Session Three (Adolescence) Flashcards
Broadly, what are the 4 most significant areas of development in adolescence?
- Movement towards independence
- Career interests
- Sexuality
- Ethics and self-direction
What notable changes occur as a person transitions from childhood into adolescence?
- Puberty, and the hormonal changes that come with it
- Increase in peer pressure
- Increase in academic pressure
- Begin to explore their sexuality
- Begin to form an identity of their own
- Change in their role within the family unit
- Emergence of drug and alcohol behaviour
Why might it be difficult for a parent to communicate with their child in 2019?
Significantly different experiences with adolescence. Main changes = the rise of social media and the greater expectation to go to perform academically and go to university
How can we define adolescence, in terms of how it relates to a person’s development?
- “Prelude to and preparation for adulthood”
- Marked by physiological changes
- Begins around 12 and ends around 19, with the end of basic education and the beginning of adulthood, and the rights and duties that entails.
How has adolescence changed in recent years?
- Lengthened; starts earlier and ends later. Is therefore a much more significant part of a person’s life.
- Greater uncertainty about navigating the route to adulthood (failing job and housing markets)
- The gap between rich and poor is wider than ever, and this gap is felt especially strongly in adolescence
(as mentioned elsewhere, social media and university create their own sources of stress).
What effect do the physical changes seen in adolescence have on teenagers?
- Begin to see significant changes due to puberty.
- These changes must be dealt with and interpreted by the individual
- Puberty will begin to affect their identity, how they feel about themselves and others
- Puberty might begin to affect their gender identity
- Teenagers go into puberty with idealised norms of physical attractiveness, feel inadequate if they don’t match these unrealistic criteria they force on themselves.
- (this is especially impactful on girls than boys, as with puberty comes a growth spurt. most boys see this as a good thing, girls as a bad)
What effect do the physical changes of puberty have on girls?
- Menarche: now at aged 12.5 but historically more like 17 (change caused by better nutrition). This can be a distressing time and must be dealt with by the girl.
- Early developing girls tend to have poorer self image, as they feel self conscious about their size.
- This puts them at greater risk of delinquency, depression and addiction
What effects do the physical changes of puberty have on boys?
- Peak growth spurt around age 14
- Development of beard and lowering of voice
- Earlier developers have more positive body image (in contrast to girls) as they associate size with strength and view it as a good thing.
- Later developers more at risk of body images
- This male to female distinction is largely driven by the different idealised bodies boys and girls have (boys want to be big, girls want to be small)
Describe how the brain develops during adolescence?
- 2 major brain growth spurts in teenage years; 13-15 and again 17-20
- Proportion of grey matter decreases, but white matter increases as we transition from childhood to young adulthood.
- 13-15 sees the cerebral cortex becoming thicker and neural pathways become more efficient. Enables abstract thinking and reflection on cognitive processes to develop.
- 17-20 sees the frontal lobes of cerebral cortex develop, which control logic and planning (link to risk behaviours in teens)
What significant change in circadian rhythms is seen in adolescence?
Sleep-wake cycle gets pushed back several hours, so teenagers don’t feel sleepy until later at night and don’t wake naturally till late in the morning. This has a supposedly evolutionary basis, to keep someone awake into the later hours of the night to guard against predators.
It has been suggested schools should start at 10 to combat this.
What processes in the developing brain predispose teenagers to do risky, stupid things.
- Early and rapid changes in affective systems linked to pubertal maturation cause a heightened desire to seek novelty.
- But, cognitive skills and competence in self-control develop gradually and continue to mature long after puberty.
- This causes an imbalance between the relative influence of MOTIVATIONAL and CONTROL systems
- Dahl (2008) describes the adolescent brain as the tempted brain. As long as the development of executive functions like planning, reasoning and inhibition remains unfinished, the teenager is constantly tempted into greater risk-taking and novelty-seeking
- This effect is confounded by the fact the environment teenagers grow up in is now more demanding of them, pushing them towards these behaviours.
What are some of the major social and societal changes that have occurred in recent times and have had an effect on adolescence?
- Change in family structure/role within the family
- Changes in labour and housing markets
- Changes in education, now compulsory until 16 and most people stay until 18
- Recession
- Climate change
- Rise of Social Media
What parenting style is associated with most positive outcome and describe it?
