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Chapter 12:

  Physical and Cognitive Development in Adolescence

The Nature of Adolescence

•         What physical changes occur in adolescence?

–        Pubertal with rapid physical changes involving hormones

–        Menarche is a girl’s first menstruation

–        Puberty is also triggered by body mass

–        Genetic factors are involved in puberty

–        Puberty involves the interaction of the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and gonads

–        The onset of puberty varies among individuals

–        Most noticeable physical changes include

•         Pubic hair growth

•         Facial and chest hair growth in males

•         Breast growth in females

•         Increased height and weight

•         Sexual maturity

–        Adolescent sexuality is initiated by

•         First ejaculation, voice change, penis elongation, and testes development in males

•         Highly irregular menstrual cycles, rounding of breasts, and widening of hips in females

•         Early onset of puberty can create risks for females

–        Depression

–        Eating disorders

–        Use of alcohol, drugs, and/or tobacco

–        Earlier dating and sexual involvement with males

–        Possible lower educational attainment 

•         Pubertal changes have a strong effect on the adolescent’s body image, dating interest, and sexual behavior 

•         Adolescent sexuality is a time of exploration, experimentation, and sexual fantasies 

•         Adolescence is a bridge between the asexual child and sexual adulthood – reaction of each society may vary

•         Television and other media contribute to the sexual culture 

•         Developing a sexual identity involves

–        Sexual behavior

–        Indication of sexual orientation

•         Percentages of sexually active young adolescents in the United States vary greatly

•         Male, African American, and inner-city adolescents report being the most sexually active 

•         Early sexual activity is linked to other risky behaviors and to contracting STIs

•         Self-regulation and parent–child relationships  are two important factors in sexual risk-taking 

•         Adolescents are increasing their use of contraceptives

•         Cross-culturally, the United States still has one of the highest adolescent pregnancy and birth rates

•         What happens to the adolescent brain? 

•         Spurts occur in the brain’s electrical activity that may signal changes in cognitive development 

•         Some of the most recent discoveries regarding areas of the brain involved emotions and information-processing

Adolescent Problems  and Health

•         What can be said about substance use and abuse among adolescents?

–        1960s and 1970s were a time of marked increases in the use of illicit drugs and social unrest

–        Annual studies since 1975 show that adolescent drug use among U.S. secondary school students

•         Declined in the 1980s

•         Began to increase in the 1990s

•         Declined among high school seniors after 1998

–        Explanations for declining rates vary

–        Parents and peers can influence usage attitudes

•         Families are important when adolescent substance abuse and negative consequences are evident 

•         Eating problems and disorders are increasingly common in adolescence – most notably, anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa

•         Since the 1960s, a higher percentage of adolescents have become overweight

•         Most anorexics are White adolescents or young adult females from well-educated, middle-
and upper-income families

–        Stress results from not achieving high expectations

–        Weight becomes something they can control

•         Adolescent health is of great importance –

–        Many factors linked to poor health habits and early death in adulthood begin in adolescence

•         Cross-culturally, U.S. adolescents exercised less and ate more junk food 

•         Early formation of healthy behavior patterns has

–        Immediate benefits

–        Prevents or delays major causes of premature disability or death

•         Nutrition, exercise, and adolescent sleep patterns have physiological and psychological effects

–        At home

–        During school

–        In social interactions 

•         Leading causes of adolescent death

–        Accidents – most are motor vehicle related

–        Homicide – second leading cause of death

–        Suicide – rate has tripled since 1950s

Adolescent Cognition

•         Adolescent cognition shows greater abstract quality in ability to

–        Solve problems by verbal means alone

–        Create make-believe or purely hypothetical situations

–        Engage in extended speculation and test solutions systematically

•         Assimilation dominates development of thought

•         In later adolescence, accommodation returns to thinking and information-processing

•         Adolescent egocentrism involves two types of social thinking:  imaginary audience and personal fable

•         Adolescents  have a sense of uniqueness and invincibility

•         Invincibility attitudes are likely to be associated with reckless behavior such as

–        Drug use

–        Suicide

–        Having unprotected sex

•         Adolescence is a time of increased decision-making

•         Situations are examined from multiple perspectives, and consequences anticipated

•         A strategy for improving adolescent decision-making includes parental involvement

•         Cognitive changes that improve critical thinking include

–        Increased speed of information-processing

–        Wider range of knowledge in variety of domains

–        Increased ability to construct new knowledge

–        Having more strategies to apply knowledge

Schools

•         The transition from elementary to middle or junior high school is of interest because 

–        It can be stressful

–        It occurs at a time when family–child
relationships change

–        Puberty and concerns about body image accompany changes in social cognition

–        A more impersonal school structure is entered

–        There is increased responsibility and independence

–        The “top-dog phenomenon” is experienced

–        Creating effective and positive environments for student learning is needed

•         Recommendations for effective schools include

–        Develop smaller communities that lessen impersonality of middle schools

–        Lower student–counselor ratios to 10-to-1

–        Involve parents and community leaders

–        Develop curricula that produce better students

–        Integrate several disciplines in a flexible curriculum

–        Have more student health and fitness programs

•         U.S. high school education is of concern because of these facts:

–        Some students graduate with inadequate skills

–        Unskilled students go into college remedial classes

–        Dropouts lack adequate workplace skills

–        Dropout rates have declined over last 50 years

–        Dropout rates are highest among minorities

–        Students drop out of school for many reasons

•         High schools for the future need to promote

–        More awareness of knowledge and skills needed by students upon graduation

–        Higher expectations for student achievement

–        Strong, positive adult role models

–        Higher-quality work experiences

–        More coordination and communication among all grade levels

–        More student service learning experiences