Adolescence Flashcards
what leads to physical awkwardness in adolescents
rapid elongation of arms and legs [proxidistal]
What are primary sex characteristics in adolescent girls
development of ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus, vagina
What are primary sex characteristics in adolescent males
development of testes and penis
What are secondary sex characteristics in adolescent girls
breadth of hips
what are secondary sex characteristics in adolescent boys
breadth of shoulders
What causes variation in timing of puberty?
genetics
environmental factors - nutrition, body weight
amenorrhoea [associated with extreme weight loss, malnutrition]
What is result of non-normative age puberty in males?
no lasting effects
What is impact of early puberty for males?
higher social status with peers, leadership opportunities
potential for academic, emotional and behavioural problems [short lived]
What is impact of late puberty for males?
negative impact on self esteem [short lived]
develop positive qualities like insight
less pressure to engage in high risk behaviours
What is impact of early puberty for females?
negative long and short term effects
premature dating / sexual encounters
vulnerable to STIs, eating disorders, smoking, drinking, depression, anxiety, poor academic achievement
What is impact of late puberty for females?
lower peer status, more positive outcomes
What is percentage of adolescent obesity in Australia?
6% obese, 20% over BMI
What are causes of adolescent obseity?
combination of genetics and environment;
overwhelmingly calories in exceed calories out
What is anorexia nervosa?
Eating disorder involving self-starvation
loss of 25%-505 body weight
less than 85% normal weight for age
What are family dynamics in anorexia nervosa?
very involved mothers, emotionally absent fathers
What is bulimia nervosa?
bingeing, purging of caloric intake - self induced vomiting excessive exercise laxatives diuretics dieting
What is bulimia nervosa linked with?
depression and low self esteem
What is treatment for anorexia and bulimia
behaviour therapy [reward eating]
cognitive therapy [change body image]
What is most common STI?
chlamydia
What is most common reported communicable disease?
STIs
What is experimentation [of drugs]?
substance use
What is habitual use of drugs referred to as
substance abuse [harmful use of alcohol / drugs]
addiction [psychological or physiological]
What are particular dangers of addiction for adolescents?
can change brain structures
What are most common drugs of use by adolescents?
analgesics [most]
alcohol
cigarettes
way down to cannabis
What is binge drinking?
consecutive consumption of 5+ drinks in less than 2 hours
What is binge drinking associated with?
accidental death and injury
interpersonal violence
suicide
How many cigaretts are required for psychological and physical dependency?
as few as 10
What is primary prevention of cigarette smoking?
advertising, tax impost, bans
What are secondary preventions of cigarette smoking?
life-skills, decision making training
immunisation against substance abuse
How does Piaget define adolescent cognitive reasoning
hypothetico-deductive
- systematic, scientific approach; make hypotheses of observations and use these to test things
What is propositional reasoning [adolescence]
making logical inferences
may apply to premises that aren’t true
understand validity of logic
What do critics of Piaget’s adolescent formal operational thinking say
achievement of formal operations was overestimated [only half achieve full operational thought, some never]
influenced by sociocultural context
What is horizontal decalage -
acquisition of concepts across different states / domains [Piaget assumed this - overestimated]
What is post-formal thinking?
formal operations used as problem solving tool for ambiguous problems
What is impact of formal operations on individual’s cognition?
More critical of adult authority; can argue more skillfully
Better able to understand philosophy and abstract topics
May become judgemental about shortcomings in social systems
May appear naive, trying to apply logic to big problems [eg world peace]
What are [King and Kitcheners] fundamentals, or essential elements, of critical thinking
Basic operations of reasoning
Domain-specific knowledge
Meta-cognitive knowledge [know when you’ve understood something]
Values, beliefs, dispositions
What is relationship between decision making ability and emotional arousability?
decision making increases when emotional arousability is low
What happens to decision making ability in adolesnce?
increases:
more options generated, see different perspectives, predict outcomes, evaluation information sources
What is prospect theory [regarding individual’s assessments of risk in decision making in adolescents]
balance between potential risk or gain
risk aversive, risk seeking behaviour
perception of risk more important than actuality
biases due to retrievability of instances
What is Kohlberg’s preconventional stage of moral judgement?
