Initiative, Development and Adolescent Issues

Initiative and Development

• Initiative is the ability to direct life purposefully forward, stemming from kindness, empathy, and compassion.
• Development is influenced by both nature (genes) and nurture (culture).
• Developmental tasks are expectations and tasks individuals must meet to gain skills and behaviors.
• Adolescent developmental tasks include achieving gender-specific roles, developing values and ethics, preparing for marriage/family, developing emotional independence, preparing for a career, and achieving socially acceptable behavior.

Adolescent Issues

• Physical concerns focus on maintaining a healthy body for longevity and well-being.
• Eating disorders, with genetic, psychological, and social roots, include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder.
• Anorexia nervosa is characterized by the perception of being overweight despite being underweight.
• Bulimia nervosa involves eating large amounts of food with a feeling of loss of control.
• Binge-eating disorder involves uncontrollable overeating.
• Substance abuse is the inability to control the use of addictive psychoactive drugs.
• Legal psychoactive drugs include nicotine and alcohol.
• Illegal psychoactive drugs include marijuana, cocaine, and heroin.
• Mental illnesses caused by psychoactive drugs include hallucinations, uncontrolled aggression, mood disorders, irrational fears, and psychotic disorders.
• Psychoactive drugs can be remembered as "Stay Distant from Negative Habits," representing Stimulants, Depressants, Narcotics, and Hallucinogens.
• Stimulants include crystal meth and cocaine.
• Depressants include alcohol.
• Narcotics include morphine, codeine, and heroin.
• Hallucinogens include LSD and ecstasy.
• Alcohol elevates neurotransmitters, affecting thinking, feeling, and behavior.
• Teen pregnancy is a significant issue, emphasizing the need for comprehensive sexual health knowledge and services.
• Personal fable links to egocentrism, a concept introduced by Jean Piaget.
• Jean Piaget proposed the cognitive theory of development.
• Egocentrism is self-centeredness, where individuals primarily consider their own point of view.
• Peer pressure is the influence of others' perceptions on decisions and actions.
• Autonomy development is influenced by cultural factors.
• Rebellion can arise from adolescents' need for independence.
• Morality is the way people live according to principles that guide decisions about right, wrong, good, and evil.
• Abstract thinking involves understanding concepts like love, justice, and peace and higher-level math.
• Concrete thinking involves drawing conclusions based on direct experiences.
• Emotional competence is the ability to manage emotional responses.
• Social competence is the ability to relate to others effectively, recognizing one's own and others' emotions.
• Academic concerns include distractions from friends, hobbies, social media, and online gaming.
• Procrastination is the postponement of completing activities.
• Anxiety, or fear of failure, is normal unless it interferes with daily life.

Understanding Stress

• Stress (Selye's definition) is the body's non-specific response to any demand.
• A stressor is a stimulus that triggers the body's response. Stress can be positive when it enhances alertness, productivity, and motivation.
• Acute stress is a short-term response to immediate pressures.
• Episodic acute stress is persistent acute stress, leading to impatience and irritability.
• Chronic stress is detrimental to health, leading to physical illnesses and potential death.
• Adolescence brings many challenges and changes, making it a period prone to stress.
• The prefrontal cortex is responsible for decision-making, adaptability, judgment, planning, and impulse control.
• Social pressures can cause stress as adolescents seek to conform to peer expectations.
• Family relationships can cause stress due to the struggle for independence while maintaining healthy connections.
• Academic pressure involves excelling in grades and extracurricular activities.
• Self-doubt is the fear of lacking the ability to succeed.

Coping Techniques

• Stress: the body reflex to tense muscles.
• Stress: trigger asthma or panic attacks, cause shortness of breath.
• Stress: increase heart rate, blood pressure, and stress hormones.
• Stress: the endocrine system produces cortisol and epinephrine.
• Stress: cause digestive system increase in appetite or loss of it, obesity or malnutrition.
• Stress: harm the make reproductive system by affecting testosterone, sperm production, impotence or erectile dysfunction.
• Stress: lead to mental health issues such as depression, bipolar disorders, schizophrenia, substance abuse, and anxiety disorders.
• Managing time involves setting goals, standards, and limits.
• Talking to a trusted person can ease worries and anxieties.
• Laughter relieves stress by stimulating organs and relaxing the body.
• Rest and sleep allow for recharging and improved functioning.
• Exercise distracts from stress and provides positive feelings.
• Positive thinking can be cultivated through perspective.
• Meditation brings calmness, peace, and balance through focused breathing and visualization.