Physical and Cognitive Development in Adolescence - Assignment Example

Girls usually inform their mothers or closest friends when they experience their first menstrual period. However, most boys never tell their parents or friends about their first ejaculation. About 1,000 adolescents die annually from accident, and this depends on ethnicity and gender. For instance, motor vehicle accidents are more deadly than guns for European American, Asian American and Latino American boys than African American boys (Kail & Cavanaugh 307). Additionally, approximately half of deaths among European American girls are because of motor vehicle accidents.

Adolescents have an adult-like level of understanding and knowledge that has a direct influence on cognitive processing, which enables them to learn, remember and understand new experiences. Adolescents have more complex approaches for problem-solving and reason than children do. This enables them to find weaknesses in arguments with much ease. Female teenagers who have negative or infrequent interactions with their fathers begin puberty earlier than girls who have positive or frequent interactions with their fathers (Kail & Cavanaugh 399).

From the leadership perspective, it is necessary to note how early or late maturity influence a teenager’s ability to become a leader. Boys who experience early maturity are likely to become leaders because they have high self-esteem and self-confidence. This is contrary in girls where late-maturing can nurture them become strong leaders. This because they are more confident, popular, self-assured and outgoing than girls who experience early maturity.