Adolescence is a period where significant physical, emotional, mental changes take place. This presentation covers the nature of adolescence, physical changes, issues in adolescent health and adolescent cognition.

1. Adolescence

2. INDEX
S.No. TOPIC Page No. Remarks
1. The Nature of Adolescence 3-9
2. Physical Changes 10-27
3. Issues in Adolescent Health 28-36
4. Adolescent Cognition 37-46

3. What is
Adolescenc
e?

4. “
“Adolesence is a transitional
period in the human life span,
linking childhood and
adulthood.”
4

8. Genetic/Biological, and
Environmental/ Social factors
influence Adolescent
Development.
Both continuity and discontinuity
with childhood.
Thoughts- more idealistic and
abstract.
Heightened interest in body
image.
Dating, Sexual exploration and
possibly, intercourse-for first
time.
Public(Adults) perceptions:
Emerge from comb. of personal
experience and media portrayals.
More troubled, less respectful,
more self-centered, more
assertive, and more adventurous.
Ethical, cultural, gender, socio-
economic age, and lifestyle
differences influence the actual
life trajectory of every
adolescent. (Schlegel, 2009;
Swanson, Edwards, & Spencer,
2010).
Acting out and Boundary Testing are time-honored ways in which adolescents move
towards accepting rather than rejecting, prenatal values. (McLoyd & others, 2009).

9. Daniel Offer and Colleagues (1988)
Study:
▪Studied self-images of adolescence in United States,
Australia, Bangladesh, Israel, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Taiwan,
Turkey, and West Germany.
▪At least 73% of adolescents displayed a healthy self-image:
(Happy most of the time, they enjoyed life, perceived
themselves as able to exercise self-control, they valued work
and school, they felt confident about their sexual selves,
expressed positive feelings towards families, felt that they
had the capability of cope with life’s stresses.)

10. Puberty
The Brain
Adolescent
Sexuality
PHYSICAL CHANGES

12. “
Puberty is a period of rapid physical
maturation involving hormonal and
bodily changes that occurs primarily
during adolescence.

14. Sexual Maturation, Height and Weight:
▪Male Pubertal Characteristics
▪Female Pubertal characteristics; Menarche- a girl’s first menstruation-
comes rather late in the pubertal cycle.
Initially; highly irregular.
▪Onset of Puberty: marked weight gains coincide.
Early adolescence: Girls tend to outweigh boys.
By age 14: Boys begin to surpass girls.
Beginning of adolescent period: Girls tend to
be as tall as or taller than boys of their age.
End of middle school yrs: most boys surpasses
the girls.
▪The growth spurt occurs approximately 2 yrs
earlier for girls than for boys.
▪Beginning; Mean age (Girls)- 9, (Boys)- 11
▪Peak rate of pubertal change; Girls- 11.5,Boys-13.5

15. Hormones-Powerful chemical substances secreted by the
endocrine glands and carried through the body by the
bloodstream (Susman, 2009; Wankowska & Polkowska,
2010)

16. Hormonal Changes:
Testosterone- associated in boys with genital dev., inc. height,
and deepening of the voice.
Estradiol-associated in girls with breast, uterine and skeletal
development.
Study by Nottelman & others, (1987)-Testosterone levels increased
18-fold in boys but only 2-fold in girls; Estradiol increased 18-fold in
girls but only 2-fold in boys. Both present in the hormonal makeup;
dominates differently.
Hormones may contribute to psychological development. For ex:
Higher conc. of testosterone was present in boys who rated
themselves as more socially competent.
In one study, social factors-better predictors of young adol. Girls’
depression and anger than hormonal factors. Beh, moods can also
affect hormones. The hormone-behaviour link is complex.

17. Body Image
• Preoccupation with body image is strong throughout
adolescence, but it is especially acute during early
adolescence, a time when adolescents are more dissatisfied
with their bodies, than in late adolescence.
• Girls are less happy with
their bodies; have negative
body images than boys
through out puberty (Bearman &
others, 2006)
• Girls become more dissatisfied-
Their body fat increases.
Boys become more satisfied-their
muscle mass increases.

19. Corpus callosum
These nerve fibers connect the
brain’s two hemispheres; they
thicken in adolescence to
process information more
effectively.
Prefrontal cortex
This “judgment” region
reins in intense emotions
but doesn’t finish
developing until at least
emerging adulthood.
Amygdala
The seat of emotions such as
anger; this area develops
quickly before other regions
that help to control it.

