Section 6: 2

Adolescence Physical Changes

Chapter 11: PUBERTY

Physical and Cognitive Development in
Puberty – is a period of rapid physical maturation involving
Adolescence hormonal and bodily changes that occurs primarily
during early adolescence.
1 - not a single, sudden event

Nature of Adolescence Most noticeable changes:

1. Signs of sexual maturation
Storm-and-stress view – adolescence is a turbulent time 2. Increases in height and weight
charged with conflict and mood swings

Countries with healthy self-images in adolescents: Sexual Maturation, Height, and Weight
1. United States
2. Australia Order of male pubertal characteristics:
3. Bangladesh 1. Increase in penis and testicle size
4. Hungary 2. Appearance of straight pubic hair
5. Israel 3. Minor voice change
6. Italy 4. First ejaculation
7. Japan 5. Appearance of kinky hair
8. Taiwan 6. Onset of maximum growth In height and weight’
9. Turkey 7. Growth of hair in armpits
10. West Germany 8. More detectable voice changes
9. Growth of facial hair
Differences:
1. Happy most of the time Order of female pubertal characteristics:
2. Enjoyed life 1. Breast enlarges or pubic hair appears
3. Perceived themselves as able to exercise self- 2. Hair in the armpits
control 3. Grows in height
4. Valued work and school; 4. Hips become wider
5. Confident about their sexual selves 5. Menarche
6. Expressed positive feelings toward their families 6. Breasts are fully rounded
7. Had the capability to cope with stress
menarche – first menstruation
Public attitudes – emerge from a combination of personal - irregular at first
experience and media portrayals
GROWTH SPURT
NOTE:
start peak
 Adults measure their memories of their own
Female 9 11 ½
adolescence.
Male 11 13 ½
Acting out and boundary testing – time-honored was in
which adolescents move toward accepting rather than
Hormonal Changes
rejecting, parental values
Hormones – powerful chemical substances excreted by the
Factor that influences the actual life trajectory of every endocrine glands and carried through the bloodstream
adolescent:
1. Ethnic Testosterone – hormones associated in boys
2. Cultural
3. Gender Testosterone is responsible for:
4. SES 1. Development of genitals
5. Age 2. Increase in height
6. Lifestyle differences 3. Change in voice

Estradiol – type of estrogen in girls

Estradiol is responsible for:

 1. Breast
2. Uterine Early-maturing boys:
3. Skeletal development 1. more positive
2. more successful peer relations
NOTE: 3. focus on advantageous physical options
 Both testosterone and estradiol are present in
the hormonal makeup of boys and girls, but Late-maturing boys:
testosterone dominates in male pubertal 1. stronger sense of identity
development, whereas estradiol dominates female 2. more time to explore life’s options
pubertal development.
 Behaviors and moods also can affect hormones. NOTE:
 During adolescence, it is more advantageous to be
Factors that can activate or suppress hormonal system: an early-maturing than late-maturing.
1. Stress
2. Eating patterns NOTE:
3. Exercise  Early and late maturation have been linked with
4. Sexual activity body image.
5. Tension
6. depression Early-maturing girls:
1. Shorter
2. Stockier
Timing and Variation in Puberty
Late-maturing girls:
Factors that affect timing and makeup of puberty: 1. Thinner
1. genetic program 2. Taller
2. nutrition
3. health Early-maturing girls are more likely to:
4. environmental factors 1. Smoke
2. Drink
Precocious puberty – term used to describe the every early 3. Be depressed
onset and rapid progression of puberty 4. Have an eating disorder
- 8 in girls 5. Struggle for earlier independence from their parents
- 9 in boys 6. Have older friends
7. Bodies are likely to elicit responses from males
Pituitary glands Hypothalamus 8. Earlier dating
9. Earlier sexual experiences
hypothalamus – eating 10. Less likely to graduate
11. Cohabit and marry earlier.
Pituitary glands  gonadtopic
1. growth
2. stress EARLY LATE
Male More positive Stronger sense of
Medically suppressing gonadotropic secretions identity
- temporarily halts pubertal change More successful peer
relations More time to explore
Effects of medically suppressing gonadotropic life’s options
secretions: Focus on
1. short stature advantageous
2. early sexual capability physical options
3. engaging in age-inappropriate behavior
Female Shorter Thinner
Stockier Taller
Body Image

