Adolescence

Question 1

What is adolescence?

Answer 1

Growing up period between childhood and maturity from ages 10-20

Question 2

What are the major tasks of adolescence?

Answer 2

adjusting to changing body size and shape
coming to terms with sexuality
adjusting to new ways of thinking
strive for emotional maturity and economic independence of adulthood

Question 3

What is the historical context of puberty?

Answer 3

Age of puberty has declined dramatically after last few hundred years
eg. Norway - 1840: mean age of period was 17, today 13

Question 4

Why has puberty declined?

Answer 4

Increased standard of living: nutrition, health, heredity (identical twins start period within 1 month of each other) and body mass (hit puberty when 7.5 stone)

Question 5

How long does puberty last?

Answer 5

7 year range for the onset

full process lasts about 4 years

Question 6

Which gender does puberty begin earlier for?

Answer 6

2-3 years earlier for girls than boys

Question 7

What happens when people go through puberty?

Answer 7

Average growth spurt of 10 inches, and 40 pounds (3 stone almost)
marked changes in hormone (testosterone and estradiol) levels

Question 8

What are the psychological aspects to puberty?

Answer 8

Body image - least satisfaction during puberty
Girls less satisfied than boys
Increased hormone levels related to change in mood:
males = increases anger and irritability
females = increases anger and depression
(may not be hormones causing mood, could be life becoming more challenging)
People who develop earlier are the least satisfied

Question 9

What are the three hypothesis about pubertal timing?

Answer 9

Stressful change hypothesis
Off time hypothesis
Early timing hypothesis

Question 10

What is the stressful change hypothesis?

Answer 10

The intrinsic stress of pubertal change will cause stress during the period of most rapid change

Question 11

What is the off time hypothesis?

Answer 11

Events encountered earlier or later will cause additional distress

Question 12

What is the early timing hypothesis?

Answer 12

Early maturation may cause inappropriate maturity demands from others, causing distress

Question 13

Caspi and Moffitt - girls at puberty

Answer 13

Set out to test the 3 hypothesis, looking at behavioural problems (anti social, aggression, anxiety, attention problems, weird behaviour) due to age of period. Large scale sample from New Zealand

Results: supports the early timing hypothesis, at age 13 and 15 it was the girls who hit the period at age 12 or younger who had the most problems

Question 14

If the stressful change hypothesis was true, when would girls show the most problems?

Answer 14

For age 13 problems - it would be the girls who hit period at age 13 who showed most problems
Age 15 - girls who hit their period at age 15 would show most problems

Question 15

If the off time hypothesis was true, when would girls show the most problems?

Answer 15

Age 13 problems- girls who hit period at 12 or younger would show most problems
Age 15 problems - girls who hit period at age 15 who show most problems

Question 16

If the early timing hypothesis was true, when would girls show the most problems?

Answer 16

At both ages, it would be the girls who hit period at age 12 or younger who showed most problems

Question 17

Pubertal timing: girls

Answer 17

Dislike maturing early, those who do tend to be less sociable, have poor body image, lower self-esteem, engage in risky behaviours (try to get more attention from boys) and reach lower levels of educational attainment

Question 18

Pubertal timing: boys

Answer 18

Like maturing early, gain in self-esteem, more popular, likely to be leaders, good natured, may hold a cognitive advantage
but more cautious, bound by rules and routines

late matures are more dependent, insecure, aggressive and more likely to rebel against parents

Question 19

What are the two competing theories about parent child relationships?

Answer 19

Adolescents individuate from their parents, becoming more emotionally and behaviourally independent

The parent-child relationship changes over adolescence, leading to psychological independence with continued connectedness

Question 20

Larson et al 1996

Answer 20

220 adolescents form Chicao, date from 5th grade - 10 yr olds and 12th grade - 18 yr olds. Reported lots of different interactions

total time with family is 33% in 5th grade, falling to 15% by 12th grade. time spent one on one with fathers and mothers remains constant

time spent with siblings alone, family group and extended family all decreases

older adolescents spending less than half time with family than younger, but time alone didn’t decrease

Question 21

What effect does time spent with family members have?

Answer 21

No correlation between time spent with family members and quality of relationships

Question 22

What has caused the decline in time spent with family?

Answer 22

External factors to family: having a job, driving, peer activities

Question 23

How do boys and girls change in terms of their positivity?

Answer 23

Boys - start out positive, then a dip at grade 7-8, then go positive again
Girls - start out positive, dip form grade 7-8, continue to dip for grade 9-10, then finally upturn at 11-12

Question 24

What conclusions did Larson et al come up with?

Answer 24

Evidence for transformation and disengagement in daily interactions

disengagement - large decrease in time spent due to external factors rather than strive within the family

continuity/transformation - adolescents continued to spend time with each parent alone and talking did not decrease. transformation in affect mirrors previous research

Question 25

Has parenting changed?

Answer 25

Gardner et al - 1986-2006 - More parents monitor their adolescents closely and more parents have high expectations of their children’s behaviour

anti social behaviour has increased, but parents are doing more now than ever

Question 26

What plays a role in provoking identity development in adolescents?

Answer 26

Puberty and cognitive development - allow self-reflection

Question 27

What are the three research traditions about how identity develops?

Answer 27

Self esteem - how good of a person you are
Self concept - understanding of yourself under domains
Identity formation - who am I , what do I want to do with my life

Question 28

Self esteem: James’ approach

Answer 28

High self esteem results from good performance in things which are important
Highest correlation for physical appearance - if you think you look good, you have the highest self esteem

Question 29

Self esteem: Cooley’s approach

Answer 29

High self esteem results from how others view you - self opinions of others are a large determinant of self-esteem

classmates and parents are the most important

Question 30

What is the developmental of self-concept?

Answer 30

Shift from concete to abstract self portaits - I’m good at everything - I’m good at football
shift from social comparisons to internalised standards in adolescence (how you want to be yourself)
shift towards differentiation of self into multiple domains - I can be good at one thing but not everything
integration of multiple selves into a unified self-concept

Question 31

Imagined selves

Answer 31

Adolescents can distinguish between actual and real ideal selves
Balance between ideal and feared self
True versus false self - dependent on audience
Identity formation - describing self in terms of attributes

Question 32

Erik Erikson

Answer 32

Departed from Freud by emphasising societal factors in development
Looked at psychosocial development across the life span. there are 8 stages, each with a specific crisis to resolve

Question 33

What is the major crisis in adolescence?

Answer 33

Identity - confidence in ones inner continuity and change

Question 34

When must men and women achieve a stable identity?

Answer 34

Men - before intimacy

Women - after intimacy, defined through the roles of wife and mother

Question 35

What are Marcia’ 4 identity statuses?

Answer 35

Depends on whether the person has had a crises and committed to identity:
Identity achievement
Moratorium
Foreclosure
Identity diffusion

Question 36

Identity achievement

Answer 36

after a period of exploration, emerge with firm identity commitments
had a crisis, then had a commitment

Question 37

Moratorium

Answer 37

active period of exploration when individuals examine alternatives in an attempt to arrive at a choice - still in crisis, no commitment

Question 38

Foreclosure

Answer 38

adopted identities prescribed by parents or other authority figures without ever exploring options or experiencing an identity crisis

Question 39

Identity diffusion

Answer 39

individuals have little sense of commitment and are not actively seeking to make decisions

Question 40

What influences identity?

Answer 40

Parental influences: attachment with freedom to voice opinions - achievement or moratorium
overly close bonds without separation - foreclosure
low warmth, open communication - diffusion

cultural/historical influences - historical events can alter course