Adolescent Development Notes

Adolescents: Development
Learning outcomes

  • Discuss the nature of adolescence

  • Describe changes involved in puberty, as well as changes in the brain and sexuality during adolescence

  • Identify adolescent problems related to health, substance use and abuse, and eating disorders.

  • Describe how self and identity develop in this stage.

  • Explain the changes that take place in adolescents' relationships with their parents and peers.

  • Identify adolescent problems in socioemotional development and strategies for helping adolescents with problems.

Physical Changes
Learning outcomes

  • Describe the physical changes that occur during puberty and adolescence

    • Describe pubertal changes in body size, proportions, and sexual maturity

    • Explain social and emotional attitudes and reactions toward puberty, including sex differences

    • Describe brain development during adolescence

    • Describe health concerns during adolescence

    • Discuss concerns associated with eating disorders

Physical Development - Puberty

  • Puberty is a period of rapid physical maturation involving hormonal and bodily changes that occur primarily during early adolescence.

  • Determinants of pubertal timing include nutrition, health, and heredity.

  • The pubertal growth spurt begins at an average age of 9 years for girls and 11 for boys, reaching a peak at 11½ for girls and 13½ for boys.

  • Individual variation in pubertal changes is substantial

  • Sexual maturation

    • Primary sex characteristics

    • Secondary sex characteristics

Physical Growth: The Growth Spurt

  • Growth spurts:

    • Girls (age ~8-13)

    • Boys (age ~10-16)

  • Increased height weight, reach adult proportions

  • Early developers & reactions

    • Girls: often get unwanted attention, teasing

    • Increased risk for depression, eating disorders, early sexual activity, substance abuse

    • Boys: risks and benefits

      • May be more athletic, taller

      • Increased risk for substance abuse, early sexual activity

  • Late developers/ “late bloomers”

    • Boys: risk of bullying, depression, parental conflict

    • Girls: risk of teasing, bullying

    • Overall, more positive outcomes for late-maturing girls than early-maturing girls

Physical Growth: The Growth Spurt

  • Male

    • increase in penis and testicle size, appearance of straight pubic hair, minor voice change, first ejaculation (which usually occurs through masturbation or a wet dream), appearance of kinky pubic hair, onset of maximum growth in height and weight, growth of hair in armpits, more detectable voice changes, and, finally, growth of facial hair.

  • Female

    • First, either the breasts enlarge or pubic hair appears. Later, hair appears in the armpits. As these changes occur, the female grows in height and her hips become wider than her shoulders. Menarche—a girl’s first menstruation—comes rather late in the pubertal cycle. Initially, her menstrual cycles may be highly irregular

Physical Growth: The Growth Spurt

  • Testosterone is a hormone associated in boys with genital development, increased height, and deepening of the voice.

  • Estradiol is a type of estrogen that in girls is associated with breast, uterine, and skeletal development. In one study, testosterone levels increased eighteenfold in boys but only twofold in girls during puberty; estradiol increased eightfold in girls but only twofold in boys (Nottelmann & others, 1987).

  • Adolescents show considerable interest in their body image, with girls having more negative body images than boys do.

  • For boys, early maturation brings benefits, at least during early adolescence. Early-maturing girls are vulnerable to a number of risks.

Timing and Variations in Puberty

  • Linked to puberty onset:

    • Weight

    • Experiences

      • Nutrition

      • an urban environment

      • low socioeconomic status

      • Adoption

      • father absence

      • family conflict

      • maternal harshness

      • child maltreatment, and

      • early substance use

BRAIN

  • Prefrontal cortex

    • This "judgment" region reins in intense emotions but doesn't finish developing until at least emerging adulthood.

  • Corpus callosum

    • These nerve fibers connect the brain's two hemispheres; they thicken in adolescence to process information more effectively.

  • Amygdala'

    • Limbic system structure especially involved in emotion.

  • Limbic system

    • A lower, subcortical system in the brain that is the seat of emotions and experience of rewards. This system is almost completely developed in early adolescence.

Brain Development During Adolescence

  • Prefrontal cortex- decision-making, higher level cognition

    • Myelination: increases information processing speed

    • Synaptic pruning: strengthens strongest neural connections

  • Limbic system- develops before prefrontal cortex

    • Responsible for emotional processing, rewards & punishments

    • Pubertal hormones target the amygdala

    • Dopamine: the “feel good” chemical- production is high

    • Involved in pleasure-seeking, risk-taking behaviors

    • Serotonin: calming chemical, balances dopamine, extreme behaviors

  • Sleep

    • Melatonin levels increase later in the night making “night owls” vs. “early risers”

    • Teens need 9-10 hrs of sleep

    • Deficit of sleep increases impulsivity, negative emotions

Risk Factors in Adolescent Sexual Behavior

  • Sexual Activity linked with risky behaviors:

    • Drug use

    • Delinquency

    • School-related problems

  • Sexual Behavior among girls are linked to:

    • Early menarche

    • Poor-parent child communication

Three leading causes of death in adolescence

  • unintentional injuries,

  • homicide, and

  • suicide

Health Concerns During Adolescence

  • Negative body image, body dissatisfaction

    • Associated w/ poor nutrition, atypical eating patterns

  • Eating disorders

    • Muscle dysmorphia- obsession with muscle development

    • Bulimia nervosa- binge/purge cycles, often normal weight

    • Anorexia nervosa- distorted body image, underweight, low caloric intake

    • Binge-eating disorder- overeating sprees, often associated w/ anxiety, depression, obesity

  • Health consequences of eating disorders

    • Anorexia: most fatal mental disorder, suicide is more common

    • Binge eating: Type II diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol, heart disease, high blood pressure

  • Treatment of eating disorders

    • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), medication, counseling

    • Parental involvement, monitoring

Eating Disorders During Adolescence

  • Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that involves the relentless pursuit of thinness through starvation.

