Adolescence

• Adolescence


  Period of self-examination and emerging identity, changes from being "childlike" to "adult-like"

  
• Adolescence


  • Phase of life beginning in biology and ending in society
  • Intensified preparation for the coming role of young adulthood; marked by rites of passage
  • Individuals become integrated into society of adults
• Adolescere


  "to grow in maturity", "to grow into adulthood"
• Period of Adolescence


  • Pubertas – "age of manhood"
  • Child changes from asexual to sexual being
  • Physical rather than behavioral maturity; growth spurts
  • Maturation of the reproductive system; development of secondary sex characteristics
  • Triggered by the maturation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal-gonadal axes; secretion of sex steroids
  • Feelings of awkwardness and unfamiliarity
• Period of Adolescence


  • 12 to 18 years {early (11 – 14), middle (14 – 17), late (17 – 20)}
  • Intense period of physiologic maturation and psychosocial development; chemical and biological changes
  • Period of learning, experimentation, and experiences
  • Onset is marked by the changes in puberty; psychological and social changes
• Biologic onset of adolescence

  • Rapid acceleration of skeletal growth and the beginnings of physical sexual development
• Psychological onset of adolescence

  • Acceleration of cognitive development and consolidation of personality formation

  
• Developmental Challenges

  • Biologic - Accepting physical changes
  • Psychological - Emotional and cognitive changes; self-definition
  • Sociocultural - Finding appropriate societal roles; successful performance of identified roles
• Physical Changes


  • Rate of development is rapid
  • Girls enter transition of adolescence an average of 1.5 – 2 years earlier than boys
• Endocrine System


  • Influence of the GnRH
  • Regulation of the release of estrogen and testosterone
  • Pituitary gland and hypothalamus

  
• Female Primary Sex Characteristics

  • Menarche – onset of menstrual function; average onset: 13 years; irregular for 1 – 2 years
  • Uterus and vagina matures simultaneously with the development of breasts (first sign of puberty)
  • Sense of identity as a woman is developed
• Male Primary Sex Characteristics

  • Spermarche – first nocturnal emissions
  • Initially few sperm cells; sufficient enough to fertilize an egg after a year
  • Testes and scrotum enlarge 10% in size at age 14 (first sign of puberty); rapid growth in 1 – 2 years with mature size attained at 20 – 21 years
  • Rapid growth of penis after testes both in length and girth; precedes the growth spurt in height
• Secondary Sex Characteristics


  • Hips in girls are wider and rounder
  • Growth of pubic, facial, axillary, and chest hair
  • Skin becoming coarser, less transparent, larger pores
  • Development of acne and increased perspiration
  • Increase in size and strength of muscles
  • Husky voice, drops in pitch, increase in volume (male)
  • Fuller and melodious voice (female)
• Early Maturation


  • Boys - More independent and confident; more popular with peers; perceived to be more mature; can take adult-like responsibilities
  • Girls - Lack self-confidence; likely to be depressed; less popular; have behavioral problems; engagement in age-inappropriate activities; less prepared to handle pressures
• Late Maturation


  • Boys - Restless, tense, rebellious, and attention-seeking
  • Girls - Concern about normalcy; shy and retiring
• Deviations from Expected Patterns of Maturation


  • Delayed growth
  • Acne
  • Obesity
  • Enlarged mammary glands in boys
  • Small or overabundant breasts in girls
• Any deviations can lead to feelings of inferiority, low self-esteem, and loss of self-confidence
• Cognitive Skills


  • Increase in the weight of the brain and refining of synaptic connections
  • Concentration of brain cells in the prefrontal cortex and related temporal and parietal areas (attention, verbal fluency, language, and planning)
• Formal Operations Stage (Piaget)


  • Ability to think hypothetically
  • Ability to reason abstractly (hypotheticodeductive reasoning)
  • Reasons deductively from information given and to come to a solution grounded on their own experiences
  • Attain subtleties in thinking; entering the sphere of possible and futuribles; remarkable creativity
• Formal Operations Stage (Piaget)


  • Propositional thinking – making assertions outside visual evidence
  • Relativistic thinking – subjectively making an opinion on facts involving one's own bias and prejudice
  • Real versus possible thinking – examining a situation and determining possibilities and levels of success
  • Combinational analysis – one variable at a time
• Metacognition


  • Ability to think above thinking; awareness of and capacity to identify one's own thinking processes or strategies
  • Knowledge gained through experienced is stored in long term memory - declarative ("I know that") and procedural ("I know how")

