Adolescence intro Flashcards
Give an overview of adolescence (6)
- A transition stage between childhood and adulthood
- Dynamic and variable nature (Paton & Brown, 1991)
- Changes in external and internal factors
- Social reorientation (Foulkes & Blakemore, 2018)
- Coming to terms with various factors
- A cultural phenomenon
According to Foulkes & Blakemore (2018), what is adolescence characterised by? (2)
- Profound social, psychological and biological changes
2. A time of social reorientation where peers increasingly affect their self-concept, well-being and behaviour.
Why is defining adolescence difficult? (2)
Paton & Brown (1991)
- Defining adolesence is a complicated process due to the dynamic and variable nature
- Definitions depend on historical, social, cultural factors and the adolescent’s own self-perception
What must the young person come to terms with during adolescence? (5)
- Physical appearence
- Sexual maturity
- Establish a sense of identity
- Develop a value system
- Prepare to make decisions about adult-life
What is the interplay between external and internal factors important for?
Psychosocial adjustment
What are the 3 categories of internal (developmental) changes during adolescence of a typically developing individual?
- Physical
- Neurodevelopmental: brain structure and hormones
- Functional: cognitive and language
Describe the physical processes that occur during adolescence of a typically developing individual
Hormonal changes result in maturation of sexual and physical characteristics (puberty)
Describe the neurodevelopmental processes that occur during adolescence of a typically developing individual (4) Foulkes & Blakemore, 2018)
- Increased activation in the prefrontal cortex
- Maturation of the limbic system
- Structural change in grey matter volume, surface area, cortical thickness, white matter volume and microstructure
- Reflected in functional changes
What is the result of increased activation in the prefrontal cortex? (2) (Foulkes & Blakemore, 2018)
- Development of higher-level cognition and cognitive control: attention, executive function, response inhibition
- Increased impulsivity control (effective coping and decision-making skills)
What is the result of the maturation of the limbic system? (2) (Foulkes & Blakemore, 2018)
- Development of social and emotional cognition: interpersonal awareness, empathy, “theory of mind”
- Ability to understand relationships, friendships and that higher level social-cognitive skill.
What are the 3 individual differences that may impact neurodevelopmental changes? (Foulkes & Blakemore, 2018)
- SES
- Culture
- Peer environment
Describe how SES can impact neurodevelopmental change
- SES can impact physical development, mental health and the way in which the brain structurally develops
Describe how culture can impact neurodevelopmental change (2)
- There is similarities in behaioural development across cultures
- In terms of self-regulation and sensation seeking (Steinburg et al., 2017) despite societal expectations of adolescents
Describe how peer environmental can impact neurodevelopmental change (3)
- The pattern of interactions, number of friends and quality of friendships varies
- This can impact neural and behavioural responses to social interactions
- Positive peer relationships reduced the association with later anti-social behaviour, peer conflict and risk taking
Describe the evidence provided by Caouette & Guyer (2014) to support the individual difference of peer environment
Sensitivity to social context
1. Adolescents who are hypervigilant to social threat cues may be at risk of developing a social anxiety disorder or internalising problems
What is a functional change in the adolescence of typically developing individuals? (2)
- Continuing language development (Nippold, 2007)
2. These changes are not yet linked to specific brain structures
What are the key changes in language during adolescence of typically developing individuals? (2)
- Tends to be on written rather than spoken language as adolescents are learning through written. Poor reading skills may create a disadvantage as they can’t learn as much language from reading
- Syntax, semantics, narrative and pragmatics
Identify the changes in syntax during adolescence of typically developing individuals (2)
- Increase in sentence length
2. Higher proportion of subordinate clauses in speech and writing (Scott, 1988)
Identify the changes in semantics during adolescence of typically developing individuals (3)
Nippold et al. (1988)
- Ability to deal with multiple means of words
- Understand more complex semantics links
- Contextual abstraction
Identify the changes in narrative during adolescence of typically developing individuals
- More coherent and complex
Identify the changes in pragmatic skills during adolescence of typically developing individuals (3)
- Greater capacity to understand ambiguity, sarcasm
- Fewer abrupt topic shifts
- Increase in indirect forms of talk (eg. hinting and innuendo)
Summarise why language is a central part of adolescence
- Learning/education
- Friendship
- Means of negotiation and peer groups
Describe the role of language in learning during adolescence (3)
- Primary means of learning in classrooms (Silver & Lwin, 2003)
- Fundamental skill for participation in the secondary classroom and curriculum.
- Many aspects of written language or comprehension can be limited by weak oral language skills (Reed, 2005)
Describe the role of language in friendship/peer groups (3)
- Means of negotiation when dealing with new roles, responsibilities and boundaries
- Creating and maintaining peer groups
- Used to establish status, cohesion, trust and entitlment to knowledge (Eckert, 2003)
Give an overview of the external (social) changes in the adolescence of typically developing individuals (4)
- Societal expectations
- Peer groups
- Institutional structure
- Legislation
How do societal expectations change in adolescence? (4)
- Responsibility is shifted towards the adolescent
- Independent living skills
- Transition towards financial independence
- Cultural variation
Outline the cultural variation found in societal expectations during adolescence (2)
Foulkes & Blakemore (2018)
- Some expect full-time education and living with carers until 20s
- Others expect earlier financial independence and family responsibilities
How do peer groups change in adolescence? (4)
- More complex and independent peer groups
- Sexual relationships
- Moving away from identification with parents
- Friendships change from being activity orientation to relationships with strong emotional ties (Buhrmester & Furman, 1987)
How does institutional structure change in adolescence? (5)
Joffe (2015)
- More independent teaching style
- Larger class sizes
- Increasingly complex curriculum
- Heavy reliance on literacy
- Greater need for independent working and self reflection
How does legislation change in adolescence?
- A lot of the external expectations are reflected through legislation eg. drinking, driving, military, vote, sex, marriage
Give 2 examples of the dynamic interplay between external and internal changes
- More developed social cognition reflected in more complex peer groups
- Changes in teaching style reliant on higher level language
Why does developed social cognition impact peer groups? (3)
- Adolescents are able to negotiate who they want to identify with
- Interactions = more complex and sophisticated, increasingly reliant on competent verbal skills
- Being able to hold a conversation and report a narrative is integral to create and maintain relationships (Brinton, Robinson, Jujiki, 2004)
Why do changes in teaching style rely on higher-level language development? (2)
- Literacy and language allow management of teaching style eg. rules, point-based systems, remembering equipment, consequences
- Adapt to independent learning
Why would an adolescent with language difficulties also have difficulties managing teaching style?
There are increased demands on communication skills: 1. Understanding/using technical vocab
- Participating in conversations
- Producing long utterances
- Using appropriate social interaction