    • (1) weight below 85 percent of what is considered normal for their age and height;

    • (2) an intense fear of gaining weight that does not decrease with weight loss;

    • (3) a distorted image of their body shape and

    • (4) amenorrhea (lack of menstruation) in girls who have reached puberty.

  • Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder in which the individual consistently follows a binge-and-purge pattern.

    • The bulimic goes on an eating binge and then purges by self-inducing vomiting or using a laxative.

    • As with anorexics, most bulimics are preoccupied with food, have a strong fear of becoming overweight, are depressed or anxious, and have a distorted body image (Murray & others,

    • Approximately 1 to 2 percent of U.S. women are estimated to develop bulimia nervosa, and about 90 percent of bulimics are women. Bulimia nervosa typically begins in late adolescence or early adulthood.

Sexual Development

  • Sexual interactions

    • Body image ideals, media portrayals

    • Masturbation, sexual fascination

    • Text messaging, email, phone calls may evoke sexual feelings

    • Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) risk for sexually active teens

  • Sex education

    • It’s about more than preventing teen pregnancy

    • Freud & sexual development

    • Genital stage of psychosexual development

    • Ego, superego more developed

    • Secondary-process thinking/desires

    • Friendships, intimate relationships, adult & family responsibilities

Cognitive Development During Adolescence
Learning outcomes

  • Describe changes in cognitive development and moral reasoning during adolescence

    • Explain Piaget's theory on formal operational thought

    • Describe cognitive abilities and changes during adolescence

    • Describe the role of secondary education in adolescent development

    • Describe moral development during adolescence

Cognitive Development during Adolescence

  • Perspectives: constructivist (Piagetian), & information-processing

  • Major improvements in thinking abilities:

    • Attention

      • Selective attention, divided attention

    • Memory

      • Working memory, long-term memory improve

    • Processing speed

      • Increases & levels off in adolescence

    • Organization

      • Strategies & processes, mnemonics, etc.

    • Metacognition

      • Thinking about thinking, planning ahead

Cognitive Development concepts

  • hypothetical-deductive reasoning

    • Piaget’s formal operational concept that adolescents have the cognitive ability to develop hypotheses, or best guesses, about ways to solve problems.

  • adolescent egocentrism

    • The heightened self consciousness of adolescents.

  • imaginary audience

    • Adolescents’ belief that others are as interested in them as they themselves are, as well as attention-getting behavior motivated by a desire to be noticed, visible, and “on stage.”

  • personal fable

    • The part of adolescent egocentrism that involves an adolescent’s sense of uniqueness and invincibility (or invulnerability).

School in Adolescence- Secondary Education

  • Middle School

    • Puberty

      • Declining age of puberty necessitates transitional education

      • Transition to early adolescence

    • Schedule changes, social changes, egocentrism

      • Academic schedules, extracurricular involvement, social expectations

      • Peer acceptance is highly important

      • Bullying, cyberbullying

      • Technology creates psychological distance

  • High School

    • Practice analytical thinking, prepare for adult life

    • Spend more time with peers than with family

    • Degree attainment predicts later success

    • Academic achievement as indicator of adjustment

Moral Reasoning During Adolescence

  • Independence increases

  • Kohlberg: postconventional morality

    • Morals determined by self-chosen ethics, principle

  • Influences

    • Home, media, school

    • Peers, close friends have profound influence

SOCIOEMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN ADOLESCENCE
Learning outcomes

  • Describe adolescent identity development and social influences on development

    • Describe changes in self-concept and identity development during adolescence

    • Explain Marcia's four identity statuses

    • Examine changes in family relationships during adolescence

    • Describe adolescent friendships and dating relationships as they apply to development

    • Explain the role that aggression, anxiety, and depression play in adolescent development

Psychosocial Development

  • Identity Development

    • Identity is developing, rather than forming

  • Self-concept

    • Self-awareness, based on beliefs, values, opinions, thoughts

    • Possible & ideal selves

  • Erikson: Identity vs. Role Confusion

    • “Who am I?” & “Who do I want to be?”

    • Identity achievement= crisis resolved

Identity Development

  • dimensions of identity

    • Religious identity

      • Family influence, questioning

    • Political identity

      • Social issues, youth tend to more liberal views than parents

    • Vocational identity

      • Part-time teen jobs don’t prepare for full-time future careers

    • Ethnic identity

      • Phinney- stages: Unexplored, search, achievement

    • Gender identity

      • Self-perception on a spectrum

PEERS

  • The pressure to conform to peers is strong during adolescence, especially during the eighth and ninth grades.

  • Cliques and crowds assume more importance in the lives of adolescents than in the lives of children.

  • Dating can have many functions. Three stages characterize the development of romantic relationships in adolescence:

    • (1) entry into romantic attractions and affiliations at about 11 to 13 years of age;

    • (2) exploring romantic relationships at approximately 14 to 16 years of age; and

    • (3) consolidating dyadic romantic bonds at about 17 to 19 years of age.

  • Many gay and lesbian youth date other-sex peers, which can help them to clarify their sexual orientation or disguise it from others.

  • Culture can exert a powerful influence on adolescent dating. Dating shows mixed connections with adjustment during adolescence.

  • Early dating is linked with developmental problems

Anxiety & Depression

  • Anxiety

    • Most common: specific phobias

  • Major depression

    • Genetics, early childhood experiences

    • ~15% or 1 in 5 girls, 1 in 10 boys experience major depression

    • Increased risk for suicide

  • Gender differences

    • Biological & cultural differences

    • Gene x environment interactions

  • Suicide

    • Suicidal ideation: distressing thoughts about killing one’s self

    • Parasuicide, or attempted/failed suicide