NOTE:
Girls are more dissatisfied with their bodies, probably
because their body fat increases.
Males are more satisfied with their body, probably
because their muscle mass increases.
Early and Late Maturation THE BRAIN
  Same-sex attractions are purely physical.
Pruned – unused ones are replaced by other passageways
or disappear Gay and lesbian attractions:
Amygdala – region of the brain that is the seat of emotions 1. Bisexual attractions
2. Physical or emotional attractions to same-sex
Corpus callosum – where fibers connect the brain’s left individuals but do not always fall in love with them.
and right hemisphere, thickens in adolescences, and
improves adolescents ability to process information
Timing of Adolescent Sexual Behaviors
Prefrontal cortex – highest level of the frontal lobes
involved in reasoning, decision making, and self-control Asian American - less likely to be sexually active
- “judgment” regions reins in intense
emotions but doesn’t finish developing until at least At 17:
emerging adulthood 1. Jamaica
2. US
Social developmental neuroscience – which involves 3. Brazil
connections between development, the brain, and
socioemotional processes NOTE:
 Increase in oral sex
Which comes first the biological changes or
experiences that stimulates them?
- Prefrontal cortex thickened and more brain Risk Factors in Adolescent Sexual Behavior
connection formed when adolescents resisted peer
pressure Early sexual activity is linked with risky behavior, such
- Nature-nurture issue as:
1. Drug use
2. Delinquency
ADOLESCENT SEXUALITY 3. School-related problems

Adolescence – time of sexual exploration and Sexually intimate behavior in girls:

experimentation, of sexual fantasies and realities, of 1. Alcohol use
incorporating sexuality into one’s identity 2. Early menarche
3. Poor parent-child communication
NOTE:
 Adolescents who view more sexual content on TV Risk factors in adolescence:
are more likely to initiate sexual intercourse 1. SES
earlier than their peers who view less sexual 2. Family/parenting
content on TV. 3. Peer
4. Academic achievement factors

Developing A Sexual Identity Preventions:

1. Maternal communication about sex
Involve learning to: 2. Better academic achievement
1. Manage sexual feelings
2. Developing new forms of intimacy
3. Learning the skills to regulate sexual behavior Contraceptive Use

Contexts of sexual identity: Two kinds of risks:

1. Physical factors 1. Unintended, unwanted pregnancy
2. Social factors 2. Sexually transmitted infections
3. Cultural factors
NOTE:
Sexual identity involves:  Condoms – Europe
1. Activities  Pills - Europe
2. Interests
3. Styles of behavior
4. Indication of sexual orientation

NOTE: Sexually Transmitted Infections

  Coordinates health and education
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) – are contracted services- girls can participate in
primarily through sexual contact, including oral-genital this program as one of their club
contact and anal-genital contact activities.

Chlamydia – most common

3
Adolescent Pregnancy Issues in Adolescent Health

Reasons of declines of adolescent pregnancy:

1. Increased use of contraceptive Aims to improve adolescent health:
2. Fear of STI 1. Increase health-enhancing behaviors
a. Eating nutritiously
Latinas – have smallest recent declines b. Exercising
c. Wearing seat belts
Intergenerational cycle – daughters of teenage mothers d. Getting adequate sleep
are at risk for teenage child-bearing 2. Decrease health-compromising behaviors
a. Drug abuse
Risk of likelihood of intergenerational cycle includes: b. Violence
1. Low parental monitoring c. Unprotected sexual intercourse
2. Poverty d. Dangerous driving

Infants born to adolescent mothers:

1. Low birth weight ADOLESCENT HEALTH
2. Childhood illness
3. Neurological problems Prevent Disability and Mortality:
1. Heart disease
Mothers: 2. Stroke
1. Drop-out 3. Diabetes
2. Cannot cope economically 4. Cancer

