Chapter 9 & Chapter 10 Flashcards
The Nature of Adolescence
There is a long history of worrying about how adolescents will turn out….the majority of adolescents today have positive self-concepts and positive relationships with others…public attitudes about adolescence emerge from a combination of personal experiences and media portrayals, neither of which produces an objective picture of how normal adolescence develop…in matters of taste and manners, the young people of every generation have seemed radical, unnerving, and different from adults-different in how they look, in how they behave, in the music they enjoy, in their hairstyles, and in the clothing they choose…acting out and boundary testing are time-honored ways in which adolescents move toward accepting, rather than rejecting, parental values.
Although the majority of adolescents experience the transition from childhood to adulthood more positively than is portrayed by many adults and the media,
too many adolescents today are not provided with adequate opportunities and support to be competent adults.
Puberty
a period of rapid physical and sexual maturation that occurs mainly during early adolescence.
What are the determinants of puberty?
nutrition, health, hereditary and body mass
When does the beginning of girls growth spurt occur?
around the age of 9
When does the beginning of Boys growth spurt occurs?
around the age of 11
*****When is the peak rate of pubertal change for girls?
11 1/2
*****When is the peak rate of pubertal change for boys?
13 1/2
***How much in height in growth spurt does girls and boys increase per year?
girls 3 1/2” and boys 4”
Body image
Preoccupation with one’s body image is strong throughout adolescence, but it is especially acute during puberty….in general, throughout puberty, girls are less happy with their bodies and have more negative body images, compared with boys….as puberty changes proceeds, girls often become more dissatisfied with their bodies, probably because their body fat increases, whereas boys become more satisfied as they move through puberty because their muscle mass increases.
Early maturation of males
11 1/2 early maturing - perceive themselves more positively and more successful peer relations, in part due to athletic achievement, more attention from girls, disadvantages: being exposed to things not emotionally/socially mature enough to be exposed to. In their 30’s, not as strong of a sense of identity as late maturing males
late maturing males
perceive themselves as less, feel physically and social inferior, but they have a better sense of self later in life.
early maturing females
experience more problems in school but also enjoy more independence and popularity with boys. Early maturation increases girls vulnerability to a number of problems: smoking, drinking, depression, eating disorders, earlier dating and sexual experiences.
late maturing females
socially disadvantaged with boys. At an advantage in their own personal development.
The brain
the amygdala (region of the brain that handles the processing of information about emotion) matures earlier than the prefrontal cortex (region of the brain involved in higher order cognitive functioning)…adolescents respond more with “gut” level reactions to emotional stimuli because the region of the brain that plans, sets priorities, suppresses impulses and weighs consequences is still “under construction”.
3 undesirable sexual consequences
pregnancy, STI and emotional consequences
developing a sexual identity
managing sexual feelings, developing new forms of intimacy, and learning the skills to regulate sexual behavior to avoid undesirable sexual consequences.
What percentage of females have intercourse by age 17 in the US?
62%
What percentage of males have intercourse by the age of 17 in the US?
64%
****By the age of 20, what percentage of US youth have engaged in sexual intercourse?
77%
A 2008 study indicated what percentage of US high school students where currently sexually active?
35%
What ethnic group adolescents engage in sexual activity the earliest?
African Americans
Which adolescent ethnic groups has the most restrictive sexual timetable?
Asian Americans
Many adolescents are not emotionally prepared to handle sexual experiences, the earlier boys and girls engage in sexual intercourse,
the more likely they show adjustment problems.
Risk Factors
those who engage in sex at early ages (before 16) and have a high number of partners are the least effective users of contraceptives and are at risk for early, unintended pregnancies and for STI. Early sexual behavior is also linked with other risky behaviors such as excessive drinking, drug use, delinquency and school related problems.
Contraceptive use
method used most frequently by adolescent girls is the pill (44%) followed by the condom (38%). Sexually active younger adolescents are less likely to use contraceptives than older adolescents. In 2007, among students who are sexually active, 61.5% report using contraceptives the last time they had sexual intercourse - an overall increase.
sexually transmitted infections
*every year more than 3 million adolescents (about 1/4 of sexually experienced adolescents) acquire an STI. **In a single act unprotected sex with an infected partner, a teenage girl has a 1% risk of getting HIV, a 30% risj of acquiring genital herpes, and a 50% chance of contracting gonorrhea.
pregnancy
the rate of births to adolescents dropped 34 % from 1991 to 2005. Reasons: increased contraceptive use, fear of STIs and economic prosperity has motivated adolescents to delay starting a family. Adolescent pregnancy creates health risks for both the baby and the mother.
Adolescent health: many of the factors linked to poor health habits and early death in the adult years being during adolescence. The goals are to:
- reduce adolescent health compromising behaviors such as: drug abuse, violence, unprotected sex, dangerous driving (adolescents seek experiences that create high intensity feelings, excitement and arousal)
- increase health enhancing behaviors such at eating nutritiously, exercising, wearing seat belts, and getting more sleep. (need to enforce laws (higher ages for drinking, driving, more expensive for cigarettes) and expand services (contraceptive availability, mental health services) to reduce behaviors vs. trying to appeal to their cognitive side.
adolescents lack self-regulatory skills
have an inclination to engage in risk-taking behavior, therefore need more adult supervision and guidance,
*****When given the opportunity, adolescents will sleep an average of
9 1/2 hours a night. Most get considerably less than nine hours of sleep, especially during the week.
schools who have started classes later for adolescents (8:30am) have found
fewer referral for discipline problems, and the number of students who report being ill or depressed has decreased. And for high school student- improved test scores.
1st leading cause of death in adolescents, accidents
more than half of all deaths in adolescents are due to accidents and most of those involve motor vehicle accidents; in about 50% of those the driver has a BAC of .10%
2nd leading cause of death, homicide
especially high among African American males, who are three times more likely to be killed by guns than by natural causes.
3rd leading cause of death, suicide
rate has tripled since the 1950s
Substance use and abuse, trends
high school seniors use has declined slightly since 1998, but still highest among industrialized nations.
most used drugs
- alcohol, 2 marijuana, 3. nicotine
