RDA; Lecture 4, 5 and 6 - Adolescent psychological development, Depression, Anorexia and Conduct Disorder; Ageing Flashcards Preview

Early = 11-14; middle = 14-17; late = 18-21

Girls grow taller earlier than boys

Girls start puberty earlier than boys

Girls are physically mature in general 2 years earlier

x

Early maturing girls and late maturing boys are at higher risk of: Depression Substance abuse Disruptive behaviour/Delinquency Eating Disorder Bullying

• Grey matter volumes decrease from 6 years-adolescence
• Linear increase in white matter - 20 years
• Developmental curves peak at ~12years: frontal and parietal lobes ~16 years: temporal lobes
• NB: Brain develops from back to the front, with higher thinking developing at around 13 as prefrontal cortex is mainly involved.
• Synapses are selected , with the ones important for development kept and the ones that aren't necessary are removed = called pruning

Synaptogenesis followed by pruning (synapse elimination) Axonal myelination [speeds up nerve conduction] Fine tune prefrontal cortex and other cortical regions Cortical function becomes fine-tuned with development. Brain regions associated with more basic functions such as sensory and motor processes mature first, followed by association areas involved in top-down control of behaviour

Symbolic thinking = imagine a bottle is a plane and play with it like a plane

Moral reasoning (basis for ethical behaviour), has 6 developmental stages, each > adequate at responding to moral dilemmas than its predecessor.

Sequence is fixed

Many people never obtain highest level [some adults continue to think in immature terms]

x

Intellectual development = more complex self-concept Pubertal & social changes = self concept Adolescence struggle to understand self Different ways conceptualising self –concept Most common described dimensions of self-concept

Scholastic competence Job competence Athletic competence Physical appearance Social acceptance Close friendships Romantic appeal Conduct

x

Search for identity important at this stage

Coincides with physical growth

Need for important life decisions

Resolution may be through “crisis”

• ID status develops over time;
• only moratorium is necessary for ID development;
• extent of crisis is debated/unnecessary.
• ID associated with highest:
  • Achievement
  • Moral reasoning
  • Career maturity
  • Social skills
  • Lower anxiety

x

Varied parental expectations (duties etc.) Gender differences May generate conflict

Development of autonomy and continuation close relationships Social domains - adolescents and parents may have different views about who has final say depending on “Domain”: friendships, clothes, career etc. Mid-adolescence: most intense negotiations

Most adolescents report good relationships parents Get on well with mother 86% father 80% High confiding to mothers Disagreements around dress, music choice, leisure activities, time of coming home, tidying bedrooms.

x

Friends shared activities Main goal: acceptance by same gender group Stable preference for same gender friends Loyalty built on earlier interactions

• Variations in friendships (popularity <=> rejection)
• Rejected children less satisfying friendships
• Gender differences:
  • Girls: close relationships, more confiding, more brittle
  • Boys: less intimate, less disclosing, friendships more embedded in larger circle

x

x

A study showed that there are higher chances to achieve 5+ GCSE's A*-C, girls achieve better than boys, can be ethnic variations

ICD10 criteria = Body wt at least 15% below expected (<17.5 BMI) Avoidance of “fattening” foods (may also be self-induced vomiting, purgative abuse, alternating periods of starvation, drugs eg appetite suppressants, laxatives) Psychopathology-morbid dread of fatness, aims for wt lower than premorbid or healthy Endocrine disturbance (amenorrhea in women and men lose sexual interest) May also be other wt loss behaviours.

x

Persistent preoccupation with eating, and an irresistible craving for food, succumbs to episodes of eating large amounts of food in short periods of time binges Wt losing behaviours: Purging: by vomiting, taking a laxative, diuretic, or stimulant, &amp;amp;/or excessive exercise Psychopathology- morbid dread of fatness, aims for wt lower than premorbid or healthy

x

x

x