Adolescent Development
Summary of readings – Exam 1
Index
Introduction............................................................................................................................................2
1. Biological Transitions..........................................................................................................................5
2. Cognitive Transitions..........................................................................................................................9
3. Social Transitions..............................................................................................................................15
8. Identity.............................................................................................................................................18
9. Autonomy (pp. 244-250)..................................................................................................................24
Less Guilty by Reason of Adolescence: Developmental Immaturity, Diminished Responsibility, and the
Juvenile Death Penalty.........................................................................................................................25
,Introduction
Adolescence: the stage of development that begins with puberty and ends when individuals
make the transition into adult roles (ca. from age 10 until the early 20’s).
Period of transitions: biological, psychological, social, economic.
Development during adolescence involves a series of transitions from immaturity into
maturity. Where adolescence begins and ends is different per individual and per aspect of
adolescence.
| The adolescent period is lengthened over de years due to earlier physical maturation and
delays in entering into work and marriage until mid-20s.
Phases:
Early adolescence (10-13)
Middle adolescence (14-17)
Late adolescence (18-21)
Emerging adulthood (18-25)
Three groups:
Early starters; enter labor force after high school, start family before 22.
Employment focused; finish school and live on their own before 21, family several years later.
Education focused; finishing school not until 22, family not until 24/25.
A framework for adolescent development
The Fundamental Changes of Adolescence
Biological Transitions.
Changes in the young person's physical appearance (i.e. puberty). Examples are breast
development and growth of facial hair.
Cognitive Transitions.
Improvement in cognitive abilities (e.g. hypothetical situations, abstract concepts).
Social Transitions.
Changes that distinguish individuals who have reached the age of majority (e.g. permission to
drive, marry, and vote). In some cultures there is a formal ceremony – rite of passage.
The Contexts of Adolescence
All adolescents go through the biological, cognitive and social transitions. However, the
effects of these changes are not uniform for all young people (e.g. puberty makes some
adolescents feel attractive, but others self-conscious).
The psychological impact of the changes during adolescence is shaped by the environment in
which the changes take place. According to the ecological perspective on human
development, we cannot understand development without examining the environment in
which it occurs.
4 main contexts of modern society:
1.) Families
2.) Peer groups
3.) Schools
4.) Work, leisure and the mass media
,→ The influence of these contexts is also determined by the neighborhood in which they take
place (e.g. a school in a suburb versus in the inner city), as well as culture, geography and
economics.
The Psychosocial Developments of Adolescence
Psychosocial developments = developments that are both psychological and social in nature.
5 major psychosocial developments:
1.) Identity: discovering and understanding who we are as individuals.
2.) Autonomy: establishing a healthy sense of independence.
3.) Intimacy: forming close and caring relationships with others.
4.) Sexuality: expressing sexual feelings and enjoying physical contact with others.
5.) Achievement: being successful and competent members of society.
Psychosocial problems can appear during adolescence: drug and alcohol use and abuse,
delinquency (& other externalizing problems), and depression (& other internalizing
problems).
Theoretical Perspectives on Adolescence
Nature vs. nurture. A continuum from biological to environmental perspectives.
Biosocial theories (focus on: hormonal and physical changes of puberty).
Hall’s Theory of Recapitulation
Adolescence is a transitional and turbulent time parallel to the evolution of our species from
primitives into civilized adults. Development is determined primarily by instinct, by
biological and genetic forces within the person, and hardly influenced by the environment.
The upheaval that puberty causes is therefore unavoidable.
Dual Systems Theories
During adolescence two brain systems develop. One governs how rewards, punishment, and
social and emotional information are processed. The other regulates self-control and
advanced thinking abilities (e.g. planning). The first system is already up and running early
in adolescence, while the second system is still maturing. This creates maturational
imbalance.
Organismic Theories (focus on: biological changes + how contextual forces interact with
and modify these biological forces).
Freudian Theory
Puberty temporarily throws the adolescent into a period of psychological crisis by reviving
old conflicts over uncomfortable sexual urges that had been buried unconsciously.
Adolescents need to break away from their parents for normal development.
Eriksonian Theory
Eight stages in psychosocial development, with each their ‘crisis’ that arises due to the
interplay between internal forces of biology and the demands of society. Adolescence revolves
around the identity crisis: determining who one is and where one is headed.
Piagetian Theory
Adolescence marks the transition from concrete to abstract thought and thinking in
hypothetical terms. This transition is marked by both biological changes and by changes in
the intellectual environment of the individual.
, Learning Theories (focus on: the ways in which patterns of behavior are acquired through
reinforcement and punishment or through observation and imitation).
Behaviorism (e.g. Skinner)
Adolescents’ behavior is the product of various reinforcements and punishments (e.g. doing
well in school because this behavior is reinforced or because of punishment for not behaving
this way).
Social Learning Theory (e.g. Bandura)
Adolescents learn not only through reinforcement and punishment, but also by watching and
modeling those around them (e.g. parents, media figures).
Sociological Theories (focus on: how adolescents, as a group, come of age in society).
Adolescent Marginality (e.g. Lewin, Friedenberg)
The vast difference in power between adults and adolescents may leave adolescents feel
marginalized or insignificant. Problems adolescents face, are possibly created by the way the
adolescence experience is structured in society.
Intergenerational Conflict (e.g. Mannheim, Coleman)
There is inevitable tension between the adolescent and adult generations because they grow
up under different social circumstances and therefore have different attitudes, values and
beliefs.
Historical and Anthropological Perspectives (focus on: how the developmental period of
adolescence has changes considerably from one historical era to another).
