Effects of Physical Development on Adolescents - Essay Example

? Effects of Physical Development on Adolescents of Introduction In developing through the lifespan, adolescentsis one of the most remarkable stages, perhaps due to the social, cognitive, emotional, and social changes that one undergoes. As a result of these changes and developments, adolescences are a momentous stage, characterized by numerous advances in all spheres of an individual’s life (Berk, 2012). Adolescents not only sees a child develop an adult-size body and mature sexually but is also accompanied by cognitive transformations that enable a teenager to understand simple and complex scientific principles and political issues (Berk, 2012). In addition, academically, adolescent developments enable teenagers to decipher meaning of complex literatures such as poems and stories. In essence, adolescence is the transition stage between childhood and adulthood and is characterized by certain far-reaching physical, cognitive, social and emotional changes (Berk, 2012). This paper explores a hypothetical male adolescent with regards to the physical changes he undergoes, the effect of these changes on his sexuality, relationships, and self-concept. In addition, the paper describes the boy’s culture and explains the influences of culture on the development of adolescence. Case study The case or scenario adopted for this paper is of Alex (name changed for privacy reasons); an adolescent boy aged 15 years, a North American of Asian descent. Among the easily observable behaviours of Alex is truancy at school, often involved in fights, often confused and deviant behaviour. Besides these behavioural changes, Alex is also observed to have several physical and emotional changes. The most apparent physical changes in the boy are growth, increased masculinity and sexual changes, which imply sexual maturation. In other words, there are changes in the sex-related physical features in the adolescent. Besides the primary sex characteristics of penis, scrotum, and testes, the secondary sex features of underarm and pubic hair have also been observed to develop in Alex. Being 18 years old, Alex has undergone almost all the physical changes associated with this stage of development. These changes include peak height spurt, peak weight spurt, and growth of facial hair, deepening of voice, peak strength spurt, adult stature attained, and completion of pubic hair growth (Caglar, 2009). The physical changes in the adolescent are not restricted to the visible aspects of his development; instead, he changes physical even on the inside. That is, Alex’s brain, hence cognitive abilities, also changes and develops considerably at this stage. Research done on the brain by brain-imaging technology has revealed that stimulated neural fibres continue to under growth and myelination at adolescence (Johnson et al., 2010). Consequently, the connection of various portions of the brain is strengthened. In addition, a continued growth and development and pruning of unused synapses of the cerebral cortex are reported in adolescents (Johnson et al., 2010). There are several cognitive and social changes in Alex that are a consequence of the above physical changes. For social changes, adolescents are often observed to search for their social identity and are easily influenced by his gender, cultural background, family expectation and peer group. Second, Alex seems to be seeking more independence, especially in decision making and relationships (Berk, 2012). The third social change caused by the physical changes is seeking for more responsibilities at school and at home. Other social changes in the adolescent are search for new experiences and risky behaviours, more influence by friends, communication via a variety of methods including the social media, mobile phones and the internet (Gardner & Steinberg, 2005). Finally, Alex has started to explore his sexual identity by indulging in romantic relationships and going on dates. There are also several emotional changes due to the physical changes that Alex has undergone. First, he shows stronger and uncontrolled feelings and unpredictable moods (Berk, 2012). Second, Alex is also more sensitive to emotions besides being more self-conscious about his physical appearance. The cognitive changes caused by physical changes in adolescents include abstract thinking, considering multiple viewpoints and multiple possibilities, principled reasoning, challenging adults, arguing, responding and forecasting. Being of a North American of Asian descent, there are a lot of cultural practices, beliefs, and norms that have affected Alex’s development, behaviour, self-image, self-esteem and perceptions. For instance, in most North American cultures, parents and society are so restrictive on discussing sexual issues with their children that sex is rarely discussed, little or no information is shared about sex, and sex play largely discouraged. Therefore, Alex’s social and cultural environment has certain implications on his sexual beliefs, perceptions and orientation. His culture has equal potential to shape his notion of extramarital sex as well as his notion of homosexuality and other sex orientation issues. The other cultural