Adolescence Chapter 1 Summary

Adolescents are very unlikely to reach their full potential without the guidance of an adult figure, such as a mother, father, sibling, or guardian. Adult figures are essential to a growing child because they exemplify decision making, wisdom, and overall life lessons on how to grow up. Although some children do have an adult figure in their life, they aren’t always the best influences for their children, adults also face their own battles which can reflect upon their exterior, ultimately having a critical effect on a child’s development. For example, in “Running with Scissors” by Augusten Burroughs, the main character Augusten lives with his mother who suffers from a mental disorder who guides him into a pathway of chaos and disorder. Augusten learns to cope with no guidance, but still faces many issues that could have been resolved with a reassuring adult figure.

I was born on April 23, 1994 in Brampton, Ontario. I have lived in Brampton my entire life. I completed my undergraduate degree at University of Toronto, and now I am here at York University completing my BEd. I am someone who values helping others above anything else, which is why my dream has always been to become a teacher. This is something that I will accomplish, and nothing will stop me from achieving my dreams!

Every single day, the average human will make thousands of decisions; most will help them become who they want to be, while others will take them toward trouble. In 1990, the Search Institute released a list of 40 Developmental Assets that young adults need in order to develop into contributing members of society. Some of which are in the individual’s control, while others aren’t. John Conlan, a character in the novel The Pigman by Paul Zindel, is a sophomore attending Franklin High who hates school and has an abusive father, but is noticeably “handsome.” After meeting a man named Angelo Pignati, things start to brighten up for him. Although John is not always Honest, he is still able to maintain a Positive Peer Influence with Lorraine Jensen

The book puts in question what are the important factors to a child’s development all the way until there teenage years. When growing up there are two main group of people that make us who we are; our parents and the outside world. When we are little, before we start school we do not know anything other than our family, this is called the first stage of development. By only knowing your family members this causes you to only act the way you see. However, a few years later, when

The movie thirteen touched many important factors of adolescent’s development. Some of the ones I want to concentrate in this paper are: family system, developmental tasks, and peer pressure.

Despite self-awareness, a person makes many decisions everyday, even if many are subtle. Getting out of bed, deciding what clothes to wear, and even the attitude you display to others. While there are many factors that contribute to these decision making, a major factor is who your peers are. Peers, whether they be a close friend, family member, or even a teacher, can influence what you aspire to do, and how you live your life. In The Other Wes Moore, peers’s play a big role shaping the lives and decisions of both Wes’s, further leading them to their places in the current world, just as peers have shaped my sister, Katie’s decisions as well. Friends heavily influence teenagers, attributing to teens’ stubbornness. By setting examples to follow, peers either set positive or negative standards that teens attempt to assimilate, gaining either positive or negative traits.

Puberty in essence is a life changing event for males and females, typically following a time of significant physical growth. Puberty is the stage in life when secondary sex characteristics are developing, sexual organs mature due to production of sex hormones. This naturally occurs during adolescence, the stage in life between childhood and adulthood. Nonetheless, Feldman (2014) points out the fact that physical changes begin earlier for girls typically at the age of 10, with sexual organ development generally around the ages of 11-12. On the other hand, physical changes for boys, frequently occurs later, around the age of 12, with development of sexual organs around the age of 13-14. Nevertheless there has been a trend towards early maturation of both male and females, this can bring about advantages and disadvantages for both sexes (Feldman, 2014). This author will discuss the pros and cons of early versus late maturation in boys versus girls in 21st century U.S. society as well as how media reinforces maturation for pre-teens and teens.

In this paper I plan to discuss the developmental stages of adolescence. Adolescents are also referred to as "teenagers" or "young adults." Adolescence begins after the childhood stage and ends right before adulthood. The years of adolescence range from 12 years old to 21 years old. The years of adolescence can be quite a roller coaster ride. Young people in this stage encounter a great deal of changes in their life as they prepare for adulthood. I will discuss emotional, intellectual, physiological, and social domains of development and how it relates to adolescents. I will also discuss some helpful tips for teachers to aide in communicating effectively to adolescents and understanding their

Possessing a functional or dysfunctional family is of much importance to a healthy development, helping children through peer pressure, acceptance, and the anxiety of belonging. Yet how important is the environment that a child is raised on, this being shared or non-shared? How difficult or easy can peer pressure be? Will peer pressure help or deter a child from being functional. How much do these factors affect development from childhood to adolescence? This paper will explain the different stages of childhood to adolescence, and how a child and adolescence copes with nature and nurture .

