Adolescence Physical Development I Puberty A Puberty process

Adolescence

Physical Development I. Puberty A. Puberty: process by which a person attains sexual maturity and the ability to reproduce. B. Primary Sex Characteristics: organs directly related to reproduction, which enlarge and mature during adolescence. C. Secondary Sex Characteristics: physiological signs of sexual maturation (such as changes in the voice and growth of body hair) that do not involve the sex organs.

D. Adolescent Growth Spurt: sharp increase in height and weight that precedes sexual maturity. E. Signs of Sexual Maturity 1) Boy’s first ejaculation 2) Girl’s first menstruation F. Shifting Patterns of Sleep 1) Circadian timing system: the natural sleep-wake cycle of the brain, lasting 24 hours. 2) Melatonin: a hormone secreted by the pineal gland, which promotes sleep.

II. Adolescent Health A. Physical Activity Fewer girls get an adequate amount of exercise than boys. The percentage of boys and girls that get an adequate amount of exercise steadily declines throughout high school. B. Nutrition and Eating Disorders U. S. adolescents have less healthy diets than other industrialized countries. Fewer fruits and vegetables. More sweets, chocolates, and junk food. C. Obesity/Overweight U. S. teens are more likely to be overweight than their age-mates in other industrialized countries. Average teen girl needs ~2200 calories/day. Average teen boy needs ~2800 calories/day.

III. Body Image and Eating Disorders A. Body Image: descriptive and evaluative beliefs about one’s appearance. Concern most intense during adolescence. Pattern is more intense with females. Normal increase in girls’ body fat. African-American girls are more satisfied with their bodies than are Caucasian girls. B. Anorexia Nervosa: eating disorder characterized by self-starvation. Distorted body image. Constantly dieting and believing one is fat. May cause irregularity or cessation of menstruation. Often good students and ‘perfectionists’. Predominantly a female disorder. Usually develops between the ages of 12 and 18.

C. Bulimia Nervosa: eating disorder in which a person regularly eats huge quantities of food and then purges the body by laxatives, induced vomiting, fasting, or excessive exercise. D. Binge-Eating Disorder: a disorder characterized by recurrent eating binges without vomiting. E. Treatment of Anorexia and Bulimia Immediate goal is to get patient to eat and gain weight. Patients may be hospitalized if severely malnourished. Behavior Therapy – reward eating. Cognitive Therapy – change body image.

IV. Use and Abuse of Drugs A. Substance Abuse: harmful use of alcohol or other drugs. B. Substance Dependence: physiological and/or psychological addiction. Trends in Drug Use

C. Risk Factors for Drug Abuse 1) Difficult temperament 2) Poor impulse control and sensation seeking behavior 3) Family influences 4) Early and persistent behavior problems 5) Academic failure and lack of commitment to education 6) Peer rejection 7) Associating with drug users 8) Alienation and rebelliousness 9) Favorable attitudes toward drug use 10) Early initiation into drug use

D. Alcohol, Marijuana, Tobacco, & Methamphetamine 1) Alcohol: a depressant found in liquor, wine and beer. It acts primarily as a relaxant when consumed in small amounts. In greater amounts, it can increase aggressive and risk-taking behaviors. Excessive alcohol consumption can damage the liver and other internal organs and is related to memory problems and loss of motor control. 2) Marijuana: intensifies sensory experiences and has a calming effect, although it may cause panic. It has possible medical uses as a mild painkiller and nausea suppressant. It appears to impair learning and memory. Most commonly used drug among adolescents.

3) Tobacco (Nicotine): powerfully addictive stimulant (most commonly found in cigarettes). Smoking is experienced as relaxing because between cigarettes the smoker begins to experience withdrawal, which a subsequent cigarette will temporarily alleviate. On the decline among adolescents. 4) Methamphetamine: stimulant that reduces inhibitions and significantly reduces appetite. Highly prevalent on the West Coast. Causes your dopamine levels to sky-rocket, thereby making you feel really good. Increases risky behaviors, especially sexual activity. Can cause permanent memory and cognitive processing deficits. More common among girls than boys (likely due to weight loss effect). Most common among Whites and Latinos. Least common among African Americans.

