Adolescence

Question 1

Age range

Answer 1

12-18 years

Question 2

Body growth and physical changes

Answer 2

• Adolescent growth spurt – rapid increases in height and
  weight
• Growth spurt occurs between 10 and 14 years in females,
  and 12 and 16 years in males
  ◦ Weight gains less predictable than height gains and are
  influenced by diet, exercise and general lifestyle
• Changes in height and weight result in changing body
  shapes
• Male and female bodies change differently
• Pattern followed opposite to earlier patterns
  ◦ Extremities develop more quickly
• Internal changes with sex differences
  ◦ Heart and lungs
  ◦ Sex organs

Question 3

Primary sex characteristics

Answer 3

Development of sex organs

Question 4

Secondary sex characteristics

Answer 4

External changes
muscle growth, facial hair, breast formation, othersexual characteristics.

Question 5

Puberty

Answer 5

• Release of gonadotrophin stimulates
  ◦ Male testes to increase testosterone
  ◦ Female ovaries to increase oestrogen
  ◦ Both sexes produce both hormones but to different levels

Question 6

Variations in pubertal development

Answer 6

• Wide individual differences
  ◦ 9–17 years for menarche (Oestrogen stimulates the production ofova and regulates the menstrual cycle.)
  ◦ 10–14 years for spermarche (Testosterone stimulates the enlargement of thepenis and scrotum around 12 years. Testes beginto produce semen, and this is the first ejaculation.)
• Ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic differences
• Secular trend – increasingly lower age for the onset of
  puberty in Europe and USA since the late 19th century
• Largely genetically determined
• Environmental factors include:
  ◦ nutrition
  ◦ adiposity
• underweight delays puberty
• obesity accelerates puberty
• Amenorrhoea
  ◦ Associated with extreme weight loss or malnutrition

Question 7

Psychological consequences: Early maturing males

Answer 7

◦ 1980s/90s studies: have opportunities for leadership and
higher social status with peers
◦ 21st-century studies: academic, emotional and behavioural
problems, but these might be short-lived, no lasting detrimental
effects

Question 8

Psychological consequences: late maturing males

Answer 8

◦ Negative impact on esteem short-lived
◦ Develop positive qualities (e.g. insight)
◦ Less pressure to engage in risk behaviours

Question 9

Psychological consequences: Early maturing females

Answer 9

◦ Negative long- and short-term effects
◦ Premature dating and sexual encounters
◦ Vulnerable to STIs, teenage pregnancy, eating disorders,
smoking and drinking, depression, anxiety, poor academic
achievement
◦ Related to family environment

Question 10

Psychological consequences: Late maturing females

Answer 10

◦ Lower peer status, but generally more positive outcomes

Question 11

Health belief model (Rosenstock,
1966)

Answer 11

• Adopting healthy behaviours based on:
  ◦ Perceived severity of condition
  ◦ Perceived personal vulnerability
  ◦ Perceived barriers to behaviour
  ◦ Perceived benefits of the behaviour
• Mediating variables include age,
  sex, SES, external cues,
  motivation

Question 12

Adolescent nutrition

Answer 12

• 25% Australian adolescents are overweight or obese
• Associated health risks
  ◦ High blood pressure, respiratory disease,
  orthopaedic disorders, diabetes
• Psychosocial consequences
• Causes complex
  ◦ Combination of genetics and environment

Question 13

Eating disorders

Answer 13

• Dieting as a means of weight control is common in Western
  societies
• For some, unhealthy eating patterns may lead to fully fledged eating disorders
• Four major types of eating
  disorders recognised in the DSM:
  1. anorexia nervosa
  2. bulimia nervosa
  3. binge eating
  4. pica, rumination and avoidant/restrictive food
  intake

Question 14

Sexually transmitted infections

Answer 14

• STIs are bacterial and viral infections that enter the body via mouth and sex organs
• STIs include syphilis, gonorrhoea, genital lice, scabies,
  chlamydia, herpes, genital warts, trichomoniasis, hepatitis,
  HIV/AIDS
• Adolescents have the highest rate of STIs of any age group,
  with about 25% being infected in any one year
• Abstinence the only complete prevention, but practising
  ‘safer sex’ may be more achievable

