Ibrayeva Aigerim TFL 1A The key social and cognitive changes during adolescence. Adolescence is a time of many transitions for both teens (adolescent) and their families. To ensure that teens and adults navigate these transitions successfully, it is important for both to understand what is happening to the teen physically, cognitively, and socially; how these transitions affect teens; what adults can do; and what support resources are available. As you read the following information, keep in mind that while all teens develop, they don’t all follow the same timeline. Throughout this stage there appear physical & psychological changes in adolescent.
This may cause the teenager to become more independent as they may resent their parents, for getting divorced, and leave home. The family, in which an adolescent is living in at the time of puberty, can make a difference to how a teenager handles puberty. “Puberty is characterized by accelerated physical growth and intense psycho-social adjustment” (Mattson 6). Rapid transitions begin to take place, and their bodies start to transform. Boys commence to develop later than girls, causing stress due to identity quandaries.
Puberty effects the adolescents in their mental maturation, curiosity and makes them susceptible to important influences such as peer-pressure and media-coverage on how to look and act. Although psychologists have termed this time in a person’s life as one of “sturm und drang” (Stanley
IB Psychology 1 H435-2 Erikson’s psychological theory of psychosocial development in adolescents has been supported and disputed, showing many strengths and weaknesses, by a multitude of case studies most specifically Rutter et al and Espin et al. Erikson’s theory describes the impact of social experience across the whole lifespan and shows how he believes that personality develops in a series of eight different stages. Each stage in Erikson’s theory is concerned with becoming competent in an area of life and experiencing a conflict that serves as a turning point in development. He believes that if the “stage” is handled well, the person will feel a sense of mastery but if the stage is handled poorly, the person will emerge with a sense of inadequacy. In Erikson’s view he sees these conflicts centered around developing a psychological quality or failing to develop that quality.
Another topic that is widely discussed and possibly links too many disorders such as ADHD and or Autisms is pruning of the brain. This process is something that the brain undergoes through the third to sixth month of gestation and is an elimination of unnecessary brain cells. Although the topic of pruning is still something that is newly discovered it seems to have a great insight as to the developmental process and how it could have many effects on other things throughout the brain and its sensory. Hormones will always be a major factor in teenage behavior, emotions with unpredictable behavior being common amongst teens. Reasons behind many of the immediate changes are caused from the down pour of estrogen and testosterone that the blood stream is exposed to.
It can be a time of looking forward to life’s possibilities without the cares of adulthood, and rewarding friendships. It can also be a time of alienation from friends and parents, and fearing the direction of one’s life. During early adolescence the maturation of the frontal lobe, responsible for judgment, impulse control, and planning lags behind the limbic system development. This inconsistency in development helps explain a teenager’s risky behaviors, emotional instability, and impulsiveness. These qualities are what put teenagers at risk not only online but offline as well.
Erik Erikson believed that crises during stages of life need to be resolved before moving on to the next stage in order for healthy development. Erikson claimed that before adolescence, the child establishes a sense of identity but that this is challenged by the physical and intellectual changes of adolescence. Erikson sees adolescence as the fifth stage of psychosocial development, where the adolescent experiences role confusion, for example about careers, religion and political beliefs. The adolescent is trying to work out who they really are, and how they are seen by other people. Erikson introduced the idea of a psychosocial moratorium which is a temporary suspension of activity.
In addition, this essay provides us with some of the effects of substance abuse during adolescence. Solutions of how to avoid and deal with the problem are also discussed. Substance abuse is highly associated with peer pressure, family that does not support their children, low self-esteem, curiosity and psychological pressure. These reasons if taken seriously may eliminate the risk of substance use. Keywords: Adolescence –Substance abuse-Family-Peers-School.
It used to be that the strife for ideal self representation would begin in adolescents in their early teens. But somehow this craze has made its way down the line to children at an even younger age. Either parents aren’t silencing their inner daemons any longer, the
Teenage years is probably one of the most challenging periods of life. It is a stage of identity versus confusion – knowing oneself compared to losing oneself. Belonging and being accepted in a group is very important and being "cool" as well. During these years of growing up, teenagers encounter their share of positive and negative experiences. Peer pressure, curiosity, and the availability of drugs are factors that some youthful and vulnerable teenagers have to deal with in their adolescent lives.