exam 4 adolescent psychology

The Biological Approach

to understanding human problems emphasizes that biological, psychological, and social factors interact to produce the problems experienced by people of all ages

what are biological factors?

genes, puberty, hormones, and the brain may be causes of problems

what are psychological factors?

identity, personality traits, decision making, and self-control are all important influences

what are social factors?

factors that have especially been highlighted as contributors to problems are the social contexts of family, peers, schools, socioeconomic status, poverty, and neighborhoods

which therapy is used to treat biological factors?

drug therapy

examples of psychological factors

• distorted thoughts

• emotional turmoil

• inappropriate learning coping skills

• identity and personality traits

examples of social factors

• peer influence

• family dynamics

• socioeconomic status

developmental psychopathology

the area of psychology that focuses on describing and exploring the developmental pathways of problems

• use of longitudinal studies

• seeks to establish links between early precursors of a problem and outcomes

• seeks to establish risk factors and protective factors

developmental cascades

involves connections across domains over time to influence developmental pathways and outcomes

internalizing problems

occur when individuals turn problems inward

ex: anxiety and depression

externalizing problems

occur when individuals turn problems outward

ex: juvenile delinquency

developmental assets

• suppourt

• empowerment

• boundaries and expectations

• constructive use of time

• commitment to learning

• positive values

• social competencies

• positive identity

internal developmental assets

• academic engagement

• positive identity

• positive values (includes individual assets of caring, social justice, integrity, and responsibility)

• social competencies (includes individual assets of social emotional skills, planning, and decision making skills

external assets

• support

• mattering and belonging

• boundaries

• extracurricular participation

problem-focused coping

strategy that directly faces problems tries to solve them with solutions

emotion-focused coping

responding to stress in an emotional manner, especially by using defense mechanisms

major depressive disorder

the diagnosis when an individual experiences a major depressive episode and depressed characteristics, such as lethargy and depression, for two weeks or longer and daily functioning becomes impaired

major depressive disorder symptoms

• depressed mood most of the day

• reduced interest or pleasure in all or most activities

• significant weight loss or gain, or significant decrease or increase in appetite

• trouble sleeping or sleeping too much

• psychomotor agitation or retardation

• fatigue or energy loss

• feeling worthless or guilty in an excessive or inappropriate manner

• problems in thinking, concentrating, or making decisions

• recurrent thoughts of death and suicide

when is depression most prevalent?

adolescence

— why? hormonal changes, peer pressure, and psychosocial stressors

__ of adolescents who go to a mental health clinic suffer from depression

1/3

what is complex trauma?

the dual problem of children’s exposure to traumatic events and the impact of this exposure on immediate and long-term consequences

complex traumatic exposure

children’s experiences of multiple traumatic events that occur within the caregiving system

• the social environment that is supposed to be the source
  of safety and stability in a child’s life

what is addiction?

primary, chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory and related circuitry.

how is addiction characterized?

the inability to consistently abstain, impairment in behavioral control, craving, diminished recognition of significant problems with one’s behaviors and interpersonal relationships, and a dysfunctional emotional response

causes of addiction

• combination of genetics and environment

what are cognitve distortions

cognitive distortions are biased thoughts that distort reality

what are affective distortions?

affective distortions are negative emotional responses to situations or events

what are contributing factors for addiction?

• presence of an underlying cal deficit in the function of reward circuits

• repeated engagement in drug use

• cognitive and affective distortions

• disruption of healthy social supports, problems in interpersonal relationships

____ account for about half of the likelihood that an individual will develop an addiction

genetic factors

_____ interact with the person’s biology and affect the extent to which genetic factors exert their influence

environmental factors

health concerns for marijuana use

• the risk for psychotic disorders increases with frequency of use, potency of the marijuana product, and as the age at first use decreases

• use among adolescents is linked to a decline in IQ and is associated with
  educational drop out

• Use has been linked to the development of drug use disorders including alcohol, tobacco and other illicit drugs

what is the genetic predisposition to addiction?

about 50%

prevalence of anxiety

• 9.4% o 3-17 year olds have anxiety (5.8 million)

• most common diagnoses along with ADHD, DEPRESSION AND BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS

exposure treatment

is a psychological treatment method for anxiety disorders that involves the gradual exposure of patients to feared objects or contexts without any danger, to help them overcome their anxiety

anxiety triad

the vicious cycle of avoidance

• operant conditioning

• negative reinforcement

• active avoidance strategy

most powerful fueling factors for anxiety:

• negative reinforcement: escape a bad situation

  • rewarding

most effective treatments for anxiety

• exposure therapy

• cognitive behavioral therapy

• modeling

signs and symptoms of depression in teens

• prolonged anger, frustration or tearfulness

• withdrawal from activities one previously enjoyed

• loss of relationships or lack of interest in them

• trouble sleeping

• change in appetite

• difficulty concentrating

• increased thoughts of self-harm, suicide, death