Adolescence Flashcards
What is adolescence?
Fluid concept
Neuroscience definition
Cultural definition
Roles and responsibilities
Western culture
(independence) Independent financially Living on one’s own Cognitive self sufficiency Impulse control
Non western culture
(role transition)
Marriage
parenthood
Angst
(20-30%)
100% if you’re Alejandro JK
Physical Changes
Step 1 Hint: Review Tanner Stages!
Hormones come online
An increase in the pulsatile secretion of GnRH from the hypothalamus LH / FSH / testosterone / estradiol, etc.
Coincides what Freud conceptualized as the genital period
Changes how the adolescent thinks and is driven
Cognitive Development
Piaget Formal Operations
Piaget Formal Operations
Ability to abstract, Deductive and inductive reasoning
Theory of Mind (mirror neurons)
Increased Cognitive Ability
Logical reasoning from hypotheses
Negotiate demands of parents, school, peers
Making more independent choices
Better sense of time, finality of death
Intellectual activity, creativity
Complex interpersonal relationships (social order / contracts),
Insight
Increased Interest in Abstract Concepts
Humanitarian Issues Religion Ethics Complex moral reasoning Diversity (relativity of moral codes) Politics Ideologies
Identity starts to shift
New cognitive ability allows a different perspective of self
Body changes forces one to reconcile the “inside” and the “outside”
Emergence of a new identity
9 year old
Physical attributes
Identifies preferences
Identifies relationships (peer relationships)
11.5 years old
Dispositional traits
Not all favorable
Increasingly compare self to others and acknowledge dimensions where fall short
17 years old
Broader sense of values or ideological categorization
Inconsistencies
Identity includes:
Physical characteristics Vocational & academic decisions Sexual identity Personal characteristics Relationships Philosophy of life Leisure time activities
Self-continuity:
incorporates past experiences and current experiences
Identity Development
Self-continuity
Understanding of one’s unique thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and how they manifest across different ages and settings
Often use peer group identification to help to protect from uncertainty in early adolescence
New demands and roles can create challenges
Identity Development
Cont.
Use environmental cues, opinions, observations and reactions from others (social referencing)
Shift of who is most important for feedback from family to peers
“Looking glass self” to help understand our selves
Identity Development
Cont.
Our view of ourselves come from not only our direct contemplation of our personal qualities, but also how we see we are perceived by others
We are influenced by our opinions of what we think others’ opinions are
This may be accurate or inaccurate
We may revise our views based off additional interactions
Development of an Identity
Erickson
Identity vs. Role Confusion (which coincides with a resurgence of sexuality after a period of latency)
Developing a sense of self and personal identity
Identity Formation vs. Role Confusion
Usually between ages of 12-18 but may be older now with extended adolescence
Answers the question “Who am I?”
Active process in the midst of physiological, cognitive, and emotional changes
Yields ability to be authentic
Failure –> absence of identity, cannot see clearly who they are or how to relate positively to the world
James Marcia’s Identity Statuses
Foreclosure
Diffusion
Moratorium
Achievement
Foreclosure
made commitment without exploration, blindly accept value system from family
Diffusion
not made an commitment, appears to have given up attempt to make clear commitment, no real progress
Moratorium
actively exploring but have not yet made a commitment, a state of experimentation
Achievement
made a commitment through exploration
Foreclosure
Personality characteristics high levels of conformity, authoritarianism, 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
Diffusion
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 care takers and low levels of attachment
Moratorium
Anxiety as searching for identity defining commitments
Cognitively skeptical about ever knowing anything with certainty
Experientially oriented
Reflective and analytical
Preintimate relationships-
Parents have emphasized independence in child rearing patterns
Preintimate relationships
close and intimate relationships bit have not yet committed themselves to a partner
Identity achieved
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 attachment
Continued Development
½ of late adolescents have foreclosed or diffuse identity status
Further research - considerable developmental change through adult years
Goals of Adolescence
Identity formation/sense of self continuity
Relationships
Independence from family of origin
Romantic relationships
Friendships
Able to control one’s self and environment
Gain sense of morality and purpose in life
Develop capacity to adapt to inevitable change
Influences of others
Begin to move away from family of origin
Peer group becomes more important
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
Peer Groups
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
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
Peer Groups
Cont.
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
Dating
90% of teens have dated by age 15 years old
Double/ group dates most common, talking on phone daily
Average relationship lasted ~4 months
Often more like close different sex friends than adult romantic relationships
Functions of Dating
Autonomy from parents and peers, gain “grown-up” status, begin practicing for intimate relationships later
Intimate relationships
By age 15: 33% males and 25% females
By age 19: 86% males and 80% females
Reasons for early sexual activity
Peer pressure
Curiosity
Sexual feelings and desires
Coercion (date rape)
Self control
Starting to develop self control
Complying with social
conventions
Neuroscience of Adolescence
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
But there are gaps…
Brain not fully developed until mid 20’s – lag behind of frontal lobe (brakes and executive functioning)
Yield 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
Neuroscience of Adolescence
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
Social Cognition
Adolescence is a time when relationships become much more complex
Theory of mind
Mirror neurons/stimulation theory
Theory of mind
ability to understand other (and self) minds by attributing mental states such as beliefs, desires, emotions, and intentions to other (and self) people
Mirror neurons/stimulation theory
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
A rise in egocentrism
The imaginary audience
Gaps in
Social Cognition
Impulse control and planning
fMRI study
Go / No Go task (involves inhibiting a response when a certain stimulus is shown)
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
Risky behaviors
fMRI study of adolescents and adults
“Is it a good idea to swim with sharks?”
Adolescents took longer than adults on the “not good idea scenarios” relative to “good idea” scenarios
Adults “not good” greater activation in the insula and right fusiform area compared to adolescents
Adolescents had greater activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and had longer reaction times
Risky behaviors
Cont
When confronted with risky scenarios adults use relatively efficient responses driven by mental images of possible outcomes and visceral responses to those possible outcomes
Adolescents rely more on reasoning capacities and activated the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and hence the relatively effortful responses compared to adults
Emergence of Psychopathology
Hormonal influence on anxiety and depression (girls much more affected than boys)
Suicide is 3rd leading cause of death among 10-14 year olds and 2nd leading cause of death among 15 – 24 year olds
Earlier onset of psychotic and bipolar disorders
Eating disorders
What to do to help…
Providing a safe and loving home environment
Creating an atmosphere of honesty, mutual trust, and respect
Allowing age appropriate independence and assertiveness
Developing a relationship that encourages your child to talk to you
Teaching responsibility for their belongings and yours
Teaching basic responsibility for household chores
Teaching the importance of accepting limits
Teaching the importance of thinking before acting
