Adolescence: Physical Development

Adolescence: Physical Development

1. Puberty

   • Culture & History
     • Puberty Rite
       •  A “coming of age” ritual, usually beginning at some event such as first menstruation, held in traditional cultures to celebrate children’s transition to adulthood.
     • Secular trend in puberty
       • A century-long decline in the average age at which children reach puberty in the developed world.
     • Menarche
       • a girl's first menstruation
     • Spermarche
       • A boy’s first ejaculation of live sperm.
   • The Hormonal Programmers
     • Adrenal Androgens
       • Hormones produced by the adrenal glands that program various aspects of puberty, such as growth of body hair, skin changes, and sexual desire.
     • HPG Axis
       • The main hormonal system programming puberty; it involves a triggering hypothalamic hormone that causes the pituitary gland to secrete its hormones, which in turn cause the ovaries and testes to develop and secrete the hormones that produce major body changes.
       • Gonads
         • The sex organs—the ovaries in girls and the testes in boys.
         • Ovaries
           • Estrogen
         • Testes
           • Testosterone
   • Physical Changes
     • Primary Sexual Characteristics
       •  Physical changes of puberty that directly involve the organs of reproduction, such as the growth of the penis and the onset of menstruation.
     • Secondary Sexual Characteristics
       • Physical changes of puberty that are not directly involved in reproduction.
     • Growth Spurt
       •  A dramatic increase in height and weight that occurs during puberty.
   • Individual Differences
     • Overweight
     • Family Stress

2. Body Image Issues

   • Thin Ideal
     • Media-driven cultural idea that females need to be abnormally thin.
   • Eating Disorders
     • A pathological obsession with getting and staying thin. The two best-known eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.
     • Anorexia Nervosa
       • A potentially life-threatening eating disorder characterized by pathological dieting (resulting in severe weight loss and, in females, loss of menstruation) and a distorted body image.
     • Bulimia Nervosa
       • An eating disorder characterized by at least biweekly cycles of binging and purging (by inducing vomiting or taking laxatives) in an obsessive attempt to lose weight.
     • Binge-Eating Disorder
       • A newly labeled eating disorder defined by recurrent, out-of-control binging accompanied by feelings of disgust.

3. Sexuality

   • Exploring Sexual Desire
   • Who is having intercourse?
   • Who are teens having intercourse with?
     • Sexual Double Standard
       • A cultural code that gives men greater sexual freedom than women. Specifically, society expects males to want to have intercourse and expects females to remain virgins until they marry and be more interested in relationships than having sex.
   • Contemporary Trends
     • - teens feel freer to make their own sexual choices - teens typically report having sex in a committed relationship - rates of teen pregnancies have dramatically declined