Adolescence Development Unit 1
Adolescence Development (Chapter 1)
Adolescence: Early, mid, late. Begins with puberty and ends when one reaches socio-cultural expectations of adulthood.
Culture: Shapes development, how we define adolescence, and how we view adolescence.
Psych View on Adolescence:
-Storm & Stress
-Sociocultural
-Inventionist
-Positive Youth Development
Baltes’ Lifespan Development Theory:
-Development is lifelong, (conception to death), multidimensional (occurs across bio-psycho-social domains), and multidirectional (some elements increase others decrease).
-Development has plasticity (capacity for change, and involves growth, maintenance, and regulation of loss.
-Developmental science is multidisciplinary and is contextual. Development is also the construction of biology, culture, and the individual.
Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura)
-Adolescent behavior is the result of reciprocal determinism (continuous interactions between cognitive, behavior, and environmental factors) and emphasizes observational learning, self-regulation, self-efficacy, (the belief you can do something)
Ecological Systems Theory (Bronfenbrenner)
-Development is shaped by multiple interacting contexts (ecological systems). Development is not the result of individual characteristics alone, rather adolescents are influence by their relationships, institutions, communities, and broader culture.
Stage Environment Fit Theory (Eccles)
-Explains how context can affect adolescent development. Greater “mismatch” between developmental needs and the settings in which they live, learn, and interact = worse outcome.
Data Collection Methods/Tools
-Observation
-Survey
-Interview
-Standardized Test
-Bio/Physiological Measures
Research Designs
-Descriptive
-Correlation
-Experimental
-Longitudinal
-Cross-sectional
-Cross Cultural
-Experience Sampling Method
-Case Study
Descriptive Studies: Describe characteristics, behaviors, or conditions associated with a specific population/phenomenon.
-No manipulating variables
-Focus on what is happening
-Common methods used: surveys, interview, observation, case study
Experimental Studies: determine if the independent variable causes change in the dependent variable.
-Researcher manipulates IV, measures DV.
-Treatment & control group (random assignment)
Intervention Studies: determine if “treatment” is effective at reaching increasing/decreasing a behavior/construct
-Pre/post, randomized control trial (gold standard)
Correlational Studies: identify the relationship between two variables.
-No manipulating variables
-Common methods used: survey
-Correlation does NOT mean causation
Case Study: Deeply investigate a unique person or group
-Couldn’t study otherwise
-More common in clinical fields.
-Example: Genie was a case study on a girl who was holed up inside her house up until she was twelve, and was never exposed to a lot of the experiences required of adolescence required for proper growth and was very stunted in her growth permanently.
Cross Cultural Studies: Compare differences between various cultural groups.
-People form different culture participate in the same study
-Could rely on different/mixed methods.
Longitudinal Studies: Examine change over time
-Same people participate at different time points
-Could rely on different/mixed methods.
Longitudinal Studies: Experience Method Sampling: Examine relatively frequent fluctuations.
-Same people participate at multiple timepoints over relatively short period of time
-Could rely on different/mixed methods.
Cross Sectional Studies: compare differences by age groups.
-Different aged people participate at the same time
-Beware of cohort effects, confounding variables, other group differences.
-Could rely on different/mixed methods (survey most common)
Community-Based Research: elevate the ideas and voices of community/priority population
-Researchers are not adolescents but adolescents are capable emerging scholars
-involves community stakeholders (adolescents, parents, teachers) in the research process
-Uses any type of research design, data collection tools
-Improves research, builds capacity, but can take time, trust, and resources.
Quant or Qual: Observation: Watch and record behaviors
-Has a setting lab or naturalistic (Starbucks vs school
-Look for specific behaviors
-Limitations are that they cannot explain thought processes, motivation and reasons behind behavior.
Qualitative Data: Get rich, thick descriptions of someone’s experiences, feelings, or thought processes.