20. Adolescent
Sexuality

22. “
• Adolescence is a time of sexual exploration
and experimentation of sexual fantasies and
realities, of incorporating sexuality into one’s
identity. Adolescents have almost an
insatiable curiosity about sexuality.
• Although most adolescents experience times
of vulnerability and confusion, the majority
will eventually develop a mature sexual
identity.

23. •A recent research review concluded that adolescents
who view more sexual content on TV are more likely
to initiate sexual intercourse earlier than their peers
who view less content on TV. (Brown & Strasburger,
2007)
•Further, a recent study of adolescent girls across a
three-year period revealed a link between watching
sex on TV and subsequent higher risk of pregnancy.
(Chandra & others, 2008).

24. Developing a Sexual Identity
Involves learning to
manage sexual feelings
(such as sexual arousal
and attraction),
developing new forms of
intimacy, and learning
the skills to regulate
sexual beh. to avoid
undesirable
consequences; identities
emerge in the context of
physical, social and
cultural factors
Sexual identity
involves activities,int.,
styles of beh., and an
indication of sexual
orientation (Buzwell &
Rosenthal, 1996)
It is commonly
thought that most
gays and lesbian
struggle in childhood,
and gradually
recognize in mid to
late adolescence;
diverse patterns of
initial attraction.

25. The timing of Adolescent
Sexual Behaviors
Varies by
country as
well as
gender
and other
socioecon
omic
characteri
stics
Within US, male,
African
American, and
inner-city
adolescents
report being the
most sexually
active; Asian
American-less
(Fieldman,
Turner &
Araujo, 1999)
A study revealed
that the mean age
of sexual initiation
among female
adolescents in India
is17 yrs. 42.6% are
sexually
experienced.
(Bhise, RSIIPS,
2015)
There has been a
dramatic increase
in oral sex during
adolescence.
(Brewer& Tillman,
2008).

26. Risk factors in Adolescent Behavior
CONTRACEPTIVE USE:
Two kinds of risks-
unintended unwanted
pregnancy and
sexually transmitted
infections.
Increasing use of
contraceptives.
Younger adolescents
are less likely.
US data
SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED
INFECTIONS: Contacted
primarily through sexual
contact, including oral
and anal-genital contact.
Unprotected sex with an
infected partner, a
teenage girl has 1% risk
of getting HIV,30% of
acq. Genital herpes and a
50% chance of
contracting gonorrhea.
(Glei,1999)
ADOLESCENT
PREGNANCY:
Pregnancy rates among
U.S. Adolescents are
among the highest in the
industrialized world.
(Centers for Disease
control & prevention,
2002); Rate of births
have dropped due to inc.
contraceptive use and
fear of STIs.

27. Outcomes for Adolescent
Pregnancy
•Infants more likely to have LBW, neurological problems
and childhood illness, linked to infant mortality.
•Adolescent mothers often drop out of schools; lower
achievement test scores and beh. Problems.
•More likely female child born to teen mother will
perpetuate intergenerational cycle.
•Need help in obtaining competent child
Care and in planning for the future.
Serious extensive efforts are needed
to help pregnant adolescents and young
mothers enhance their educational and
occupational opportunities.

28. ISSUES IN
ADOLESCENT
HEALTH

29. Issues in Adolescent Health
Adolescent
Health
Nutrition and
Exercise
Sleep patterns
Leading Causes of Death
in Adolescence.
Substance use
and Abuse
Eating Disorders

30. Nutrition and Exercise
• A recent study found that 80% of the males and 92% of the female
adolescents in the 95th percentile and higher for BMI became
obese adults. (Wang& others, 2008).
• Many of today’s adolescents virtually live on fast- food meals
which contribute to the high fat levels in their diet.
• Individuals become less active as they reach and progress through
adolescence.
• Low levels of exercise; related to
Depressive symptoms in young ad.
• Vigorous exercise; lower drug use
• Watching TV and comp. for long hours;
Lower levels of physical fitness in adolescence.

31. Sleep patterns
• Carskadon and her colleagues (2004, 2006) found that when
given the opp. Adolescents will sleep an avg of 9h25m a night.
• Most adolescents get considerably less, creating a sleep
deficit.
• Biological clock undergo a shift as they get older, delaying
their period of sleepiness by 1h. A delay in the nightly release
of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin seems to underlie
this shift.
• He concludes that early school starting times-cause
grogginess, inattention in class and poor perf.

33. Leading Causes of death in
adolescence
• The 3 leading causes: accidents, homicide, and
suicide. (National Vital Statistics Reports,
2008).
• Risky driving habits such as speeding,
tailgating, and driving under the influence of
alcohol or drugs; more imp. Contributors than
lack of driving experience.
• Homicide and Suicide are also the leading
causes of death in adolescence.