Adolescence is both a social and cultural construct as well as biological one, it is the developmental period where one transition from being a child to adult and face biological, psychological, and social challenges. This challenging, and important time in between childhood and adulthood has caused a lot of interest in the psychological field and a number of theories have been developed in order to try and explain the different stages of development. One of the most significant models of psychosocial development was created by Erikson (1963) and the stage related to adolescents is known as the “Identity vs. Role-Diffusion”, where the one is in constant pursuit of a coherent sense of self during the teenage years. When the teenager is unable to put together aspects of themselves they experience role-diffusion. Later on Elkind (1967) introduced his theory of adolescent egocentrism, explaining the increase in preoccupation with oneself during the teenage years. Kohlberg (1969) quickly followed up with his theory of moral development, in order to examine how adolescents develop their ability to solve ethical dilemmas. Another challenge teenagers need to face is mental health. The psychological part of striving for independence, while still struggling with identity formation and having poor coping strategies can have serious consequences and lead to mental illnesses, such as depression which is a growing concern among youths. This essay will further examine to what extent

The movie thirteen is a raw psychodrama directed by Catherine Hardwicke is based on the life of a young teenage girl, Tracy Freeland whom catapults from pre adolescence/childhood to a wild and rebellious thirteen year old girl. Filmed in Los Angeles, Tracey and her mother’s relationship are put to the test when she befriends Evie. Evie is a popular girl from junior high school who introduces her to the world of sex, drugs and self-mutilation. We see a physical and psychological change in Tracey almost overnight, as her kinship with Evie transforms into a toxic relationship. Tracey’s early traumatic life experiences, manifests into a co-morbidity of depression and borderline personality disorder that affects her ability to cope with an

1. Chapter 9, “Adolescence” Body and Mind,” section Puberty explains the physical and mental changes that teenagers go through, it’s the state in which they transition from children to young adults, incapable of completely just one or the other (Berger, 315). The first changes of puberty, physically-wise, begins around the ages of 9 – 13 years’ old for both boys and girls, which include facial and body hair, deepening of the voice, and of course body growth; such as the hands, feet, face, and private parts. Although genetics do play a role of the timing of these body changes, environmental, emotional, and cultural factors can also affect the time and age when puberty happens. Sometimes it’s delayed, other times the process is quicker than norm. “About two thirds of the variation of age of puberty is genetic, evident not only in families, but also in ethnic groups…precocious puberty is genetic, but the cause of the increase is largely unknown – perhaps childhood obesity or new chemicals in the environment” (Berger, 320-321). Among puberty, adolescents’ nutrition become poor due to body image…In addition, there eating disorders that teenagers discover during their transition, they are more “vulnerable to unhealthy eating,” and unlike childhood, “eating disorders increase drastically during puberty” (Berger, 325). This part of the chapter explains two major and serious types of eating disorders. Anorexia Nervosa is a voluntarily starvation in which a person will starve him or

Adolescence is a stage of maturation between childhood and adulthood that denotes the period from the beginning of puberty to maturity. However, many conflicting opinions are raised about weather such a stage of childhood is influenced by stress, depression, and suicide rate. Some people support the optimistic view that says that adolescence is not a period of storm and stress. Others, including me, support an opposite pessimistic view which characterizes adolescence as a period of stress and inner turmoil. Unfortunately, it has been recently proved that depression is a growing problem in today 's society and a major contributing factor for a multitude of adolescent problems. This is because , as research indicates, adolescent depression

Adolescents are faced with a lot of pressure from many different people. They get put under pressure from their parents to their peers. They also get

Adolescence is the period of development from ages 10-21, it is the period between childhood and adulthood (McGraw Hill Education, 2015) It is a time of confusion and exploration. This stage continues until a person is holding a full time job, economic independence, and taking responsibility to oneself (Santrock, 2011, p. 344). As a 16 year old female I am in the midst of all these changes and can relate many themes to myself and my own experiences.