Question 15

Substance abuse

Answer 15

• Experimenting with psychoactive substances widespread
  during adolescence – substances that alter perceptions,
  mood and behavior
• May be naturally occurring such as alcohol, or created such
  as ecstasy and LSD
• Experimentation, or substance use, may lead to escalation
  in experimentation to habitual or repeated usage known as
  substance abuse
• In Australia, the most commonly used psychoactive
  substances are alcohol and tobacco, with 85.6% and 36.9%
  of Australians aged 14 and older using these substances
  respectively
• Binge drinking: consecutive consumption of 5+ drinks in less than 2 hours
• Late adolescents are more likely to use e-cigarettes than
  other age groups

Question 16

Brain Development

Answer 16

▪ Pruning of unused synapses in the cerebral cortex
▪ Prefrontal cortex becomes more effective- more
flexible and adaptive thinking
▪ Growth and myelination of stimulated neural fibres
▪ Cognitive control network – requires fine tuning
▪ Changes in the brain’s emotional and social
network – during puberty neurons become more
responsive to excitatory neurotransmitters
▪ This may result in higher risk taking and novel
experiences drug taking, sexual activity, dangerous
acts, etc. May also react more strongly to stressful
events

Question 17

Piaget’s theory: the stage of
formal operations

Answer 17

• Between 12 and 15 years, move from concrete to formal
  operational thought
• Hypothetico-deductive reasoning
• Systematic, scientific approach
• Tested by the pendulum problem
• Propositional reasoning
• Making logical inferences
• May apply to premises that are
  not factually true
• Understand validity of logic

PASS:
Formal Operational - Cognition undergoes a qualitative transformation fromconcrete operational thought that typifies middlechildhood, to a more abstract way of thinking
Hypothetico – deductive reasoning: individuals are first able to make hypotheses from their ownobservations and can test them systematically
Propositional reasoning: This type of reasoning involves making inferences from premises whichare presented as true, so the concluding statement is also true. For example, the premise, ‘All menare mortal’, is presented along with the second premise, ‘Socrates is a man’, followedby the logicalconclusion, ‘Therefore Socrates is mortal’. Thus, propositional reasoning uses abstractmanipulations that are freed from the concrete

Jean Piaget described adolescents as moving from concrete to formaloperationalthought (12+ years). In this period he said they were capableof:
Hypothetical, logical & abstract thought
Ability to think beyond the real to the possible
Understand intangible, hypothetical concepts
Advanced mathematical reasoning e.g. negation and reciprocation
Deductive reasoning – begin with a general theory, draw all logical inferences from it, then test the validity of those inferences systematically

Some of the key features of Piaget’s theories related to:
* egocentricity of adolescence – the adolescent as the centre of his/her world
* self-consciousness and exhibitionism – can be enhanced by new social relationships
* imaginary audience thinking – heightened at point of gaining formal operational thinking

Question 18

Criticisms or variations in Piaget’s thinking

Answer 18

• Piaget assumed horizontal décalage – formal operations
  found in some domains but not others
• Achievement of formal operations overestimated
  ◦ Only half achieve full operational thought, some never achieve it
  ◦ Influenced by sociocultural context
• Post-formal thinking – formal operations used as a problem
  solving tool for ambiguous problems

Question 19

The impact of formal operations on
adolescent behaviour

Answer 19

• Become more critical of adult authority, and can argue more skillfully
• Better able to understand philosophical and abstract topics
  at school
• May become more judgmental about perceived
  shortcomings of social systems
• May try to apply logic to bigger, more complex problems
  such as world peace – may appear naive

Question 20

Information processing theory

Answer 20

• Information processing theory assumes several mechanisms underlying changes in
  cognition, with specific components undergoing
  considerable development during adolescence
• One of the most fundamental
  components of information
  processing is attention
  ◦ Sustained attention
  ◦ Selective attention
  ◦ Divided attention

PASS
Information-Processing theorists view cognitive development in adolescence refer to several mechanisms, includingexecutive function of the brain as the underlying cognitivegains. Thesemechanisms include:
Attention becomes more selective
Inhibition responses to stimuli and learned-responses improves
Strategies become more effective due to improvememory
Knowledge increases
Cognitive self-regulation improves
Speed of thinking and processing capacity increases

Question 21

What is critical thinking?

