Adolescence: Physical development and Sexual maturation for girls
Physical development
- growth spurt occurs due to the secretion of growth hormone (somatotropin)
- begins at 10-13 years and ends at 16 years or later
- reach their adult height toward late adolescence
- asynchrony is the disproportionate growth tempo of the different body parts
- the first parts to show accelerated growth are the arms, legs, hands an feet. Then the torso follows
- the body contours due to the widening of the hips
Sexual maturation
- due to gonadotropic hormones (estrogen and progesterone)
-secular trend: puberty begins at an increasingly earlier age, that people are reaching their adult height earlier and becoming taller than previously
- Primary sex characteristics: enlargement of the ovaries, uterus, vagina, labia and clitoris
- Secondary sex characteristics: appearance of breast buds, bodily hair, widening of hips, slight deepening of the voice and changes in skin texture
- Menarche refers to first menstruation which is the most dramatic symbol of sexual maturation
- average age in most countries is 12-13 years
- girls who do extreme physical exercise regularly begin menstruating much later on
- exposure to disordered paternal behaviour, followed by family disruption and separation from the father leads to much earlier menarche
Adolescence: Physical development and sexual maturation of boys
Physical development
- experience a growth spurt due to growth hormone (somatotropin)
- begins at 12-15 years and ends at about 18 years or later
- boys grow more rapidly than girls do
- synchrony occurs where there is a disproportionate growth tempo of different body parts
- the first parts to grow is the legs, arms, hands and feet. Afterwards the torso follows
Sexual maturation
- due to gonadotropic hormones secreted by the pituitary gland
- testosterone and androsterone (androgen)
- secular trend where puberty begins at increasingly earlier ages, with people reaching their adult height earlier and becoming taller than previously
- Primary sex characteristics: testes and scrotum begin to enlarge, and 1-2 years later the penis enlarges
- Secondary sex characteristics: appearance of pubic hair, deepening of voice, beard growth, and the appearance of other bodily hair
- Semenarche which is the first seminal emission usually occurs between 13-15 years
Adolescence: Brain development
- brain develops until 25-30 years of age
- synaptic pruning and myelination occurs in certain brain regions
- corpus callosum thickens and improves adolescents’ information processing ability
- limbic system matures early in adolescence while the prefrontal cortex develops in late adolescence and early adulthood
- neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin make adolescents more emotional, responsive to stress and prone to seeking reward and sensation than younger children or adults
- this increases their vulnerability to substance abuse and high-risk behaviour
- development of the social brain which includes a network of multiple brain regions that are involved in social cognition
- changes in the sensitivity of the social brain explains why adolescents are more prone to feel embarrassed and their susceptibility to peer pressure
- second period of brain plasticity occurs, making it more vulnerable to damage from physical harms such as drugs and injuries, or psychological harms, such as trauma and stress
- the similarities between males and females in brain structure and function are far more striking than the differences
- the structures of the brains are changes by exposure to different concentrations of sex hormones, although the effects on cognition is unknown
Adolescence: The psychological effects of physical change
- Girls who reach puberty early are more likely to have early sex, to begin smoking and drinking, and to have mental health problems
- boys who mature early have some social and physical advantage over their later developing peers. They are more likely to be popular and excel in sports, as well as have earlier romantic relationships. Could lead to higher prevalence of delinquency
- Body image is a multidimensional construct encompassing how we perceive, think, feel, and act towards our bodies
Anorexia nervosa
- refusal or inability to maintain a normal body weight
- BMI of 17: mild anorexia
- BMI of 16-17: moderate anorexia
- BMI of <15: severe anorexia
- self-induced vomiting or abuse of laxatives
- severely distorted body image
- other mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety
- amenorrhea is common (absence of menstruation)
Bulimia nervosa
- repeated episodes of binge eating that is followed by self-induced vomiting or abuse of laxatives
- not necessarily a low body weight
Obesity
- abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health
- females are more at risk then males
- early onset of obesity, especially during puberty may also increase the risk of reproductive disturbances and infertility in females
Adolescent sexuality
Auto-erotic behaviour
- includes masturbation and refers to sexual self-stimulation of the genital organs with the intention of producing sexual arousal and orgasm
- opportunity for people to discover their own sexuality and to satisfy their sexual needs
- is regarded as a problem when it replaces social and other activities to such an extent that it hinders the adolescent’s development or social interaction
Interactive sexual activities
- one of the strongest predictors of sexual activity in adolescents is whether their friends are sexually active
- sexual content in adolescents’ music contributes to increased sexual activity at a younger age
