Adolescence in

High School
Development
 STAGE AGE

Prenatal Conception to Birth

Infancy & Toddlerhood Birth – 2 years

Early Childhood 2 – 6 years

Middle Childhood 6 – 11 years

Adolescence 11 – 18 years

Early Adulthood 18 – 40 years

Middle Adulthood 40 - 65 years

Late Adulthood 65 years - death

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Adolescents is the transition between
childhood and adulthood
Physical Development
 BOYS GIRLS

Growth Spurt Starts at age 12.5 Starts at age 10

Proportions Shoulders broaden, Hips broaden

longer legs

Muscle-fat makeup Gain more muscle, Gain more fat

aerobic efficiency

Hormonal Changes Testosterone Increase Estrogen Increase

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 What is & what happens during Puberty
❏ Both heredity and physical health contribute to pubertal
growth
❏ Voice changes, primarily in boys
❏ Both biological and social forces contribute to the
experience of adolescence
❏ Compared to girls, boys tend to receive less social
support for the physical changes of puberty
❏ Psychological distancing between parents and children is
normal during adolescence, and most parent-child conflict
is mild.
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 Cognitive
Development
 Formal Operational Stage
❏ Age 11+ ❏ Includes 2 major
❏ Characterized by features
the capacity for ❏ Hypothetico-Ded
abstract, uctive
systematic, and Reasoning
scientific thinking ❏ Propositional
❏ Can develop new Thought
logical rules
through internal
reflection

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 Hypothetico-Deductive Reasoning
When faced with a problem…
1. Hypothesis created
2. Hypothesis used to generate logical inferences
3. Determine if inferences confirm real world by isolating and combining
variables
Propositional Thought
The ability to evaluate logic of proposals without concrete real
world circumstances.
Ex: Elephants are bigger than dogs and dogs are bigger than mice.
Therefore, elephants are bigger than mice.

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 Changes in the Brain
1) Significant
cerebral cortex 3) Sleep
and frontal lobes Regulation -
shaping - a adolescents will go
decrease of gray to bed later but
matter in the 2) Heightened
brain response to need slightly more
brain. The “Use it sleep each night
or lose it” period of emotional
information, (~9 hours)
mindsets and
behaviors. particularly
situations with
high emotional
urgency or
intensity.

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 Decision-Making
Despite enhanced Poor decision making impacted
cognitive processing, by:
adolescents struggle
with rational decision
1) Insufficient knowledge or
making - complete lack of experience
pre-frontal cortex 2) Competing goals - social
development is not status versus what is right
finished until ages 3) Short term > long term
25-30. 4) Self-centric habits

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LANGUAGE AND LITERACY
DEVELOPMENT
 Communication Changes
❏ Slang becomes a popular way of speaking amongst peers
❏ Non-verbals slowly become more noticeable and used to
heighten communication intentions
❏ Reading becomes more complex, and adolescents may
struggle to adjust to the rigor
❏ Interested in arguing and debating
Emotional and Social
Development
 Identity and Role Confusion
Identity Development:
❏ Involves defining who you are and what you value
❏ Personality solidification
❏ Direction paves way for motivation and goal-setting

As adolescents are undergoing their own identity development,

they often experience…

Role Confusion:
❏ Lack of direction
❏ Unresolved childhood conflicts
❏ Identity impacted by social pressures
Industry
Self-Concept
❏ When adolescents develop a sense of competence at useful skills and
task
❏ Promotes a positive self-concept and self-esteem, pride in
accomplishments, and participation

Inferiority
❏ Results when adolescents develop little confidence and are pessimistic
in their abilities
❏ Negative self-concept and self-esteem. Results in isolation.

*Both engage adolescents in social comparison

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Peer Relationships
 Peer Relationships

❏ Trust becomes a defining feature

❏ Friendships are more selective
❏ Friends are selected that are similar to oneself
❏ Concerned about acceptance in a peer Group

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 General Self Esteem

Social Physical /
Academic Physical
Competence Athletic
Competence Appearance
Competence

Other Relationships Outdoor Various

Language Relationships
Math School with Peers with Parents Games Games
Arts
Subjects

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Body Image
 Body Image & Eating Disorders
❏ Conception of and attitude toward one’s physical appearance
❏ Strong predictor of self-esteem in adolescence
❏ Less positive in early–maturing Caucasian females
❏ Dissatisfaction with body image can result in eating disorders
❏ Anorexia Nervosa – starving oneself due to compulsive fear
of gaining weight “getting fat”
❏ Bulimia Nervosa – engaging in strict dieting and excessive
exercise accompanied by binge eating and often followed by
vomiting and/or purging with laxatives
Sexuality
❏ Early and frequent teen Teen Sexuality
sexual activity linked to
personal, family, peer, and
educational characteristics
❏ Contraceptive use:
❏ At least 20% do not use
them
❏ More likely to use if good
relationship with parent
who openly
communicates about sex
 Prevention
∗ More sex education
∗ Skills for handling sexual
situations
∗ Promoting abstinence
∗ Information and access to
contraceptives
∗ Academic and social
competence
∗ School involvement
Intervention for Teenage
Parents
∗ Health care
∗ Help staying in school
∗ Job and life-management
training
∗ High-quality, affordable child
care
∗ Parenting instruction
∗ Adult mentors
∗ Support from child’s father
Resources for Adolescent Parents

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