E. Physical Dependence: when the user feels compelled to use a drug chiefly to reduce the unpleasant withdrawal symptoms. F. Psychological Dependence: a craving to use a drug not motivated by the physical symptoms of withdrawal.

V. Depression Prevalence increases during adolescence. Occurs in 4 -8% of teens. Girls more susceptible than boys. Can manifest as. . . Sadness Irritability Boredom Inability to experience pleasure VI. Suicide About 25% of U. S. high school students have seriously considered suicide. Girls are more likely to consider suicide. Boys are more likely to successfully commit suicide. This is partially due to the fact that boys are more likely to use guns, while girls are more likely to ingest substances, such as sleeping pills.

Cognitive Development I. Piaget: Formal Operational Stage: the final stage of cognitive development, characterized by the ability to think abstractly, engage in moral and ethical thought, and engage in deductive reasoning. Usually develops around age 11. A more flexible way to manipulate information. Also has emotional implications (ex. “I hate exploitation”. ) A. Problems with Piaget’s Formal Operations Many older adolescents and adults (around 1/3) are incapable of abstract thought. Fails to capture the role or context of the situation.

B. Hypothetical-Deductive Reasoning: ability to develop, consider, test hypotheses, and to imagine relationships systematically.

II. Elkind: Immature Characteristics of Adolescent Thought A. Six Characteristics of Immature Adolescent Thought: 1) Idealism and Criticalness 2) Argumentativeness 3) Indecisiveness 4) Apparent Hypocrisy 5) Self-Consciousness a) Imaginary Audience: Elkind’s term for an observer who exists only in an adolescent’s mind and is as concerned with the adolescent’s thoughts and actions as the adolescent is. 6) Specialness and Invulnerability a) Personal Fable: Elkind’s term for the conviction that one is special, unique, and not subject to the rules that govern the rest of the world.

III. Language Development A. Social Perspective-Taking: the ability to understand another person’s point of view and level of knowledge and to speak accordingly. IV. Moral Reasoning: Kohlberg’s Theory A. Kohlberg’s Levels and Stages LEVEL I: Preconventional Morality: control is external; self-concern. Stage 1: “What will happen to me? ” Stage 2: “I’ll do this for you, if you do that for me”.

LEVEL II: Conventional morality (or morality of conventional role conformity): standards of authority figures are internalized. Stage 3: “Am I a good boy or girl? ” Stage 4: “You really should break the law if it will save someone’s life, even if it’s wrong to break the law. ” LEVEL III: Postconventional morality (or morality of autonomous Moral principles): people follow internally held moral principles and can decide among conflicting moral standards. Stage 5: “Overall, it’s important to have laws. ” Stage 6: “You absolutely must break the law if it will save someone’s life; it’s the right thing to do. ”

B. Concerns with Kohlberg’s Theory Family Influences, Validity for Women and Girls, Cross-cultural Validity V. Educational and Vocational Issues A. Influences on Motivation and Achievement Self-Efficacy Beliefs Parenting Styles Ethnicity Peer Influence Sex The Educational System. . . What is the quality of the school? Does the student like his/her school? Does the school tailor teaching to students’ abilities? Does the school help students transition to college?

Psychosocial Development I. The Search For Identity. . . Who am I and why am I here? A. Identity versus Identity “Role” Confusion: Erikson’s fifth stage of psychosocial development, in which an adolescent seeks to develop a coherent sense of self, including the role she or he is to play in society. 1) Psychological Moratorium: In Erikson’s theory, a “time-out” period that is provided by adolescence. Virtue attained… 2) Fidelity: sustained loyalty, faith, and/or a sense of belonging to loved ones and society.

