Puberty, Health and Biological Foundations - Term Paper Example

Adolescence is the period from puberty to maturity. Adolescent psychology refers to the psychological issues and interest during this time of a person’s life. It involves looking at the issues, stages and various influences that an individual experiences throughout their development into functioning adults. It is the time when a child experiences variety of biological changes and comes across multiple emotional issues (Moretz, 2007). Adolescent psychology can be divided into two main phases: the actual process of psychological development, and the treatment and evaluation of the problems that a child faces during this period. There is no single event that indicates the beginning of adolescence, rather this period is composed of a set of transitions or changes that happen gradually and transform many features of the individual’s behavior, development and relationship (Moretz, 2007). Adolescence phase is widely considered by the psychological establishment to be reckless and risk-taking which can direct the individual to a number of crimes and accidents, but psychologists believe that this risk taking behavior is biologically driven and caused by the social and emotional part of the brain. The transitions that an individual goes through are physical, biological, and emotional etc. Adolescence is related to all of these transitions. When a person changes biologically or physically, his emotions and thinking also transforms accordingly. The biological transition of adolescence or puberty is perhaps the most salient sign that adolescence has begun. Puberty refers to all the physical changes that occur in the growing girl or boy as the individual passes from childhood into adulthood. . The timing of physical maturation varies widely depending on the environment, culture, lifestyle, eating habits, genes etc. There are different stages after which an individual enters into the adulthood and these stages are different for both the sexes. For many years, psychologists believed that puberty was stressful for young people. It is believed that any difficulties related with adjusting to puberty are minimized if adolescents know what changes are expected and have positive attitudes toward them. Although the immediate impact of puberty on the adolescent's self-image and mood may be very modest, the timing of physical maturation does affect the teen's social and emotional development in important ways. Early-maturing boys tend to be more popular, have more positive self-conceptions, and be more self-assured than their later-maturing fellows; whereas early-maturing girls may feel awkward and self-conscious but those who are aware of these changes are more likely to drink, smoke, and may face more problems, both emotional and behaviorally (Steinberg, 2010). The psychological ties are different for early maturing individuals and late maturing people. Early maturing is said to be more advantageous than late maturing. When the research was conducted for the early maturing boys it was concluded that early maturing is beneficial in career development and the boys turn out to be more positive in making decisions. They are less likely to drink, smoke, and get involved in other activities of this type (Simmon & Blyth, 1987). But this is not the same with girls. In a research conducted by Simmon and Blyth in 1987, they studied girls for five years. Girls from grade six to ten were part of this study. These two researchers concluded that early maturing girls are more likely to get into problems as compared to late maturing girls. Not only does their physical appearance differ, but their behavior and attitude also varies. Early-maturing girls are more likely to smoke, drink, be depressed, have an eating disorder, request earlier independence from their parents, and have older friends; and their bodies are likely to draw responses from males that lead to earlier dating and earlier sexual experiences. They have lower educational and occupational achievements in adulthood. They have greater possibility of having mental disorders as they don’t recognize the outcome of problems until they get into it. Puberty affects some adolescents more strongly than others and some behaviors more strongly than others. Body image, interest in dating, and sexual behavior are quite clearly affected by pubertal change. Yet, the overall development and adjustment over the human life time, puberty and its variations have less dramatic effects than is commonly thought for most individuals. For some young adolescents, the path through puberty is stormy, but for most it is not. Each period of the human life span has its stresses and puberty is no different (Moretez, 2007). Although it poses new challenges, the vast majority of adolescents weather the stresses effectively. Besides the biological influences on adolescent development, cognitive and social or environmental influences also shape who we become. Adolescence is a decisive stage at which the behavior adopted is relevant to the health of the individual. Many of the behaviors that are linked to poor health habits and early deaths in adults begin during adolescence. Conversely, the early formation of healthy behavior patterns, such as regular exercise and a preference for foods low in fat and cholesterol not only has immediate health benefits but helps in adulthood to delay or prevent disability and mortality from heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer (Simmon & Blyth, 1987). Even though some countries have become extremely health conscious, still their residents possess bad health habits. Many adolescents still smoke, drink and sit at one place without moving. It is believed that the level of energy, health, and strength that is achieved by individuals in this stage can not be matched during their remaining lives. The people who never feel insecure about their health have a sense of uniqueness that convinces them that they will never suffer from poor health, or if they do, they will quickly recover. Given this combination of physical strength and cognitive deception, it is not surprising that many adolescents develop poor health habits (Simmon & Blyth, 1987). A recent study found these activities, resources, and relationships to promote adolescents’ health-enhancing behaviors: the adolescent must participate in school-related organized activities such as sports, the availability of positive community resources, such as boys and girls clubs and volunteering; and secure attachment to parents. They should understand the importance of sports, daily exercise, proper sleep, team play, and eat variety of food with consideration of balanced diet. Nutrition is an important aspect of health-compromising and health-enhancing behaviors (Moretz, 2007). The eating habits of many adolescents are health-compromising, and an increasing number of adolescents have an eating disorder. Concern is often expressed over adolescents’ tendency to eat between meals. However, their choice of foods is much more important than the time or place of eating. Fresh vegetables and fruits as well as whole-grain products are needed to complement the food adolescents commonly choose, which tends to be high in protein and energy value. Exercise and sports also play an important role in shaping the health and behavior of adolescents. Exercise helps them gain energy, maintain their weight and live healthy, whereas sports improve their relationship with diversified people. Many sport activities improve self confidence, physical health and well being, ability to work with others, and decision making etc. Individuals who engage themselves in sports activities are less likely to get indulged in risk taking behavior and other threats of life such as delinquencies, and smoking etc. Sleep is another major issue at the time of adolescence. Adolescents like to go to bed later and get up later than children do. This may be linked to developmental changes in the brain. A special concern is the extent to which these changes in sleep patterns in adolescents affect academic behavior and achievement. It is evident that the psychology of adolescents is different from other children and adults. It is this time when the individual is shaping up himself for the rest of his life whether the development is related to attitude, behavior, emotions or health issues. Maturing or adolescence is a significant stage in a person’s life. The psychology that is adopted in this stage remains with the person throughout their life span. If proper guidance is provided, not only the attitude of the individual is positive but he also leads a successful life because adolescence is not only concerned with the biological or physical changes, rather it is related to the emotions and grooming of the person. REFERENCE Moretz, P., (April 2007), "Adolescent Risk Taking Likely Biologically Driven and Possibly Inevitable", Medical News Today Simmon, R. & Blyth, D. (1987), Puberty, Health and Biological foundations. http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/dl/free/.../Chapter_2.pdf Steinberg, L., (2010), Adolescence – Puberty, Cognitive transition, emotional transition, social transition http://psychology.jrank.org/pages Read More