Ag-appropriate family-life education -- prevents

Nutrition and Exercise
Consumer science educators – teach life skills
NOTE:
Reducing Adolescent Pregnancy:  US and British adolescents – are more likely to
 Teen Outreach Program (TOP) eat fried food and less likely to eat fruits and
o Focuses on engaging adolescents in vegetables.
volunteer community service  Amount of fat in diet – concern
o Stimulates discussions that help  Fast food meals – high fat levels in adults
adolescents appreciate the lessons they  Eating regular family meals  healthy eating
learn through volunteerism habits
 Girls, Inc.  Boys  moderate to vigorous exercise
o Growing Together
 Series of five two-hour 60 mins/day – moderate to vigorous exercise recommended
workshops from mothers and
adolescents Effects of low levels of exercise:
o Will Power/Won’t Power 1. Depressive symptoms
 A series of six two-hour sessions 2. Lower drug use
that focus on assertiveness
training Positive outcomes:
 For 12 to 14 year old girls 1. Weight status
o Taking Care of Business 2. Lower triglycerides
 Provided nine sessions that 3. Lower incidence of type 2 diabetes
emphasize career planning as 4. Lower blood pressure
well as information about
sexuality, reproduction, and
contraception
o Health Bridge
Sleep Patterns The Roles of Development, Parents, Peers, and
Education
Effects of inadequate sleep:
1. More tired or sleepy NOTE:
2. More cranky and irritable  Early onset drinking  heavy drinking in middle
3. Fall asleep in school age
4. Depressed mood
5. Drink caffeinated beverage Parental monitoring – linked with a lower incidence of
problem behavior
Optimal sleep – nine or more hours
Educational success – buffer for the emergence of drug
9 hrs. and 25 mins. – average sleep of adolescents problems in adolescence.

NOTE:
A delay in nightly release of sleep-inducing hormone, EATING DISORDERS
melatonin, which is produced in the brain’s pineal
gland, seems to underlie the shift of sleeping patterns.
Anorexia Nervosa
Melatonin is secreted at abt 9:30 pm in younger
Anorexia nervosa – eating disorder that involves the
adolescents and an hour later in older adolescents.
relentless pursuit of thinness through starvation.
- begins in early adolescent years

Leading Causes of Death in Adolescence Main characteristics:

1. Weight less than 85 percent of what is considered
Leading causes of death: normal for their age an height
1. Accidents 2. Intense fear of gaining weight
a. unintentional injuries 3. Distorted image of their body shape
b. motor vehicle accidents
i. speeding Non-Latina White adolescents – most anorexics
ii. tailgating
iii. dui NOTE:
2. Homicide – African- American  Unable to meet the high expectation, they turn to
3. Suicide something they can control: their weight.

Family therapy – most effective treatment

SUBSTANCE USE AND ABUSE

U.S. – highest rates of adolescent drug use of any Bulimia Nervosa

industrialized nation
Bulimia nervosa – an eating disorder in which the individual
Binge drinking – drinking five or more drinks in a row in the consistently follow a binge-and-purge pattern
last two weeks - begins in late adolescence or late
adulthood
Risk factors of a regular smoker in adolescence:
1. Peer influence Serious bulimia nervosa: episodes occur at least twice a
2. Weak academic orientation week for three months.
3. Low parental support
Binge by:
Narcotics – highly addictive 1. Self-inducing vomit
1. Vicodin 2. laxative
2. OxyContin
Bulimics:
Source: medicine cabinets 1. strong fear of being overweight
2. depressed or anxious
Use and abuse: 3. distorted body image
1. Alcohol
2. Smoking
3. Prescription painkillers
 4 INFORMATION PROCESSING
Adolescent Cognition Executive functioning – higher-order cognitive activities

PIAGET’S THEORY Examples of executive functioning:

 reasoning
Formal Operational Stage  making decisions
 monitoring thinking critically
Features:  monitoring one’s cognitive progress
 Make believe situations
 Abstract propositions
 Hypothetical events Decision Making
 Logical reasoning
Young adolescents are more likely to:
Abstract quality of thinking:  generate different options
 verbal problem-solving ability  examine a situation from a variety of perspectives
 increased tendency to think about thought itself  anticipate the consequences of decision
 thought full of idealism and possibilities   consider credibility of sources
assimilation dominates
NOTE:
Hypothetical-deductive reasoning  People make better decisions when they are calm.
- cognitive ability to develop hypotheses, or best  In the heat of the moment, emotions may
guesses, about ways to solve problems, such an overwhelm decision-making ability.
algebraic equation
Social context – plays a key role in adolescent’s decision
making
Evaluating Piaget’s Theory
Dual-process model – states that decision making is
Criticisms: influences by two systems – analytical and experiential,
 more individual variation which competes with each other
 promotes formal  education in the logic of - in this model, it is experiential
science and mathematics system – monitoring and managing actual experiences-
 active, constructive thinkers that benefits adolescent decision making

