PSYCH 230 NVCC- EXAM 3

puberty

Hormonal and physical changes by which children become sexually mature and reach adult height and weight

What age does adrenal androgens released from glands at top of kidneys?

about age 6-8

What age does HPG axis: hypothalamus -> pituitary -> gonads (ovaries & testes)?

-Gonads release estrogens & testosterone

about age 10

sexual maturity

Development of primary and secondary sexual

characteristics.

Growth Milestones

Achievement of adult height and weight.

Puberty Transition

Marks the shift from childhood to adulthood physiologically,

though psychological, emotional, and social developments may lag.

Around what age do kids in the United States typically experience puberty?

Average onset below 13 years.

During the 1860s what age did kids hit puberty in the United States?

Between 17-18

Causes of Declining Puberty Age: Nutrition

-Improved nutrition leads to better energy storage and earlier physical development.

-Malnutrition in developing countries correlates with delayed puberty.

Causes of Declining Puberty Age: Genetics

Parental pubertal timing influences children's pubertal onset.

Causes of Declining Puberty Age: Climate

Warmer climates contribute to earlier puberty.

Causes of Declining Puberty Age: Life stress

Increased stress levels can trigger earlier puberty.

Causes of Declining Puberty Age: Body weight

Higher body mass index (BMI) and fat reserves signal readiness for puberty.

What are are possible influences on puberty timing?

nutrition, genetics, climates, life stress, body weight

Adrenal Androgens (Ages 6-8)

Produced by adrenal glands.

Stimulate sexual desire and the onset of secondary sexual

characteristics (e.g., pubic hair).

Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Gonads Axis (Ages 9-10)

Hypothalamus signals pituitary gland, which in turn signals gonads.

Release of sex hormones: estrogens in girls and testosterone in boys.

Primary sexual characteristics

Directly involved with reproduction (e.g., penis, menstruation)

Secondary sexual characteristics

Not directly involved with reproduction (e.g., female breasts, male facial hair)

growth spurt

dramatic increase in height and weight during puberty

What are the changes girls will go through during puberty?

Highly variable rate of change

Growth spurt- Occurs first and earlier than in boys.

Breast and pubic hair development

Menarche- Onset of menstruation.

Uterus and vagina growth

Vocal cords, red blood cells, and heart development

Increased strength

What are the changes boys will go through during puberty?

Growth spurt in height and muscle mass

Penis, testicles, and pubic hair growth

Changes in hands, feet, and legs

Increase in sweat gland activity

Development of body hair and vocal cords

What brain development occurs during puberty?

Fully matures in early to mid-twenties.

Adolescents exhibit high impulsivity and sensation seeking due to on going brain maturation.

Variety of forces predict why children mature earlier or later than their peers

Genetics

Ethnicity differences (within and between)

BMI (body mass index) during elementary school (girls)

Rapid weight gain during first nine months of life (girls)

Intense family stress

What are some reactions to the changing body that are influenced by social environment?

-Breast development often causes positive emotions.

-Feelings about menstruation may be more positive among middle-class girls.

-A boy's first ejaculation is rarely discussed or celebrated.

-Changing bodies tend to cause more embarrassment around opposite-sex parent.

How may social media impact an adolescenes view on their body image?

-High societal expectations for female thinness and male muscularity.

-Social media exacerbates body dissatisfaction among adolescents.

anorexia nervosa

Characterized by severe dieting and distorted body image.

High mortality rate.

bulimia nervosa

Involves binge eating followed by purging.

Less deadly but still dangerous.

binge eating disorder

Recurrent binge eating without purging.

what are risk factors to developing an eating disorder?

Heredity: Genetic predisposition to eating disorders

Parental Influence: Negative messaging about body weight and appearance.

Child Temperament: Anxiety, depression, and low self-efficacy.

3 multiple choice options

what are some presentations and treatments for eating disorders?

Meditation and Self-Efficacy Building.

Innovative Treatments: Training adolescents to recognize and

accept their actual body size through repeated exposure to their own

images.

sexual biological basis

Onset is tied to output of adrenal androgens and testosterone production (around age 10).

sex: influencing factors

Early Onset: Linked to African American ethnicity and lower-income

males.

