Adolescence

Physical Development in Adolescence

• hormones influence cells and are a way in which genetic instructions are transformed into physical development

• ~7 or 8 pituitary gland (the gland that controls all other glands) signals the adrenal gland to increase the production of androgen (hormones) to start puberty

Puberty

The biological transition to adulthood in which hormones cause the body to physically mature and permit sexual reproduction 

• hormonal changes trigger puberty in late childhood and are marked by the adolescent growth spurt (i.e a rapid gain in height and weight)

• generally, begins at about 10 in biological females and 12 in biological males

Physical Development in Adolescence: Growth Spurt

• the cephalocaudal growth trend of infancy and childhood reverses

• the extremities grow first, torso last

  • time for limbs and torso to catch up with brain

• muscles grow stronger

• internal organs mature 

• proportions of muscle and fat differ for males and females

  • males: don’t require specific body fat mass level to produce sperm

  • females: menstruation cannot happen until certain body mass is reached

Physical Development: Secondary Sex Characteristics

Physical traits that indicate sexual maturity but are not directly related to fertility

eg. armpit/pubic hair

Physical Development: Primary Sex Characteristics

The reproductive organs

eg. ovaries, uterus

Physical Development: Menarche

A biological female’s first menstrual period (~10-14 and the average age in Canada is ~12.7)

• precocious puberty: very early puberty

  • likely to be treated as “older” by adults → detrimental to development

Physical Development: Spermarche

A male’s first ejaculation (~13 or 14 and produces very few sperm)

Biological and Contextual Influences on Pubertal Timing

• genetics

• weight and nutrition

• stress (can alter hormone production)

• socioeconomic status

• secular trends (not related to religion): eg. younger periods over time

Trans Youth and Puberty

• ~75,000 or 0.24% of Canadians aged 15 and older are transgender (i.e gender differs from sex assigned at birth)

• changes happening during puberty can be especially distressing when they are not in line with your gender

• puberty blockers (i.e medications that block hormones associated with puberty can help relieve the distress)

Sexuality

Everything related to sexual feelings, thoughts, behaviors, etc.

• sexual attraction: desire to have sex interactions with a person/people

Sexual Activity

• sexual activity and relationships often emerge in adolescence

  • influenced by caregivers, peers, neighbourhood, media, SES, etc.

  • sexuality continues to be important throughout the life course

• emerging cognitive abilities lead to curiosity, reflexivity and introspection about sexual feelings and behavior

• lack of education leads to STIs, violence or when abstinence is suggested

Cognitive Development: Formal Operational Reasoning

Piaget’s 4th stage of cognitive development characterized by the ability to engage in abstract, logical and systematic thinking

• better planning and perspective taking

• starts ~11

• allows adolescents to engage in hypothetico-deductive reasoning

• Piaget theorized that cognitive development is universal

  • in reality, although adults are presumably capable of abstract reasoning, many fail hypothetical-deductive tasks

  • can also vary across task, situations, experience, context and motivation

Hypothetico-Deductive Reasoning

The ability to search methodically for the answer to a problem

• adolescents learn that hypothetical thought is very interesting, but it makes the world much more complex

Cognitive Development: Elkind

Elkind hypothesized that aspects of hypothetico-deductive reasoning can include:

• adolescent egocentrism: individuals believe their thoughts/ideas are unique

  • no one else understands

• personal fable: the belief held by some adolescents that their experiences, feelings, and thoughts are unique and that they are special and invulnerable, meaning the rules of life don't apply to them

  • eg. not wearing a helmet

• imaginary audience: the belief that ppl are constantly judging

Cognitive Development: Information Processing

• enhanced control in attention

• improvements in information processsing capacities and metacognition

• decision-making responsibility increases

• improved memory recall

Cognitive Development: Dual Process Model

• the imbalance between control and reward systems in the brain

Transition to Secondary Education

• Adolescents spend a lot of time in school

• experience multiple transitions

  • can be exciting and/or stressful

  • adjustment difficulties tend to be temporary

Achievement

How children explain their own successes and failures is important for sustaining motivation and therefore influences their achievement

• internal attributes: explaining a behavior or event as caused by a person's internal characteristics, like personality or effort,

• external attributes: explains it as caused by outside, situational factors, such as luck or environment

• fixed mindset: believing that characteristics are enduring and unchangeable

• growth mindset: viewing skills and characteristics as malleable or changeable 

Identity Questions

• who are you?

• how did you decide who you are?

• what has influenced who you have become?

• what words do you use to describe who you are?

  • are the descriptive words hierarchical or do you weigh them all equally?