Strategy:
ADOLESCENT EGOCENTRISM  Provide more opportunities for them to engage in
role playing and peer group problem solving.
Adolescent egocentrism – heightened self-consciousness
of adolescents
Critical Thinking
Key components:
1. imaginary audience – belief that others are Improved critical thinking:
interested in them as they themselves are, as well 1. Increased speed, automaticity, and capacity of
as attention-getting behavior motivated by a desire information processing
to be noticed, visible and “on stage” 2. More breath of content knowledge in a variety of
domains
2. personal fable – involves an adolescent’s sense of 3. Increased ability to construct new combinations of
uniqueness and invincibility (or invulnerability) knowledge
- makes them feel that no one can 4. Greater range and more spontaneous use of
understand how they feel strategies or procedures for applying or obtaining
- show up in adolescent diaries knowledge

Sense of invincibility – belief that they themselves are

invulnerable to dangers and catastrophes that happen THE TRANSITION TO MIDDLE OR JUNIOR
to other people HIGH SCHOOL

Top-dog phenomenon – the circumstance of moving from

the top position in elementary school to the lowest
position in the middle or junior high school
Positive aspects: EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
 Feel grown up
 More opportunities Participating extracurricular activities is linked with:
 Enjoy increased independence 1. Higher grades
 More challenged intellectually by academic work 2. School engagement
3. Less likely to dropout from school
4. Improved probability of going to college
EFFECTIVE SCHOOLS FOR YOUNG 5. Higher self-esteem
ADOLESCENTS 6. Lower rates of depression
7. Delinquency
Most young adolescents: 8. Substance abuse
 Massive, impersonal schools
 Taught from irrelevant curricula High-quality extracurricular activities:
 Trusted few adults in school 1. Promote positive adolescent development
 Lacked access to health care 2. Opportunities for increasing school connectedness
3. Challenging and meaningful activities
4. Opportunities for improving skills
HIGH SCHOOL

Critics: SERVICE LEARNING

 Expectations for success or standards for learning
are too low Service learning – a form of education that promotes social
 Foster passivity and that schools should create a responsibility and service to the community
variety of pathways for students to achieve an - goal: become less self-centered, more
identity strongly motivated to help others

Students drop-out because: Effective when two conditions are met:

 School-related reasons 1. Giving students some degree of choice in the
o Not liking school service activities in which they participate
o Expelled 2. Providing students opportunities to reflect about
o Suspended their participation
 Economic reasons
o Leaving school Improvements in adolescent development related to
 Personal reasons service learning:
o Pregnancy 1. Higher grades in school
o Marriage 2. Increased goal-setting
3. Higher self-esteem
Most effective programs to discourage dropping out of 4. Improves sense of being able to make a difference
high school: for others
 Early reading programs 5. Increased likelihood that the adolescent will serve
 Tutoring as volunteers in the future
 Counseling
 Mentoring
 Early detection of school-related difficulties
 Getting children engaged with school

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation – funded efforts to

reduce the dropout rates in schools

Point: Same teachers throughout their high school years to

establish a relationship between the teacher and
students.

I Have A Dream (IHAD) – an innovative comprehensive,

long-term dropout prevention program administered by
the National “I Have A Dream”

Dreamers – children, provided with a program of academic,

social, cultural, and recreational activities
Chapter 12: 5. Achievement identity – motivated to achieve, and
is intellectual
Socioemotional Development in 6. Sexual identity – heterosexual, homosexual,
Adolescence bisexual
7. Cultural/ethnic identity – which part of the world,
1 what country, cultural heritage
8. Interests – likes to do
The Self, Identity, and Religious/Spiritual 9. Personality – personal characteristics
Development 10. Physical identity – body image