Personality Traits: Impulsiveness, risk-taking, low self-worth.

Peer Influence: Friends' sexual experiences encourage earlier

intercourse.

Media Exposure: Sexualized media increases interest in sexual

activity.

what is the average age for first intercourse for women?

17.8 years

what is the average age for first intercourse for men?

18 years

early maturation in boys may result in?

-Greater success at sports boosts popularity and self-esteem

-More prone to abuse substances, especially if low impulse control exists

-Higher risk for depression when personality problems or unhappy family life presents

early maturation in girls may result in?

-Higher risk of developing externalizing problems when in stressful environment

-Tendency for earlier involvement in smoking, drinking, and drugs

-Less likely to use contraception

-Lower self-worth leading to poor body image, depression

how to minimize puberty distress: Parents

-Parental discussion about puberty with same-sex parent before changes begin

-Encouraging child involvement in positive activities with same-age friends, especially for early-maturing girls

how to minimize puberty distress: society

-Schools matter!

-Adequate puberty education is important.

Body image issues: girls

-Body self-image is closely tied to overall self-esteem

-Tend to feel worse about their looks than boys do, partly because of social expectations of a female thin ideal.

-The impulse to be thin may have prebirth epigenetic roots (i.e., intense stress during pregnancy)

-The female impulse to be thin may have prebirth epigenetic roots (i.e., intense stress during pregnancy)

Body image issues: boys

-Body self-image is closely tied to overall self-esteem

-Boys feel pressured to build up their muscles.

-The female impulse to be thin may have prebirth epigenetic roots (i.e., intense stress during pregnancy)

sexual interest: teenagers

-Threshold androgen level primes initial feelings.

-Environmental feedback heightens interest in sex.

Who are teens having intercourse with?

Most U.S. teens have first intercourse with a steady partner

Noncommitted sex

-1 in 5 outside committed relationship

-3 in 4 with well-known person (e.g., "friends with benefits")

2 multiple choice options

trends in Teen sexuality

-Most sexual encounters are in committed love relationships

-Sexual activity rates among adolescents are similar in the US and western Europe

-Pregnancy rates and the prevalence of gonorrhea and chlamydia in U.S adolescents are very high compared to those in western Europe

-Rates of pregnancies, births, and abortions in U.S. adolescents have been declining in recent years

importance of sex education?

Comprehensive sex education reduces pregnancy rates and delays sexual initiation.

challenges of sex education

Pushback from parents against sex education, fearing it promotes sexual activity.

Sex education: recommendations

Improve Curriculum: Focus on relationships, empathy, and pleasure alongside prevention.

Safe Learning Environments: Create spaces where adolescents can discuss and learn about sexuality without stigma.

What are the three classic theories of teenage thinking?

Piaget – cognitive development

Kohlberg – moral reasoning

Elkind – adolescent egocentrism

Piaget's Formal Operational Stage

-Ability to think logically about concepts, abstracts, and hypothetical possibilities

-Ability to think scientifically

-Ability to plan for the future and engage in complex problem-solving.

Examples of Piaget's Formal Operational Stage in Real Life

-Considering and debating controversial issues

-Planning for future life

-Developing identity

-Behaving like adults

Piaget's Formal Operational Stage: criticism

Not universally observed across all cultures.

Overestimates cognitive maturity at certain ages.

Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Reasoning

preconventional, conventional, postconventional

Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Reasoning: preconventional

Stage 1: Obedience and punishment orientation.

Stage 2: Self-interest or instrumental relativist orientation.

Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Reasoning: convential

Stage 3: Good interpersonal relationships.

Stage 4: Maintaining social order.

Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Reasoning: postconventional

Stage 5: Social contract and individual rights.

Stage 6: Universal ethical principles.

Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Reasoning: criticism

Gender Bias: Carol Gilligan argued that Kohlberg's model undervalues an ethic of care typically associated with females.

Behavioral Prediction: High moral reasoning does not necessarily translate to moral actions.

Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Reasoning: Application to real life

-Changes in moral reasoning occur during adolescence

-Kohlberg's categories provide insight into moral priorities

Categories are more attuned to social injustice

-Transition from conventional to post-conventional thinking allows for activism and questioning of societal norms.