Authoritative. Marked by high control (strict boundaries, clear expectations) but also high acceptance and love. One without the other is associated with worse outcomes.
What are the positive effects of a strong attachment between the adolescent and the parent?
- Greater sense of wellbeing (WB more strongly correlated to parent attachment than to peer attachment)
- Strong attachment associated with positive short and long term outcomes
- Strong attachment associated with academic success and good peer relations, as well as less risk for drug use and antisocial behaviour later in life
What changes occur in our peer relations as we enter adolescence?
- Dependence on friends increases markedly
- And friendships become increasingly intimate
- Friendships and peer groups become more stable, choices influenced by shared values and interests
- Moves from same sex groups to heterosexual relationships and groups as we mature.
- Friendships in adolescents are good preparation for the skills needed in relationships.
At what point do relationships begin to become important to teenagers?
- Teens as young as 12/13 have a concept of “love”, be it an inaccurate one
- However significant gender and income differences within this
- Awareness of same sex attraction starts around 11 or 12 in all cultures, but acceptance of this attraction varies massively
- Sexual activity is also happening much earlier, possibly in large parts due to the increased sexualisation of society, possibly due to greater availability of contraception.
Briefly outline Stanley Hall’s theories on adolescence?
Hall suggested that adolescents experience an evolutionarily shaped, biological process of storm and stress
(agrees with Freud)
Briefly outline Sigmund Freud’s theories on adolescence?
Freud suggested adolescence centres around the task of balancing biological urges with cultural expectations. Development ends here (now thought to be wrong).
(agrees with Stanley Hall)
Briefly outline Margaret Mead’s theories on adolescence?
Mead identified the role of culture in minimising adolescent disturbances. Compared teenagers in Samoa and the US.
(disagrees with Hall and Freud’s views that stress of adolescence is a biological necessity).
Briefly outline Erikson’s theories on adolescence?
- Wrote about fidelity, the confusion between identity and role.
- The primary development task of adolescence is to develop a sense of self and personal identity
- Success leads to an ability to stay true to yourself
- Failure leads to role confusion and a weak sense of the self
- Closely linked to the development of a self identity is the capacity for intimacy.
In short, this theory states that main objective of adolescence is to develop a personal identity that allows us to to be confident and intimate with others moving forward.
Briefly outline James Marcia’s theory of identity achievement?
- Essentially states that identity formation (in adolescence) forms in two key parts;
- CRISIS, a period of decision making when old values and choices are re-examined
- COMMITMENT; following some specific role, value, goal or ideology
- Spoke about 4 stages of identity achievement (diffusion, foreclosure, moratorium, and achieved)
- And 4 statuses identity (based on wether they are Committed and/or/nor Exploring an aspect of their identity)
Describe Marcia’s 4 STAGES of identity achievement?
- Identity diffusion; not yet experienced the identity crisis, nor made any commitments
- Foreclosure; not experienced crisis but has made commitments
- Moratorium; in state of crisis, exploring and actively searching for their identity and any alternatives to it
- Achievement; Experienced crises but have resolved them on their own terms
(also stated that the quest for personal identity continues across the lifespan)
Describe Marcia’s 4 STATUSES of identity?
- Both Exploration and Commitment are present (I have weighed up the options and decided on X)
- Only Exploration (I am weighing up the options but have not committed)
- Only Commitment (I am down X because its expected of me, I haven’t really considered it)
- Neither (I don’t know what to do and aren’t giving it much thought, I believe things will work themselves out)
Briefly outline Coleman’s Focal theory of adolescence?
- Centres around the idea that teenagers can cope with changes and challenges, but only really one at a time.
- Most people come through adolescence unscathed because of this, however some get overwhelmed and struggle.
- When single problems occur, they can be coped with, adjusted to and maturity can increase without undue pressure.
- Too many changes at one time can be damaging.
(vs Baltes who viewed development as very multi-directional)
Briefly outline Baltes’ theories on adolescence?
- Puberty occurs across a broad range of domains (focuses on the multidimensional components of development)
- Multidirectional, individual domains both improve and decline in effectiveness e.g. risky behaviour and development of self-regulation.
- Adolescence is not one transition, but many
- This is shown in the research that shows as kids age they stop defining themselves by their appearance (decline) and start doing so by their beliefs (increase)
(vs Coleman who viewed teenage development as highly focal)
