Physical and Cognitive Development in Adolescence Flashcards
What is Puberty?
A term that encompasses all the (seen and unseen) changes that are needed for reproductive maturity
What is the Pituitary gland?
A gland that triggers other glands to release hormones (aka the master gland)
What is Adrenarche?
When the pituitary gland signals child’s adrenal to increase production of androgen at around age 7 or 8
What are the 2 sets of body changes triggered by hormones?
The development of sex organs (Primary Sex characteristics) and a broader set of development in the brain, bones, muscle, and other body organs
What do Primary Sex Characteristics include?
Growth of the testes/penis, ovaries, uterus, and vagina
What do Secondary Sex Characteristics include?
Breast development, changing voice pitch, beard growth, and growth of body hair
What is Menarche?
The beginning of ones menstrual cycle
Among Canadian girls, menarche occurs (on average) at around ____ years old
12.7
A girl’s body fat must reach a critical value of __% before menarche can occur
17%
What is the Secular Trend?
The decline in average age on menarche and the increase in average height for both children and adults that happened both between mid 18-19th in Western societies and when nutrition and health improve in other countries
The peak of the growth spurt typically comes fairly ____, while the development of a beard and a deeper voice occur __________________
Late, near the end of the sequence
Boys likely produce viable sperm between ____________, usually ______ they reach the peak of their growth spurt
12 and 14, before
What determines the psychological effects of puberty?
Whether an adolescent’s expectation of puberty matches the reality
Girls who develop earlier show ____ problems with academics/self-esteem, and ____ behavioural problems unless…
No, fewer. They associate with older teens that show antisocial behaviours
Boys who develop earlier exhibit ____ prosocial behaviour and are ____ successful in adulthood
More, more
How does grey matter develop at this stage?
An inverted “U” shape, where peak volumes are reached (in diff areas) at this age
How does a teenager’s brain change?
It doesn’t grow in size, but it matures and specializes and the volume of white matter steadily increases
What is one of the last parts of the brain to develop?
The frontal cortex
Adolescents grow _ to __cm a year
5 to 13
Girls attain most of their adult height by age ___ and boys grow until they are ________-years-old
16, 18 to 20
What happens to a teenagers physical growth pattern at this time?
The cephalocaudal and proximodistal patterns are reversed (hands and feet grow first and the trunk is the slowest to grow)
Muscle fibers become _____ and _______
thicker, denser
What happens to the proportion of fat and muscle in teenagers?
The proportion of fat rises among girls and falls among boys, the proportion of muscle rises is boys and declines in girls
The heart and lungs ________ considerably in size, and the heart rate _____
increase, drops
What are the Canadian 24-Hour Movement recommendations for 12-17 years old?
60 min per day of moderate to vigorous physical activity, Less than 2 hours of screen time
How many people meet all/don’t meet the Canadian 24-Hour Movement recommendations?
10% don’t meet any, while only 5% meet all three
Sex among teens younger than 15-years-old has declined by _______ since the mid-1990s and sits at ____, For 15 to 17-year-olds the rate is ____, and for 18 to 19-year-olds the rate is ____
one-third, ~9%, 30%, 68%
Which gender is less likely to use a condom?
Women
What are the 2 main non-permanent methods of birth control favoured by Canadian women?
Condoms and oral contraceptives
Girls who are sexually active…
Experience earlier menarche, have low interest in school, date at an earlier age, and have a history of sexual abuse
The greater the number of risk factors, the ________ the likelihood that he or she will be sexually active
greater
What common factors reduce the likelihood of sexual activity?
Moral beliefs regarding premarital sex, Involvement in sports and other activities, Not using alcohol
What is the most commonly reported infectious disease in Canada?
Chlamydia
Since 2003 in Canada, the rates of new chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis infections have been on the ______ in youth aged 15 to 19
upswing
Infection rates are highest among…
15-19 year old women
Why don’t women use condoms as much as men?
Fear of shame, embarrassment, and rejection
What are the common predispositions to Teen Pregnancy?
Sexual activity at a young age, girls from poor, single-parent and uneducated families, and if the girl’s mother also had an early pregnancy
__% of teen identify as heterosexual, ___% are questioning, __% are strictly gay and lesbian, and __% identify as bisexual
96, 1.4, under 1, 3.5
Despite the stereotype, teenagers…
are mostly well-adjusted
What is sensation seeking and how does it relate to teenagers?
A desire to experience increased levels of arousal, teens have a heightened sense of it
What makes teens so susceptible to risky behaviour?
They really want to be accepted by their peers, their brains are rapidly developing, and they lack maturity in their prefrontal cortex
The use of substances generally ________ with age
increase
What can predispose adolescents to start drinking?
Brain deviations, temperament, parenting style, home environments, wanting to be sociable, and coping with stress/pain
How many Canadian women experience bulimia, and how many women die from anorexia induced starvation?
1-4% and 4-18%
What is the most promising explanation for eating disorders?
Discrepancy between a person’s internal image and their idea of a desirable body and the emphasis on thinness
Most medical treatment for depression focus on…
suicidal behaviour
What factors improve Indigenous suicide reduction?
Cultural continuity
What is the Formal Operational stage?
4th Piaget stage, teens learn to reason logically about abstract concepts, use systematic problem solving, hypothetico-deductive reasoning and naive idealism
What things distinguish adolescents from younger children?
Exaggerate other’s reactions to their behaviour and base decisions on unrealistic ideas about the future
What declines in a teen’s transition to secondary school?
Achievement and self esteem
Task goals vs Ability goals
T- Personal standards and desire to become competent
A- define success in competitive terms
WH\hat are the 4 stages of Marcia’s theory on identity?
Identity acievement, Moratorium(Identity status in crisis), Foreclosure(Made a commintment without going through a crisis) and Identity Diffusion (No crisis and no commitment, extreme cases leads to BPD)
