Cultural Relativity is the idea that behavior is different depending on culture. Choose two countries and, using articles from the internet (legitimate sources with authors no Wikipedia

Module 5 Puberty and Adolescence

PUBERTY & PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT IN ADOLESCENCE

Module 5: Part 1

Puberty Includes 1. Adolescent growth spurt, 2. Development of secondary sexual

characteristics. 3. Attainment of fertility. 4. Establishment of individual sexual identity. 5. Timing for Puberty onset has wide variability- 6. Girls- 8-12 years and Boys- 9-14 years of age.

Puberty cont’d

• From a biological perspective, the beginning of adolescence is marked by the onset of puberty

• Cultural influences on puberty include nutrition, the quality of health care and living conditions

Changes in Puberty

• In the developed world the biologic age of menarche (start of menstruation) has declined over the past centuries from 16.6 years in 1840 to 12.5 years by 1980

• Data on boys, though less reliable, suggest that they may be beginning maturation earlier as well

Tanner Stages Measures puberty through physical development in boys and girls For girls:

• Stage 1: pre-pubertal, no hair, no breasts • Stage 2: light, downy hair along the base of the scrotum and phallus in

the male or the labia majora in females, breast buds, small amount of glandular tissue, areola widens

• Stage 3: moderate amount of more curly, pigmented, and coarser hair, extending more laterally, breasts enlarge, reola continues to enlarge but remains in contour with breast

• Stage 4: hair that resembles adult hair in coarseness and curliness but does not extend to medial surface of thighs, Breasts continue to enlarge with more elevation. Areola and papilla form a mound projecting from the breast contour.

• Stage 5: adult type and quantity, extending to medial surface of thighs, Areola and breast in same plane, with papilla projecting above areola

Tanner Stages • For Boys: • Genital Stage 1 pre-pubertal • Genital Stage 2 (G2) Testicular volume 1.6-6ml,

scrotum red, thinner, larger phallus unchanged, Testicular volume 6-12 ml

• Genital Stage 3 (G3) scrotum enlarges phallus increases length

• Genital Stage 4 (G4) Testicular volume 12-20 ml, Scrotum enlarges and darkens, Phallus increases in length and circumference

• Genital Stage 5 (G5): Testicular volume >20 ml Scrotum and phallus adult size

Other Physical Changes in Adolescence Boys and Girls: • Growth spurt • Acne • Girls tend to lose less of their body fat than boys • An awkwardness as various body parts grow at

different rates • Biologic changes in the brain causing dynamic

emotional and cognitive changes • Boys: Voice Changes • Menarche: Start of menstruation for girls

Impact of Puberty • Variations in the timing of puberty can have psychosocial

impact on the teen who vary from the mean. • Early developing males have greater self confidence and

greater likely hood of academic, social and athletic success.

• Early puberty in girls appears to be related to lower self esteem and more concerns about body image.

• Unlike boys, late developing girls do not seem to have problems with poor self esteem.

• Poor self esteem correlates with many of the problems that arise during adolescence including difficulties in relationships, risky behavior and poor school performance.

Sleep and Adolescence • Increased need for sleep at puberty • Adequate sleep is essential to support healthy

physical development • During puberty changes in melatonin secretion

cause a sleep delay leading to later sleep onset and later waking times

• Adolescents need 9-9.5 hours of sleep/night • Sleep enhances the consolidation of learning • Insufficient sleep

– Irritability/Low frustration tolerance – Difficulties with attention and self control

Nutrition & Health • Around 17.6% of adolescents are obese

• Proper diet and exercise continues to be important

• Many adolescents engage in risky behaviors and experimenting with alcohol and drugs

• Eating disorders become more common • Onset of many mental disorders begins in

late adolescence

Stages of Adolescence

• In all countries adolescence go through the same stages but age ranges may vary

• Early Adolescence: USA 10-13 years

• Middle Adolescence: USA 14-17 years

• Late Adolescence: USA 17-21 years

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT IN ADOLESCENCE

Module 5: Part 2

The Adolescent Brain There may be a biologic basis for the increased

risk taking and impulsivity in adolescence o Areas of the brain that are associated with the

capacity evaluate risk and reward are one of the last regions of the brain to mature

o Areas of the brain associated with working memory, emotion regulation and the capacity for long term planning mature during adolescence

Piaget: Formal Operations Stage

• Abstract thinking the final, most complex stage in the development of cognitive thinking, in which thought is characterized by adaptability, flexibility, and the use of concepts and generalizations. Problem solving is accomplished by drawing logical conclusions from a set of observations, such as making hypotheses and testing them

Reasoning in Adolescence

• Dialetical reasoning • Problem solving

o Task analysis o Encoding

• Moral reasoning o Preconventional level o Conventional level o Postconventional level

Cognitive Development in Adolescence

• Retain concrete thinking • Begin to question authority and societal

standards • Conformist morality of childhood • Learning by trial and error • Beginning abstraction • Imaginary audience, on stage all the time,

others are thinking only about them

By Mid-Adolescence: • Thinking tends to be less childlike, more

abstract, introspective and analytic • Begin to realize they are sexual beings • Can consider facts and make better decisions

based on knowledge of the consequences of their choices

• Sensitive to criticism • Increased openness of feelings and sensitivity to

the feelings of others • Continue to be influenced by peers

Cognition in Late Adolescence o Conceptualize/verbalize thoughts o Full adult reasoning/identity o Ability for abstract thinking o Understanding consequences of behavioral

choices o Increased thoughts about more global concepts

such as justice, history, politics, patriotism and their emerging role in adult society

