Adolescence Flashcards
Adolescence
Period of the lifespan beginning with puberty and continuing to attainment of adult roles, marked by establishment of identity, increased social autonomy, and changing patterns of behavior and emotion
Puberty
Maturation of primary sex organs
Emergence of secondary sexual characteristics
Governed by rises in adrenal and gonadal hormones
Two stages of puberty
Rises in adrenal hormones
Rises in gonadal hormones
Puberty is not just physical- what else?
Dramatic physical changes set off dramatic social changes- in relationships with peers, parents, potential romantic partners
Bidirectional changes in physical development and social/emotional development
Puberty and psychopathology
Many disorders first emerge at puberty (as kids transition into adolescence) (high multifinality)
Existing disorders often worsen
Prevalence rates across genders shift
Way symptoms are expressed changes
Personal accentuation hypothesis
(like pubertal deterioration in autism)
For people with histories of behavioral and emotional difficulties or vulnerabilities for these sorts of difficulties, major life transitions (including puberty) will worsen these difficulties
Contextual amplification hypothesis
For kids who are already experiencing high levels of environmental stress and many risk factors, puberty will amplify their existing high levels of stress and tax coping resources, leading to more problems
Pubertal status
Overall level of physical maturation
Eg pre-pubertal v pubertal
Pubertal status research q
Difference between kids who have and have not reached a certain level of physical development
Getting at personal accentuation and contextual amplification
Pubertal status research findings
Gender differences in depression emerge at midpoint of puberty
Prior to puberty, girls are satisfied with their bodies, dieting and disordered eating common after puberty
Rates of substance use and abuse increase by mid puberty and increase even more by late puberty
Pubertal timing
Differences in physical maturation among a group of same-age, same-sex peers
When children reach specific physical milestones can be used to classify early, on-time, or late maturation
One of the most important psychological risk factors
Pubertal timing studies questions
Does it matter when children reach puberty? Do children who mature at a younger age differ from those who mature at an older age?
Yes- long term antecedent of psychopathology
Early pubertal timing in girls associated with
Depression
Eating disorders
Substance use
Externalizing
Academic failure
Sexual assault
Tons of negative psychological outcomes, high multifinality
Developmental Readiness Hypothesis
Cognitive, physical, and emotional development do not occur in synchrony
Early maturing youth are exposed to new environments and stressors at younger chronological ages and before they may be prepared to handle them
Pubertal timing in boys
Historically, early maturation seen as beneficial for boys
Now recent studies suggest early maturation is associated with increased vulnerability in boys too
What contributes to early pubertal timing?
A lot of variance attributable to genes
Nutrition
Stress (poverty, maltreatment, changes in primary caregivers, etc)
Hypothesis about stress and early puberty
Stress activates HPA axis which controls physical changes that occur early in the process of puberty
Adolescent brain development
Different brain regions develop at different rates
Brain is not fully matured at adolescence
Particular pattern of brain development during adolescence influences behavior, emotions, cognitive processes
Synaptic Pruning
Process of eliminating overabundant or unnecessary nerve cell connections- like fine tuning the brain
Gray matter gets thinned out until early 20s
Prefrontal cortex is among the last region to complete pruning
Prefrontal cortex
Highest cognitive capabilities, reasoning, judgement, behavioral control, planning
Key prefrontal question and answer
Why don’t young children with undeveloped prefrontal regions act like teenagers?
Different development of limbic versus prefrontal control regions may explain increased emotionality and risky behaviors in adolescents- limbic regions (emotion driven) are close to fully developed while prefrontal cortex isn’t- explains increased emotionality and risky behaviors
Dual Systems Model of Adolescent Brain Development
Cognitive control system- prefrontal cortex and other regions to which PFC is connected, seems to mature gradually as people age, independent of puberty
Socioemotional system- limbic system, matures much earlier, is not independent of puberty, dramatic changes in sensitivity to risk, reward, and social relations are influenced by hormone changes at puberty
Earlier maturation of socioemotional system might be why we see other manifestations of emotionality and adolescence
Adolescent antisocial behavior
Dramatically higher rates of antisocial behavior during adolescence- globally, over lifespan highest rates of externalizing behaviors, even among “well-adjusted” kids without a history of psychopathology
Risk is fun because
Underdeveloped PFC and overdeveloped limbic system
