Lecture_13_Life Cycle III_Adolescence

Question 1

objectives:

name the basic cognitive and psychosocial tasks associated with this stage of development

describe elements of a typical asolescent’s thought processes and decision-making

describe the basic parental tasks associated with this period of development

Question 2

name the basic cognitive and psychosocial tasks associated with this stage of development:

Stages of Adolescence:

• What are the three stages of adolescence and what are some of their distinguishing characteristics?

Answer 2

• What are the three stages of adolescence and what are some of their distinguishing characteristics?
  
  • early adolescence:
    
    • age 10-13 (middle school)
    • marked by quest for autonomy from family
    • period of testing authority
    • mood swings and emotional lability are sen
    • intense friendships with same-sex peers are common
    • feelings of opposite-sex attraction may begin, but often are not yet acted upon
    • as bodies begin to change, comparisons with others and body image issues are common
    • anxieties about body changes are common
    • thinking is still concrete, with limited understanding of consequences
    • little impulse control, strong desire for quick gratification, and high levels of risk-taking
    • vocational goals are often unrealisitc (i.e. wantign to be an NFL star is normal)
  • middle adolescence:
    
    • age 14-17 (high school
    • less interest in parents and more time with peers may lead to conflicts
    • typically have friends of both sexes
    • conformity with peer group is of central importance (not conformity to dominant culture)
    • relationships are often experimental and exploitive
    • attractivness to peers is a major concern (if not the only)
    • capacity to reason abstractly can begin to develop (but regresses under stress)
    • sense of omnipotence and immortality, which leads to continued risk-taking
    • creativity and intellectual ability increases, and vocational hopes are more realisitc
  • late adolescence:
    
    • age 17-21 (college, military, or beginning of career)
    • relationships w/parents are renegotiated and typically improve
    • values begin to mirror that of the family
    • peer values are less important, and confidence in self increases
    • relationships become more mutual and healthy
    • body image is realistic
    • abstract reasoning is (hopefully) established
    • interests are more stable
    • capacity to delay gratification improves
  • physical development:
    
    • girls:
      
      • breast budding is usually the first sign of puberty in girls, typically begins anywhere from age 8-12 (often earlier in Hispanic and non-hispanic black girls)
      • menarche is stypically the last step before completion of puberty
      • ovulatory cycles may not begin until 2-3 years after menarche, with full fertility typically reached 2 years after menarche (age 14-15 on average, but wide variation exists)
    • boys:
      
      • puberty begins 2 years later in males, on avg.
      • first physical indication of puberty is typically testicular enlargement
      • growth spurt occurs, followed by a spurt in strength
      • avg. time for completino is 2-5 years, with full sexual maturity typically achieved by age 17-18
    • if puberty occurs very early or very late, it is often emotionally difficult for the adolescent
  • brain developmet:
    
    • brain has attained 90% of adult size by age 5, but…
    • cerebral cortex and frontal lobes immature through early adulthood
    • prefrontal cortex: regulating thoughts, feelings, and actions; capacity to inhibit impulse
      
      • white matter increases through early adulthood
      • gray matter increases in early puberty, then decreases in late adolescence (synaptic pruning)
    • limbic system: experience of emotions
      
      • undergoes myelination and then pruning, to a lesser degree
      • sensation-seeking, novelty-seeking, and risk-taking are associated w/this development; may increase ability to procreate and learn new tasks, but also increases danger
    • risk-taking declines by early adulthood
  • social and cultural factors that also impact impulsivity:
    
    • desire for greater independence
    • need to individuate from familyi
    • influences from culture, family, and peers can all decrease risk-taking

Question 3

name the basic cognitive and psychosocial tasks associated with this stage of development:

describe elements of a typical asolescent’s thought processes and decision-making:

Cognitive Development:

• What occurs during adolescence in terms of cognitive development?

Answer 3

• What occurs during adolescence in terms of cognitive development?
  
  • capacity for logical, abstract thought
    
    • not everyone attains this, particually not by the end of adolescence
    • not used consistently by those who have attained it (heuristics–rules of thum–used much more commonly)
    • can test hypotheses systematically
    • more interested in idealism and abstract ideas than practicalities
  • promoted by western-style education
    
    • IQ has gone up over time; thought to be because of improved education in how to think logically
    • engagment with alternate points of view sharply increases learning

Question 4

name the basic cognitive and psychosocial tasks associated with this stage of development:

describe the basic parental tasks associated with this period of development:

Relationships:

• What typically changes about an adolescent’s relationships during this period?

Answer 4

• What typically changes about an adolescent’s relationships during this period?
  
  • peers:
    
    • high school students spend twice as much time w/friends as w/their parents
    • older adolescents value reciprocity, commitment, and equality as well as similar interests and values
    • healthy friendships need to balance intimacy and autonomy
    • close, health friendships have a positive impact on social and personality development
    • girls’ friendships tend to be closer and more intense, with more sharing of feelings
    • boys’ friendships tend to be more competitive, which can increase closeness if the competition is friendly
    • cliques:
      
      • 5-7 relatively good friends
      • source of emotional security
      • generally have a leader
      • often mixed-gender by middle adolescence
    • crowds:
      
      • larger group of friends and acquantances
      • often perceived sterotypically, e.g. “jocks” or “nerds”
      • provide opportunities to meet new people and develop new relationships
    • tend to select friends based on similiarity in personality, values, and activities
    • friends then become more alike over time as they socialize w/one another
    • deviancy training: if an adolescent’s close friends engage in deviant behavior, over time that adolescent is more likely to do so as well
  • romantic:
    
