Psyc 2618

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Psyc 2618

• Adolescent Development

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Definitions

• Adolescence is a transition phase between
  childhood and adulthood.
• Puberty is the beginning of sexual reproduction.
• In females, puberty is marked by menarche, the
  beginning of menstruation. The majority of girls
  discuss this with their mother/other female.

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Cont. Definitions

• In males, puberty begins with spermarche, the
  first ejaculation of seminal fluid. About 1/3 of
  the subjects in a study indicated they had no
  information that spermarche would occur and
  almost 80 told no one when it did occur.

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Puberty

• Females
• Most girls enter puberty between 8 and 16 years
  of age. Body weight and activity level influence
  the age of onset. Ethnicity also factors into
  the age of onset.
• With the onset of menarche, 50 to 75 of females
  may experience dysmenorrhea, or menstrual cramps.
  It may also include headaches, nausea,
  dizziness, lower back pain.

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Cont. Puberty

• The cause of dysmenorrhea includes both physical
  (prostiglandins) and psychological factors
  (expectations)
• Another concern regarding mensus is Premenstrual
  syndrome (PMS). PMS involves a variety of
  symptoms that occur a few days before
  menstruating, such as headaches,swelling, acne,
  psychological reactions.

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Cont. Puberty

• PMS research
• Alagna and Hamilton (1986) found some
  fluctuations in mood but other research by these
  authors demonstrated that womens moods were
  influenced as much by the day of the week as by
  the phase of the menstrual cycle.

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• Hardie (1997) asked 83 women to keep daily
  records for 10 weeks. In analyzing the data, not
  one woman met criteria for PMS for 2 menstrual
  cycles during the 70-day study.
• Chrisler (1994) administered the Menstrual Joy
  Questionnaire women were more likely to report
  positive aspects of menstruation.
• To cope with PMS, some suggest exercise, avoiding
  salt, fat, alcohol, and caffeine.

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Self-concept and Identity

• Females receive feedback about appearance while
  males receive feedback about performance in
  athletics. (Kwa, 1994)
• The most important component of female
  attractiveness in North America is body weight.
• Media has a strong influence on a females
  self-perception.

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Cont. self-concept

• Participation in athletics can help girls escape
  from the dominant images of thinness.
• Some research suggests that girls have a stronger
  sense of ethnic identity than boys. Although,
  some research shows that Black males receive more
  criticism than Black females for acting White.

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Cont. self-concept

• In the study by Sadker and Sadker, 1994, boys and
  girls are similar in self-esteem during
  elementary school. Females drop in self-esteem
  during high school, except Black females
  increased in self-esteem during high school.

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Cont. Self-concept

• Though some of the research is inconclusive,
  teens who are high in instrumentality (believe
  they can accomplish a goal) have higher
  self-esteem.

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Education and Career Planning

• College-bound female high school graduates have
  typically had one year less of physical science
  and a half-year less of mathematics, compared to
  their male peers.
• Another career with strong gender roles is
  computers. Some research indicates that boys
  outnumber girls in the use of

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Cont. Career

• Computer use in schools by 2 to 1 40 of boys
  but only 7 of girls use computers outside the
  classroom, and 25 more boys than girls live in
  homes with computers. Implications for females.
• There is some evidence that men have even less
  support than women for choosing nontraditional
  occupations.

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Cont. Career

• Females who plan on a nontraditional career are
  likely to have parents who are well educated and
  from middle- or upper-class backgrounds.
• Females who aspire to nontraditional careers do
  well in school with high esteem
• Female adolescents experience conflict between
  career and family life.

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Interpersonal relationships

• The majority of adolescents get along well with
  their parents.
• Both males and females feel closer to their
  mothers than their fathers.
• Adolescent females are more likely to report
  acceptance of feelings in their family
• Inconsistent findings on closeness of
  relationships.

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Cont. Relationships

• Media influences ideas about romantic
  relationships.
• Both genders describe their partners in positive
  terms. Males are more likely to emphasize
  physical attractiveness while females emphasize
  personal characteristics (support and intimacy).