SELF-ESTEEM Erikson’s View

Self-esteem – overall ay we evaluate ourselves Identity versus identify confusion – adolescents are faced
with deciding who they are, what they are at about and
Controversy – characterizes the extent to which self- where they are going in life
esteem changes during adolescence and whether there
Psychosocial moratorium – gap between childhood
are gender differences in adolescents’ self-esteem
security and adulthood autonomy
Results revealed that adults characterized by  low self-
esteem: Period:
1. Poorer mental and physical health  Free of responsibilities
2. Worse economic prospects  Pursue one career one month and another career
3. Higher levels of criminal behavior the next month
 Experimentation
NOTE:
 Self-esteem of girls is likely to decline at least Experimentation – deliberate effort on the part of the
somewhat during early adolescence adolescents to find out where they fit in the wok

Explanation to the decline during early adolescence:

 Negative body images during pubertal change Developmental Changes
 Great interest in social relationships
 Society’s failure to reward that interest Crisis or exploration– defined as a period of identity
development during which the individual is exploring
High self-esteem: alternatives
 Accurate, justified perceptions
 Arrogant, grandiose, unwarranted sense of Commitment – personal investment in identity
superiority over others
Position on D F M A
Low self-esteem: Occupation and
 Accurate perceptions of shortcoming Ideology
 Distorted, even pathological insecurity and Crisis Absent Absent Present Present
inferiority Commitment Absent Present Absent Present

Narcissism – self-centered and self-concerende approach Four statuses of identity:

toward others 1. Identity diffusion - when there is neither an
- adjust problems identity crisis nor commitment.

2. Identity foreclosure - when a person has made a

IDENTITY commitment without attempting identity exploration.
- parents hand down
commitment in an authoritarian way
What is IDENTITY?

Identity – self-portrait composed of many pieces, including: 3. Identity moratorium - status of a person who is
1. Vocational/career identity – career and work path actively involved in exploring different identities, but
2. Political identity – conservative, liberal, or middle has not made a commitment.
of the road
3. Religious identity – spiritual beliefs
4. Relationship identity – single, married, divorce
 4. Identity achievement - occurs when an individual
has gone through an exploration of different RELIGIOUS AND SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT
identities and made a commitment to one.
Religiousness was asses with items such as:
 Frequency of prayer
Emerging Adulthood and Beyond  Frequency of discussing religious teachings
 Frequency of deciding moral actions for religious
NOTE: reasons
 College upperclassmen  more likely to be  Importance of religion in everyday life
identity achieved
 Religious beliefs  foreclosure and diffusion NOTE:
 Adolescent girls are more religious.
Why do college produce some key changes in identity?  Less developed countries are more religious.
- Increased complexity in the reasoning skills
stimulates them to reach a higher level of
integrating various dimension of their identity. Religion and Identity Development

MAMA cycles – moratorium  achievement  moratorium

 achievement Cognitive Development and Religion in
- points out that the first identity is not and
Adolescence
should not be expected as the final product
NOTE:
 Increase in abstract thinking  consider various
Ethnic Identity religious and spiritual concepts
 Foundation for thinking about whether religion
Ethnic identity – an enduring aspect of the self that provides the best route to better, more ideal world
includes a sense of membership in an ethnic group, than the present.
along with the attitudes and feelings related to  Ability to develop hypothesis and systematically
memberships sort through different answers to spiritual
questions
Added dimensions to identity formation:
1. Ethnic group
2. Mainstream, dominant culture
Cognitive Development and Religion in
Adolescence
Bicultural identity - identity in some ways with their ethnic
group and in other ways with the majority culture
Higher religiosity, less likely:
1. to smoke
NOTE:
2. to drink alcohol
 Adolescents and emerging adults have the ability to
3. use marijuana
interpret ethnic and cultural information, to
4. not be truant from school
reflect on the past, and to speculate about the
5. not engage in delinquent activities
future.
6. not be depressed
 Positive ethnic identity is related to positive
outcomes for ethnic minority adolescents.
NOTE:
 Positive ethnic heritage was linked to higher self-
 effect: adopt caring and concern for people
esteem, school connectedness, and social
functioning.