II. Identity Development A. Marcia: Identity Status—Crisis and Commitment 1) Crisis: whether or not one is actively exploring the issues of identity development. 2) Commitment: whether or not one has made any decisions.

B. Sex Differences in Identity Formation Girls are more concerned with developing relationships with others as part of establishing their identity. Boys are more concerned with establishing an identity that’s separate and unique from the identities of others. C. Ethnic Factors in Identity Formation 1) Diffuse: little or no exploration of ethnic identity, no clear understanding of issues involved. 2) Foreclosed: little or no exploration of ethnic identity, but has positive or negative feelings about it from attitudes absorbed at home. 3) Moratorium: has begun to explore ethnic identity but is confused about what it means. 4) Achieved: has explored ethnic identity and understands and accepts it.

III. Sexuality and Gender A. Sexual Identity: achieved by seeing oneself as a sexual being, recognizing one's sexual orientation, coming to terms with sexual desires, and forming romantic or sexual attachments. B. Sexual Orientation: focus of consistent sexual, romantic, and affectionate interest, either heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual. C. Transgender Identity: the psychological sense of belonging to one gender while possessing the sexual organs of the other. D. Gender Dysphoria: when people experience significant personal distress or impaired functioning as a result of a conflict between their anatomic sex and their gender identity.

E. Common Reasons for the Lack of Contraceptive Use 1) Ignorance 2) Guilt Related to Sexual Activity 3) Minimal Communication about Birth Control 4) Alcohol Use 5) The Media F. STDs / STIs G. Common Deviant Sexual Behaviors 1) Voyeurism 2) Sadism-Masochism 3) Fetishism

H. Cultural Differences In the U. S. and Canada, about half of all high school students have had sexual intercourse. This number is much higher in Western Europe, much lower in Arab nations, and only 2. 5% in China. There also differences within a culture across time. In the U. S. among women born before the year 1900, only about 3% had premarital sex before the age of 18. Now that number is at least 10 times that. I. Pregnancy Trends

IV. Relationships With Family, Peers, and Adult Society A. Stereotype of Adolescent Rebellion A time of emotional turmoil. Conflict within the family. Alienation from adult society. Reckless behavior. Rejection of adult values. 1) Only 20% of teens fit this pattern. B. Changing Time Use and Changing Relationships U. S. teens have a great deal of discretionary time. Time with family members declines dramatically. More time is spent alone and with opposite sex. Weekend partying is common for older teens. African-American teens spend more time with family than white teens.

C. Adolescents and Parents 1) Family Conflict Tension tends to arise over struggle for independence. Most arguments over day-to-day matters such as chores, school work, dress, money, curfew, dating, and friends. 2) Parenting Styles Authoritative is best (surprise, surprise). 3) Family Structure, Employment, & Economic Stress Single parent environments, mothers who work long hours (or just the opposite; are unemployed), and economic hardship all increase an adolescent’s likelihood for engaging in unhealthy or inappropriate activities, such as criminal behavior or drug use, and developing psychological problems, such as depression.

D. Adolescents and Siblings Teens are less close to siblings than to parents or peers. Teens are less influenced by their siblings than when younger. Teens become more distant from siblings throughout adolescence.

E. Adolescents and Peers More important than in any other life period. More reciprocal and stable than in childhood. Increased intimacy. Adolescents choose friends similar in. . . Sex Race/Ethnicity Academic attitude Risky or problem behavior F. Cliques 1) Clique: a structured group of friends. Become more common in adolescence. Membership types. . . a) Member: ties are to one group. b) Liaison: ties to more than one group. c) Isolate: not connected to any group. Cliques can be harsh to outsiders.

G. Methods Adolescent Friends Use To Interact With Each Other

H. Cyberbullying I. Crowds serve several purposes. . . They help establish teen identity. They reinforce alliances. They make it easier to make friendships within the same group. J. Romantic Relationships Become more intense and intimate as adolescence progresses. V. The Importance of Music During Identity Development