Answer 21

Critical thinking involves thinking reflective
and creative thinking by keeping one’s mind
open to others points of view.

Question 22

Critical thinking according to (Scharmer, 2009)

Answer 22

• According to (Scharmer, 2009), critical
  thinking is based on listening, listening to
  oneself, listening to others and listening to
  what emerges in a group.
• The cognitive processes involved in critical
  thinking includes:
  ◦ Greater capacity for information processing
  ◦ Greater knowledge base
  ◦ Greater capacity to problem solve (abstract
  thinking) and meta cognition abilities.

Question 23

Critical thinking according to King and Kitchener (1994)

Answer 23

King and Kitchener (1994) fundamentals of critical
thinking:
▪ Basic operations of
reasoning
▪ Domain-specific knowledge
▪ Metacognitive knowledge
▪ Values, beliefs, and
dispositions

Question 24

Critical thinking: a study by Nicholls, Nelson and Gleaves (1995)

Answer 24

◦ Critical thinking was more likely to excite students about their studies, and would stimulate more peer-based learning
* Critical thinking is a skill that must be learned and practised
in order for it to develop – highly dependent on a solid base
of verbal and numerical skills established during childhood

Question 25

Decision-making

Answer 25

• Tversky and Kahneman (1974) prospect theory
  ◦ Balance between potential risk or gain
  ◦ Risk-aversive, risk-seeking behaviour
  ◦ Perception more important than actuality
  ◦ Biases due to retrievability of instances
• Decision-making ability increases
  ◦ More options generated, see different perspectives, predict
  outcomes, evaluate information sources

Question 26

Moral development : Elkind’s egocentricism

Answer 26

Elkind’s egocentricism – built on the theory of Piaget
* Teenage self-absorption – adolescent egocentrism
* Imaginary audience
◦ Preoccupation with reaction of others
◦ Personal fable
◦ Own life is heroic and unique
◦ Inflated self importance, specialness
◦ Unrealistic ambitions
◦ Increased narcissism, depression and anxiety

Question 27

Kohlberg’s stages of moral judgement

Answer 27

6 stages. Including in exam prep pages

Question 28

Moral development according to Gilligan

Answer 28

• Gilligan (1977, 1982) argued that Kohlberg’s model does not
  apply equally to males and females
• Proposed a new methodology, relating specifically to female moral reasoning, and containing three stages of moral development that were specifically focused on interpersonal care and concern

Question 29

Morality in Adolescence: summary

Answer 29

▪ Kohlberg claimed moral reasoning a good predictor of
moral behaviour
▪ The correlation is fairly modest though
▪ May be a gap between reasoning and actual behaviour
▪ The development of moral self-relevance may be
important
▪ Integration of morality into self-concept may have
impact on behaviour

Question 30

Identity Development

Answer 30

• Traditionally considered a time of turbulence, now as a period of transition
• Adolescence can be divided into three stages:
  ◦ Early adolescence (11–13 years)
  ◦ Middle adolescence (14–16 years)
  ◦ Late adolescence (17–18 years)
• Identity issues central, with questions of identity arise from
  ◦ cognitive and hormonal changes
  ◦ awakening sexual interest
  ◦ normative societal expectations
  ◦ vocational expectations

Question 31

Erikson: Identity formation

Answer 31

For Erikson, establishing an identity is the major task
of adolescence

Stage 5: identity vs role confusion
* adolescents try to figure out “Who am I?” “What do I value”
“Where am I going?” and “Where do I belong?

Successful identity formation necessary for future
development of friendships and intimate
relationshipsIndividuals must achieve balance – identity an
ongoing life project.

Individuals must achieve balance – identity an ongoing life project

Question 32

Marcia’s identity status model

Answer 32

Marcia (1966) proposed four separate types of identity
status, representing different levels of identity
development

• Identity achievement: The attainment of a coherent sense of self after a period of exploration
• Identity diffusion: A state where the individual has neither explored nor committed to an identity; failure to achieve a relatively coherent, integrated and stable identity
• Identity foreclosure: Commitment to an identity without prior exploration
• Identity moratorium: Active exploration of possible roles and different responsibilities without a commitment to a definite identity.

