Chapters 7 & 8

• Menarche: the first menstrual period, usually occurring at puberty

  • Social factors influencing menarche:
  • late menarche is associated with higher income levels
  • body fat can be a trigger for puberty
  • stress can initiate physical changes associated with puberty
• Maturation in boys:

  • early maturing boys perceived themselves more positively and had more successful peer relations
  • late maturing boys developed a stronger sense of identity in later life
• Maturation in girls:

  • early maturing girls are more vulnerable to smoking, drinking, being depressed, having an eating disorder
  • increased risk for physical and verbal abuse in dating
• Circadian rhythm in adolescence:

  • adolescent's biological clocks undergo a shift as they get older, delaying their period of wakefulness by about an hour
  • delay in the nightly release of melatonin
• Formal operations:

  • subordination of the real to the possible
  • systematic combinatorial thinking
  • Second-order operations (thinking about thinking)
  • hypothetical-deductive reasoning
  • the ability to think of hypothetical solutions to a problem and formulating a systematic plan for deducing which of these solutions is correct
• Criticisms of Piaget's formal operations:

  • not universal among adults in industrialized countries
  • bound to certain cultures and formal schooling
  • Piaget's response:
  • socio-political conditions and richness of experience influence emergence of formal operations
• Adolescent egocentrism: heightened self-consciousness

  • imaginary audience
  • personal fable
• Service learning: a form of education that promotes social responsibility and service to the community
• Marcia's identity statuses: classified based on the extent of crisis (exploration) or commitment

  1. identity diffusion
  2. identity foreclosure
  3. identity moratorium
  4. identity achievement
• Narrative approach: involves asking individuals to tell their life stories and evaluate the extent to which their stories are meaningful and integrated
• Key changes in identity are more likely to take place in emerging adulthood than in other life stages
• Parent-adolescent conflict:

  • increases in early adolescence, but revolves around mundane, everyday issues
  • decrease of conflict in late adolescence
  • become more positive when adolescents leave to go to college
  • intense and prolonged conflict is linked to negative outcomes
• Old model of parent-adolescent conflict:

  • autonomy, detached from parents; parents and peer worlds are isolated
  • intense, stressful conflict throughout adolescence

  New model:

  • attachment and autonomy; parents are important support systems
  • moderate conflict is common and can serve a positive function
• During adolescence, friends become increasingly important in meeting social needs

  • intimacy
  • camaraderie
  • instrumental support
• Peer pressure:

  • young adolescents conform more to peer standards than children
• Crowds and cliques:

  • assume a more important role during adolescence
  • development of an in-group identity
• Stages in dating and romantic relationships:

  1. Entering into romantic attractions and affiliations (age 11-13)
  2. Exploring romantic relationships (age 14-16)
  3. Consolidating dyadic romantic bonds (age 17-19)
• Benefits of social media use:

  • helps teens socialize and communicate with peers
  • finding learning opportunities
  • outlet for creativity and identity development
• Risks of social media use:

  • cyberbullying
  • sexting
  • exposure to inappropriate content
  • exposure to predators
  • linked to depression and other mental health problems
• Przybylski and Weinstein:

  • moderate levels of screen time were not associated with negative well-being
  • negative well-being was associated with excessive screen time
• Dual systems theory of risk-taking:

  • differential timing of the development of two systems- the cognitive control system and the incentive-processing system- that leads to increased risk-taking during adolescence
• Bullying: repeated use of strength to intimidate another person

  • impacts of bullying:
  • depression or a sense of hopelessness
  • suicide
  • substance use
  • low self-esteem
• Interventions for bullying:

  • deal with bullying early in childhood
  • encourage children to report bullying
  • create safe, positive environments
• Depression:

  • 15-20% of adolescents have experienced a major depressive disorder
  • Factors linked to depression:
  • stress/loss genes
  • family variables
  • peer relationships
• Reasons for higher rates of depression among adolescent girls:

  • females tend to internalize emotions
  • tend to ruminate in their depressed mood
  • self-images are more negative
  • face more discrimination