SOCIO-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN ADOLESCENCE

Module 5: Part 3

Socio-emotional Devlopment

• Begin to separate from parents and identify with peers

• Confrontational with parents • Preoccupation with self • Preoccupation with being like peers • Conformity • Same gender in clique

Socio-Emotional Dev. In Early Adolescece

• Interest in other gender for friendship • Travel in “packs” • Greater need for privacy • Still need “down-time” • Mood swings/Erratic behavior • Lack of impulse control

Socio-Emotional Changes Mid-Adolescence

• Peak – Parental conflicts – Peer involvement – Risk taking behavior

• Conformity with peer values • Feeling of omnipotence and immortality • Egocentric

– Personal fable, belief in own uniqueness and invulnerability

• Self centeredness and vanity

Mid-Adolescence Continued

• Increasing independence • Less idealistic vocational aspirations • Questioning “who is the real me ?” • Behave differently with different people • Conflicting view of the self can be troubling

o Ability to recognize that they have different roles with different people but don’t yet understand why and this can be troubling

Socio-emotional Development in Late Adolescence • Integration of the diverse views of self • Less importance placed on peer group • May accept parental values or develop own • Realistic vocational goals • Less self centered • Decreased impulsivity and increased ability to

compromise • Fully understanding lack of invincibility • Ability to compromise and set limits • Refinement of moral and religious values

Identity Formation • Erikson’s Stage: Identity vs. Role Confusion • At this stage the individual develops a fairly

stable identity to carry with them into adulthood. • Psychosocial moratorium – Gap between

childhood security and adult autonomy • Adolescents experiment with different roles and

personalities • Adolescents must cope with conflicting identities

emerge with a new sense of self

Identity

• Self-portrait composed of many pieces o Vocational/career o Political o Religious o Relationship o Achievement, intellectual o Sexual o Cultural/ethnic o Interests

Ethnic Identity

• Ethnic identity: Enduring aspect of the self that includes: o Sense of membership in an ethnic group o Attitudes and feelings related to that membership

• Many adolescents develop a bicultural identity o Identify in some ways with their ethnic group and

in other ways with the majority culture

Family Dynamics

• Parental monitoring and information management o Supervising adolescents’ choice of:

• Social settings • Activities • Friends • Academic efforts

Attachment • Autonomy and attachment • Role of attachment

o Securely attached adolescents are less likely to have emotional difficulties and to engage in problem behaviors:

• Juvenile delinquency and drug abuse o Parents must weigh needs for autonomy and control,

independence and connection o The push for autonomy

• May puzzle and anger many parents • Adolescents’ ability to attain autonomy is acquired through appropriate

adult reactions to their desire for control • Boys are given more independence Parent-adolescent conflict

o Increases in early adolescence but does not reach the tumultuous proportions

o Remains somewhat stable during the high school years • Lessens as the adolescent reaches 17 to 20 years of age

Friends and Peers • Friendships

o Most teens prefer a smaller number of friendships that are more intense and more intimate

o Friends become increasingly important in meeting social needs • Peer groups

o Peer pressure • Young adolescents conform more to peer standards than children do

o Cliques and crowds • Cliques: Small group averaging 5 or 6 individuals that may form among

adolescents o Engage in similar activities

• Crowds: Larger than cliques and less personal o Members are based on reputation o May not spend much time together

Dating and Intimate Relationships o Developmental changes in dating and romantic

relationships • Three stages

o Entry into romantic attractions and affiliations at about 11 to 13 years of age o Exploring romantic relationships at approximately 14 to 16 years of age o Consolidating dyadic romantic bonds at about 17 to 19 years of age

o Dating in gay and lesbian youth • Many date other-sex peers, which can help clarify their sexual

orientation or disguise it from others o Sociocultural contexts and dating

• Values, beliefs, and traditions dictate the age at which dating begins

o Dating and adjustment • Linked with measures of how well-adjusted adolescents are

Culture and Adolescence

• Cross-cultural comparisons o Traditions and changes in adolescence around

the globe • Health • Gender • Family • Peers • Rites of passage: Ceremony that marks an individual’s

transition from one status to another

Ethnicity o Immigration

• High rates of immigration are contributing to the growth of ethnic minorities in the U.S.

• Immigrants experience stressors uncommon to longtime residents

o Ethnicity and socioeconomic status • Interact in ways that exaggerate the influence of

ethnicity • Ethnic minority adolescents experience:

o Prejudice, discrimination, and bias o Stressful effects of poverty

Impact of Technology o Technology and digitally mediated communication

• e-mail, instant messaging, social networking sites: o Facebook, chat rooms, video sharing and photo sharing,

• Multiplayer online computer games and virtual worlds

• Influences social interaction • Research looking at self-esteem • Risks of cyber-bullying • 97% of high school students and 95% of

middle school students use computers.

Adolescent Issues • Juvenile delinquency

o Juvenile delinquent: Adolescent who breaks the law or engages in behavior that is considered illegal

o Delinquency rates • Males more likely to engage in delinquency than females • Rates among minority groups and lower-SES youth are especially high

• Depression and suicide o Depression

• Factors contributing to depression o Genes o Certain family factors o Poor peer relationships

o Suicide • Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death in 10- to 19-year-olds • Adolescents contemplate or attempt it unsuccessfully than actually commit it • Females are more likely to attempt suicide, but males are more likely to succeed