Class 8: Adolescent Biosocial Development
 
Review discussion of Chapter: Here are ten or so learning objectives for today’s class. Be prepared to answer each using your notes on the readings.
The adolescent image in the U.S.?


Durbrow: Are these myths about adolescence? Exaggerations or rules of thumb
Teens lack self-discipline and go to sleep late and wake up late.
Teens are much more vulnerable to peer pressure than younger children.
Left to themselves, teens will get into trouble.
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Adolescence is usually a time of storm and stress
munch.scream.jpg
Adolescents and parents usually fight
Parents have little influence over teens
Durbrow: Does the adolescent brain still change?
For your information. “Time-Lapse Imaging Tracks Brain Maturation Ages 5 to 20.  Constructed from MRI scans of healthy children, these time-lapse ”movies“ compress 15 years of brain development (ages 5-20) into just a few seconds. Red indicates more gray matter, blue less gray matter. Gray matter wanes in a back to front wave as the brain matures and neural connections are pruned. Areas perrforming more basic functions mature earlier; areas for higher-order functions (emotion, self-control) mature later. The pre-frontal cortex, which handles reasoning and other ”executive“ functions, emerged late in evolution, and is among the last to mature. The  brain changes in schizophrenia may be an exaggeration of this developmental pattern. Intriguingly, this sequence of brain changes is reversed in Alzheimer’s disease. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, 101(21):8174-8179, May 25 2004 [published online, May 17 2004]. [Article, .pdf, 0.7MB] ) ” Website: http://www.loni.ucla.edu/~thompson/DEVEL/dynamic.html
Anyone: What influences the time of menarche among individuals?
Anyone: Describe how early and late physical maturation (puberty and sexual development) may positively or negatively adolescents’ self-identity and peer relations. Can you suggest how a parents can help early maturers?
Anyone: The text lists four major changes in adolescence but several of them also occurred in middle childhood: which one is more unique?
Anyone: WHY is it important to distinguish two types of “crowds”? Note: To answer this question you should know not only the two types of crowds but also ponder their significance.
Anyone: Adolescents are often thought to be more susceptible to peer pressure than other age groups. Are there studies that indicate otherwise?
Anyone: What characteristics in adolescent boys and girls are least likely to lead to high social status?
Anyone: Describe the development of heterosexual relationships in adolescents. Do you think these stages are generally true or outdated?
Anyone: Is parent-adolescent conflict the norm? Is it inevitable?
Margaret Mead standing between two Samoan girls, ca. 1926.
Gelatin silver print.
Manuscript Division. (50a)
Anyone: Evaluate: adolescents should be discouraged from working part-time outside the household because it takes away time from academic work and social activitiies.
Anyone: Evaluate: to reduce teen pregnancy we will implement an abstinence only program without a sexual education program. We expect a “just-say no” approach will be more successful than other programs because adolescents are likely to be attractive to simple and clearly distinctive approaches.
Pregnency rate: Source Allan Gutt. Institute
Teenage pregnancy rates per 1,000Russia - 101.7
 United States - 83.6
 Bulgaria - 83.3
 England and Wales - 46.9
 Australia - 43.7
 Sweden - 24.9
 Netherlands - 12.2
 Source: Alan Guttmacher Institute 2000
NOTE: I have changed this question (made it broader and easier to answer): Suicide is the second leading killer of adolescents in the U.S. and is also a major killer in Europe. Try to use the chapter to identify and discuss several factors which may lead teens to try to kill themselves (e.g., biological maturation, social development, etc).
The suicide rate for adolescents has increased more than 200% over the last decade. Recent studies have shown that greater than 20% of adolescents in the general population have emotional problems and one-third of adolescents attending psychiatric clinics suffer from depression.
Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among college students. Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death among all those 15-34 years old.
Suicide is the 4th leading cause of death among all those 10-14 years old.
The suicide rate for young men (15-24) has tripled since 1950 while for young women (15-24) it has more than doubled.
The suicide rate for children (10-14) has more than doubled over the last 15 years.
Video
Journey Through Childhood: Adolescence (16 minutes)
Physical
Dr Ann Peterson asserted that there may be problems associated with early puberty more for _________ than for __________. Can you suggest likely problems?
Cognitive
Piaget identified a new quality of thinking in adolescents called ____________ ____________. Teens think systematically about all logical relations within a problem. Can you provide several examples?
Another quality of thinking is their ability to consider _______ and not just realities.
Social
Younger adolescents refer to _______ events and people to discuss hypothetical questions about justice while older adolescents use ___________ ______ and try to consider alternative views.
Review of Quiz 3 (Middle Childhood)
Assessment
Essay 4
Preview: I’ll email you the next learning objectives early tomorrow morning and update the website.