The document discusses adolescence and provides details about: 1) Adolescence begins with puberty and ends with entrance into adulthood. It involves developing an identity in relation to peers and culture. 2) Adolescence is divided into early (ages 12-16) and late (ages 17-20s) stages. Early adolescence involves identity formation through school and peers. 3) Physical changes in puberty include growth spurts and development of secondary sex characteristics leading to reproductive capability. Nutritional needs differ for boys and girls during this period.

1. ADOLESENCE PERIOD
BY Shivangi Singh

2. ADOLESCENCE

3. The period of adolescence requires the continued refinement and
application of these skills to self-definition in relation to the culture. This
process of self-definition in terms of a culture begins in early adolescence
and culminates in later adolescence with the development of an identity that
serves as the major mode of organizing individual behaviour.
The period of adolescence begins with the onset of puberty. The puberty is
a series of biological events that signals the coming of other changes. The
end of adolescence comes with entrance into the world of the adult. In
many cultures ceremonies called rites of passage are used to designate the
arrival of adulthood.

4. Possible criteria for adulthood in our society
Emotional independence from parents
Economic independence from parents (i.e. earning at workplace)
Living away from one’s childhood home
Graduation from high school or college
Commitment to a personal set of values and goals
The minimum age of voting in public elections
Marriage and/or child bearing

5. Few characteristics that fit both a twelve-year-old
and a twenty-five-year-old. Therefore, this stage is
divided into two sub stages:
1.Early Adolescence (12 to 16 years)
2.Late Adolescence or youth (17 to the middle or in some
instances the late twenties). Youth or later adolescence is the
stage that bridges the transition between adolescence and
adulthood.

6. The individual is developing an identity in relation to the world of
school and peer group. This is “group identity” as opposed to the identity
formation of later adolescence. The early adolescent is still very much
influenced by his or her own family. However, at this time, the
discontinuities between family values and values of the peer group become
apparent to the adolescent. The world of early adolescent is characterised by
the dominance of the peer group as a source of influence. Sometimes there
is even pressure from parents of the adolescent to affiliate with the “right”
group. The process of self-evaluation is based on experiences in the school
and with peer group.
EARLY ADOLESCENCE

7. General characteristics:
1. General physical maturation: During this stage, males and females have parallel periods of physical growth.
There is usually a somewhat dramatic rate of growth in the bones and muscles of the body.
2. Changes in sexual factors and reproductive capability: Closely related to changes in the skeletal and
muscular dimensions of the body are changes in the reproductive systems. They are more concerned about and
pay more attention to self as a result of physical changes. This causes them to have ambivalent feelings
towards self.
3. Cognitive development: The changes in thinking skills that occur during early adolescence result in more
flexible and abstract view of the world and they allow the early adolescent to understand logical sequences of
action and to anticipate consequences of behaviour.
4. Social skills: The early adolescent develops relationships with peers of both sexes that are more mature than
that of a school age. Part of the reason is that adolescents’ cognitive skills enable them to understand the
perspective of other people better.

8. LATER ADOLESCENCE OR YOUTH
During later adolescent years there is increased sense of autonomy and independence.
Several factors contribute this emerging sense of independence.
 Living away from home
 Thinking skills that allow independent problem solving and contribute to an emerging
lifestyle
 Relatively stable and self-determined peer relations and friendships
 Make career choices
 Experiment with various job roles or life styles
 Confronted with the responsibility of supporting themselves, making a living and in
some cases supporting the family

9. SEX ROLE IDENTITY
The continued development of sex-role identity
during later adolescence involves the mature
acceptance of one’s sexuality and choice of
occupation and a life pattern that reflect this
acceptance.

10. AUTONOMY AND UNDERSTANDING FROM PARENTS
Adolescents gain autonomy from their parents and
are able to think about such abstract concepts as
freedom and justice, they become capable of
developing their own reasons for moral decisions.

11. BIOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT: PHYSICAL AND SEXUAL
CHANGES
The term puberty technically refers to the series of physical and physiological changes
that signal reproductive capability. There are five primary manifestations of puberty.
1. Growth spurt or rapid acceleration in growth which results in dramatic changes in body
weight and height.
2. Change in body composition particularly in the distribution of muscle and body fat.
3. Changes in respiration and circulation resulting in increased physical strength and motor
performance.
4. The continued development of the male and female sex organs leading to reproductive
capability
5. The development of secondary sex characteristics including changes in female breasts
and male genitals, growth of facial hairs and so on.