Emphasis on avoiding punishments and getting rewards
Stage 1: heteronomous morality [good follows externally imposed rules and rewards, whatever avoids punishment]; ethics of punishment and obedience
Stage 2: Individual purpose - good is what is agreeable to individual, and anyone who gives or receives favours [ethics of exchange]
What is Kohlberg’s conventional stage of moral judgement?
Emphasis on social rewards
Stage 3: Interpersonal normative morality; ethics of peer opinion
Stage 4: social system orientation, conformity, ethics of law and order
What is Kohlberg’s postconventional stage of moral judgement?
Emphasis on moral principles
Stage 5: social contract orientation; ethics of social contract and individual rights
Stage 6 ethics of self-chosen universal principles
What are concerns with Kohlberg’s moral judgement theory
Dilemmas not aligned with real life
no distinction between moral knowledge and social conventions
gender and culture balance
What are Gilligan’s stages of moral development?
Survival orientation [egocentric concern for self; right action promotes emotional and physical survival]
Conventional Care [right action is whatever pleases others best]
Integrated care [takes account of self as well as others]
Integrated care
What does identity formation matter [Erikson?]
necessary for future development of friendships and intimate relationships
identity diffusion => struggle to become adult with unique sense of self and role
What is process of identity formation?
Exploration and experimentation with various domains
Identity evaluation within process of experimentation
Psychological moratorium - take a ‘gap year’ as ‘developmental time out’
What does resolution of Erikson’s identity crisis lead to?
Fidelity
- feeling of belonging-ness to friends and family
- identification with set of values
- sustained loyalty and faith
- able to trust self
What are factors affecting identity formation
gender
peers [inc importance of influence during adolescence]
parents [identity diffusion associated with lack of parental support, warmth, communication]
personality
societal and cultural
How does ‘self’ develop in adolescence?
Self concept more complex and abstract [reflecting formal operational thought]
increased skills in perspective taking
Recognise inconsistencies of self [diff btwn true and false selves]
What is ‘personal fable’ in development of self?
beleif adolescent’s life embodies special story that is heroic/unique; nobody else understands them
What is ‘imaginary audience’ in development of self?
Adolescent egocentrism - group of followers exist who watch their every move
What are decreases in adolescent self esteem association with?
transitions, stresses and challenges of adolescence and school
more realistic self-appraisals
What are gender differences in adolescent self esteem?
girls’ SE declines twice as much as boys [connected to body image?]
Girls more vulnerable to negative aspects of opposite-sex friends
Romantic relationships more likely to enhance boys self-esteem
What are reasons for intergenerational conflict [adolescence]
- lack of understanding of viewpoint and challenges of diff age groups
- lack of respect for diff age group
- intolerance by parents of adolescent behaviour
- resentment of parents’ power and restrictions
How does Dunphy define Clique?
group of 3-9 members
close relationships
security, group norms
How does Dunphy define Crowd
collection of cliques, 20 members
group identity
What is bullying?
repeated victimisation
- verbal or physical abuse
exploitation or exclusion
What are benefits of adolescent friendship
source of emotional and social support
promote autonomy
help in defining sense of self
What is average age of intercourse?
16 years
What is double standard re adolescent sex
premarital sex permitted for males, not for females
What are difficulties for non-heterosexual adolesncents?
achieving personal identity more difficult
may experience rejection / isolation
risk of depression and suicide [caused by societal treatment of homosexuals]
What are factors determining sexual orientation?
biological and genetic predisposition
possible role of prenatal hormone
What is rate of adolescent pregnancy in australia?
17/1000
What is reaction to adolescent pregnancy dependent on?
self esteem
relationship with baby’s father
relationship with / support from parents
peers who are parents
What are consequences of adolescent pregnancy
more prenatal and birth complications
possible negative outcomes for children of teen mothers
[health and academic; abuse and neglect; developmental disabilities]
teen mothers less likely to complete education etc
teen fathers less negatively affected [early contact w baby, declines over time]
