Ch 8: Physical Development in Adolescence Flashcards
What is puberty?
The hormonal and physical change that lend children to become sexually mature human beings and reach their adult height
What is the secular trend in puberty?
Centuries long decline in the average age at which children reach puberty
What are the hormonal changes of puberty?
Hypothalamic hormones trigger pituitary glands to produce hormones, which causes the ovaries and testes to mature and produce their hormones, which produces changes in the body
What are the physical changes of puberty?
Hair, skin changes, voice changes and alterations in sweat glands
Primary and secondary sexual characteristics, growth spurt
Girls- hips widen, uterus and breasts enlarge, production of eggs, menstruation
Boys- penis lengthens, facial and body hair growth, increase in muscle mass
What are the gender differences in puberty?
Girls- Growth spurt, visible breasts and pubic hair, menarche, uterus growth, vagina lengthens, cushion of fat for hips, longer vocal cords, bigger heart, stronger
Boys- penis growth, testicle growth, pubic hair growth, deep voice, body hair growth, facial hair, growth spurt, increase in muscle mass, hearts increase in weight, big chat, wide shoulders, muscular frame, long legs and large feet, growth of nose and ears, later than girls
What are the individual differences in puberty?
Timing, genetics, nourishment, weight, ethnicity/race
What are the causes of maturing early in girls?
Weight, family stress
What are the causes of maturing early in boys?
Genetics, nourishment, ethnicity/race
What are the consequences of maturing early in girls?
Friendships with older children, unprotected sex, anxiety, depression
What are the consequences of maturing early in boys?
Substance abuse, depression, self esteem boost
When does puberty occur?
Pre-teens, early adolescence
What is the puberty rite?
Coming of age ritual in agrarian cultures to celebrate children’s transition to adulthood
What is menarche?
A girl’s first menstruation
When do many girls reach menarche?
Age 9 or 10
What does the average age of menarche tell about a country?
Economic development, access to calorie rich food
What are the adrenal androgens?
Hormones produced by the and renal glands that program puberty
What is the HPG axis?
The main hormonal system that programs puberty, involves triggering hypothalamic hormones that cause the pituitary gland to secrete hormones, which causes the ovaries and testes to develop and secrete hormones that produce major body changes
What are the gonads?
Sex organs- ovaries and testes
What is testosterone?
Hormone responsible for maturation of the male reproductive organs and other signs of puberty in men, and for hair, skin changes, and sexual desire in both sexes
What influences the timing of puberty?
Various genetic and environmental influences such as environmental chemicals, life stress, body weight, nutrition level, body fat, light, climate, growth
What are primary sexual characteristics?
Physical changes of puberty that directly involved the reproductive organs, such as penic growth and menstruation
What are secondary sexual characteristics?
Physical changes of puberty not directly involved in reproduction, such as breast development and facial hair
What is the growth spurt?
Dramatic increase in height and weight that occurs during puberty
How do we know how puberty progresses?
Tanner’s five pubertal stages
What are the origins of Tanner’s five pubertal stages?
Tanner studies children in a London orphanage, photographed and measured bodies
Children were all white, malnourished, subject to abuse
What is spermarche?
Boy’s first ejaculation of live sperm, around age 13
What influences a child’s reaction to puberty?
Their environment, society’s view on development, discrimination
What steps should adults take to support early-maturing girls?
Arrange the right body-environment fit, closely monitor her well-being
How can adults support children going through puberty?
Communication, guidance
How can adults help minimize puberty stress?
Same sex adult should discuss with child before puberty, be unified and loving towards sexual minorities, puberty education, online education, anonymous, interventions for early maturing girls
What is one of the first indicators of puberty?
Growth spurt
What influences promote teenage body distress?
Cultural pressure, peak social sensitivity, mothers exposed to intense stress during pregnancy, peer teasing, social media diet, fitting into mainstream Western ideals
What are the different eating disorders?
Anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorders
What are the treatments for eating disorders?
Dialectic behavior therapy, group exercises to combat the thin ideal, exposure to plus size models
What is the thin ideal?
Media driven cultural idea that females need to be very thin
What are eating disorders?
Pathological eating behaviors that threaten well-being
What is anorexia nervosa?
A potentially life threatened eating disorders defined by pathological dieting and a distorted body image
What is bulimia nervosa?
Eating disorders defined by at least biweekly cycles of binging and purging in an obsessive attempt to lose eight
What is binge eating disorder?
Eating disorders defined by recurrent, out of control binging
What are recent trends in teenage sexuality?
It is more accepted for teenagers to have sex, most teens agree that a person could decide not to have sex and be popular, more confidence in their own sexual path, lower abortion rates, high teenage pregnancy, sex often happens in a committed relationship, teenage births have declined
What forces influence the transition to intercourse?
Early puberty, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, personality, actions of friends, media,
What is the sexual double standard?
A cultural code that gives men more sexual freedom than women, it is expected that men want to have sex and that women are more interested in love relationships than sex
How does school based sex education fall short?
Rarely mention sexting, some only focus on abstinence or avoiding STIs, do not talk about having safe sex, do not mention relationship development, love or romance
What is sexting?
Sending sexually explicitly photos or messages online or via text, often a precursor for becoming sexually active
What do sexual feelings often begin?
Around age 10
What is the most deadly eating disorders?
Anorexia nervosa
Most youths have had intercourse by the time they are
20
In Susan Harter’s study on teen self esteem, what is the best indicator of self esteem?
If the teen thinks they are attractive
At what age do most people first have intercourse?
Age 17 or 18
A person with anorexia must be hospitalized and fed to survive if they lose how much of their ideal body weight?
One third
What racial groups are more accepting of larger bodies?
African American and Hispanic
What hormone helps prime initial feelings of sexual desire?
Androgen
