Creating a profile of a developmental stage of the lifespan- adolescent
Uploaded by babydido on Sep 20, 2006
Creating a profile of a developmental stage of the lifespan
In this essay, I am going to discuss the developmental stage of the adolescent aged from 12 to 20 years old from the physical development like puberty and sexual maturity, the social development like peer pressure, popularity and rejection in school and the issues surrounding them like juvenile delinquency and gangs, eating disorders like obesity, anorexia nervosa and bulimia. I will also be touching on the causes of these issues.
Physical Development during adolescence
Between the ages of 12 to 20 is considered the most life changing, awkward and exciting stage of a human being’s life as they will go through the physical changes which might cause them to have some embarrassing moments.
Physical and sexual maturation are processes set in motion by the genes and executed by hormones. Most males and females feel most awkward during this stage as it is during this time that physical attraction between the two sexes will develop and they become more conscious of their own appearance.
Adolescents experienced the most dramatic physical changes during this stage as their body undergoes a range of transformation from child to adult. What they are experiencing is called puberty, the process of biological change that results in an individual’s attaining sexual maturity and becoming capable of producing a child. (Sigelman and Rider, 2006, p.130)
As the level of growth hormones circulating in the body increases, the adolescent growth spurt is triggered. Girl’s peak growth for height is around 12 years while for boys it is 13.4 years. Both sexes will return to a slower rate of growth after experiencing that peak of growth spurt. Both sexes develop muscles rapidly but boys usually gain a greater proportion of muscle mass than girls. Girls will gain extra fats in the breasts, hips and buttocks while boys will develop broader shoulders.
The sexual maturity part will follow, whereby it refers to the ability for a male to father a child and a female to carry a fetus to term. The primary sex characteristics like the testes and penis in males will develop around the age of 11 and a half years old while the ovaries, uterus and vagina in females will develop around 12 and a half years old. Secondary sex characteristics like breasts development for...