Childhood and Adolescent Psychology Chapter 4

Growth and Development

First Year of Physical Growth

Rapid growth, fats are important

Growth During Preschool and Elementary Years

Growth levels off

Growth During Early Adolescence

Rapid growth

Cephalocaudal

Growth from head to foot

Proximodistal

Growth from close in to farther out

Secular Growth Trends

Generational trends in physical development

Ex. Increased structure/weight, earlier puberty

Graphs

Boys and girls are simlar until ~12 years old, girls then level off and boys continue to grow

Mechanisms of Physical Growth

• Sleep is essential for growth, 80% of growth hormone is secreted during sleep

• Proper nutrition is particularily important during infancy

Secondary Sex Characteristics

Females: Breast development, wider hips

Males: Facial hair, deeper voice

Adolescent Growth Spurt

During adolescent growth spurt, girls are often much taller than boys of the same age

Puberty

• Events and timing of sexual maturation differ

• Regulated by genes, nutrition, and health

• Become taller, heavier, experience changes in primary and secondary sex characteristics

Risks of Early Puberty

Maturing early or late has different psychological consequences for girls and boys

Menarche

A girl’s coming of age

Malnutrition

1 in 3 children under five suffer from malnutriron

Stunting

Low height for age due to lack of nutrients

Wasting

Too thin for height

Double Burden of Malnutrition

Obesity

Malnutrition Treatments

Improved diet, training for parents

Short-Term Hunger

Many children don’t eat breakfast, breakfast programs could lower absences and improve achievement scores

Anorexia

Persistant refusal to eat and irrational fear of being overweight

Bulimia

Uncontrolled eating and purging

Who Do Eating Disorders Affect?

Typically adolescent girls

Why Eating Disorders?

• Cultural standards for thinness

• Heredity

• Psychosocial factors like mood disorders

• Situational causes

• Can stem from parents illness

Obesity

20% of Canadian children are overweight 

Obesity Causes

• Heredity

• Parental influences

• Sedentary lifestyle

• Too little sleep

Disease

Nearly 8 million children die before age 5

Top Causes of Death

• Pneumonia

• Diarrhea

• Measles

• Malaria

• Malnutrition

Car Accidents

Car accidents are the most common cause of death in infants, the leading cause of death in adolescence 

Other Accidents?

Infants and toddlers can also die from drowning, burns or suffocation