The concepts of pluralism and assimilation are concerns with cultural integration with the two concepts differentiated by the nature of the integration as well as impact on the local and foreign cultures. In this case, the concept of pluralism is concerned with changes that occur in the foreign culture to allow for effective coexistence with the local culture. It typically involves the persons from the foreign culture learning how they can be best integrated into the local culture even as they retain their beliefs and customs. Through pluralism, persons from the foreign culture are likely to retain their rites of passage and ignore those presented by the local community. On the other hand, assimilation involves the foreign culture being altered and absorbed by the local culture. In such cases, the foreign culture has minimal effect on the local culture, and the two end up blending with the foreign culture adopting the beliefs and customs of the host culture. Through assimilations, persons from the foreign culture are likely to discard their rites of passage and retain those presented by the local community (Hiebert and Ley 17).

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Describe different attachment styles.

There are three attachment styles with regards to culture. The first style is secure attachment whereby the individual uses his or her culture as a secure based for exploring foreign culture. This allows the individual to explore and interact with foreign cultures and appreciate their elements without losing aspects of the local culture. For instance, a Chinese man behaving as a German when in Germany and behaving as a Chinese when back in China. The second style is insecure attachment-avoidant whereby the individual assimilates the foreign culture while actively losing aspects of the local culture with minimal discomfort. For instance, a Chinese man behaving as a German when in Germany and still behaving as a German when back in China. The final style is insecure attachment-ambivalent whereby the individual avoids the foreign and local cultures. For instance, a Chinese man behaving as a Chinese when in Germany and behaving as a German when back in China (Reebye et al.).

Explain the attachment style you feel would be most effective in forming lasting relationships.

Secure attachment is most suitable in forming lasting relationships. That is because it allows the individual to use the home culture as a secure base for exploring foreign cultures. This enables the individual to appreciate the local cultures without prejudice. In fact, it allows the individual to develop understanding, skills and knowledge of foreign culture(s) while raining the original cultural identity thus becoming adept at interfacing with different cultures, and form relationships with people from different cultures (Reebye et al.).

Describe the different types of attraction.

Attraction refers to positive feelings about others, which can take the form of admiration, lust, friendship, love and liking. There are four types of attract. Firstly, reciprocity where an individual is attracted to others who reciprocate the feelings of liking. Secondly, similarity where an individual would like others with similar characteristics such as attitude, intelligence, level of education, personality, social class, religion, race, gender, and age. Thirdly, proximity where the individual is attracted to others who are within a defined geographical area owing to repeated exposure. Finally, physical attraction that is based on physical attributes and tends to form the basis for romantic relationships (Kahn; Wilkes).

Explain the type of attraction you feel would be most effective in establishing lasting relationships.

Similarity is most effect in establishing lasting relationships. That is because it improves accessibility, with the common features acting as a basis for interactions. The similarity acts as a common basis for association, easily disregarding other demographic differences and geographical distance (Kahn; Wilkes).

Works Cited

Hiebert, Daniel and David Ley. Assimilation, cultural pluralism, and social exclusion among ethnocultural groups in Vancouver, Urban Geography, 24.1 (2003), 16-44, DOI: 10.2747/0272-3638.24.1.16

Kahn, Seth. Proximity, familiarity, similarity, and reciprocity in my own relationships. 2016. Web. 2019. <https://sites.tufts.edu/fall16psy13skahn/2016/12/01/proximity-in-relationships/>

Nuñez, Christina and  Leticia Pfeffer. 13 amazing coming of age traditions from around the world. 2016. Web. 2019. <https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/13-amazing-coming-of-age-traditions-from-around-th/>

Reebye, P., Ross, S., Jameison, K. and Clark, J. Research report: a literature review of child – parent/caregiver attachment theory and cross-cultural practices influencing attachment. n.d. Web. 2019.  Transition into Adulthood Essay Paper