Adolescence : Everything Changes? Essay

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Adolescence: Everything Changes
Adolescence is a transitional stage of development that has been defined as starting with puberty and lasting the years a person is roughly aged ten to twenty. Dramatic changes take place during adolescence; no other time period of a person’s life except infancy contains so much development into such a short time span. Puberty has historically been viewed as the starting point of adolescence and several factors play a role in determining the timing of puberty such as genetics, health, nutrition, and the environment. As recently as the early 20th century, physical and social maturity were achieved at relatively the same time while the end of adolescence has long been signaled by transitions such as graduation from high school, marriage, the beginning of a career or starting a family. (Oswalt, 2010) Puberty was widely viewed as a simply a process of physical maturation. However, in recent years the concept of adolescence has changed. Adolescence includes many adjustments on the path to maturity; these include physical, emotional, and social changes.
The term adolescence comes from the Latin adolescere which literally means to grow up. The physical changes are the most visible and recognizable. In the physical aspect of growth, adolescents reach their adult height and both the shape and composition of their bodies change due to an increase in hormone production. Children may gain approximately fifty percent of their adult body weight during their
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