Lecture 24: Adolescent Development Flashcards
What is adolescence?
Period from 10-20
What are the developmental tasks of adolescence?
- Understand pubertal changes
- Search for self definition
- Search for a personal set of value
- Gain competencies to assume social role (e.g. problem solving, decision making, examining alternatives)
- acquire social skills
- Achieve emotional independence from parents
- gain ability to negotiate between pressures to achieve
- Experiment with behaviors, attitudes and activities to prepare for adulthood
What is better for boys? Early maturing and late maturing?
Early maturing boys are more confident and attractive and excel in athletics
Late maturing boys get fucked over because they do not have the same traits/confidence…late bloomers
Early maturing = myself so more confident/attractive/athletic
What is better for girls? Early maturing or late maturing?
Late maturing because they are subjected to sexual pressure a LOT later
What are the three types of development routes through adolescence?
- Continuous growth (40%, best outcome)
- Surgent growth (40%)
- Tumultuous growth (20%)
What is the definition of the continuous growth development route? Significance?
Growth is like a ramp
Smooth continuous change
Self-assurance, steady increase in competence, confidence and maturity
-result of solid families without major stressful events
What is surgent growth? Significance?
Like a stair case
Developmental spurts and uneven change
-periods of emotional conflict and turmoil alternate with periods of steady progress
From mixed families and more likely to have stressors
What is tumultuous growth? Significance?
Turmoil and conflict
Frequent identity crises, intense emotional outbursts and/or misbehavior
-deeper reactions to personal failure, dependent on peer culture
Example: most vulnerable group…most likely to kill self when you break up with SO
From troubled families where SEPARATION is a major unresolved issue
What are the most important dimensions of self-concept for adolescents?
- physical appearance
- academics
- athletics
- friendships
- romance
How does your brain mature?
From posterior to anterior
Frontal lobe is LAST to develop
-frontal lobe maturation went from M1 to prefrontal cortex
What are the trends of brain development in adolescents?
Linear increases in white matter in all four lobes
Inverted U shape changes in gray matter of all cortices with differential peaks of change in different lobes
(as in some lobes actually lose grey matter from age 12 to age 22)
What is the point of adolescence?
Allows for risk taking behavior…allows them for experimentation
What are the two steps in cortical maturation?
- Increasing size due to arborization in which the cells grow extra branches
- Decreasing amount of gray matter may reflect the process of PRUNING where certain connections are eliminated due to lack of use
What is the key feature of adolescence that could lead to pathology?
- Relative immaturity of frontal lobes implies less executive functional capacity
- less inhibition, restraint, thinking out consequences in face of increased drives
- Behavioral risk factors such as substance use, sleep deprivation, excessive inactivity may cause lasting brain injury or dysfunction
What are the characteristics of adolescent thinking?
Goes from concrete to abstract -uni to multidimensional -absolute to relativistic Reactive to self-reflective/self-aware Egocentric tendencies -myth of invulnerability -self-focused -heightened self-consciousness Trying on different identities
What is the goal of adolescent development?
The ability to develop executive functions such as
- long-term planning - self-regulation (coordinate emotional state) - self evaluation
What are the leading causes of death among adolescents (15-19)?
- Unintentional injury
Example: cars, motor vehicular accidents - Homicide
Why does risk taking increase between childhood and adolescence?
Due to increased reward seeking WITHOUT an equivalent degree of self-regulatoin
Influenced by peers
Why does risk taking decline between adolescence and adulthood?
Not as easily influenced by peers
What is Internal locus of control?
Individuals who believe that they are in control of own destiny
What is External locus of control?
Individuals who believe that they are NOT in control of own destiny
Why do peers increase adolescent risk taking?
Because the brain’s reward circuitry is enhanced
Ventral Striatum is in overdrive
Example: kids crash more when they are playing video game with friends
What area of brain is activated in adolescence in presence of peers?
Ventra Striatum
Orbital Frontal Cortex
Reward circuitry that lead to risk taking
What is the peak incidence induction?
16 years for cigarettes
18 years for alcohol
18 years for marijuana
21 year for cocaine
What causes violent death in adolescence?
Alcohol
Motor vehicular crashes
Among 11-12 year old mothers, how old are the fathers?
Fathers ages averaged nearly 10 years older
How many teenage girls report having intercourse involuntarily if they have had first sexual encounter prior to 14?
75%
So when you are taking a sexual history, and she says virginity lost at 13, then you need to suspect abuse
Younger the first time of intercourse, the greater the number of partners
What is the takehome message?
Adolescence is an exciting time in our lives but despite the potential opportunities, there is a sizable part of the adolescence population that are struggling with a disorder