    • becoming sexually active is a significant transition
    • very sigificant cultural, ethnic, and familial differences in beliefs about sexuality and sex education
    • american abivalence: in some ways sexuality is discussed very openly, and in other ways is surrounded by shame and kept quiet
    • much of the socially-sanctioned information teens receive about sex is negative (e.g. information about STIs)
    • other models available: in many European countries w/low rates of adolescent pregnancy and STIs, adolescent sex is considered normal–and appropriate health interventions are readily provided
    • avg. age of first intercourse in US is 17–slightly older for females
    • boys tend to report more positive feelings about first intercourse experience than girls
    • about 60% of girls who had intercourse befoer 15 report it was coerced
    • phenomenon of “friends w/benefits”
    • about 7% of all US teenage girls become pregnant each year–double Canada’s rate despite little difference in rates of sexual activity
    • rates of condom use much higher (79% of 14-17 year olds) than rate of birth control pill use (11%)
    • 25% of all 14-19 year old girls in US had had an STI (higher in ethnic minority groups)
  • parents:
    
    • conflict between adolescents and parents tend to peak in early adolescence
    • younger siblings may have conflict w/parents peak earlier
  • parenting advice:
    
    • gentle questioning to help adolescents think critically stimulates moral development
    • warm, supportive parenting increases the capacity to regulate feelings; high levels of emotional negativity in the family increase negativity emotions and aggression in the teen
    • ideal is authoritative, not controlling or permissive, parenting
    • How to optimize adolescent outcomes:
      
      • clear standards for behavior
      • firm but not coercive rule enforcement
      • consistent discipline
      • explain the basis for decisions
      • allow real discussion of issues where there is conflict
      • monitor behavior without overprotectiveness
      • foster a warm family environment
      • provide information and help in social skill development
      • respond flexibly as children develop

Question 5

name the basic cognitive and psychosocial tasks associated with this stage of development:

describe elements of a typical asolescent’s thought processes and decision-making:

Identity Development:

• What happens for an adolescent’s identity development during this stage?
• Ethnic identity development?
• Sexual identity development?
• Religious identity development?

Answer 5

• What happens for an adolescent’s identity development during this stage?
  
  • no exploration, no commitment = identity diffusion
  • exploration, no commitment = moratorium
  • no exploration, commitment = foreclosure
  • exploration, commitment = identity achievement (56% by age 24)
• Ethnic identity development?
  
  • complicated when cultural values and customs of the minority group differ from the culture at large
  • prejudice and discrimination are also barriers to identity development
  • Phinny’s stages:
    
    • unexamined ethic identity
      
      • preference for the cultural values of the majority
    • ethnic identity search
      
      • often initated by an experience of rejection or humiliation based on ethnic background
      • interest in personal implications of ethnicity and search for information about the group
    • ethnic identity achievement
      
      • self-confidence in identity and positive self-concept
      • fostered by cultural traditions being upheld in the home
• Sexual identity development?
  
  • sexual identity is the understanding of oneself as heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual (other categories also used)
  • by age 19, more than 8% of males and females have had same-sex encounters or attractions; rates of identification as gay or lesbian are much lower
  • Richard Troiden’s stages of sexual minority identity development:
    
    • sensitization; feeling different
    • self-recognition; identity confusion
    • identity assumption
    • commitment; identity integration
  • age of “coming out” is decreasig and social acceptance is increasing, but major challenges to development of a positive identity remain, including the treat of physical violence, particularly toward males
• Religious identity development?
  
  • most common time for profound religious experiences
  • often a very strong commitment to a set of beliefs or to a group
  • often, but not always, grows from the parents’ religious beliefs

Question 6

name the basic cognitive and psychosocial tasks associated with this stage of development:

Emotional Health:

• What are the factors that influence an adolescent’s emotional health during this stage?
• What are some of the benefits of adolescence?

Answer 6

• What are the factors that influence an adolescent’s emotional health during this stage?
  
  • internalizing problems involve disturbances in how the person feels; more common in girls
  • marked increase in depression and anxiety in adolescence, particularly among girls
    
    • rates of depression may jump from 4% at age 11 to 18% at age 15
    • genetic, environmental, and cultural factors all affect risk
    • treatment options: therapy, medication, finding a way to address the underlying issue
  • risk for eating disorders increases, especially in girls, as puberty causes increases in body fat and change in shape (addition of weight comes before addition of height in normal development)
    
    • increased exposure to medial idealizing thinness increases liklihood of a negative body image
  • externalizing problems invovled disturbances in how the person acts; more common in boys
  • delinquent behavior increases markedly between early and middle adolescence, then declines
  • increase in property destruction, fighting, and drug use
    
    • need to avoid perceiving early-adolescent rule-breakers as destined to be criminals
    • a Norwegian study found more than 75% of 15 and 16 year old boys and girls reported some delinquent behavior, but only 25% of boys and 15% of girls reported high levels
    • adolescent onset externalizing behaviors have much better prognosis than childhood-onset aggression
  • Emotional experience of adolescence:
    
    • in general, girls report higher levels of happiness than boys
    • happiness declines from early to late adolescence
    • presence of same-age peers increases risk-taking
    • intensity of emotions as well as mood swings become less frequent fro mearly to late adolescence
    • capacity to inhibit increases across adolescence
• What are some of the benefits of adolescence?
  • Benefits of adolescence:
    
    • youths thrive when they are engaged with their community in meaningful ways, and communities thrive when their youth are healthy and happy
    • strong energy, passion, and commitment available for use in positive ways
    • opportunity for exploration, access to possiblities