Cognitive development in adolescence
- According to Piaget, at age 12 adolescents enter the formal operational stage of cognitive development
- develop the capacity for abstract, scientific thinking
4 characteristics:
- Hypothetico-deductive reasoning:
- cognitive ability to develop alternative ways or hypotheses to solve a problem
- reason from the general to the specific; that is when faced with a problem, they begin with a general hypothesis or theory of all possible factors that may affect the outcome and conclude about what may happen
- pendulum problem
- thus they apply scientific reasoning
- allows them the ability to adopt the viewpoint of the adversary without necessarily believing it - Propositional thinking
- can evaluate the logic of verbal statements without referring to real-world circumstances
- they understand that reality is not the only possibility
- entertains their “shower thoughts” - Combinational analysis
- can separate the various factors influencing a problem and analyse them separately to determine their influence
- analyses all possible combinations of variables, making sure that all possible values of all possible variables inherent in a problem will be investigated - Relativistic thinking
- is no longer focused only on “objective reality”, and instead can recognise the subjective construction of knowledge and that the same facts can be interpreted differently
6 conceptual skills:
- mentally, they can consider and manipulate more than two categories of variables at the same time; considering the interaction between speed, distance and time when planning a trip
- can think about changes that come with time; a friendship may end
- can hypothesise about a logical sequence of possible events; your academic performance in school and university influences your occupational options in the future
- can anticipate the consequences of their actions
- can detect the logical consistency or inconsistency in a set of statements;
- can think in relativistic ways about themselves and others. This means they can increasingly accept the views and values of others because they recognise that people are the products of societies and cultures
Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences
Linguistic
- writers, journalists, linguists
Logical-mathematical
- ability to solve problems logically and analytically
- scientists, engineers, accountants
Spatial
- ability to manipulate and accurately evaluate the position, form, size, and orientation of objects
- architects, navigators, artists, designers and carpenters
Musical
- ability to evaluate, analyse, and compose music or to play a musical instrument
Bodily-kinaesthetic
- ability to control body movements
Intrapersonal
- degree to which people have insight and knowledge of their own feelings and behaviour
Interpersonal
- the degree of understanding and sensitivity people have in their relationships with other people
Naturalistic
- ability to recognise and understand the patterns in nature, including functioning of plants and animals, as well as the effect of human behaviour on nature
Robert Sternberg’s triarchic theory of intelligence
Analytical (Componential)
- how a person processes and analyses information
- abstract thinking and logical reasoning
- associated with academic achievement
Creative (experiential)
- person’s ability to combine information in an original and unique way to produce problem-solving strategies, insights and ideas
- capacity to be intellectually flexible and creative
Practical (contextual or tacit)
- how individuals function in their everyday circumstances and environment
- ability to adapt to or shape one’s environment
- ability to thrive in the real world and refers to the skills used in everyday problem-solving
Robert Selman on the development of perspective-taking (Social cognition)
- Egocentric (4-6 years)
- unable to distinguish between their own perspective and that of others
- everyone else’s feelings and thoughts are the same as their own - Social-informative (6-8 years)
- begin to realise that people may have different interpretations of the same event
- still struggle to put themselves in the other person’s place - Self-reflective (8-10 years)
- can understand that others may have a point of view that is different from their own
- can predict how others might react to their behaviour - Mutual (10-12 years)
- just as they understand that another person has a view that is different from their own, they also understand that other persons understand that they have a view that is different from their own
- can also take the view of a detached third person - Social and conventional system (12-15 years)
- realise that their social perspectives and those of others are influenced not only by their interaction with one another, but also by their roles in the wider society
Implicit personality theories: people make judgements about what others are like and why they behave the way they do. Include a person’s notions about which personality characteristics tend to co-occur in people
Self-consciousness and self-focusing in adolescence
- new form of egocentrism with the inability to distinguish the abstract perspectives of self and others
- the imaginary audience is adolescents’ belief that they are the focus of everyone else’s attention
- the personal fable is an intense investment in one’s own thoughts and feelings and a belief that these thoughts and feelings are unique. This is built on the imaginary audience. “nobody understands me”
- all adults experience the optimistic bias which is the tendency to overestimate the likelihood of experiencing positive events and underestimating the likelihood of experiencing negative events in the future