12. The sequence of Physical changes in Males and Females
Females Males
Skeletal growth Skeletal growth
Breast development Enlargement of testes
Straight pigmented pubic hair Straight pigmented pubic hair
Maximum adolescent growth spurt Early voice changes (voice cracks)
Ejaculations (nocturnal emissions or “wet dreams”)
Kinky pigmented pubic hair Kinky pigmented pubic hair
Menstruation (the first mensuration is
known as menarche)
Maximum adolescent growth spurt
Appearance of facial hair
Appearance of hairs in under arms and
forearms
Appearance of hairs in under arms and forearms
Late voice change
Appearance of coarse pigmented facial hair and chest
hair

13. The Growth spurt
The adolescent growth spurt may begin as early as eleven years for girls and thirteen years for boys. The
physical changes of adolescence begin when the hypothalamus (an area of the lower brain) stimulates the
pituitary gland to release specific hormones. In turn, these hormones stimulate the ovaries (in girls) or the
testes (in boys) and the adrenal glands to produce other hormones. These hormones act on the body to
produce the rapid increase in physical growth (height and weight) called the adolescent growth spurt.
Height changes dramatically as a result of growth spurt. During this one-year period, boys usually
grow between 3-5 inches and girls grow between 2.5 to 4.5 inches. The increase for muscle mass is slightly
greater for boys than for girls up to growth spurt years and substantially greater for boys thereafter. Girls tend
to have more subcutaneous fat than boys. As weight, muscle, fat and height change, the overall body shapes
of males and females change. Male shoulders become broader compared to their hips, and their legs become
comparatively long compared to their trunk length. The typical female has narrower shoulders compared with
her hips.

14. Nutritional needs
One of the major reasons for the problems that some teenage girls encounter with their nutritional
status is the difference between the nutritional needs of males and females during adolescence. The
general nutritional needs of girls reach a peak between the ages of eleven and fourteen and continue
thereafter to decline gradually until they are physically mature. In contrast, the nutritional needs of
boys continue to rise throughout the period from the age of eleven to eighteen and remain at that level
until about the age of twenty-two years. Therefore, a boy consumes more calories than a girl during
adolescent years. So, the nutritional requirements of the girl should be met with more restricted
quantity of food. These nutrients include calcium, iron and vitamins.
As far as the motor learning capacities are concerned, no difference is seen between sexes.
Rather, physiological-anatomical differences, different socialization and related interest and motivation
taken together probably account for sex differentiated performance.

15. VARIATIONS IN THE TIMING AND RATE OF PUBERTY
There are considerable variations in the timing of puberty and the rate at which
individuals proceed through puberty. There is evidence that the timing and rate of
puberty are determined primarily by genetic factors. The onset and rate of puberty are
also influenced by environmental conditions. Although genetic factors may have a
considerable impact on puberty, there are at least two environmental factors – nutrition
and health. If adolescents are malnourished, the events of puberty can be markedly
slowed down.
These biological changes appear to influence the adolescent indirectly, in the
following ways:
 Through the subjective meanings that the adolescent attaches to these changes
 Through the reactions of the significant others in the life of the adolescent – peers and
adults.

16. BODY IMAGE AND PUBERTY
The body image is the adolescent’s perceptions of his or her physique and appearance.
This body image is compared with the adolescent’s own expectations for body type, the
evaluation of relevant peers and adults and the cultural norms for male and female body
types. As a result of these comparisons adolescents may become somewhat self
conscious about their physical appearance. They spend significant time and energy in
assessing how their peers view these changes. Through exposure to television, movies
and magazines, adolescents come to learn that there may be an ideal body type for
males and females. Males may be expected to look muscular and strong. Female
adolescents may perceive that boys like girls with slender figure, well-developed
breasts and long legs. Deviations from such idealised forms of physical appearance may
affect the way some adolescents are treated by others and the way they feel about
themselves.

17. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory: The Formal Operational Stage (11 years and
older)
According to Piaget, the capacity of abstract thinking begins around 11 years of age.
They can come up with new, more general logical rules through internal reflection. They can
imagine possibilities and can form and test hypothesis. The ability to think abstractly has
emotionally implications too. Earlier a child could love a parent or classmate. Now the
adolescent can love freedom or hate exploitation. The major feature of this stage is
hypothetical deductive reasoning. It means that when faced with problem, formal
operational adolescents think of all the possible factors that could affect the outcome. Then
they try out in step-by-step fashion to find out which ones work for real world.

18. Major Characteristics and Developmental Changes: in adolescence
 Concrete operations are carried out on things whereas formal operations are
carried out on ideas. Formal operational thought is entirely freed from physical
and perceptual constraints.
 During this stage, adolescents can deal with abstract ideas (e.g. no longer needing
to think about slicing up cakes or sharing sweets to understand division and
fractions).
 They can follow the form of an argument without having to think in terms of
specific examples.
 Adolescents can deal with hypothetical problems with many possible solutions.
E.g. if asked ‘What would happen if money were abolished in one hour’s time? they
could speculate about many possible consequences.

19. LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
Adolescence brings further refinement in use of language. Vocabulary increases to grow
as reading matter becomes more adult. By 16-18 years, the average young person knows
about 80,000 words. They become more conscious of words as symbols that can have
multiple meanings: they enjoy irony, puns and metaphors. Adolescents also become
more skilled in social perspective talking, the ability to understand other person’s point
of view and level of knowledge and to speak accordingly. This ability is essential to
engage in conversation. Conscious of their audience, adolescents speak a different
language to their peers than with adults. Young people also use their new found ability to
play with words to define their generation’s unique values, tastes and preferences.
Adolescent speech constitutes a dialect of its own: pubilect

20. IDENTITY
Identity is a self-structure or an internal organization of values, abilities, feelings and prior
experiences. This self-constructed entity is dynamic and changing, as elements are
continuously being added and subtracted. The more developed and organised this self-
structure is, the more likely individuals are to be aware of their strengths and weaknesses –
their uniqueness as individuals. Likewise, the less developed one’s sense of identity, the
more confused and lacking in self-knowledge he or she is likely to be.
Identity development in adolescence involves three basic elements:
 Occupational identity
 Sexual identity
 Moral identity

21. Adolescents are capable of examining current and emerging sex-role patterns and of
making selections from these various alternatives. Adolescents’ new cognitive tools (i.e.
abstract reasoning) encourage them in their quest for a consistent set of principles of
philosophy of life. Adolescents come to appreciate the fact that there may not be a
single “correct” position or moral behaviour. This constitutes their moral identity.
For adolescents the establishment of a sense of independence or autonomy is an
important prerequisite for building and refining their identity. Since adolescents spend
so much time away from the supervision of their parents, it is important for them to
learn to make their decisions independently about a whole range of social and
educational tasks.

22. PROBLEMS/ISSUES OF IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT
Some adolescents have difficulty establishing a consistent identity and sense of who they are. These
difficulties are frequently manifested in disruptions in the lives of adolescents and their families. Following
problems can be seen in identity development:
 Delinquency: Delinquent behaviour of all sort ranging from occasional wrongdoing to more serious
crimes such as theft or robbery historically have been closely associated with adolescent years. they
behaving badly and often they break the laws and also they do serious crimes such as theft
or robbery.
 Drug abuse: Alcohol, marijuana and tobacco are three drugs most popular with adolescents. Several
factors can lead to drug abuse like: adolescent’s personality, parent’s role and peer influence. An
important early influence may also be the omnipresence of substance use in media. Adolescents are more
likely to drink or smoke if their peers and parents do so. The leading cause of death among adolescents is
automobile accidents – many of which are believed to be alcohol related.
However, there is a drop-off in alcohol/drug use by the time the adolescents reach young
adulthood. Typically, this drop-off has been associated with the movement of adolescents into roles
such as marriage or work, which encourage responsibility rather than alcohol or drug use.

23.  Suicide: Suicide is the third leading cause of death among adolescents. More females
than males commit suicide, but more males succeed in committing suicide. In addition,
most suicide attempters inform at least one person that they are considering suicide. Thus,
it becomes particularly important for parents, teachers and peers to “listen” carefully for
such warnings and to take them seriously. Typically, adolescents who attempt suicide
have been struggling with problems. These problems may be generally referred to as
serious identity concerns. For example, problems relating to their parents. Others may be
described as alienated from peers, society and ultimately from themselves. Others have
difficulty dealing with academic pressure at school.
Teenage pregnancy: Teenage pregnancies often have poor outcomes. The babies are likely
to be premature and are at heightened risk of neonatal death, health problems and
developmental disabilities. Teenage mothers are more likely to drop out from school and
have repeated pregnancies. They and their partners may lack the social maturity, skills and
social support to be good parents.

24. CONTEXTS OF ADOLESCENT SYSTEM
The Family
adolescents have a good deal of freedom and may spend most of the day away from home and
way from supervision of adults. It is during this period that many of the principles of moral
behaviour that parents have emphasized as important throughout childhood may be tested by
adolescent. During the phase of family cycle, parents may be called on to balance their
attempts to give the adolescent the freedom to make his/her own decisions with their attempts
to provide appropriate limits and emotional support for the adolescent. Some of the issues that
often occur in this period include career choices for adolescent, the selection of a college,
sexuality and dating and use of alcohol or drugs. Parents may sometimes feel that their
adolescents resent their help.

25. The Peer Group
Peer groups and friends provide the adolescent with an arena for much of the learning that
occurs in adolescence. Peers paly a vital role in the life of an adolescent as the adolescent’s
ties with the parents becomes looser. Increasingly, relationships with peers of both the same
and the opposite sex serves as an introduction and a prelude to later adult relationships in
work and social relationships.
The School
Adolescents spend a considerable amount of time in school. The school is the social
mechanism for helping the adolescent to become a contributing member of the society. There
continues to be an important relationship between individual economic success and attending
school. In addition, the school serves as a major socializing institution for the acquisition of
interpersonal skills and socially responsible behaviour.