Week 9 - Physical Changes and Maturation in Middle Childhood and Adolescence

Middle childhood defined (6-11)

• New responsibilities are introduced

  • School, work around (and sometimes outside of) the home, greater role in helping the family, etc

• By 6, brain has reached 90% of its adult weight

• Children will add 2-3 inches in height and 5 lbs in weight each year

Adolescence defined

Biological

• Starts - puberty

• Ends - with the maturation of physical processes and decline in growth

Social

• Starts - increased focus on peer relationships, as opposed to family relationships

• Ends - full attainment of adult status and privileges (entrance into adulthood)

• “Adolescence begins in biology and ends in culture”

Development characterized by continuity and discontinuity

Phases of adolescence

• Early adolescence (10-14)

  • Puberty and major bodily changes

• Mid adolescence (14-16)

  • Cognitive changes and evolving personality

  • Start of dating

  • Sense of future possibilities

• Late adolescence (16-21)

  • Transition to adulthood requires a range of adaptations

Adrenarche

sex hormones begin to rise long before physical changes are visible, typically between 6-8, when the adrenal glands on top of each kidney start to release increasing levels of adrenal androgens

• By 10, levels of adrenal androgens have increased ten-fold and some children experience their first feelings of sexual attraction

Effect of Hormones

• Elevated levels of testosterone: a social hormone that makes teens more concerned with how they’re perceived by others

• elevated levels of oxytocin: increases empathy and trust to remember of our peer group, and aggression towards those who are “out” of the peer group

• Elevated levels of cortisol: alert to environmental threats 

Body growth

• Growth spurt: the first outward sign of puberty is the rapid gain in height and weight 

• The cephalocaudal trend of infancy and childhood reverses during puberty

  • Legs grow faster than shoulders, trunk

  • Leads to gangly limbs of the teen

Bodily changes

• Earlier maturation of girls compared to boys

  • Growth spurt generally two years earlier

• Marked individual differences in timing

  • Girls: 9-15

  • Boys: 10-13.5

Early vs late maturation - boys

• Early maturing boys

  • More popular, relaxed, good-natured, and generally poised

  • May be secondary to physical maturation and improved social status

• Late maturing boys

  • Treated like younger children

  • Less athletic

  • More difficult adolescence

Early vs late maturation - girls

• Seen as desirable step toward maturity

• Poorer body image

• Increased risk of eating problems

• Increased behavioral difficulties

• Not continuing education after high school

• Joined older peer groups

• More likely in co-ed schools

Authoritarian 

Control is obtained through power without explanation

Authoritative

control is obtained through reasoning with a balance of warm contact and firm responses to violations

Permissive

Control is not required and deviations from expectations and rules are not responded to with negative consequences

Correlates of authoritarian parenting

• Children tend to be:

  • Passive

  • Dependent

  • Conforming

  • Less self-assured

  • Less creative

  • Less socially adept

• Lower psychological maturity

• Lower self-esteem

• Lower resourcefulness

• Lower achievement

• Social problems

• Externalizing behavior

• Higher risk for substance abuse, crime, and delinquency

Correlations of Authoritative Parenting

• Family cohesiveness

• Higher levels of academic achievement

• Higher self-esteem

• Greater cooperativeness

• Psychological maturity

• Resourcefulness

• Reasoning ability

• Empathy

• Altruism

• Lower rates of behavior problems

Correlates of Permissive Parenting

• Children tend to be:

  • Lower in impulse control

  • More immature

  • Less self-reliant

  • Less socially responsible

  • Less independent

• Lower academic achievement

• Verbal and physical aggression (poor self-regulation)

• Heavy drinking in adolescents

• Early sexual behaviors

Parent-child relationships in middle childhood

• Amount of time spent with parents declines with growing independence

• Child rearing becomes easier for parents who established an authoritative style in the early years

• Coregulation

• Authoritative parenting in middle childhood predicts academic and social competence and reduced engagement in antisocial behavior in adolescence

Coregulation

parents maintain general oversight while letting children take charge of moment-by-moment decision making

Sibling relationships in middle childhood

• Sibling rivalry increases

• Parental comparisons between siblings can cause resentment

• Many siblings continue to rely on each other for companionship, assistance, and emotional support