Question 33

Factors Affecting Identity Development

Answer 33

Gender – studies have mixed findings. Gender role may be
more important that gender per se
* Peers – increasing importance of influence during adolescence
* Parents – identity diffusion associated with lack of parental
support, warmth and open communication
* Personality and psychological wellbeing – bidirectional
relationship
* Societal and cultural factors – ethnic identity

Question 34

Development of self

Answer 34

• Self-concept becomes more complex and abstract reflecting formal operational thought
• Increased skills in perspective taking
  ◦ Adolescent egocentrism
  ◦ Personal fable
  ◦ Imaginary audience
• Recognise inconsistencies of self
  ◦ Interpreted as differences
  between ‘true’ and ‘false’
  selves

Question 35

Self-Esteem

Answer 35

• Global self-esteem
  ◦ overall view and evaluation of self
• Decreases in adolescence associated with:
  ◦ transitions, stresses and challenges of adolescence and
  school
  ◦ More realistic self-appraisals
• Authoritative parenting enhances self-esteem, while authoritarian parenting reduces it

Question 36

Gender differences in self-esteem

Answer 36

Girls experience lower self-esteem than boys during
adolescence
◦ May be associated with girls’ greater concern
for body image

Gender-role effects may also be important

Girls more vulnerable to negative aspects of opposite-
sex friendships

Low self-esteem associated with loneliness,
anxiety, depression and reduced life satisfaction

Question 37

Family Relationships and autonomy

Answer 37

• Adolescent parent-child relationships
  ◦ Based on those established in childhood
  ◦ Become more egalitarian
• Adolescents increase self- regulation; seek control,
  choice, and autonomy
• Parenting styles, gender and culture
  ◦ Behavioural vs psychological control
  ◦ Parental monitoring

Question 38

Parent - child Conflict

Answer 38

• Conflict may arise from
  ◦ Discrepancies between expectations of responsibilities and
  freedoms
  ◦ Views on appropriate and inappropriate behaviour
  ◦ Everyday issues
• Conflict more common in early adolescence than later
  Families with early-maturing adolescents experience more conflict than those with normative maturing or late-maturing
  teenagers

Higher levels of parent–child conflict more likely
to occur in families coping with issues such as
divorce, economic hardship and other stressors

Question 39

Peer groups

Answer 39

Dunphy (1963) participant–observer study
* Clique
◦ A group of 3–9 members
◦ Characterised by close relationships
◦ Provide security, group norms

• Crowd
  ◦ A collection of cliques, about 20
  members
  ◦ Provide group identity
• Crowds are not necessarily involved in shared activities
• Reputational groups
  ◦ Elites, athletes, academics, deviants, others
• Interactive crowds
  ◦ Gather at weekends or parties
  ◦ Adopt uniform appearance
  ◦ Some individuals try different
  identities by belonging to different crowds
• Social media – virtual groupings in cyberspace
• US research shows considerable interracial interaction
  in primary school years
• Little interaction between racial groups in adolescence
• Segregation may relate to need to establish identity
• May be related to economic, rather than racial factors
• Popular adolescents
  ◦ More involved with peers
  ◦ Better social skills
  ◦ May also display antisocial behaviour
• Controversial adolescents
  ◦ Aggressive, but socially skilled
• Neglected and rejected adolescents
  ◦ Lack social skills, engage less with peers and with
  opposite sex

Question 40

Adolescent peer group stages

Answer 40

• Stage 1: Early cliques and crowds (11–13 years) are
  unisex, isolated, uncoordinated
• Stage 2: Superficial mixing of male and female groups
• Stage 3: Leaders form mixed-sex clique
• Stage 4: Various mixed sex groups loosely link as a
  crowd
• Stage 5: Couples form

Question 41

Peer group conformity

Answer 41

• Vulnerability to peer pressure varies according to
  interaction between individual and environmental
  factors
• Some teenagers more susceptible to peer pressure
  ◦ Personality that is more easily influenced
  ◦ May want to be part of a social group and therefore more
  likely to assimilate