• what/who do you hope to become

Social and Personality Development: Freud

• adolescents experience the genital stage (i.e the final stage of psychosexual development) 

• the task is to channel libido into a healthy sexual relationship

• this is not end all or be all

Social and Personality Development: Erikson

• changes caused by puberty cause existing identity to unravel and thus adolescents seek to achieve a sense of self-continuity during the identity vs role confusion stage of psychosocial development

• once obtaining sense of self, no longer confused with who you are/roles

• roles: culture, religion, relationships, in community, hobbies + interests

Identity

• individuals need time and space to figure onself out

  • eg. think about what in childhood carries over

• adolescents are best able to construct an identity when they experience psychosocial moratorium

  • a period in which the individual is free to explore identity possibilities before committing to an identity

• parenting styles, relationships (friendship/romantic), culture, religion, politics have a large impact 

Marcia’s Theory of Identity Achievement

Adolescent identity formation consists of:

• a crisis: period of time where existing values and choices are rethought

• commitment: the outcome of the crisis is a commitment to specific roles, values, goals, ideology, etc.

  • eg. are you continuing or stopping?

Identity Status

The degree to which individuals have explored possible selves

Identity Status: Identity Foreclosure

Unquestioning adoption of parental or societal values

• ppl adopt an identity that is given to them

• no period of crisis → no commitment

• often accepted, don’t question it

• eg. authoritarian parents or collectivism society

Identity Status: Identity Diffusion

Absence of a struggle for identity, with no obvious concern about it

• not engaged in re-evaluation, but no concern abt it

• get too comfortable → disinterested in trying new things

Identity Status: Identity Moratorium

Active struggling for a sense of identity

• active struggle in determining who you want to become

• pros: can force people to try new things

• people in identity moratorium tend to experience anxiety, feel puzzled with many choices 

Identity Status: Identity Achievement

Successful achievement of a sense of identity

• after undergoing to a period of exploration, a person commits to self-chosen values and goals

• involves establishing a coherent sense of self after exploring a range of possibilities

• adolescents who have developed advanced logical thinking and information processing skills are most likely to have attained identity achievement

Identity Status Figure

Intersecting Identities

• our individual identities consist of multiple, intersecting factors, including but not limited to age, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status and ethinicty 

• these intersecting identities can present opportunities and challenges during adolescence

• eg. women in stem

• do you talk about different things with different people?

Influences on Identity Development

• caregivers (eg. can provide funds for new experiences)

• peers: classmates, friendships (can expose you to new things)

• romantic relationships: can help with self expression

• peers and romantic relationships can act as a mirror, helping you view yourself

Developmental Shifts in Identity

• identity is not an all-or-nothing concept

• people form a sense of identity in many different realms

• identity commitments continue to change and evolve

• occurs in mid adulthood and beyond

Identity Development Outcomes

• identity development is associated with well-being and positive functioning

• we tend to feel better when we know who we are and we think better of others

• identity achievement and identity foreclosure are associated with:

  • positive functioning

  • prosocial behavior (helping others)

  • capacity for romantic attachments

  • an adaptive, mature sense of self

Self-Concept

• developmental trajectory in adolescence

• trend from childhood continues as adolescents’ self concepts continue to revolve around internal characteristics and self-definitions become more abstract

• differenciation

• self-esteem: influenced by adolescents’ perception of competence across their domains of self concept

Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development: Preconventional Reasoning

• age <6

• young children’s behavior is governed by the desire to avoid punishment and to gain rewards

  • not necessarily what they think is right/wrong

• Stage 1: children are concerned with punishment as a motivator of moral judgements (eg. not hitting others)

• Stage 2: Self-interest and concern about what others can do for them

  • motivated by rewards → alter behavior for it

Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development: Conventional Moral Reasoning

Moral decisions are based on conforming to social rules

• stage 3: age 9-10, children uphold rules in order to please others and gain affection and/or sympahty

  • wanting others to view them in particular ways

• stage 4: teens, adolescents buy into rules and standards b/c they are concerned with maintaining social order

  • eg. not playing soccer in lecture

Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development: Post-Conventional Moral Reasoning

Autonomous decision making based based on valuing respect for individual rights

• stage 5: teens, most values are relative and laws are changeable, although rules should be upheld to preserve the social order

  • potential to change things (eg. advocating)

• stage 6: abstract ethical principles are universal and valid regardless of law

  • justifying breaking the law for ethical principles

  • includes performative: doing smth so others perceive you in a certain way

Critiques of Kohlberg’s States

• data based on hypothetical scenarios

• participants were male (biased sample)

• evidence doesn’t always support distinct stages 

• distinction b/w moral judgement and moral behavior

• concern that justice is not necessarily that most fundamental moral principle

Moral Development: Cognitive Influences

• chronological age

• cognitive development (often but not always related to age)

  • the older we are, the more cognitively developed

• moral development

Moral Development: Social Influences

• family/caregivers and peer contexts

• social interactions have a huge impact on moral development

• high-quality parent-child/caregiver relationships predict advanced moral reasoning 

• peers have a similar influence

Moral Development: Cultural Influences

• Western cultures tend to value the rights of the individual

• Non-western cultures tend to value collectivism