34. Substance Use and
Abuse

35. Studies:
•Substance abuse was found mostly among urban children therefore it is necessary to
change the outlook and educate public especially of urban areas. (Sharma & Tyagi,
2016)
•A study by Saluja et.al 2007 on adolescents at Postgraduate Institute of Medical
Education and Research, Chandigarh showed that there was a consistent rise in
adolescents registered in De-addiction OPD, 27 in the first 20 years (1978-1997), 31
over the next four years (1998-2001) and 27 over the final 2 years (2002-2003).
•In another study by Juyal et al 2008 on substance abuse on inter college students
showed that 58.7% students were ever users while 31.3 % were regular user of any
drug.
•Many other studies also indicate that cannabis is a common substance of abuse
during adolescence such as school and college going students, street children and
working adolescents.(Manu et al, 2013).

36. Anorexia Nervosa
Involves the relentless pursuit of
thinness through starvation.
Typically begins in the early to
middle adolescent years, followed
by dieting and stress.
10 times more likely to
occur in females than
males.
Girls strive to emulate
what media portrays
Problems in family func.
increasingly being
found to be linked to
app. Of AN in adol. girls
Bulimia Nervosa
Individuals consistently
follows a binge-and-
purge pattern.
Typically begins in late
adolescence or early adulthood.
Women with BN are slightly
overweight before onset.
EATING
DISORDERS

37. Adolescent Cognition
Piaget’s theory
Adolescent
Egocentrism
Information Processing

39. The Formal Operational Stage
• Abstract quality of thinking –evident in the adolescent’s
verbal problem-solving ability.
• Accompanying the abstract nature of formal op. thought Is
thought full of idealism and possibilities, when assimilation
dominates.
• Thoughts with ideal characteristics often lead adolescents to
compare themselves with others in regard to such ideal
standards; thoughts-fantasy flights into future possibilities.
• Hypothetical-deductive reasoning-Adolescent begin to think
more as a scientist thinks, devising plans to solve problems
and systematically testing solutions.

40. Evaluating Piaget’s Theory:
•Only about 1 in 3 young adolescents is a formal operational thinker,
and many American adults (and adults in other cultures) never
become formal operational thinkers.
•Culture and education exert stronger influences on cognitive
development than Piaget maintained. (Goncu & Gauvain, 2012; Harris,
Graham & Urdan, 2012)
•Most complementary developmentalists agree that cognitive
development is not as stage-like as Piaget thought (Siegler, 2012).
Furthermore, children can be trained to reason at a higher cognitive
stage, and some abilities emerge earlier than Piaget thought
(Baillargeon & Carey, 2012)
•Piaget was the founder of the present field of cognitive development,
and he developed a long list of mast5erful concepts of enduring power
and fascination.

41. ADOLESCEN
T
EGOCENTRIS
M

42. • Adolescent Egocentrism is the heightened self-
consciousness of adolescents.
• David Elkind(1976) points out that adolescent
egocentrism has two key components: the
imaginary audience and personal fable.
• The imaginary audience-Adolescents’ belief that
others are as interested in them as they themselves
are, as well as attention getting behavior-attempts
to be noticed.
• Personal fable-involving a sense of uniqueness and
invincibility (or invulnerability).

44. “
• Information Processing
According to Kuhn(2009),improvements in
executive functioning permit more
effective learning and an improved ability
to determine how attention will be
allocated to make decisions (Decision
making), and to engage in Critical
Thinking.

45. DECISION MAKING
• Adolescence is a time of
increased decision making-which
friends to choose, which person
to date, go to college and so on.
• Older adolescents are described
as more competent than
children. (Keating,1990)
• Compared with children, young
adolescents-more likely to
generate diff options, examine a
situation from a variety of
perspectives, anticipate the
conseq of decisions and consider
credibility of sources.
• The same adolescent who
makes a wise decision when
calm may make an unwise
decison when emotionally
aroused. (Paus,2009)
• Dual-process model-Lyrical
and experiential cognitive
systems.

46. Critical Thinking
• Adolescence is an important
transitional period in the
development of critical
thinking (Keating, 1990).
• If fundamental skills are not
developed during
childhood, critical thinking
skills are unlikely to mature
in adolescence.
• For some adolescents, cognitive
changes that allow imp clinical
thinking in adolescence include
the following-
• 1. inc speed, automaticity, and
capacity of info. Processing
• 2. more breadth of content
knowledge in variety of domains.
• 3. inc ability to construct new
combinations of knowledge.
• 4. greater range and more
spontaneous use of strategies or
procedures by applying or
obtaining knowledge.

47. THANK
YOU!