Week 6 final

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1 Selecting an Age Group and Developmental Stage for the Final Paper The University of Arizona Global Campus PSY 605: Developmental Psychology Instructor: Holly Johnson February 26, 2024

2 Adolescences Adolescents between the ages of 13 and 18 are also called teenagers, and they will begin to change with growing spurs and puberty. In addition, adolescents will encounter slow growth followed by many months of growing several inches. Sexual maturation may happen regularly or with several signs of changes with puberty. The rate of changes with a significant amount of variation may happen; some adolescents may experience maturity sooner than others. In this paper, we will discuss adolescents' physical, cognitive, emotional, and social features and the points of view of three theorists on the adolescent developmental stage. Physical, Social Features, Cognitive, and Emotional The adolescence/teenage years have many changes, not only physically but also socially and mentally. During these years, each adolescent may develop differently than others and may have a different view of the world. In addition, each child increases their ability to think capriciously and eventually set goals for long-term plans. As adolescents go through the physical development stages of puberty, they grow hair in multiple areas of their body, including underarms and pubic hair. Puberty begins between the ages of 9 1/2 and 14 years old. Girls start seeing changes in body shapes, breast development, and menstruation (John et al., n.d. para. 1). As young girls go through changes in their bodies, they are at high risk of developing a negative body image, depression, substance use, delinquency, eating disorders, school problems, aggressive behavior, and conflict with parents. Boys begin seeing facial hair, voice change, acne, and enlargement of testicles. In addition, boys go through physical changes before girls, and African American girls begin purity before white girls. Arneyt and Jensen (2019) explain that when both genders start noticing these changes in their bodies, they also begin to experience fear, emotions, anxiety, and

3 annoyance. Van Sluijs et al. (2021) state that adolescents in this age group are at a healthy stage. According to Arneyt and Jenson (2019), girls and boys have different hormonal paths during this life stage. Estrogen and Androgens are two classes of sex hormones during puberty development. Estradiol and testosterone are essential. Both males and females received both estradiol and testosterone, and each gender received the same number of levels. However, estrogens are considered to have higher levels in females during puberty to beyond directly in primary and secondary sex characteristics (Arneyt & Jensen, 2019, p. 331). Adolescent brain and neurological development are important because these changes begin during this stage. During adolescence, "the brain is rapidly changing, and a child at the age of six their brain has already developed to 95% of an adult size" (Arneyt & Jenson, 2019, p. 332). Another function of the brain is the cerebellum's growth, which is in the lower part of the brain. The cerebellum is important because it helps the growth of adolescents approaching adulthood and provides functions for decision-making, music, social skills, and humor. Boys begin seeing facial hair, voice change, acne, and enlargement of testicles. Arneyt and Jensen (2019) explain that when both genders start noticing these changes in their bodies, they also begin to experience fear, emotions, anxiety, and annoyance. Van Sluijs et al. (2021) state that adolescents in this age group are in a healthy stage. According to Arneyt and Jenson (2019), girls and boys have different hormonal paths during this life stage. Estrogen and Androgens are two classes of sex hormones during puberty development. Estradiol and testosterone are essential. Both males and females received both estradiol and testosterone, and each gender received the same number of levels. However, estrogens are considered to have higher levels in females during puberty to beyond directly in primary and

4 secondary sex characteristics (Arneyt & Jensen, 2019, p. 331). Adolescent brain and neurological development are important because these changes begin during this stage. During the adolescence stage, “the brain is rapidly changing and a child at the age of six their brain has already developed to 95% of an adult size” (p. 332). Another functionality of the brain is the lower part of the brain is the growth of the cerebellum. The importance of the cerebellum helps the growth of adolescents approaching adulthood and provides functions for decision-making, music, social skills, and humor. Physical Change According to research, generally, adolescence is considered a healthy period. However, there has been an increase in trends globally around adolescents’ health in recent years. For instance, in the last 25 years, in many countries, obese or overweight adolescents have increased globally with mental health disorders that include anxiety and depression. To better understand the physical development of adolescents’ adolescents during this phase of life, biological changes occur rapidly. In transitioning adolescents and young adulthood, lifestyles and a significant responsibility from many cultures go through various pathways differently, including family, higher education, employment, the military, and unemployment. The importance of global variation is the timings of these pathways (Van Sluijs et al. 2021, para. 5). The Social Change Biological and hormonal changes associated with puberty, both boys and girls, adolescence is a time of profound social and psychological transformation. The peer interactions and the social world they enable become increasingly important during adolescence. During adolescence, they spend less time with family and more time with peers and form complex relationships. Authors Orben et al. (2020) state, “the importance of obtaining peer social

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