• Parental encouragement of warm, considerate sibling ties is important

Adolescence: increase in autonomy

• Emotional component

  • Relying on oneself than on parents

• Behavioral component

  • Making independent decisions

• Shift from family to peer interactions 

• Parent-child relationships are still important for helping teens develop autonomy and responsibility

Changes supporting increased autonomy

• Puberty → psychological distancing from parents

• Physical maturation → parents give teens more freedom and responsibility

• cognitive development → solve problems and make decisions more effectively

• Improved social reasoning → de-idealize parents, no longer bend to authority as easily

Parent-child relationship in adolescence

• Quality of parent-child relationship is single most consistent predictor of mental health

• Effective parenting strikes a balance between connection and separation

  • Authoritative parenting style

  • Fosters autonomy

  • Autonomy → self-reliance, achievement, positive work orientation, self-esteem, ease of separation

Parenting and positive outcomes for teens

• Consistent parental monitoring of daily activities, through a cooperative relationship in which the adolescent willingly discloses information is linked to positive outcomes

  • Prevention of delinquency, reduction in sexual activity, improved school performance, and positive psychological wellbeing 

• Parents who are coercive or psychologically controlling interfere with development of autonomy

  • Outcomes include low self-esteem, depression, drug and alcohol use, and antisocial behavior 

Reorganized relationship

• Amount of time spent teens spend together with family declines by ~50% compared to middle childhood

• Quality of parent-teen time is more important than quantity

  • Shared leisure activities

  • Family meal time

• Drop in family time during teen years varies by culture

Sibling relationship in adolescence 

• As younger siblings become more self-sufficient, sibling influence declines

• Teens invest less time in their siblings and more involved in friendships and romantic relationships

• Siblings who establish a positive bond in childhood continue to display strong affection and caring

  • Linked to increased academic engagement, empathy and prosocial behavior

• Warm, supportive parents and history of caring friendships → more positive sibling ties (and vice versa)

Fudge

• He’s cute and kisses his mother to win her over

• He does exactly what he wants. He’s not subject to the rules and conventions of social behavior

• He’s a jester: “PEE-tah!”

• Fudge doesn’t always know the difference between fantasy and reality

  • In the park he thinks he really can fly like a bird

  • At the movie theater, he reacts to the on-screen bear as if a real bear were actually in the room

Peter

• Peter narrates the story

• His voice is something of Alexander’s, the language of complaint. Unfairness is the big issue for him

• We find some of Peter’s comments funny even though he isn’t trying to be funny

• Peter feels unlucky, under appreciated, neglected to the point of being invisible to his parents (“Maybe I’m not their real son.”)

• On the more positive side, Peter:

  • Sometimes enjoys the “grownup” responsibility he’s given by his mother (to offer his opinion, set an example for Fudge at the shoe store, the dentist, and elsewhere)

  • We first see Peter acting maturely in the way he introduces himself to his father’s clients and how he responds to the gift of a book he’s outgrown

  • He takes pride in the care he gives Dribble, his pet turtle

  • Peter has friends (esp Jimmy Fargo), and increasingly prefers their company to that of his family

• Resilient - when Fudge ruins his poster, he moves past anger quickly and comes up with a new plan

• Values his own thoughts and feelings - “But secretly, whenever I look at him, I think it. My brother, Fang Hatcher! Nobody can stop me from thinking. My mind is my own.”

• Reconsiders his opinions, including those about Fudge

  • “I never considered refusing to open my mouth at the dentist’s office”

  • “Leave it to my brother to eat flowers! I wondered how they tested.” 

Peter’s personal growth

• At the ad agency, Peter notices that his little brother is growing up → “I never heard my brother say ‘Please’ before.”

• When Fudge is in the hospital, Peter becomes emphatic → “Maybe he wasn’t such a bad little guy after all.” 

Judy Blume as a satirist

• Points out the limits of the culture of celebrity and consumerism/advertising. This is the world of Mad Men

• Makes fun of the cluelessness of parents (Fudge’s father: “Eat it or wear it!”)

• The mother sometimes seems more concerned with maintaining order than with doing what’s best for her children

• Shows the tendency of parents to play one child against another

• Adults do not have a monopoly on knowledge. Peter is sure he knows better than the mayor how mass transit could be improved

Wisdom of Judy Blume

• Tells how to avoid getting mugged

• Advises against smoking and talking to strangers

• Connects failure of leaves to turn color in the fall to air pollution