First-generation immigrants – secure in identities and 2

unlikely to change much Families
Second-generation immigrants – retention of ethnic
Important aspects for family relationship:
language and social networks
1. parental monitoring
2. autonomy
Exploration – an important aspect of establishing a secure
3. attachment
sense of one’s ethnic identity, which in turn was linked
4. parent-adolescent conflict
to positive attitude toward one’s own group and other
groups
 have some important
PARENTAL MONITORING connections
Intense, stressful conflict Conflict are greater in early
Parents – managers of children’s development throughout adolescence adolescence
- supervises
Parent-adolescent Moderate parent-
NOTE: relationships are filled with adolescent conflict is
 Adolescents are more willing to disclose information storm and stress on common and serves as a
to parents when parent ask adolescents questions virtually a daily basis positive development
and when adolescents’ relationship with parent is
characterized by a high level of trust,
acceptance, and quality. Old model of parent-adolescent monitoring
 Disclosure to parents is linked to positive - mature  detach from parents  move into
adolescent adjustment. autonomy

New model of parent-adolescent monitoring

PARENTAL MONITORING - parents  important attachment figure
- conflict is moderate
- everyday negotiations and disputes are normal
The Push for Autonomy
Adolescent problems:
NOTE:
1. movement out of the home
 Wise individuals relinquishes control but continues
2. juvenile delinquency
to guide the adolescent to make reasonable
3. school dropout
decisions.
4. pregnancy
 Boys are given more independence.
5. early marriage
6. membership in religious cults
7. drug abuse
The Role of Attachment

Secure attachment, leads to:

1. Exclusive relationship 3
2. Comfortable intimacy relationships Peers
3. Increasing financial independence
Changes in peer-adolescent changes:
1. changes in friendships and in peer groups
Balancing Freedom and Control 2. beginning of romantic relationships

NOTE:
 Independence, they still need to stay connected FRIENDSHIPS
with families.
NOTE:
 popular with peers  strong motivator
PARENT-ADOLESCENT MONITORING  prefer smaller number of friends
 friends  to meet social needs
NOTE:  failure to develop close friendships  loneliness
 More positive  goes away to college and reduced sense of self-worth
 Minor disputes and negotiations  to become  gossip  dominates conversations  common in
autonomous individual girls
 interactions with older youth  delinquency and
OLD NEW early sexual behavior
Autonomy Autonomy
Depends on friends to satisfy their needs for:
Detachment from parents Attachment 1. companionship
2. reassurance of worth
Parent and peer world are Parents are important 3. intimacy
isolated support systems and
attachment figures relational aggression – spreading disparaging rumors to
Adolescent-parent and harm someone
adolescent-peer worlds
  casual dating – mutually attracted,
short-lived, last a few months at best,
PEER GROUPS only endure a few weeks
 dating in groups – embeddedness in
Peer Pressure peer context

NOTE: 3. consolidating dyadic romantic bonds at about

 conform more 17 to 19 years of age
 US > Japan  resist parental influence - strong emotional bonds
 More likely to conform: - more stable
o Uncertain about their social identity - enduring bonds
o Presence of someone of higher status - lasting one year or more

Cliques and Crowds Dating in Gay and Lesbian Youth

Clique – a small group that ranges from 2 to about 12 LGBT most stressful problems:
individuals, averaging about 5 to 6 individuals; formed 1. disclosure of their sexual orientation to their
because individuals engage in similar activities, share parent
mutual interests, and enjoy other’s ocmpany 2. breakup of a current romance
- heterosexual

Crowds – larger than cliques, and less personal Sociocultural Context and Dating
- based on reputation
- not spend much time together but engage in the NOTE:
same activities Values, religious beliefs, and tradition often dictate
the age at which dating begins
Reputation-based crowds
- first time in early adolescence and less prominent in
late adolescence Dating and Adjustment

More romantic experiences:

DATING AND ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS 1. higher social acceptance
2. friendship competence
3. romantic competence
Developmental Changes in Dating and Romantic
Relationships
4. high level of substance abuse
5. delinquency
Three stages:
6. sexual behavior

AGE
co-rumination – excessive discussion of problems with
entry into romantic attractions and
11 to 13 years friends
affiliations
exploring romantic relationships 14 to 16 years
consolidating dyadic romantic
bonds
17 to 19 years 4
Culture and Adolescent Development
1. entry into romantic attractions and affiliations at
about 11 to 13 years of age
- triggered by puberty CROSS-CULTURAL COMPARISONS
- interested in romance
- dominates conversations with same-sex
Traditions and Changes in Adolescence Around
friends
the Globe
- dating  group setting

