6/4- Adolescent Personality Development

Question 1

What is adolescence?

Answer 1

A very fluid concept.. can be defined with:

• Neuroscience definition
• Cultural definition (independence in western culture vs. role transition into marriage/parenthood in non-western culture)
• Roles and responsibilities

Question 2

What percentage of adolescents go through angst/significant turmoil?

Answer 2

20-30%

Still, it is a time of great transition for everyone

Question 3

Physical changes during adolescence?

Answer 3

Question 4

Hormonal changes in adolescence?

Answer 4

• Increase in pulsatile secretion of GnRH from the hypothalamus
• Causes increased release of LH/FSH/ testosterone/estradiol
• Changes how adolescent think and is driven

Question 5

Hormonal changes in adolescents coincide with which Freud period?

Answer 5

Genital period

Question 6

Which of Piaget’s stages is set during adolescence?

Answer 6

Formal operations

• Ability to abstract
• Deductive and inductive reasoning (much cognitive development)

Question 7

Three main areas of development/abilities in adolescents (broadly)?

Answer 7

• Increased cognitive ability
• Increased interest in abstract concepts
• Identity starts to shift

Question 8

Signs of increased cognitive ability?

Answer 8

• Logical reasoning from hypotheses
• Better sense of time, finality and death
• Negotiate demands of parents, school, peers
• Make more independent choices
• Intellectual activity, creativity
• Complex interpersonal relationships (social order/contracts) [pair up with people who are psychologically similar; mutual respect]
• Insight

Question 9

Signs of increased interest in abstract concepts?

Answer 9

• Humanitarian issues
• Religion
• Ethics
• Complex moral reasoning
• Diversity (relativity of moral codes)
• Politics
• Ideologies (e.g. world without thumbs)

Question 10

Why/how is identity shifting in adolescence?

Answer 10

• New cognitive ability allows a different perspective of self
• Body changes forces one to reconcile “inside” and “outside”
• Emergence of a new identity

Question 11

Sense of “self” through the ages: 9 years old

Answer 11

• Physical attributes
• Identifies preferences
• Identifies relationships (peer relationships)

“My name is Bruce C. I have brown eyes. I have brown hair. I love sports. I have 7 people in my family. I have great eye sight. I have lots of friends”

Question 12

Sense of “self” through the ages: 11.5 years old

Answer 12

• Dispositional traits
• Not all favorable
• Increasingly compare self to others and acknowledge dimensions where fall short

“My name is A. I’m a human being… a girl…a truthful person…I’m not pretty. I do so-so in my studies. I am a very good cellist. I’m a little tall for my age. I like several boys… I am old fashioned. I am a very good swimmer. Mostly I am good, but I lose my temper. I’m not well-liked by some girls and boys”

Question 13

Sense of “self” through the ages: 17 years old

Answer 13

• Broader sense of values or ideological categorization
• Inconsistencies
• Doesn’t know who she is

“I am a human being…a girl… an individual…I am a Pisces. I am a moody person…an indecisive person…an ambitious person. I am a big curious person… I am lonely. I am an American(God help me). I am a Democrat. I am a liberal person. I am a radical. I am conservative. I am an Atheist. I am not a classifiable person.”

Question 14

What factors play into identity development?

Answer 14

• Self-continuity: incorporates past and current experiences
• Understanding one’s own unique thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and how they manifest across different ages/settings
• Often use peer group identification to help to protect from uncertainty in early adolescence
• New demands and roles create challenges
• Use environmental cues, opinions, observations, and reactions from others (social referencing)
• “Looking glass self” to help understand ourselves
• Shift who is most important for feedback from family to peers

Question 15

What factors are encompassed by identity?

Answer 15

• Physical characteristics
• Vocational and academic decisions
• Sexual identity
• Personal characteristics
• Relationships
• Philosophy of life
• Leisure time activities

Question 16

What is the conflict identified by Erickson during adolescence? Details?

Answer 16

Identity vs. Role confusion (which coincides with a resurgence of sexuality after a period of latency)

• Developing a sense of self and personal identity
• Answers the question “Who am I”
• Active process in the midst of physiological, cognitive, and emotional changes
• Yields ability to be authentic

Question 17

When does identity formation vs. role confusion typically occur (age range)?

Answer 17

12 - 18 yo (may be older now with extended adolescence)

Question 18

What does failure of identity formation result in?

Answer 18

Absence of identity; cannot see clearly who they are or how to relate positively to the world

Question 19

What are James Marcia’s identity statuses?

Answer 19

Used to understand the process of identity formation:

• Foreclosure
• Diffusion
• Moratorium
• Achievement

Question 20

Describe the foreclosure identity status?

Answer 20

Made commitment without exploration; blindly accept value system from family

Personality characteristics:

• high levels of conformity
• high levels of aspiration to change with low anxiety
• defensive narcissism

Dependent strategies for decision making

External locus of control

Use a normative orientation for constructing sense of identity

Families often discourage expression of opinion

More anxious attachment style

Question 21

Describe the diffusion identity status?

Answer 21

Not made a commitment; appears to have given up attempt to make clear commitment; no real progress

• Low levels of autonomy, self-esteem, and identity
• “Go where the wind blows”
• Difficulty dealing with transition away from home
• Shy, easily influenced by peers
• Dependent or intuitive styles of decision making
• Report distant or rejecting caretakers and low levels of attachment

Question 22

Describe the moratorium identity status?

Answer 22

Actively exploring but have not yet made a commitment; a state of experimentation

• Anxiety as searching for identity defining commitments
• Cognitively skeptical about ever knowing anything with certainty
• Experientially oriented
• Reflective and analytical
• Preintimate relationships- close and intimate relationships but have not yet committed themselves to a partner
• Parents have emphasized independence in child rearing patterns

Question 23

Describe the achievement identity status?