factor that may affect Alex is his home environment, parenting cultures and skills, presence and roles of parents. It is the cultural differences in parenting styles that could have biggest implications for Alex, particularly with regards to parental love and the type of punishment. Several cultural factors also influence Alex’s development and they include cultural values, parents’ status, generation, lifestyles, morals, and nature of interactions with the adolescent. For an illustration, if the culture of the parents prefers independence or interdependence, it may have far-reaching implications on Alex’s growth, development and maturity. If the parents support independence of the adolescent, Alex may easily express himself, develop personal uniqueness, and self-sufficiency and efficiency. On the other hand, if the culture of the parents favours social hierarchy, societal solidarity, personal humility, and interdependence, he may feel restrained by parental and societal norms, standards, and expectations (Gardner & Steinberg, 2005). Hence, he may start to resist parental control and seek own independence. In fact, this effect of culture is more pronounced in the cultural demands of Asian American parents. Luckily for Alex, his parents’ cultural beliefs and norms may have been influenced by the Caucasian population in North America, resulting in the parents being more concerned with the his ability to build a sense of own self. Hence, he may benefit from an improved ability to be assertive, independent, and to express himself. Furthermore, he may be offered choices early in life due to the dominant Caucasian culture in North America. It worth noting that almost all cultures and societies have the notion of adolescence and the onset of adolescence is marked by initiation ceremonies and rites of passage, which are major public events. Just as in Alex’s case, most of the cognitive, physical and emotional changes in adolescents are attributed to hormonal changes as they move from childhood to adulthood. Adolescence is also the stage at which a child’s sexual and physical characteristics mature as a result of hormone changes. The hormonal changes that result in sexual maturity and gender development and their time of emerging are dependent on factors such as nutrition, genetic makeup and gender (Gardner & Steinberg, 2005). Produced by endocrine glands, sex hormones cause body changes and aid in the development of secondary sex traits. For instance, in boys the testicles start and increase the production of testosterone whereas in girls the ovaries increase the secretion of estrogen among other female hormones. Adolescents have also been shown to develop self-concept and the neural structures that support it. Integral in self-concept development in adolescents is increased activity in the regions of the brain linked to self-processing such as the medial prefrontal cortex (Caglar, 2009). Studies also link heightened self-consciousness and susceptibility to peer influence to neurocognitive development (Johnson et al., 2010). Adolescence is also marked with identity crisis, characterized by intensive analysis and exploration of an adolescent’s perception of own self (Gardner & Steinberg, 2005). An adolescent develops a subjective sense, belief and observable quality of his personal sameness to and continuity with a shared world image. In identity crisis, an adolescent is observed to merge his or her body type, gifts, vulnerability, acquired ideals, temperament, values, sexual experiences, occupational possibilities, friendships and available roles (Balkin et al., 2009). Conclusion The onset of adolescence marks a rather important stage in the development of a human being not only due to the physical changes undergone but also due to the many social, cognitive, and emotional changes that accompany the physical changes. Peak height spurt, peak weight spurt, and growth of facial hair, deepening of voice, peak strength spurt, adult stature attained, and completion of pubic hair growth have been identified as some of the physical changes that characterize adolescence. These physical changes result in emotional and cognitive changes such as principled reasoning, challenging adults, arguing, multiple possibilities, responding and forecasting and emotional changes such as stronger and uncontrolled feelings and unpredictable moods. References Balkin, R. S., Perepiczka, M., Whitely, R., and Kimbrough, S. (2009). “The Relationship of Sexual Values and Emotional Awareness to Sexual Activity in Young Adulthood.” Adultspan: Theory Research & Pracice, 8(1), 17-28. Berk, L. E. (2012) Development through the lifespan. Allyn and Bacon. Caglar, E. (2009) “Similarities and Differences in Physical Self-Concept of Males and Females during Late Adolescence and Early Adulthood.” Adolescence, 44(174); 407-419. Gardner, M., and Steinberg, L. (2005) “Peer Influence on Risk-Taking, Risk Preference, and Risky Decision Making In Adolescence and Adulthood: An Experimental Study.” Developmental Psychology, 41(4); 625-635. Johnson, S. B., Sudhinaraset, M., and Blum, R. W. (2010) “Neuro-maturation and Adolescent Risk Taking: Why Development Is Not Determinism.” Journal of Adolescent Research, 25(1), 4-23. Read More