Major Changes in Adolescents - Essay Example

Adolescence Major Changes in Adolescents Adolescence is the developmental stage that lies between childhood and adulthood. This is a very crucial stage, since it involves profound body changes, (physical, psychological and mental) that cause occasional turmoil in the adolescent. Adolescence is characterized by the adolescent’s behavior of becoming so much concerned with appearance, independence, parents, his future and friends. This is the most common characteristics among all adolescents. The major biological changes that occur in an adolescent are physical and sexual maturity.

As they strive to gain self independence and recognition as adults, important emotional, cognitive and social changes occur. These changes affect them for the rest of their lives, since at adolescent they are neither recognized as children nor adults. The physical changes that are experienced by boys are similar but some are different. For example, the similar changes are growth of pubic hair, height and weight increase, and pimples formation on their faces. While different changes among girls are enlargement of breasts, hips broadening, and onset of menstruation period.

Boys break their voices, start experiencing wet dreams, Adams apple, growth of beared, and development of muscles. Psychologically, they develop deep sexual feelings that cause interest, curiosity, as well as embarrassment. Moral and Cognitive Development in Adolescents This occurs when the adolescents start distinguishing what is right and what is wrong. At this stage they start safe guarding the ‘self’ in them and always want to be right. They can reason and understand why things are, the way they are.

Erickson (1963) says that adolescents go through a number of stages in justice evolution and reasoning of moral judgment. Like children get to know that stealing is bad and obedience is good. This is because, there are many cognitive limitations, which preadolescents think about in unvarying and concrete rules. There are three levels of moral reasoning. These are preconvention, conventional, and post conventional moralities. When I was thirteen, my sister was involved in an accident. Therefore, she required a lot of money for her medical treatment.

This negatively affected our economic lives but for the first time, I was not angry at my parents for failing to provide the luxuries we were getting before. Instead, I understood that her life was much more important and was very happy when she finally recovered. I faced so much peer pressure like running away from school with my friends and going to buy snacks from the nearby shopping centre. We also stole our parent’s money and only severe punishment from my parents made me overcome this.

Social Development in Adolescents In social development, an adolescent starts to ask herself questions like “who am I?” “Do I fit my friends and parents?” What is life about and many others. These questions are very evident during the years of teenage, when adolescents try to find their social place in the world. Psychological development theory by Erickson entails identity search. This refers to the way people understand themselves and others, and their surrounding world. At this stage, adolescents encompass identity-versus-role-confusion-stage.

This is a period of major testing, as they try to search for their uniqueness and themselves. Adolescents search for their strengths, and their future roles in the society. An adolescent faces pressure in identifying her roles in life because of the physical changes and what the society expect6s from them. Adolescents therefore shift their reliance from adult information towards their peers. They use these peer groups in clarification of their personal identities. References. Erickson, E. PSY 345 Lecture Notes - Ego Psychologists.

Observed on 14th April, 2011 from http://www.psychology.sunysb.edu/ewaters/345/2007_erikson/2006_erikson.pdf. Retrieved 2009- 08-11. Erickson, E. (1963). Aging and Changes in Physical Appearance simulation, Module 27 of Psychology and Your Life, and Erikson’s chart on p. 313 of Psychology and Your Life. Mc G. Hill Publishers.