Factors:
2. exploring romantic relationships at
1. Health:
approximately 14 to 16 years of age
 Fewer die from infectious diseases and
- two types of romantic involvement:
malnutrition
 Health-compromising behaviors increases
 2. Gender Ethnicity and SES
 Male have greater access to educational
opportunities in Japan, Philippines, Disadvantage:
Western countries 1. Prejudice, discrimination, bias
 More restrictions on sexual activity on 2. Stressful effects of poverty
women
 Educational + career  expanding Discrimination:
 Romantic + sexual relationships   Lower level of psychological functioning
weakening  Symptoms of depression
 Lower perceived well-being
3. Family  More positive attitudes
 Closely knit families with extensive kin  Positive psychological functioning
networks retain
 Arab  strict codes of conduct and loyalty
 US  less authoritarian THE MEDIA
 Greater family mobility
 Migration to urban areas
Media Use
 Family members working in distant cities
 Fewer extended family households
6 ½ hours a day – media
 Increases in mothers’ employment
2 ¼ hours a day – parents
4. Peers
 Serves as surrogate family
50 minutes - homework
 Arab  restricted for girls
Media multitasking – reason of increase in use of
5. Time Allocation to Different Activities
technology
 Discretionary time – liability or asset 
depends on how you use it
 Structured voluntary activities – provide
The Online Lives of Adolescents
more promise, competent guidance,
challenge them
NOTE:
 Use social network sites at 20 to 22 years of age
6. Rites of Passage
 Youth harassment
 Rites of passage – ceremony or ritual
 Cyberbullying
that marks an individual transition from
 Internet – technology that needs parents to monitor
one status to another.
and regulate use
 Gain access to sacred adult practices, to
knowledge, and to sexuality
 Form of ritual death or rebirth, contact with
spiritual world 5
 Bonds  shared through rituals, hazards Adolescent Problems
and secrets
 Examples: Jewish bar and bat mitzvah,
Catholic Confirmation, social debuts, JUVENILE DELINQUENCY
graduations
Juvenile delinquent – adolescent who breaks the law or
engage in behavior that’s considered illegal
ETHNICITY
NOTE:
 Male  more
Immigration  Minority and lower SES  more

Stressors:
 Language barriers
Causes of Delinquency
 Dislocations and separations from support networks
 Change in SES status
Characteristics of SES:
 Dual struggle to preserve identity and acculturate
 Anti-social
  Counterproductive - females more
 “tough” and “masculine”  measure by your
success in getting away with development

Communities characterized by: Factors:

 Poverty 1. distal experiences;
 Unemployment 2. peer relations
 Feelings of alienation  lack of supportive friendships, peer
victimization
Lacking in these communities: 3. genetic factors
 Quality schooling
 Educational funding Psychological profile of the suicidal adolescent:
 Organized neighborhood activities 1. depressive symptoms
2. alcohol yes
NOTE:
 Family support systems Indicators of suicide risk:
o Less skilled in discouraging antisocial 1. depressive symptoms
behavior 2. sense of hopelessness
o Family discord and inconsistent and 3. engaging in suicide ideation
inappropriate discipline 4. family background of suicidal behavior
o Changing parenting strategies 5. having friends with history of suicidal behavior
o Siblings  strong influence
o Have delinquent peers
THE INTERRELATION OF PROBLEMS AND
Parenting training – 14 parent group meetings that
SUCCESFUL PREVENTION/INTERVENTION
emphasized skill encouragement, limit setting,
monitoring, problem solving, and positive involvement
PROGRAMS

Four problems  all are interrelated:

1. drug abuse
DEPRESSION AND SUICIDE
2. juvenile delinquency
3. sexual problems
Depression 4. school-related problems

NOTE: Preventions:
 Females  more  due to self-images  changes 1. intensive individualized attention
and life experiences  student assistance counselor
 Family factors
o depressed parent 2. community-wide multiagency collaborative
o emotionally unavailable parents approaches
o high marital conflict  number of different programs and services
o financial problems  local media
 Power peer relationships  community education
o Adolescent romantic relationships 
trigger 3. early identification and intervention
 Friendship  support

Linked to depressive symptoms:

1. Worry
2. Anxiety
3. Oversensitivity

Treatments:
1. Anti-depressants  suicidal behavior
a. Prozac
2. Cognitive behavior therapy

Suicide

Suicide – third leading cause of death