Planning and decision-making in adolescence
- adolescents who think more analytically are better at cognitive self-regulation which involves planning, what to do first and what to do next, monitoring progress towards a goal, and redirecting actions that prove unsuccessful. This leads to being able to handle cognitive tasks more effectively
- the behavioural decision theory suggests the decision-making process includes
1. identifying the range of possible choices
2. identifying the consequences that may result from each choice
3. evaluating the consequence
4. assessing the likelihood of each consequence
5. integrating this consequence
Change in the Big Five dimensions of personality development during adolescence
Extraversion
- social dominance increases, and shyness decreases
- other dimensions remain the same
- increases for girls and decreases for boys
Neuroticism
- may increase in young girls prior to the age of 14
Agreeableness
- relatively little change
- slight increases for girls
Effortful control and conscientiousness
- appears to decrease, especially in younger adolescents
- related to risk-taking opportunities
- more specifically in girls
Openness
- primarily increases, but there is contradictory evidence
Outcomes of temperament and personality in adolescence
Extraversion
- associated with high levels of externalising behaviours (aggression, substance abuse)
- low academic performance
- reduced risk for depression
Negative emotionality and neuroticism
- irritability predicts high levels of externalising behaviour
- fearfulness predicts low levels of externalising behaviour
- irritability and fearfulness both predict high levels of internalising problems (depression, anxiety, eating disorders)
Agreeableness
- low agreeableness is associated with early appearing and persistent externalising behaviour
- predicts low academic achievement
Conscientiousness
- high ability for self-regulation predicts low levels of externalising behaviours
- high levels of academic achievement (delay of gratification)
Openness
- predicts high academic achievement
Erikson’s theory on personality development in adolescence (Identity versus identity confusion)
Identity development
- to form an identity, all the psychosocial crises of the previous stages need to be resolved
- identity crisis: a temporary period of confusion during which adolescents explore and question existing values, and experiment with alternative roles to develop their own set of values and goals
- psychosocial moratorium: a certain period of time during which society allows adolescents to find themselves and their roles as future adults
- experimentation takes place where they try out different identities, undergo endless self-examination, investigate careers and ideologies
Need to master the following tasks:
- form a continuous, integrated, unified image of the self (ego-synthesis)
- form a sociocultural identity
- firmly established gender role identity
- formation of career identity
- development of own value system
Identity confusion
- being indecisive about oneself and your roles
- cannot integrate the various roles, and when they are confronted with contradictory value systems, they have neither the ability nor the self-confidence to make decisions
- causes anxiety, apathy and hostility
- identity foreclosure: the identity crisis is resolved by making a series of premature decisions about one’s identity, based on others’ expectations of what they should be
- negative identity means that adolescents form an identity contrary to the cultural expectations and values as a form of rebellion
James Marcia’s identity statuses
- the identity status is determined according to the crises they have already worked though
Stage 1: Identity achievement
- individual has passed through the crisis period and has a relatively strong commitment to a career and value system
Stage 2: Identity moratorium
- is still in a crisis period and is actively investigating various alternatives
Stage 3: Identity foreclosure
- no crisis has been experienced, although there is commitment to certain goals and values, possibly because of parental influence
Stage 4: Identity diffusion
- a crisis may or may not be experienced, but either way, the individual is not committed to anything and does not attempt to develop any commitment
- Adolescents from traditional backgrounds tend to form foreclosed identities
- adolescents who are stuck in the identity foreclosure and diffusion statuses tend to have adjustment problems
Three stages of ethnic identity development in adolescence
Stage 1: Unexamined ethnic identity
- have not yet explored their ethnicity and associated identity
-adolescents can develop into adulthood without forming a sense of ethnic identity, especially if they belong to a dominant culture
Stage 2: Ethnic identity search/moratorium
- period of exploration
- involve researching the history of their own ethnic group, starting to appreciate their language, and participating in cultural activities
Stage 3: Ethnic identity achievement
- a clear understanding and confident acceptance of one’s own ethnic and self-identity
- internalisation of ethnic characteristics into your sense of self
Adolescent’s self-concept
- actual self, who the adolescent really is
- two kinds of possible self:
1. ideal self (the person the adolescent would like to be)
2. feared self (the self the adolescent fears they will become) - large discrepancy between the real self and the ideal self may result in feelings of failure, inadequacy, and depression
Adolescents’ self-esteem
- refers to the way in which people view and evaluate themselves
