The document summarizes physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development during adolescence. It discusses changes in the brain and puberty that occur during this period. It also examines topics like eating disorders, adolescent sexuality, health issues, substance use, cognition, identity development, relationships with families and peers, culture, and juvenile delinquency. Adolescence involves significant brain development as well as physical, emotional, and social transitions.

1. ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Life-Span DevelopmentLife-Span Development
Twelfth EditionTwelfth Edition
Chapter 11:
Physical and Cognitive Development in Adolescence

2. The BrainThe Brain
 The adolescent brain
undergoes significant
structural changes
 Corpus callosum
thickens; improves
adolescents’ ability to
process information
 Amygdala (handles
processing of
information about
emotion) develops
earlier than the
prefrontal cortex
(involved in higher-level
cognitive processes)
 Adolescents are driven by
strong emotions but have
difficulty controlling these
passions
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3. PubertyPuberty
Preoccupation with body image is especially strong in early adolescence
• Girls are generally less happy with their bodies than boys and become more
dissatisfied over time
• Boys typically become more satisfied as they move through puberty
Early and Late Maturation:
 Boys:
 Early-maturing boys view themselves more positively and have
more successful peer relations
 Late maturing boys report a stronger sense of identity in their 30s
 In general, early maturation seems to be better
 Girls:
 Early-maturing girls are more likely to smoke, drink, be depressed,
have an eating disorder, struggle for earlier independence, have
older friends, date earlier and have earlier sexual experiences

4. Eating DisordersEating Disorders
Anorexia Nervosa: an eating disorder that involves the
relentless pursuit of thinness through starvation
◦ Three Main Characteristics:
 Weighing less than 85% of what is considered normal for a person’s
age and height
 Having an intense fear of gaining weight that does not decrease with
weight loss
 Having a distorted image of their body shape
◦ Typically begins in the early to middle teen years, often
following an episode of dieting
◦ 10 times more likely to occur in females than males
◦ Role Models and the Media:
 Girls who were motivated to consume media with thin,
female images were more likely to report dissatisfaction with
their bodies
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5. Eating DisordersEating Disorders
Bulimia Nervosa: eating disorder in which the
individual consistently follows a binge-and-
purge pattern
◦ Most bulimics:
 Are preoccupied with food
 Have an intense fear of becoming overweight
 Are depressed or anxious
 Have a distorted body image
◦ Bulimics typically fall within a normal weight
range
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6. Adolescent SexualityAdolescent Sexuality
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•Timing of sexual initiation varies by country, gender, and other
socioeconomic characteristics
•Percentages of sexually active young adolescents in the United
States vary greatly
•Male, African American, and inner-city adolescents report being the
most sexually active; Asian American adolescents are the least
sexually active
•Early sexual activity is linked with risky behaviors (drug use,
delinquency, school-related problems)

7. Adolescent HealthAdolescent Health
Leading Causes of Death in Adolescence:
◦ Accidents
 Typically motor vehicle accidents
 A large percentage are due to alcohol or drug impairment
◦ Homicide
 More common among African American males
◦ Suicide
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8. Substance Use and AbuseSubstance Use and Abuse
 United States has one of the highest rates of
adolescent drug use of any industrialized nation
 Adolescent alcohol and cigarette consumption has
declined in recent years
 Use of painkillers (Vicodin, Oxycontin) is increasing
 Parents, peers, and social support can play important
roles in preventing adolescent drug abuse

9. Adolescent CognitionAdolescent Cognition
Piaget’s Formal Operational Stage (age 11+):
◦ More abstract than concrete operational thought
◦ Increased verbal problem-solving ability
◦ Increased tendency to think about thought itself
◦ Thoughts of idealism and possibilities
◦ More logical thought
 Hypothetical-deductive reasoning: involves creating a
hypothesis and deducing its implications
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10. Adolescent EgocentrismAdolescent Egocentrism
Adolescent Egocentrism:
◦ Heightened self-consciousness of adolescents
 Imaginary Audience: adolescents’ belief that others are as
interested in them as they themselves are
 Personal Fable: involves a sense of uniqueness and
invincibility
◦ Invincibility attitudes are associated with reckless
behavior
 Drug use
 Suicide
 Having unprotected sex
©2009 The
McGraw-Hill

11. Life-Span DevelopmentLife-Span Development
Twelfth EditionTwelfth Edition
Chapter 12:
Socioemotional Development in Adolescence
©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

12. Self-EsteemSelf-Esteem
Self-Esteem is the overall way we evaluate
ourselves
◦ Girls’ self-esteem tends to decline during
adolescence, while boys’ self-esteem increases
 Girls’ negative body image during pubertal change
 Greater interest young adolescent girls take in social
relationships
 Gender differences may be exaggerated
◦ Low self-esteem in adolescence is associated
with:
 Poorer mental and physical health
 Worse economic prospects
 Higher levels of criminal behavior
©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

13. Depression and SuicideDepression and Suicide
Depression is more likely to occur in adolescence than
childhood
◦ Linear increase from 15 to 22 years of age
◦ Earlier onset is linked with more negative outcomes
Depression is consistently higher in girls and women
◦ Females tend to ruminate
◦ More negative body image
◦ Females face more discrimination than males
◦ Puberty occurs earlier for girls
Family factors play a role
◦ Having a depressed parent
◦ Emotionally unavailable parents
◦ High marital conflict
◦ Parents with financial problems
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14. Depression and SuicideDepression and Suicide
Suicide is the 3rd
leading cause of death in 10-
to 19-year-olds
Far more adolescents contemplate or attempt
it unsuccessfully than actually commit it
Females are more likely to attempt suicide,
but males are more likely to succeed
Lesbian and gay male adolescents are only
slightly more likely than heterosexual
adolescents to commit suicide
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15. IdentityIdentity
Erikson’s Identity versus Identity Confusion:
◦ Psychosocial Moratorium: the gap between
childhood security and adult autonomy
 Adolescents are generally free to try out different
identities and choose what is right for them
◦ Adolescents who resolve the conflict emerge with
a refreshing, acceptable sense of self
◦ Adolescents who do not successfully resolve the
conflict suffer identity confusion
 Withdrawal and isolation
 Immersion in peers
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16. Identity (James Marcia)Identity (James Marcia)
 Four statuses of identity based on crisis or commitment
◦ Crisis: a period of identity development during which the individual is exploring
alternatives
◦ Commitment: a personal investment in identity
 Diffusion: individuals who have not yet experienced a crisis or made any
commitments
 Foreclosure: individuals who have made a commitment but not experienced
a crisis
 Moratorium: individuals who are in the midst of a crisis but whose
commitments are absent or weak
 Achievement: individuals who have undergone a crisis and made a
commitment

17. IdentityIdentity
Key changes in identity are more likely to
take place in emerging adulthood than in
adolescence
◦ Especially true for vocational choice
One of emerging adulthood’s themes is not
having many social commitments
◦ Developing a positive identity requires
considerable self-discipline and planning
Identity does not remain stable throughout
life
◦ “MAMA”: repeated cycles of moratorium to
achievement
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18. FamiliesFamilies
Role of Attachment:
◦ Securely attached adolescents are less likely to
engage in problem behaviors such as juvenile
delinquency and drug abuse
◦ Securely attached adolescents have better peer
relations
 Correlations are moderate
Balancing Freedom and Control:
◦ Adolescents still need to stay connected to
families
◦ Parents who play an active role in monitoring and
guiding adolescents’ development are more likely
to have adolescents with positive peer relations
and lower drug use
©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

19. FamiliesFamilies
Parent–Adolescent Conflict:
◦ Parent–adolescent conflict
increases in early adolescence
 Conflict typically involves everyday
events of family life
◦ Disagreements may serve a
positive developmental function
 Conflicts facilitate the adolescent’s
transition from being dependent to
becoming autonomous
◦ About one in five families engage
in prolonged, intense, repeated,
unhealthy conflict
 Associated with various adolescent
problems
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20. PeersPeers  Peer Relationships:
◦ Most teens prefer a smaller
number of peer contacts and
more intimacy
◦ Friends become increasingly
important in meeting social
needs during adolescence
◦ Teens with superficial or no
friendships tend to be lonely and
have lower self-esteem
◦ Characteristics of friends have
an important influence
 Friends’ grade-point average is
a consistent predictor of
positive school achievement
©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

21. PeersPeers
 Peer Pressure:
◦ Young adolescents conform more to peer standards than children do
 Peaks about 8th
and 9th
grade
 14 to 18 years of age is an especially important time for developing the
ability to stand up for one’s beliefs
◦ U.S. adolescents are more likely than Japanese adolescents to put
peer pressure on their peers to resist parental influence
 Dating:
◦ Adolescents who date are more likely to be accepted by peers and be
perceived as more physically attractive
◦ Dating and romantic relationships at an unusually early age have
been linked with several problems
 School-related problems & lower grades
 Delinquency
 Substance use
©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

22. CultureCulture
Peers:
◦ Some cultures give peers a stronger
role in adolescence than others
 In western nations, peers are prominent
in adolescents’ lives
 In other regions, peer relations are
restricted (especially for girls)
Rites of Passage: ceremony or
ritual that marks an individual’s
transition from one status to
another
 In the U.S., rites of passage are found
in various religious and social groups
©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

23. Juvenile DelinquencyJuvenile Delinquency
 Juvenile Delinquent: an
adolescent who breaks the
law or engages in behavior
that is considered illegal
◦ Broad concept that includes
many actions, from littering to
murder
◦ At least 2% of all youth are
involved in juvenile court cases
◦ More likely to be committed by
males, but involvement by
females is increasing
◦ Property offenses are committed
more than any other crime
◦ Rates are disproportionately
higher for minority and lower-
SES youth
©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

24. Juvenile DelinquencyJuvenile Delinquency
 Should an adolescent who
commits a crime be charged as an
adult?
◦ One study demonstrated that trying
adolescent offenders as adults
increased their crime rate
 Early onset (before age 11)
antisocial behavior is associated
with more negative outcomes
than late onset antisocial behavior
◦ More likely to persist into adulthood
◦ More mental health and relationship
problems
©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

25. Juvenile DelinquencyJuvenile Delinquency
Causes of Delinquency:
◦ Heredity
◦ Identity problems
◦ Community influences
◦ Family experiences
 Parental monitoring is important
 History of physical abuse
◦ Lower-class culture
 Antisocial peer groups and gangs
 Status given for antisocial behavior
 Observation of models engaging in criminal activities
 Inadequate community resources
◦ Cognitive factors
 Low self-control
 Low intelligence
©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.