Quantitative Data: Explore brain/body outcomes/predictors/development
-Brain scans
-Hormone levels
-Biomedical
Data Collection Tools: Qualitative vs Quantitative data (the “why” vs the “how many/much” _
Practice
How would I go about an interventional study?
Does creatine make a difference in the gym?
Group 1: No creatine
Group 2: Yes creatine
Measure the gains between the groups and measure if one group made a significant difference over the other.
Chapter 2
Evolutionary Perspective: The importance of adaptation, natural selection, reproduction, and survival of the fittest in explaining some behaviors. (ex. Taste preferences, attraction, peer belonging)
Nature vs Nurture: Nature, genes and hereditary factors, Nurture, environmental variables and childhood experiences (how we were raised).
Heredity-Environment Correlations:
Passive: Children inherit generic tendencies from their parents, and parents also provide an environment that matches their own genetic tendencies. (ex. musically inclined parents usually have musically inclined children)
Evocative: The child’s genetic tendencies elicit stimulation from the environment that supports a particular trait. Thus genes evoke environmental support. (ex. a happy outgoing child elicits smiles and friendly responses from others.)
Active (niche-picking): Children actively seek out “niches” in their environment that reflect their own interests and talents and are thus in accord with their genotype (ex. if a child is interested in music they may find places that are musically inclined like a band room or music shop)
Puberty: The brain-neuroendocrine process that provides stimulation for rapid physical changes & sexual maturation.
-Happens in early adolescence (but is also technically the beginning)
-Has two phases: adrenarche, gonadarche
HPG Axis: Hypothalamus-pituitary-gonads, activates gonadarche & regulates sex hormones. Hypothalamus receives instructions and sends them to the pituitary glands, which stimulate the gonads.
Female Puberty: Adrenarche begins around 6-9 years old, gonadarche begins around 8-10 years old. Primary sex hormone is estrogen. Breast buds begin to form, acne, armpit and pubic hair, height growth, periods.
Male Puberty: Adrenarche begins around 7-10 years old, gonadarche begins around 10-11 years old. The main sex hormone being androgens. Height growth, acne, voice deepening, penile growth, hair growth all around body.
Pubertal Timing: Timing of puberty has changed over generations. The average/median age for puberty has decreased considerably over the last 200 years.
Precocious Puberty: very early onset, rapid progression of puberty. Before 8 (girls)/ 9 (boys).
Risk Factors of Early/late onset puberty: weight, body fat, hormone levels are biological risk factors while rurality, ethnicity, adoption, father absence, maternal harshness, family conflict, maltreatment, substance use and abuse, and stress are environmental risk factors.
Chapter 3
Adolescent Health: Adolescents reach peach strength, health, and energy. They’re capable of making health-related decisions and is a peak time for critical formation of health habits.
Adolescents are at a higher propensity for risk-taking behaviors and to underutilize health-care systems.
Health Enhancing Behaviors: Involve actions beneficial to one’s health such as eating whole foods, exercise, proper sleep, wearing a seatbelt, etc.
Health Compromising Behaviors: Involve actions detrimental to one’s health such as a lack of nutritious foods, lack of exercise, poor sleep, dangerous actions, etc.
Emerging Adult Health: Emerging Adults are more likely to engage in health compromising & risk taking behaviors than adolescents.
Chapter 4
Neuronal Changes
Pruning: The removal of old connections between braincells to allow the remaining cells to work more efficiently. Use it or lose it.
Myelination: The process of coating the outside of an axon/nerve fibers with a fatty sheath known as myelin.
Plasticity: The adolescent brain is incredibly malleable, it is constantly changing and very open to change and new formation.
Structural Changes
Corpus Callosum thickens: Allows our left and right hemispheres to communicate quicker.
Limbic System fully develops: The limbic system is associated with our emotions, behaviors, motivations, memories, and autonomic nervous system.
Prefrontal Cortex: The last to develop, associated with our higher level thinking, emotional control, etc.
Greater Connectivity between Brain regions: Pruning causes more connections and better connections between brain regions.