- several new dimensions need to be evaluated, including their changing physical appearance, sexuality, changes in their social relationships, romantic relationships, and in choosing careers
- during early adolescence, they are likely to experience a temporary decline in self-esteem
- domains of self-esteem include scholastic competence, social appearance, athletic competence, physical appearance, job competence, romantic appeal, behavioural conduct and close friendships
- baseline self-esteem is a person’s stable, enduring sense of worth and well-being. Persons with high baseline self-esteem will evaluate themselves positively on most days, although they may have an occasional bad day where they feel incompetent
- Barometric self-esteem is the fluctuating sense of worth and well-being people have as they respond to different thoughts, experiences and interactions in the course of the day
Emotions in adolescence
- have more mood swings than younger children or adults
- girls have higher emotional variability than boys
- girls experience an increase in the feelings of anger and depression
- boys experience both positive and negative emotions
- changes are often related to the hormonal changes in adolescence, as well as maturation of the limbic system
- the fact that adolescents tend to focus on themselves could also contribute to the fact that they are more inclined than children are tot experience feelings of shame, guilt, shame and embarrassment
The parent-adolescent relationship
- relationships are characterised by the questioning of the parental values, rules and regulations set by parents, distancing, and argumentativeness
- conflict tends to be more intense during the first half of adolescence and occurs more frequently with the mother
- parent-daughter conflict tends to be more intense than parent-son conflict
- generation gap: although the gap between the generations when it comes to basic values is usually insignificant, a gap often exists between teenagers and adults in matters of personal taste
Autonomy in adolescence
Cognitive autonomy: making their own decisions
Behavioural autonomy: ability to regulate their own beheviour
Emotional autonomy: being self-reliant and independent from parents
Moral autonomy: forming own value system that may serve as a guideline for their own behaviour
Dimensions of parental behaviour in adolescence
Love-hostility dimension
- characterised by acceptance, understanding and approval
- parents make little use of corporal punishment because they prefer to exercise positive discipline through explanations and praise
- parental behaviour is based on trust and love that enables adolescents to act autonomously and to develop their own identities with self-confidence
- Hostility, neglect or rejection towards adolescent may result in poor social relationships, academic and behavioural problems and unwillingness to accept responsibility for their behaviour
Autonomy-control dimension
- parents who allow their children realistic freedom as opposed to those who exercise exceptionally exceptionally strict control over their children
- authoritative parents raise children who are outgoing and confident
- authoritarian parents raise adolescents who lack confidence, experience dependency needs, and have feelings of inferiority
-Behavioural control is associated with parental monitoring, demandingness, and supervision practices. The parents try to modulate their children’s behaviour by establishing certain rules and limits
- Psychological control refers to parents who try to control their children’s behaviour through intrusive parenting practices such as overprotection and control through guilt
Stages of peer group formation in adolescence
Stage 1:
- early adolescence when boys and girls form small, separate friendship groups known as cliques
- same interests, values, attitudes and values
Stage 2:
- female cliques and male cliques begin to interact with each other
- this makes it less intimidating to start interacting with people from the opposite gender
Stage 3:
- middle adolescence
- the more popular members of male and female cliques begin to form mixed gender cliques
Stage 4:
- rest of male and female cliques form mixed cliques, forming a new structure known as a crowd
- members with the same values, interests, and attitudes
Stage 5:
- crowd gradually begins to disintegrate, while loose associations of couples develops
Peer relationships in adolescence
- Conformity refers to the degree to which a person is willing to change his or her behaviour, attitudes and beliefs to fit into a group
- Types of conformity:
1. Compliance is when a person changes their public behavior, the ways they act, but not their private beliefs
2. Identification is when a person change their public behaviour and their private beliefs, but only in the presence of the group, and on a short-term basis
3. Internalisation refers to the non-conscious mental processes by which characteristics, beliefs, feelings, or attitudes of other individuals or groups are assimilated into the self and adopted as one’s own. Individuals change their public behaviour and their private beliefs on a long-term basis - Social compensation hypothesis refers to when adolescents are more likely to make personal disclosures online rather than in face-to-face communication, which eventually could lead to the formation of new friendships. These individuals are usually lonely, depressed, and socially anxious adolescents
- distancing effect refers to the degree of distancing between parents and adolescents that occur as adolescents’ friendships become stronger and their need for privacy increases