Elkind's Theory of Adolescent Egocentrism

Theorizes this part of life is about the immaturity of the thinking process (Studied tendency of teens to feel invincible and invulnerable). Increased awareness of difference between what adults say and do emerges. Increased sensitivity to what others think leads to adolescent egocentrism.

Elkind's Theory of Adolescent Egocentrism: components

Imaginary Audience: Belief that others are constantly watching and judging.

Personal Fable: Belief in one's uniqueness and invincibility.

Elkind's Theory of Adolescent Egocentrism: criticism

Increased sensitivity to peer opinions.

Heightened risk-taking behaviors due to perceived invincibility.

Are adolescents exceptionally socially sensitive?

Yes, especially during puberty (one of three aspects of "storm and stress")

Are adolescents risk takers?

yes for both sexes (two of three aspects of "storm and stress")

Are adolescents more emotional, more emotionally disturbed, or both?

-Yes, more emotionally intense

-No, not more emotionally disturbed. Suicide rates are higher in old age than adolescence (two of three aspects of "storm and stress")

Adolescents' Outlook on Life

Teenagers are generally upbeat and confident about their future.

•Four in 10 flourish (most do well in adolescence)

•Only 6 percent are totally demoralized.

•However, risk-taking tendencies in late teens encourage crime, nonsuicidal self-injury, and depression.

Social Sensitivity

Heightened awareness and sensitivity to others' opinions.

risk taking

Increased propensity for taking risks, especially in peer

settings.

emotional intensity

Greater emotional fluctuations without being

necessarily emotionally disturbed.

Brain Development

Impulsivity and sensation seeking peak in early adolescence.

Cognitive control continues to mature into mid-twenties.

Risk-taking behavior in adolescence

peer influences: Presence of peers significantly increases risky behaviors in adolescents compared to adults.

Pubertal popularity

•Risks related to drive for popularity

ØReduced academic motivation

ØRelational aggression

ØUnethical behavior; manipulation and deception

•Fear of peer rejection greater than fear of poor family relationships

At-risk teens tend to have

-prior emotional regulation difficulties

-poor family relationships

-non-nurturing environments

-risk taking environment

flourishing teens tend to have

- Superior executive functions

- A mentor

- Close family relationships

- Prosocial friends

- Academic success

- Strong schools and communities rich in nurturing activities

- A passion or a special talent

how to make the world fit the teenage mind

•Avoid punishing adolescents as if they were cognitively like adults

•Pass laws that accurately consider teenage mental processes

•Provide group activities that capitalize on adolescent strengths

üYouth development programs

•Tailor high schools to provide better adolescent–environment fit

--Nurturing schools

--Sleep requirements

--Rethink zero-tolerance policies and school-to-prison pipeline (unconditional positive regard?)

Family closeness across childhood

-Puberty brings intense teenager-parent struggles for independence in many families around the world.

-Pubertal hormonal surges may underlie this struggle.

-Parents gradually grant more freedom, and adolescents begin to think of and plan for future.

-Eventually a more friend like parent-teen relationship emerges

Immigrant teens

-Expectations for behavior differ in teens from societies when parental obedience is stressed.

-Family separation attempts related to acculturation may cause intense stress.

-The immigrant paradox suggests that caring for parents can have a variety of positive outcomes

Steps from unisex elementary cliques to adult romantic relationships

-Crowds – large mixed-sex groups of adolescents that share similar values

-Cliques – groups of about 6 teenagers with similar attitudes and shared activities

crowds

•Bridge gap between sexes

•Connect adolescents with peers who share their values (+/-)

•Facilitated by social media

•Influenced by school size - more common in larger schools

•Crowd categories:

--Intellectuals (liability in high school?)

--Populars (jocks in high school)

--Deviants

--Residual type (e.g., goths, hip-hop)

"Bad" crowds

-May attract at-risk kids

-Promote antisocial behavior

-Reinforce hostile attributional bias

-Provide "deviancy training"

teenage gangs

- entail close-knit delinquent peer group

-share collective identity

-influenced by socioeconomic context

-provide status and may provide protection

Adolescence Worldwide

adolescence does not exist for nearly 50 million displaced children