Puberty and Adolescence PDF

# Sexual Characteristics - The primary sexual characteristics are the organs necessary for reproduction. - In the female, the sex organs include the ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus, clitoris, and vagina. - In the male, they include the testes, penis, scrotum, seminal vesicles, and prostate...

# Sexual Characteristics - The primary sexual characteristics are the organs necessary for reproduction. - In the female, the sex organs include the ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus, clitoris, and vagina. - In the male, they include the testes, penis, scrotum, seminal vesicles, and prostate gland. - During puberty, these organs enlarge and mature. ## Secondary Sex Characteristics | Girls | Boys | | ------------- | ------------- | | Breasts | Pubic hair | | Pubic hair | Axillary (underarm) hair | | Axillary (underarm) hair | Muscular development | | Changes in voice | Facial hair | | Changes in skin | Changes in voice | | Increased width and depth of pelvis | Changes in skin | | Muscular development | Broadening of shoulders | # Signs of Puberty - Breast tissue and pubic hair in girls; enlargement of testes in boys. - Boys might experience temporary breast development. - Pubic hair appears in different patterns in males and females. - Voice deepens in boys, caused by the enlargement of the larynx and production of androgens. - Sebaceous glands become more active, causing acne breakout. - Acne is more common in boys due to the increased amount of testosterone. - Facial and body hair appears, mostly around the chest. # Growth Spurt - The adolescent growth spurt refers to a rapid increase in height, weight, and muscle and bone growth that occurs during puberty. - The growth spurt in girls occurs between ages 9.5 and 14.5, and in boys between 10.5 and 16. - Lasts for two years on average, and terminates in sexual maturity. - Caused by a surge in HGH and the sex hormones (both androgens and oestrogens). - The rate of muscular growth peaks at age 12.5 for girls and 14.5 for boys. # Signs of Physical Maturity ## In Males - Sperm production is the principal sign of maturity. - The first ejaculation, aka spermarche, occurs at an average age of 13–14. - Nocturnal emission, aka nightfall, might occur, caused by erotic dreams. ## In Females - Menstruation is the principal sign of maturity. - The first menstruation, aka menarche, occurs. - The timing from menarche varies between ages 9 and 16.5. # The Adolescent Brain - Dramatic changes in brain structures involved in emotions, judgment, organization of behavior, and self-control take place between puberty and young adulthood. - **Risk-taking behaviors** - Involves two brain networks: (i) socioemotional network, and (ii) cognitive-control network. - Socioemotional network becomes more active during puberty while the cognitive-control network develops more gradually till adulthood. - Helps explain teenagers' tendency towards emotional outbursts and risky behavior. # Effects of Atypical Maturation - Effects of early or late maturation are most likely to be negative when adolescents are much more or less developed than their peers, when they do not see the changes as advantageous, and when several stressful events, such as the advent of puberty and the transition to junior high school, occur at about the same time. - Contextual factors such as ethnicity, school, and neighborhood can make a difference. For example, early-maturing girls are more likely to show problem behavior in mixed-gender schools than in all-girl schools and in disadvantaged urban communities. # Piaget's Stage of Formal Operations - Adolescents enter the highest level of cognitive development - the formal operations stage. - Characterized by the development of abstract thoughts. - Occurs around age 11 and enables adolescents to manipulate information more flexibly. - Adolescents are able to go beyond the restrictions of the physical space and are able to use symbols to represent other symbols. - They can better appreciate metaphor and allegory and thus can find richer meanings in literature. - They can think in terms of what might be, not just what is. They can imagine possibilities and can form and test hypotheses. ## Hypothetico-Deductive Reasoning - The ability to develop, consider, and test hypotheses. - Develops in the formal operations stage. - The adolescent is able to a hypothesis and design an experiment to test it. They can consider all the relationships they can imagine and test them systematically to eliminate the false and arrive at the true. - Brought forth by a combination of brain maturation and expanding environmental opportunities - However, formal reasoning is essentially a learned ability that is not equally necessary or equally valued in all cultures. # Physical Changes ## In Males - Shoulders start widening. - Legs become longer relative to the trunk, forearms are longer relative