25-10-2012, 03:35 PM
Changes that take place during adolescence
Changes that take place during adolescence.pdf (Size: 110.58 KB / Downloads: 78)
Biological
• The onset of puberty is beginning on average at age 13 versus age 16
about 80 years ago. Factors that contribute to early onset of puberty:
increased fat in diet, genetics, and unstable home environment.
• Growth spurt in brain, especially in corpus callosum and the prefrontal
lobes, responsible for mature judgment and decision-making skills. Until
brain is fully grown, impulses are ahead of teens’ ability to control them.
• Changing circadian rhythm. Melatonin, a sleep hormone, kicks in around
11 pm. Teens need 10 hrs. sleep which means they are functioning on a
sleep debt over 5 days, if they have to get up early for school. Teens lose
REM sleep, which makes it difficult for them to concentrate the next day.
• Production of testosterone in males, which is responsible for changes in
looks, voice, cognitive skills, reproductive organs. Male teens hit puberty
only a few months later than females but since they may not be growing
right away, the myth is that girls mature more quickly than boys.
Testosterone responsible for causing the heart to double in its volume of
blood pumping and for increased number of air sacs in lungs, increased
muscle mass, and increased strength.
• Production of estrogen in females, which is responsible for development of
breasts, reproduction abilities, and physical growth. Most girls hit their
adult height at age 14. Muscle development lags behind bone
development, resulting in less strength.
Cognitive
• Logic and rational thinking lag behind impulses due to incomplete brain
development. This is the reason why some teens have difficulty
answering “why?”
• The beginning of abstract thinking (e.g., ability to think about your own
thinking, heightened creativity, leaps in imagination, more perceptive,
pokes hole in your logic, argues just to argue). By 15 y.o., most teens
have accomplished the goal of thinking abstractly, but teens often times
regress to concrete thinking under stress.
Social/Sexual
• Adolescents are beginning to identify what are the most rewarding
relationships in their life and what makes them so rewarding.
• Adolescents are also extending themselves away from the family and
becoming more involved in society, including forming many more
relationships with adults.
• Adolescents are beginning the process of dating and trying to identify their
sexual identity, as well as experimenting with physical and emotional
intimacy with a “partner”. Teens are also trying to learn the “mating
dance” appropriate to their culture and peer group.
Emotional
• Since puberty is lasting longer in the life of a teen, it means a longer
period of emotional chaos. Adolescents need help identifying their
emotions, especially since they are feeling new ones for the first time.
• Female brains are more efficient at processing and verbalizing emotions.
They are more open to sharing their own ups and downs.
• Male brains process emotions more slowly than females. Boys often get
overlooked because they don’t display their emotional distress verbally.
They often show it behaviorally.
Academic/Occupational
• Teens are beginning a process of identifying their skills and using them in
the real world. Older teens struggling with the idea of career options and
their “fit” in society. Teens are learning what success means in the “real
world” and how they can achieve success.