  
• Cognitive Skills


  • Overachievers - Demonstrate superior work habits, greater interest in school work, more responsibility, consciousness, and planning
  • Underachievers - More pronounced with the beginning of adolescent years; withdrawn or aggressive; parental influence appears to be the dominant influence
• Developing Occupational Skills


  • Job – means of earning money
  • Career – organized life path that often involves a formal occupation or vocation
  • Choice of career is dependent on internal and external factors, economic and emotional factors, sense of competence, and level of motivation
• Possible Adolescent Behavior


  • Egocentrism – thinking too much of themselves; too sensitive to social acceptance
  • Idealism – adolescents may become discouraged as social realities fall short of the ideal
  • Negativism – renewed attempt to tell parents and the world that they have a mind of their own; turmoils

  
• Psychosexual Development


  • Period of intellectualization – involvement in ideas and books
  • Most adolescents struggle with control of their libidinal drives
  • Sexual thoughts and feelings are generally repressed and directed outward
  • Middle adolescence is marked by increased sexual behavior (masturbation, homosexual experiences)

  
• Identity versus Role Confusion (Erikson)


  • Central task - Identity formation
  • Making choices concerning adult roles
  • Process of crisis resolution (period of exploration and experimentation)
  • Process of commitment (invested set of beliefs, values, interests, and occupations)
  • Resolution would lead to a sense of fidelity
• Moral Development (Kohlberg)


  • Conventional – conforming to social conventions; consider the motives of peers and adults; pleasing others and following the rules of society
  • Post-conventional – conform based on ethical principles and make exceptions to rules in certain circumstances; conforming to law and order and social contract
• Friendship and Peer Groups


  • Hallmark of adolescence - Peer relationships
  • Adolescents tend to spend more time with friends
  • School - setting for forming relationships
  • Peer groups with which early adolescents identify may enlarge
  • Belonging in larger groupings is especially true in middle adolescents, particularly for those with leadership qualities
• Friendship and Peer Groups

  • Peer group serves as means to establish independence from parents and to establish a personal identity
  • Social support provided by parents has a stress-buffing effect in emergency situations
  • View themselves through the eyes of their peers
• Close relationships of same-sex peers

  • Closer, more intense, and trusting relationships
  • Girls' friendships - interdependent and reflect a preference of intimacy
  • Boys' friendships - congenial relationships established around shared interests
• Courtship


  • Principal vehicle for fostering and developing sexual relations
  • Starts at mid-adolescence
  • High school: recreation and status
  • College: intimacy and companionship
• Typology of Adolescent Friendships (Ainsworth)


  • Acquaintances
  • Companions
  • Intimates / Best Friends / Romantic Partners
• Phases of Identity Status (Marcia)


  • Identity Foreclosure – adolescent who is a follower, finding security in others; makes commitment before seeking alternatives
  • Moratorium – adolescent searcher; aware of alternative roles, values, and beliefs; prober or critic; no permanent commitment to follow authority or be part of a system
  • Identity Achiever – adolescent fully finds himself; one feels at home with his body
  • Identity Diffusion – adolescent failing to find himself; uncertainty running through episodes in life; lacks goal orientation, direction, and commitment
• Gender Identity


  • Refers to an individual's pattern of physical and emotional arousal towards other persons of either the opposite or same sex
  • Awareness of sexual orientation happens during adolescence
• Family Relationships

  • Decline in amount of time spent with parents, emotional closeness, and yielding to parents in decision making
  • There should be optimal adjustment (appropriate autonomy and maintenance of close ties)
  • Autonomy with limits is the common cause of friction
• Risky Behaviors / Other Issues


  • Alcohol, tobacco, and other substance use
  • Promiscuous sexual activity
  • Accident prone behaviors
  • Peer pressure
  • Delinquency
  • Depression
  • Suicide
• ADL / IADL

  • Responsible for all ADL
  • Overall appearance is an early expression of experimentation of self-identity
  • Participates fully in waking occupations
  • Expected to be more responsible in IADL
• Education

  • Constant adjustment with teachers, classmates, and demands of academic load
  • School is a major socializing institution
  • Issues on parental dependence and supervision
  • Development of adaptive study habits and study groups
  • Engaging in extra-curricular activities
  • Choice of possible career path
• Leisure

  • Major component of young people's lives
  • Major contributor to self-identity
  • Prompted by higher levels of extra-curricular activities
  • Positive influence on mental health – sense of competency, self-worth, self-efficacy
  • Interest is a result of perceived competence