Question 42

Gangs

Answer 42

• Gang’s share a collective identity
• Relatively stable group
• Antisocial and criminal behaviours
• Product of poor economic conditions
• Australian youth ‘gangs’ often have an ethnic basis
• Negative relationships with police
• Not necessarily overtly criminal
• Group norms – deviancy training
• Vulnerable youths – early onset or late onset

Question 43

Bullying

Answer 43

• Repeated victimisation
  ◦ Verbal or physical abuse
  ◦ Exploitation or exclusion
• Half of all Australian children have been bullied at some time (Rigby, 2008)
• Cyberbullying
  ◦ Relational aggression
• Bullying has devastating effects, sometimes even leading to suicide
• Early intervention needed

Question 44

Friendships

Answer 44

• Based on mutuality and intimacy and
  appreciate each other’s uniqueness
• Complementarity is important – different
  strengths provide mutual benefit
• Benefits of adolescent friendships:
• Source of social and emotional support
• Help to promote autonomy
• Help in defining a sense of self

Question 45

Romantic Relationships

Answer 45

• Dating considered to be recreational, fun, separate
  from ‘courting’ function
• Follow a dating script, based on gender roles
• Early relationships less enduring and more
  superficial
• Cultural differences relate to age for dating
• Relationships for homosexual adolescents more
  difficult

Question 46

Sexuality during adolescence

Answer 46

• Transition from autoerotic to mutually erotic activities –
  progresses from kissing and petting to intercourse
• Age of first coitus is decreasing
• Postponing and replacement of first coitus with oral sex –
  not necessarily a safer option
• Transition to coitus depends on motivation, social controls,
  attractiveness (Udry & Billy, 1987)
• Access to contraception changed attitudes
  ◦ Permissiveness with affection
• Double standard
  ◦ Premarital sex permitted for males, but not for females
• Cultural differences in attitudes to sexual behaviour
  ◦ Young unmarried women from ethnic minorities more likely to be virgins

Question 47

Sexual orientation

Answer 47

• Sexual orientation
  ◦ Continuum from exclusively homosexual to exclusively
  heterosexual
  ◦ Some identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual
• Individuals identify their minority sexual orientation
  ◦ Self-labelling
  ◦ Disclosure
• Achieving personal identity more difficult
• May experience rejection from family, school, and religious
  groups
• Risk depression and suicide
• Factors determining sexual orientation
  ◦ Biological and genetic predisposition
  ◦ Possible role of prenatal hormone, but no definitive evidence

Question 48

Adolescent pregnancy & parenthood

Answer 48

• Australian teenage birth rate – 9.2 per 1000 in 2017
• More likely to affect teens in remote regions or living in
  low socioeconomic areas
• In recent years, there has been a reduction in
  both terminations and adoptions
• Changes in societal attitudes to birth outside marriage
  and greater governmental support have made teenage
  parenting more viable

Consequences and risks
* More prenatal and birth complications
* Possible negative adolescent outcomes for children of teen
mothers
* Teen mothers less likely to complete secondary education,
have stable well-paying job, enter secure marriage, achieve
above average income
* Teen fathers less negatively affected
◦ Have early contact with baby, but declines over time

Question 49

Factors affecting the incidence of teenage
pregnancy

Answer 49

• Inadequate knowledge of contraception
• Lack of basic sexual knowledge
• Misguided motivation – identity, unconditional love
• Societal factors
  ◦ Poverty, single parents with low education
  ◦ Lack of educational opportunities
• High risk teenagers need access to responsive support
  programs

Question 50

Puberty (PASS)

Answer 50

Onset of puberty is earlier for females but faster and longer for males
Growth spurt – (growth hormone and thyroxine)
Girls will achieve adult height by 16 and boys 18-20
Muscles develop rapidly in both sexes, boys normally gain a greater proportion of muscle, where girls gain extra fat.
There are many changes to the body during the adolescence period. Genetics play a role in the onset of puberty as hormonal processes regulate pubertal growth andchanges. The outward signs of puberty is a rapid growth spurt, along with changes tobody proportions and muscle-fat make-up. Puberty also brings steady improvements ingross-motor development.