to the upperarms and height. - Ability to ejaculate. ## In Females - Pelvis widens to accommodate childbearing. - Fat accumulation leading to rounded appearance. - Different rate and areas of fat accumulation compared to males. # Cognitive Development - EI seems to underlie competencies that contribute to effective work performance. - **Self-awareness:** emotional self-awareness, self-assessment, self-confidence - **Self-management:** self-control, trustworthiness, conscientiousness, adaptability, achievement drive and initiative - **Social awareness:** empathy, service orientation and organizational awareness - **Relationship management:** developing others, exerting influence, communication, conflict management, leadership, being a catalyst for change, building bonds, team-work and collaboration # Moral Development - Studied by Lawrence Kohlberg using the Heinz's Dilemma problem. - He asked hypothetical dilemmas to 75 boys 10-, 13-, and 16-years-old and followed them up for more than 30 years. - By asking respondents how they arrived at their answers, Kohlberg, like Piaget, concluded that the way people look at moral issues reflects cognitive development. - Based on the thought processes of the participants, Kohlberg described three levels of moral reasoning, each divided into two stages. - **Level 1: Preconventional morality (ages 4 to 10).** - **Level 2: Conventional morality (ages 10 to 13 or beyond).** ## Level 2 Conventional Morality | Stages of reasoning | Typical answer to Heinz's Dilemma | | -------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Stage 3. Good boy good girl orientation:** Children want to please and help others. can judge the intentions of others, and develop their own ideas of what a good person is. They evaluate an act according to the motive behind it or the person performing it, and they take circumstances into account. | Pro: "He should steal the drug. He is doing something that is natural for a good husband to do." Con: "He shouldn't steal if his wife dies, he can't be blamed. It isn't because he is heartless. The druggist is the selfish one." | | **Stage 4: Social order maintenance orientation: People are concerned with doing their duty, showing respect for higher authority, and maintaining the social order. They consider an act always wrong regardless of motive or circumstances, if it violates rules and harms others.** | Pro: "He should steal it if he does nothing he would let his wife die. It is his responsibility if she dies. He has to take it with the idea of paying the druggist later." Con: It is natural for Heinz to want to save his wife, but it is always wrong to steal. He knows he is taking valuable drug from the man who made it. | ## Level 1: Preconventional Morality | Stages of reasoning | Typical answer to Heinz's Dilemma | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Stage 1: Punishment and obedience orientation:** Children obey rules to avoid punishment. They ignore the motives of an act and focus on its physical form or its consequences. | Pro: "He should steal the drug. Isn't as if he had not asked to pay for it first. The drug he would take is only $200; he is not really taking a $2000 drug." Con: "He shouldn’t steal the drug. It is a big crime. He did not get permission; he used force, and he broke, and he entered." | | **Stage 2: Instrumental purpose orientation:** Children conform to rules out of self-interest and consideration for what others can do for them. They look at an act in terms of the human needs it meets and differentiate this value from the act's physical form and consequence. | Pro: "It is alright to steal the drug because his wife needs it, and he wants her to live. He doesn't want to steal, but has to do so to save his wife." Con: “He shouldn’t steal it. The druggist isn’t wrong or bad; he just wants to make a profit because he is running a business." | # The Search for Identity: Erikson - Erikson defined identity as a coherent conception of the self made up of goals, values, and beliefs to which a person is solidly committed. - The chief task of adolescence, according to Erikson, is to confront the crisis of identity cohesion vs role confusion. - Identity forms as young people resolve three major issues: - the choice of an occupation - the adoption of values to live by - the development of a satisfying sexual identity. - When young people have trouble settling on an occupational identity - or when their opportunities are artificially limited - they are at risk of behavior with serious negative consequences, such as criminal activity or early pregnancy. ## Level 3: Preconventional Morality | Stages of reasoning | Typical answer to Heinz’s Dilemma | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | **Stage 5. Social contract orientation: People think in rational terms, valuing the will of the majority of the society. They generally see these values as best supported by adherence to the law. While they recognize that there are times when human needs and the law conflict, they believe it is better for the society in the long run if they obey the law.** | Pro: "The law wasn't set up for these circumstances. Taking the drug in this situation isn’t really right, but it is justified." Con: “Extreme circumstances don’t really justify taking the law into your hands. The end doesn’t always justify the means. | | **Stage 6: Universal ethical principle orientation: People do what they as individuals think is right, regardless of legal restrictions or the opinions of others. They act in accordance with internalized standards, knowing that they would condemn themselves if they did not.** | Pro: "In a situation where a life hinges on stealing, it is morally right to steal. Heinze has to act in terms of principle of preserving and respecting life." Con: “Heinze is faced with the decision of whether to consider the other people who need the drug as badly as his wife. He ought to act by considering the value of all lives involved." | # The Search for Identity: Marcia - **Identity moratorium:** People in moratorium are in crisis and are struggling with decisions. They are usually lively, talkative, self-confident, and scrupulous, but also anxious and fearful. They usually struggle with authority and forming close relationships in life. - **Identity diffusion:** People in diffusion have not seriously considered options and have avoided commitments. They are usually unsure of themselves and tend to be uncooperative. They usually do not have pressure or expectations of commitment from those around them, and they are often unhappy and lonely. # Gilligan's Theory - Carol Gilligan studied moral development in women and asserted that Kohlberg's theory is oriented toward values more important to men than women. - She claimed that women see morality not so much in terms of justice and fairness as of responsibility to show caring and avoid harm. They focus on not turning away from others rather than on not treating others unfairly. - Research has found little support for Gilligan's claim of a male bias in Kohlberg's stages. - However, research has found small gender differences in care-related moral reasoning among adolescents in some cultures. - In an analysis of 113 studies, girls and women were more likely to think in terms of care and boys and men in terms of justice, but these differences were small (Jaffee & Hyde, 2000). # Id Formation: Gender Difference - Much research supports Erikson's view that, for women, identity and intimacy develop together. - According to Carol Gilligan, the female sense of self develops not so much through achieving a separate identity as through establishing relationships. Girls and women judge themselves on their handling of their responsibilities and on their ability to care for others as well as for themselves. - Some developmental scientists question how different the male and female patterns to identity really are — especially today — and suggest that individual differences may be more important than gender differences. - In research on Marcia's identity statuses, few gender differences have appeared. - Self-esteem drops during adolescence, more rapidly for girls than for boys, and then rises gradually into adulthood. # Adolescent Rebellion - Adolescent rebellion refers to a pattern of emotional turmoil, involving conflict within the family, alienation from adult society, reckless behavior, and rejection of adult values. - Only 1 in 5 teenagers are rebellious. - G. Stanley Hall believed that young people's efforts to adjust to their changing bodies and to the imminent demands of adulthood usher in a period of storm and stress that produces conflict between the generations. - Sigmund and Anna Freud described storm and stress as universal and inevitable, growing out of a resurgence of early sexual drives toward the parents. - Margaret Mead studied growing up in Samoa and other South Pacific islands and concluded that when a culture provides a gradual, serene transition from childhood to adulthood, storm and stress is not typical. # Nutrition and Eating Disorder *** - Overweight teenagers tend to be in poorer health than their peers and are more likely to have difficulty attending school, performing household chores, or engaging in strenuous activity or personal care. - They are at heightened risk of high cholesterol, hypertension, and diabetes and tend to become obese adults, subject to a variety of physical, social, and psychological risks. - Genetic and other factors, such as faulty regulation of metabolism and, at least in girls, depressive symptoms and having obese parents can increase the likelihood of teenage obesity. - Programmes that use behavioral modification techniques to help adolescents make changes in diet and exercise have had some success. - Dieting, for adolescents, may be counterproductive. - Good nutrition is important to support the rapid growth of adolescence and to establish healthy eating habits that will last through adulthood. - Eating disorders, including obesity, are most prevalent in societies where food is abundant and attractiveness is equated with slimness. ## Obesity - The overall prevalence of obesity among adolescents in India is between 4% and 29.8%, depending on the classification system used. - Urban areas report a higher rate of obesity. - Male adolescents are more likely to be obese than female adolescents. - Adolescents in private schools are more likely to be obese than those in government schools. ## Body Image and Eating Disorders - A concern with body image - how one believes one looks - often begins in middle childhood or earlier, intensifies in adolescence, and may lead to obsessive efforts at weight control. - Because of the normal increase in girls' body fat during puberty, many girls, especially if they are advanced in pubertal development, become unhappy about their appearance. - Girls' dissatisfaction with their bodies increases during early to midadolescence, whereas boys, who are becoming more muscular, become more satisfied with their bodies. - Parental attitudes and media images play a greater part than peer influence in encouraging weight concerns. - They often are good students but may be withdrawn or depressed, may engage in repetitive, perfectionist behavior, and are extremely afraid of losing control and becoming overweight. - Early warning signs include determined, secret dieting; dissatisfaction after losing weight; setting new, lower weight goals after reaching an initial desired weight; excessive exercising; and interruption of regular menstruation. - Anorexia is, paradoxically, both deliberate and involuntary: An affected person deliberately refuses food needed for sustenance, yet cannot stop doing so even when rewarded or punished. - Excessive concern with weight control and body image may be signs of anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa, both of which involve abnormal patterns of food intake. - Twin studies have found associations between eating disorders and the brain chemical serotonin; a variant of the protein BDNF, which influences food intake; and oestrogen. ## Anorexia Nervosa - An estimated 0.3-0.5% of adolescent girls and young women and a smaller but growing percentage of boys and men in Western countries are known to be affected. - People with anorexia have a distorted body image and, though typically severely underweight, think they are too fat. ## Bulimia Nervosa - Affects about 1-2% of the population worldwide. - A person with bulimia regularly goes on huge, short-lived eating binges and then may try to purge the high caloric intake through self-induced vomiting, strict dieting or fasting, excessively vigorous exercise, or laxatives, enemas, or diuretics. - People with bulimia are usually not overweight, but they are obsessed with their weight and shape. - They tend to have low self-esteem and may become overwhelmed with shame, self-contempt, and depression. - There is some overlap between anorexia and bulimia: some people with anorexia have bulimic episodes, and some people with bulimia lose large amounts of weight. ## Treatment and Prognosis - The immediate goal of treatment for anorexia is to get patients to eat and gain weight. - One widely used treatment is a type of family therapy in which parents take control of their child's eating patterns. When the child begins to comply with parental directives, they may be given more age-appropriate autonomy. - CBT, which seeks to change a distorted body image and rewards eating with such privileges as being allowed to get out of bed and leave the room, may be part of the treatment. - Patients who show signs of severe malnutrition, are resistant to treatment, do not make progress on an outpatient basis, may be admitted to a hospital where they can be given 24-hour nursing. # Substance Abuse - Substance abuse refers to harmful use of alcohol or other drugs, and can lead to substance dependence (addiction), which may be physiological, psychological, or both. - Addictive drugs are especially dangerous for adolescents because they stimulate parts of the brain that are still developing in adolescence. - In a sample of 1,630 young people between ages 10 and 24 across 15 states in India, the prevalence of substance use was 32.8%. Among the substance users, 75.5% began before completing adolescence. Tobacco (26.4%), alcohol (26.1%), and cannabis (9.5%) were commonly consumed (Venkatesh et al., 2024). ## Alcohol - Alcohol is a potent, mind-altering drug with major effects on physical, emotional, and social well-being. - The majority of high school students who drink engage in binge drinking - consuming five or more drinks on one occasion. - Binge drinkers are more likely than other students to report poor school performance and to engage in other risky behaviors. - Adolescents are more vulnerable than adults to both immediate and long-term negative effects of alcohol on learning and memory. - In one study, 15- and 16-year-old alcohol abusers who stopped drinking showed cognitive impairments weeks later in comparison with nonabusing peers (Brown, Tapert, Granholm, & Delis, 2000). ## Risk Factors for Drug Use among Adolescents - A "difficult" temperament - Poor impulse control and sensation-seeking tendencies - Family influences - Early and persistent behavior problems, particularly aggression - Academic failure and lack of commitment to education - Peer rejection - Association with drug users - Alienation and rebelliousness - Favorable attitude towards drug use - Early initiation into drug use ## Cannabis - Cannabis smoke typically contains more than 400 carcinogens, and heavy use can damage the brain, heart, lungs, and immune system and cause nutritional deficiencies, respiratory infections, and other physical problems. - It may lessen motivation, worsen depression, interfere with daily activities, and cause family problems. - Cannabis use also can impede memory, thinking speed, learning, and school performance. It can lessen perception, alertness, attention span, judgment, and the motor skills needed to drive a vehicle and thus can contribute to traffic accidents. ## Tobacco - Smoking often begins in the early teenage years as a sign of toughness, rebelliousness, and passage from childhood to adulthood. This desired image enables a young initiate to tolerate initial distaste for the first few puffs, after which the effects of nicotine begin to take over to sustain the habit. - Young adolescents attracted to smoking often come from homes, schools, and neighborhoods where smoking is common. They also tend to be overweight, to have low self-esteem, and not to be succeeding at school. - Adolescents who believe that their parents disapprove of smoking are less likely to smoke. - Movies that depict smoking increase early initiation of smoking. # Sexual Behaviour and STDs - Estimates of sexual activity among Indian adolescents vary widely between 15% and 50%. - According to Agarwal et al. (2021), 47% of adolescents have had sexual relations by the time they reached 20 years of age. - Two major concerns about adolescent sexual activity are the risks of contracting sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and, for heterosexual activity, of pregnancy. - Most at risk are young people who start sexual activity early, have multiple partners, do not use contraceptives regularly, are living in socioeconomic disadvantaged communities, engage in substance use, and have inadequate information - or misinformation - about sex. - The prevalence of STDs among Indian adolescents has been estimated to be at 8.7% (Maheswari, 2017), compared to 3.4% in 2000 (Bhogal, Chauhan, & Baruah, 2002). - The chief reasons for the prevalence of STDs among teenagers include early sexual activity, which increases the likelihood of having multiple high-risk partners, failure to use condoms or to use them incorrectly. - STDs in adolescent girls are most likely to develop undetected. In a single unprotected sexual encounter with an infected partner, a girl runs a 1% risk of acquiring HIV, a 30 percent risk of acquiring genital herpes, and a 50% risk of acquiring gonorrhea. - A number of STDs, e.g., pharyngeal gonorrhoea, can be transmitted via oral sex. - The most common STD, affecting 18.3 percent of 14- to 19-year-olds, is human papillomavirus (HPV) or genital warts, the leading cause of cervical cancer in women. Among girls with three or more partners, the risk jumps to 50%. - The most common curable STDs are chlamydia and gonorrhoea. These diseases, if undetected and untreated, can lead to severe health problems, including, in women, to pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). - Genital herpes simplex is a chronic, recurring, often painful, and highly contagious disease. It can be fatal to a person with a deficiency of the immune system or to the newborn infant of a mother who has an outbreak at the time of delivery. - Hepatitis B remains a prominent STD despite the availability, for more than 30 years, of a preventive vaccine. # Academic Decisions - Many factors decide how adolescents make academic decisions. These include individual ability and personality, education, socioeconomic and ethnic background, the advice of school counselors, life experiences, and societal values. - Self-efficacy beliefs help shape the occupational options students consider and the way they prepare for careers. - In addition, parents' values with regard to academic achievement influence adolescents' values and occupational goals. - Gender also influences career goals. Boys are much more likely to earn college degrees in engineering, physics, and computer science, whereas girls are more likely to go into nursing, social welfare professions, and teaching.