Adolescent development HC 1
Judith Dubas’ recent adolescent reserach projects
Project 1: The role of personal characteristics in normative and non-normative
romantic and sexual development
o Large-scale, national, longitudinal research project on pubertal development,
love, romantic relationships, and sexuality among adolescents
o Longitudinal survey study
o N = 1470 adolescents at wave 1
o Four waves in total, every 6 months (began Fall 2011)
o 5 age cohorts of adolescents 11-15 years at W1; 13-17 years at W4
o Parent study
o Additional studies: qualitative study, experiments, daily diary method
o Topics:
Role of physical (puberty, attractiveness) and personality
characteristics in romantic and sexual development
How do these individual characteristics interact with contextual factors
in predicting specific developmental trajectories?
Project 2: An experimental investigation of developmental and individual differences
in adolescent risky decision making: the role of peers, siblings and parents
o Dutch study
607 Adolescents 11‐17 (1st and 3rd year)
Followed 1x per year for 3 years (T3 2014/5)
o St. Martin Study – 450
Adolescents 11‐17 (1st and 3rd year)
Followed 1x per year for 2 years (T2 Jan 2014)
Lower educational tracks
NL 40% minority, SXM 99%
o 10 risk behaviors
Alcohol
Delinquency
Gambling
Internet
“Extreme sports”
Smoking
School
Unsafe sex
Softdrugs
Traffic
Project 3: When being different becomes the norm: How microaggressions affect
Dutch lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth
o Three studies
Online sample of 267 Dutch sexual minorities (16‐22 years)
Struggles with parental consent: should we ask those kind of
questions?
School sample of 600 adolescents (school climate)
Qualitative interviews with Dutch adolescents
Defining adolescence (second decade of life: 10-20 years old)
The period between the onset of sexual maturation and the attainment of adult roles
and responsibilities
The transition from:
o “Child” status (requires adult monitoring: parents hold their hands and tell
them to be careful)
o To “adult” status (self-responsibility for behavior: parents had to let them go)
, Adolescent development HC 1
Beginnings
Set up of the course
Grades, assignments, etc.
Required textbook: Arnett, J. J., & Hughes, M. (2012). Adolescence and emerging
adulthood: A cultural approach. London, UK: Pearson
Key to success: Read the documents on Blackboard, the textbook and extra readings
Syllabus: some lectures will focus of chapters of the textbooks, but some will focus on
additional documents which you can find at the library
Documents about written assignment
o Full description and samples of assignments
Practice exam questions
Textbook and required readings (download them tonight!)
Grade determination
Written assignment = 25%
o Term paper part 1 (pre-paper) 5%
6 research articles related to 1 research topic (no reviews!)
o Term paper part 2 (final paper) 20%
Critically evaluate 5 articles
Exams = 75%
o Exam 1 - 25%
o Exam 2 - 25%
o Exam 3 - 25%
To pass course you must:
o Pass the written assignment (final paper is super important)
o Have an overall average of 5.5 or better
Adolescents in action: Teens react to the Netherlands welcomes Trump
Lecture introduction: learning objectives (!)
To understand how adolescence has been conceptualized across time and contexts
To understand old and new views about storm and stress
To understand how the beginning and end of adolescence has been defined
Lecture outline
A. Conceptualizing adolescence
B. Defining adolescence
C. Adolescence in context
A. Conceptualizing adolescence
The health paradox of adolescence: why are adolescents so healthy, yet end up doing stupid
things that lead to morbidity and mortality?
Adolescence in the healthiest and most resilient period of the lifespan
From childhood to adolescence:
o strength, speed, reaction time, mental reasoning, immune function
o resistance to cold, heat, hunger, dehydration, and mosttypes of injury
Yet: overall morbidity and rates increase 200 - 300% from childhood to late
adolescence