Answer 23

Made a commitment through exploration

• High levels of achievement, motivation and self esteem, low neuroticism, high conscientious, highly extroverted, internal locus of control, lowest use of defense mechanisms
• Function well under stress and able to continue to use more logical, rational, and planned decision making
• Highest levels of intimacy- close friends and a partner
• Secure patterns of attachments

Question 24

1/2 of adolescents have _____ or ____ identity status?

Answer 24

1/2 of adolescents have foreclosed or diffuse identity status?

Question 25

Goals of adolescence?

Answer 25

- Identity formation/sense of self continuity - Relationships ----Independence from family of origin ----Romantic relationships ----Friendships - Able to control one self and environment - Gain sense of morality and purpose in life - Develop capacity to adapt to inevitable change

Question 26

How do the influences of others change in adolescence? (2 main)?

Answer 26

- Begin to move away from family of origin - Peer groups become more important

Question 27

What does beginning to move away from family of origin look like?

Answer 27

Begin to move away from family of origin - Begin to test limits - Seek autonomy and control - Renegotiate roles and balance of power - Most teenagers values align with family of origin - Only 20% of adolescents struggle through adolescence

Question 28

What do peer groups becoming more important look like?

Answer 28

Peer groups become more important - In middle childhood peer groups were same sexed and those that went between gender groups were outcasts - In adolescence the older one gets the increasing of mixed gender peer groups - Peer groups tend to group together into crowds which are a large reputational based peer group made up of individuals and cliques to that share similar norms, interests and values - Functions of crowds: help adolescents form identities away from families and bring genders together

Question 29

Importance of peer groups?

Answer 29

- Source of emotional support - Place for experimentation - Setting for independence from parents - Place to form intimate relationships - Influence of peer group can be positive or negative

Question 30

\_\_\_ of teens have dated by age 15. Average relationship lasted \_\_\_\_

Answer 30

**90%** of teens have dated by age 15. Average relationship lasted about **4 months**

Question 31

By age 15, \_\_% of males and \_\_% of females have been in intimate relationships By age 19: \_\_% of males and \_\_% of females have been in intimate relationships

Answer 31

By age 15, **33%** of males and **25%** of females have been in intimate relationships By age 19: **86%** of males and **80%** of females have been in intimate relationships

Question 32

Reasons for early sexual activity?

Answer 32

- Peer pressure - Curiosity - Sexual feelings and desires - Coercion (date rape)

Question 33

Neuroscience of adolescents? (gray matter changes at start/during puberty and then in adolescence/early adulthood)

Answer 33

Gray matter **volume peaks at the beginning** of puberty then has a **plateau** during puberty and **declines** throughout adolescence and early adult hood. - Likely secondary to pruning that leads to a **refinement** of excessive synapses and results in a decline of gray matter

Question 34

Brain is not fully developed until \_\_\_. Results?

Answer 34

Brain is not fully developed until **mid 20s** - Lag behind frontal lobe (brakes and executive function) Results in: - Some difficulty controlling impulses, feeling invincible, difficulty seeing one's self in the future - Adolescence marked by a time of increased potential for reckless behavior

Question 35

Neuroscience of adolescents? (hormones, maturing cortices)

Answer 35

- Surge of **gonadal hormones** at puberty causes a change within the **limbic system** that alters the emotional attributes applied to social stimuli - More gradual maturing of the **prefrontal cortex** that helps with increasing complex and controlled responses to social information

Question 36

Social cognition in adolescents: 2 theories?

Answer 36

Adolescence is a time when relationships become much more complex - Theory of mind - Mirror neurons/stimulation theory

Question 37

What is the theory of mind?

Answer 37

Ability to understand other (and self) minds by attributing mental states such as beliefs, desires, emotions, and intentions to other (and self) people

Question 38

What is the mirror neurons/stimulation theory?

Answer 38

Neuropsychological studies have demonstrated that common brain areas are activated both when we execute an action and when observe another person perform the same action

Question 39

Rise in egocentrism due to what?

Answer 39

Perception of imaginary audience - There are gaps in social cognition (feel like everyone is critiquing you, but most people are focused on selves)

Question 40

In terms of impulse control and planning via fMRI studies, what did adults and adolescents show during go/no go tasks involving inhibiting a response when a certain stimulus is shown?

Answer 40

- Adults: more activity in **ventral** region of prefrontal cortex (orbital frontal) - Adolescents: more activity in **dorsal lateral** prefrontal cortex region (same pattern in children) Those people that performed **best** on the task (lowest error rates) had the **greatest activation in the orbital frontal region and the least dorsolateral prefrontal**

Question 41

What about adoelscent vs. adult response to risky behaviors (e.g. good idea to swim with sharks?)

Answer 41

- **_Adults_**: “not good” greater activation in the **insula** and **right fusiform** area compared to adolescents ---- adults use relatively efficient responses driven by mental images of possible outcomes and **visceral** responses to those possible outcomes - **_Adolescents_**: Adolescents took longer than adults on the “not good idea scenarios” relative to “good idea” scenarios; had greater activation in the **dorsolateral prefrontal cortex** and had longer reaction times ----adolescents rely more on **reasoning** capacities and activated the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and hence the relatively effortful responses compared to adults

Question 42

Which gender is affected more by anxiety/depression? Due to what?

Answer 42

Girls Hormonal influence on anxiety and depression

Question 43

Suicide is the __ leading cause of death among 10-14 year olds and the __ leading cause of death among 15-24 year olds?

Answer 43

Suicide is the **3rd** leading cause of death among **10-14** year olds and the **2nd** leading cause of death among **15-24** year olds?

Question 44

What psychopathologies may present more in adolescence?

Answer 44

- Psychotic and bipolar disorders - Eating disorders How to help: