Adolescence - Grand Theories of Adolescent Development, Biological Changes

Associated with Puberty

Many people imagine an adolescent as being a gangly, awkward, and troublesome individual. Researchers
shared this view until quite recently. This period of life (generally considered to run from age ten to age
twenty-five) was seen as a time of "storm and stress." But what is adolescent development really like?
Clearly it is a time of great change on many levels. Probably most dramatic are the biological changes
associated with puberty. These changes include dramatic shifts in the shape of the body, increases in
hormones, and changes in brain architecture. These biological shifts are directly linked to changes in
sexual interest, cognitive capacities, and physical capacities. There are also major social changes
associated with the school-linked transitions and with changes in the roles adolescents are expected to
play by all those around them. Finally, there are major psychological changes linked to increasing social
and cognitive maturity. In fact, very few developmental periods are characterized by so many changes at
so many different levels. With rapid change comes a heightened potential for both positive and negative
outcomes. And, although most individuals pass through this developmental period without excessively
high levels of "storm and stress, " a substantial number of individuals do experience some difficulties.

Adolescence is also a time when individuals make many choices and engage in a wide range of behaviors
likely to influence the rest of their lives. For example, adolescents pick which high school courses to take,
which after-school activities to participate in, and which peer groups to join. They begin to make future
educational and occupational plans and to implement these plans through secondary school course work
and out-of-school vocational and volunteer activity choices. Finally, some experiment with quite
problematic behaviors such as drug and alcohol consumption and unprotected sexual intercourse. Most of
these youth do not suffer long-term consequences for this experimentation, although a few do.
Understanding what distinguishes between these two groups is one of the key research issues related to
development during adolescence.

Changes in Cognition

Adolescence is accompanied by an increasing ability to think abstractly, consider the hypothetical as well
as the real, engage in more sophisticated and elaborate information processing strategies, consider
multiple dimensions of a problem at once, and reflect on one's self and on complicated problems. There is
also a steady increase in learning strategies, in knowledge of a variety of different topics and subject areas,
in the ability to apply knowledge to new learning situations, and in the awareness of one's strengths and
weaknesses as a learner. With practice these new cognitive skills can help adolescents become more
efficient, sophisticated learners, ready to cope with relatively advanced topics in many different subject
areas.

These kinds of cognitive changes also affect individuals' self-concepts, thoughts about their future, and
understanding of others. Many theorists have suggested that the adolescent years are a time of change in
children's self-concepts, as they consider what possibilities are available to them and try to come to a
deeper understanding of themselves in the social and cultural contexts in which they live. In a culture that
stresses personal choice in life planning, these concerns and interests also set the stage for personal and
social identity formation focused on life planning issues such as those linked to educational, occupational,
recreational, and marital choices. Finally, as adolescents become more interested in understanding the
psychological characteristics of others, friendships become based more on perceived similarities in these
characteristics.

There are also major social changes associated with adolescence. Since these vary more across cultures
than the biological and cognitive changes just discussed, the following social changes are common in
Western industrialized countries.
The Adolescent Growth Spurt
Growth increases:

Females (between 13 to 18 years)

Weight: 68 to 110 pounds

Height: 8.5 to 9.5 inches

Males: (between 13 to 18 years)

Weight: 76 to 118 pounds

Height: 10.5 to 20 inches

Puberty changes:

Females: 8 to 13 years of age

Males: 9.5 to 14 years of age

• Sexual and other physical maturation - a result of hormonal changes.

• The pituitary gland increases the secretion of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH).
• In girls, FSH activates the ovaries to start producing estrogen.
• In boys, FSH causes sperm to develop.

In boys, it is difficult to know exactly when puberty is coming. There are changes that occur, but
they occur gradually and over a period of time, rather than as a single event. While each
male adolescent is different, the following are average ages when puberty changes may occur:
• Beginning of puberty: 9.5 to 14 years old

• First pubertal change: enlargement of the testicles

• Penis enlargement: begins approximately one year after the testicles begin enlarging

• Appearance of pubic hair: 13.5 years old

• Hair under the arms and on the face, voice change, and acne:15 years old

• Nocturnal emissions (or "wet dreams"): 14 years old

Girls also experience puberty as a sequence of events, but their pubertal changes usually begin before boys
of the same age. Each girl is different and may progress through these changes differently. The following
are average ages when puberty changes may occur:
 • Beginning of puberty:8 to 13 years
• First pubertal change: breast development
• Pubic hair development: shortly after breast development
• Hair under the arms: 12 years old
• Menstrual periods: 10 to 16.5 years old

Primary and Secondary Sex Characteristics

A man's primary sexual characters are represented by his genital organs, and centre round the production
of spermatozoa and the function of impregnation; a woman's primary sexual characters centre round her
genital organs, the production of ova, and the development and birth of the foetus.

• Primary Sexual Characters

o pertain to the sexual organs themselves and to their functions, and naturally they are the
most pronounced of all the sexual attributes.

• Secondary Sexual Characters

o accessories to the leading sexual features
o distinctive and constitute notable differences between the sexes.

There are specific stages of development that both boys and girls go through when developing secondary
sexual characteristics (the physical characteristics of males and females that are not involved in
reproduction such as voice changes, body shape, pubic hair distribution, and facial hair).

The following is a brief overview of the changes that occur:

• In boys, the initial puberty change is the enlargement of the scrotum and testes. At this point, the
penis does not enlarge. Then, as the testes and scrotum continue to enlarge, the penis gets longer.
Next, the penis will continue to grow in both size and length.

• In girls, the initial puberty change is the development of breast buds, in which the breast and
nipple elevate. The areola (dark area of skin that surrounds the nipple of the breast) increases in
size at this time. The breasts then continue to enlarge. Eventually, the nipples and the areolas will
elevate again, forming another projection on the breasts. At the adult state, only the nipple
remains erect.

• Pubic hair development is similar for both girls and boys. The initial growth of hair produces long,
soft hair that is only in a small area around the genitals. This hair then becomes darker and
coarser as it continues to spread. The pubic hair eventually looks like adult hair, but in a smaller
area. It may spread to the thighs and, sometimes, up the stomach.

Male

• Growth of body hair, including underarm, abdominal, chest, and pubic hair. Loss of scalp hair
androgenic alopecia can also occur
• Greater mass of thigh muscles in front of the femur, rather than behind it as is typical in mature
females
• Growth of facial hair
• Enlargement of larynx [Adam's apple] and deepening of voice
• Increased stature; adult males are taller than adult females, on average
 • Heavier skull and bone structure
• Increased muscle mass and strength
• Broadening of shoulders and chest; shoulders wider than hips
• Increased secretions of oil and sweat glands, often causing acne and body odor
• Coarsening or rigidity of skin texture, due to less subcutaneous fat
• Higher waist to hip ratio than prepubescent or adult females or prepubescent males, on average

Female

• Enlargement of breasts and erection of nipples.

• Growth of body hair, most prominently underarm and pubic hair
• Greater development of thigh muscles in back (behind the femur) than in front of it
• Widening of hips; lower waist to hip ratio than adult males, on average
• Increased secretions of oil and sweat glands, often causing acne and body odor
• Upper arms approximately 2 cm longer, on average, for a given height
• Changed distribution in weight and fat; more subcutaneous fat and fat deposits mainly around
the buttocks, thighs and hips