Adolescence Physical and Cognitive Development

Question 1

Puberty

Answer 1

refers to the period of the life cycle when sexual and reproductive maturation occur.

•Puberty is not a single event or a set of events, but a crucial phase in a long and complex process of maturation that begins prenatally.

Question 2

Hormonal Changes

During Puberty

Answer 2

•Pituitary gland triggers series of hormonal changes  increases in the production of growth hormones and gonadotrophic hormones.

• Females= estrogen and progesterone
• Males= testosterone

Question 3

The Adolescent Growth Spurt

Answer 3

• Studies of the adolescent growth spurt show that it typically occurs two years earlier in girls (12) than in boys (14).
• Usually occurs between the ages of 9 and 17.7 years
• Asynchronous growth of different parts of the body  unbalanced appearance and an exaggerated sense of self-consciousness and awkwardness.

Question 4

Asynchronous growth

Answer 4

Growth of different parts of the body  unbalanced appearance and an exaggerated sense of self-consciousness and awkwardness.

Question 5

Maturation in Girls

Answer 5

• The breasts increase, as does the amount of fatty and supportive tissue in the buttock and hip region, pelvis undergoes enlargement.
• Menarche-the first menstrual period-occurs relatively late in puberty, usually following the peak of the growth spurt

Question 6

Menarche-

Answer 6

the first menstrual period-occurs relatively late in puberty, usually following the peak of the growth spurt

Question 7

Maturation in Boys

Answer 7

• First sign of puberty in boys usually appears at about 11-11.5 years of age with an acceleration in the growth of the testes and scrotum.
• Between 13 and 16 years, the voice begins to change and boys typically have their first involuntary emiions of seminal fluid

Axillary and facial hair generally make their first appearance about 2 years after beginning of pubic hair growth.

•Boys acquire additional weight in the form of muscle mass and enlargement in the shoulders and rib cage.

Question 8

The Impact of Early or Late Maturation: BOYS

Answer 8

Early maturing boys: tend to be more self-confident and have a more positive self-concept.
●Ideals of height, strength, athletic prowess

•Late maturing boys: feelings of inadequacy, negative self-concept, and feelings of rejection
●Obesity may delay mat. in men

•Behavior patterns may continue as adults!

Question 9

The Impact of Early or Late Maturation: GIRLS

Answer 9

●Girls who mature early:
•Higher risk for later overweight
•Higher risk for breast cancer
•Higher teen pregnancy
•Greater emotional issues

●Girls who mature later:
• may experience difficulty first but receive support from society later because of the slender appearance

Question 10

Self-Image and Appearance

•

Answer 10

Self-image is particularly susceptible to peer influences.

• Many teenagers are preoccupied with their gender-related physical acceptability and adequacy.
• A large proportion of adolescents want to change their weight because they feel that they are either “too thin” or “too heavy.”

Boys want athleticism, muscularity

• Girls want overall thinness, large breasts (exist in nature?)
• Plastic surgery

Question 11

Nutrition and Eating Disorders

Answer 11

iAnorexia: primarily affects females who have become obsessed with looking thin and terrified of becoming fat.

iObesity: Obesity in adolescents is often a precursor to ill health in adulthood.
i16% of U.S. adolescents considered significantly overweight.
iRisk for Type 2 diabetes
iSignificant health risks

Question 12

Sexually Transmitted Infections

and HIV

Answer 12

Top viral infection in US is: HPV (viral)
Gardasil FDA approved
●Chlamydia most frequently reported bacterial STI
●Bacterial (Syphilis)
•Long term consequences?
•Prevention

Question 13

Teenage Pregnancy

•

Answer 13

Teenage pregnancy rates have dropped to lowest levels ever.

•Will they go back up due to high profile teenage pregnancies?

Question 14

Stress, Anxiety, Depression, and Suicide

Answer 14

iSuicide attempts have dropped from 29% to 17%…why?
iFemales attempt suicide more than males.
iMales commit suicide more than females.

Question 15

Piaget: Period of Formal Operations

Answer 15

•According to Piaget, the period of formal operations is the final and highest stage of intelligence.
●Can think about their own thinking
●Ability to imagine many possibilities inherent in a situation
●Can think about remote, future or hypothetical matters
●Logical and abstract terms
●Use scientific reasoning

Not all adolescents or adults attain full formal operational thought.

• Secondary schools: may provide students with experiences in mathematics and science that expedite the development of formal operational thought.
• Cross-cultural studies suggest that full attainment of formal operations does not occur in all societies.

Question 16

Adolescent Egocentricity

Answer 16

•Adolescents assume own actions and
thoughts are equally as interesting
to others

•Become more aware of self and
distinguish between conscious and
non conscious levels of experience.

•Can provide different descriptions of
self based on context.

Personal fable –that the teen’s experience is unique and no one else can understand it

•Imaginary audience- belief that everyone in the local environment is concerned with his/her appearance and behavior

Question 17

Educational Issues

Answer 17

• High school offers a change from the more structured middle school or junior high.
• Effective classroom instruction is changing toward more multimedia presentations and internet access.
• Conflict-resolutions skills are needed to diffuse potential violent behaviors.
• Today’s students are more culturally diverse.

American high school seniors
  performed well below the
  international average in math and
  science literacy in a study released in
  1998.

Question 18

Moral Development

•

Answer 18

Adolescence marks a peak in concern for moral values and principles
●Coupled with egocentricity makes teen set high expectations of world to conform to his/her personal standards

Question 19

Summary

•

Answer 19

Adolescence marks a time of many changes
●Physical/hormonal changes
●Cognitive changes