Adolescence as an Invention (e.g. Bakan)
Adolescence is entirely a social invention. Social conditions, not biological givens, define the
nature of adolescent development. There are stages in development because society has made
it so, not because people really change in any fundamental way.
Anthropological Perspectives (e.g. Benedict, Mead)
Adolescence is a culturally defined experience because societies vary in the ways they view
and structure adolescence. Adolescence is stressful and difficult in some societies that saw it
this way, but calm and peaceful in other societies. The transition is more difficult in
industrialized societies.
Stereotypes on the adolescent period (e.g. boys are sex-crazed, females are mean girls,
adolescents are irresponsible) can have implications for how teenagers are treated by their
parents, teachers, and other adults.
,1. Biological Transitions
Puberty: all the physical changes that occur in adolescence as they pass from childhood into
adulthood. Four main manifestations:
1. An acceleration in growth, resulting in dramatic increases in height and weight.
2. The development of primary sex characteristics (e.g. gonads), which results in
hormonal changes.
3. The development of secondary sex characteristics, growth of genitals and breasts and
hair.
4. Changes in the brain’s anatomy and activity due to hormones.
The endocrine system
The endocrine system produces, circulates, and regulates levels of hormones.
Glands are organs that stimulate particular parts of the body to respond in specific ways.
Hormones are specialized substances that are secreted by the endocrine glands and then
enter the bloodstream, and travel through the body. Many hormones that are important in
puberty activate certain brain cells. These brain cells are called gonadotropin-releasing
hormone (GnRH) neurons.
The hormonal feedback loop
The endocrine system receives instructions from the central nervous system (CNS), mainly
through the firing of GnRH neurons, if certain hormones should be increased or decreased.
The endocrine system has a set point for particular hormones. If the hormonal level
in your body dips below this set point, secretion of that hormone increases, and stops
when the level reaches the set point again.
o This set point may differ depending on the stage of development.
This feedback loop, also the HPG axis, becomes increasingly important at the onset of
puberty. Even before birth the HPG axis develops involving three structures:
The pituitary gland – controls hormone levels in general.
Hypothalamus – part of the brain that controls the pituitary gland and that keeps a
concentration of GnRH neurons.
Gonads – in males: the testes, in females: the ovaries, which release the “sex”
hormones androgens and estrogens.
How does the feedback loop work?
When hormone levels fall below their set points, the hypothalamus stops inhibiting the
pituitary gland, allowing it to send signals to the gonads to release more sex hormones. The
gonads will then release sex hormones. The hypothalamus monitors, and when the hormone
levels are back at the set point, it starts inhibiting the pituitary gland again.
Puberty begins when genetic as well as environmental signals instruct the brain to change the
set point.
Adrenarche: the maturation of the adrenal glands that takes place during adolescence.
Stimulates early sexual feelings and contributes to the development of body odor.
The hormonal changes of puberty makes the individual more responsive to stress. This leads
to excessive secretion of the stress hormone cortisol by the adrenal glands. This could
contribute to developing mental disorders. Adolescence is not inherently stressful,
adolescents are just heightened in their vulnerability to stress in this period.
, The onset
The onset of puberty is stimulated by an increase in a brain chemical called kisspeptin.
Kisspeptin is stimulated by leptin (a protein produced by the fat cells), and suppressed by
melatonin (a hormone that contributes to sleepiness).
Children who have more fat cells (produce more leptin) and have been exposed to
more light (less melatonin) are more likely to start puberty on the early side of their
predisposed age.
Pre-birth hormones (e.g. testosterone in males) organize the brain and predetermines certain
patterns of behavior that will not appear until adolescence. The behavior that results from
this is thus not due to hormonal changes of puberty, but due to prenatal hormones.
Many other changes do occur because of changes in hormone levels in puberty (e.g.
development of pubic hair), or because of the interaction between prenatal and
pubertal hormones.
Somatic development
Adolescent growth spurt: the dramatic increase in height and weight that occurs during
puberty.
Epiphysis: the closing of the ends of the bones, which terminates growth after the
adolescent growth spurt has been completed.
During puberty muscular development is rapid, but faster for boys than girls. Body fat
increases for both sexes, but more so for females.
The increase in body fat among females lead to feelings of dissatisfaction with their
bodies and can enhance the risk of developing eating disorders.
Sexual maturation
The development of secondary sex characteristics is divided into five stages (Tanner
stages).
The order for boys: growth of testes and scrotum (10-13), growth of pubic hair (10-15), body
growth (10-16), growth of penis and change in voice (11-14), facial and underarm hair, oil-
and sweat-producing glands, acne (late adolescence).
The order for girls: growth of breasts (7-13), growth of pubic hair (7-14), body growth (9-14),
menarche (10-16), underarm hair, oil- and sweat-producing glands (late adolescence).
Menarche: the time of first menstruation.
Reasons for pubertal timing:
1. Genes. A specific region in chromosome 6 is one of the markers for pubertal timing.
This predisposition is not an absolute, but interacts with the external factors.
2. Environmental factors. Nutrition and health. Puberty occurs earlier among
individuals who are better nourished and grow more during childhood. Chronic
illness is associated with delayed puberty.
3. Family conflict. Can accelerate pubertal maturation due to stress, which in turn
affects hormonal secretions.
The presence of a stepfather could stimulate pubertal maturation (due to the
exposure to pheromones), while proximity to relatives slows pubertal
maturation down.
Secular trend: the tendency, over the past two centuries, for individuals to be larger in
stature and to reach puberty earlier, primarily because of improvements in health and
nutrition.
