Book summary
Introduction: the study of adolescent development
Adolescence is a time of growing up, of
moving from the immaturity of childhood
into the maturity of adulthood, of
preparation for the future. It’s a period of
transitions. It’s from 10-early 20s.
Determining the beginning and ending of
adolescence is more an opinion than a
fact
Development during adolescence is a
series of transition from immaturity to
maturity with every aspect has different
beginnings and endings.
There are 3 types of adolescence:
1. Early adolescence: 10-13 years.
2. Middle adolescence: 14-17 years.
3. Late adolescence: 18-21 years.
4. Emerging adulthood: early and mid-20s, but there is no evidence that this is a
universal stage.
There are 3 distinct groups in pathways from adolescence into adulthood.
1. Early starters: finish school, enter labor force and start a family early
2. Employment-focused: finish school, start employment, not start a family early.
3. Education-focused: no early school finish and no family early.
The model for studying adolescence (Hill, 1983) has 3 components:
1. Fundamental changes of adolescence: what is distinctive about adolescence as a
period in development. There are 3 transitions that gives special flavor:
Biological: onset of puberty changes in physical appearance and
development of ability to conceive children.
Cognitive: emergence of advanced thinking abilities, like hypothetical
situations and abstract concepts.
Social: transition into new roles in society. In some cultures there is a formal
ceremony of this: rite of passage.
2. Context of adolescence: the effects of the fundamental changes are not uniform,
because the changes of adolescence is shaped by the environment. There has to be
an ecological perspective on human development that has 4 main context:
Families: changes in family relationships, affect psychological development.
Peer groups: important role in socialization and development teenagers.
Schools: occupy, socialize and educate adolescents.
Work & leisure: changes their attitudes, beliefs and behavior.
3. Psychosocial development of adolescence: psychosocial are aspects of
development that both psychological and social in nature. There are 5 challenges
that has a special turn during this stage:
Identity: to find their identity, they experience a period od experimentation
of trying different personalities.
, Autonomy: becoming less emotionally dependent on parents, learning to
function independently and establishing a personal code of values and
morals.
Intimacy: changes in capacity to be intimate, more intimate friendship and
dating is more important.
Sexuality: incorporating sexuality into a still-developing sense of self, sexual
orientation, sexual values and morals and relationships.
Achievement: crucial decisions depend on achievements, evaluations of own
competencies and capabilities, expectations and guidance.
This stage most common time for onset psychological difficulties. There are 3 sets of
problems associated with adolescence:
1. Drugs and alcohol use and abuse.
2. Delinquency and externalizing problems.
3. Depression and internalizing problems.
There are several theoretical perspective on adolescence:
1. Biosocial theories: emphasize the biological changes of the period:
Hall’s theory of recapitulation: development individual parallel to human
species. The development through the stages was determined by instinct
and biological / genetic forces. The adolescence is a period of storm and
stress caused by changes of puberty that is biological determined so
unavoidable.
Dual systems theories: there are 2 different brain systems- 1 that helps with
brain processes rewards, punishment and information processing and 1
helps with self-control and thinking abilities. The arousal in the first system
takes place in early adolescence, while the other is still maturing
maturational imbalance. Develop a better self-regulation
2. Organismic theories: emphasize the interaction between biological changes of the
period in context in which they take place:
Freudian theory: psychosexual conflict arise at different point in
development. Puberty throws the adolescent into a crisis by reviving old
conflicts over uncomfortable sexual urges that had been buried in the
unconscious. Detach from parents, to develop well.
Eriksonian theory: internal, biological developments moved the individual
from one developmental stage to the next. There are 8 psychosocial stages
of development with each specific crisis, because the interplay between
internal forces of biology and the demands of society. Resolve the identity
crisis and emerge with a coherent sense of who one is.
Piagetian theory: as children mature, they pass through distinct stages of
cognitive development. Adolescence learn to think in hypothetical terms
and abstract things, that is influenced by internal biological changes and the
intellectual environment.
3. Learning theories: emphasize the ways in which patterns of behavior are acquired
through reinforcement and punishment or through observation and imitation:
, Behaviorism: reinforcement (more behavior) and punishment (less
behavior) main influences on adolescent behavior.
Social learning theory: learn to behave not only by reinforcement /
punishment, but also to learn from others and modeling this behavior.
4. Sociological theories: emphasize the ways in which adolescents, as a group
(common by virtue) , are treated by society. Two discussed themes:
Adolescent marginality: difference in power between adult and adolescent
feeling marginalized. Because adolescents are prohibited from occupying
meaningful roles in society, they become more frustrated and threated
immature by isolating them.
Intergenerational conflict: adult and adolescent grow up in different social
circumstances and develop different attitudes/ beliefs / values
generation tension.
5. Historical / anthropological theories
Historical perspective: adolescence as a developmental period has varied
from one historical era to another no generalization possible about
stressfulness, developmental tasks and nature intergenerational relations. It
al depend on the society at that time.
Extreme historical perspective: adolescence is a social invention that is a
reflection of the political, economic and social circumstances they live. Social
conditions define the nature of adolescents development.
Anthropological perspective: societies vary considerably in the ways in
which they view and structure adolescence adolescence as culturally
defined. Benedict says there are 2 societies: unindustrialized (transition is
peaceful) and industrialized (transition of difficult)
Stereotypes of adolescents as troubling have important implications how teenagers are
treated. Parent-teenager relations are influences by the expectation they have about each
other. Teenagers themselves are affected by the stereotypes they hold about the period.
Chapter 1: biological transition
Introduction: the study of adolescent development
Adolescence is a time of growing up, of
moving from the immaturity of childhood
into the maturity of adulthood, of
preparation for the future. It’s a period of
transitions. It’s from 10-early 20s.
Determining the beginning and ending of
adolescence is more an opinion than a
fact
Development during adolescence is a
series of transition from immaturity to
maturity with every aspect has different
beginnings and endings.
There are 3 types of adolescence:
1. Early adolescence: 10-13 years.
2. Middle adolescence: 14-17 years.
3. Late adolescence: 18-21 years.
4. Emerging adulthood: early and mid-20s, but there is no evidence that this is a
universal stage.
There are 3 distinct groups in pathways from adolescence into adulthood.
1. Early starters: finish school, enter labor force and start a family early
2. Employment-focused: finish school, start employment, not start a family early.
3. Education-focused: no early school finish and no family early.
The model for studying adolescence (Hill, 1983) has 3 components:
1. Fundamental changes of adolescence: what is distinctive about adolescence as a
period in development. There are 3 transitions that gives special flavor:
Biological: onset of puberty changes in physical appearance and
development of ability to conceive children.
Cognitive: emergence of advanced thinking abilities, like hypothetical
situations and abstract concepts.
Social: transition into new roles in society. In some cultures there is a formal
ceremony of this: rite of passage.
2. Context of adolescence: the effects of the fundamental changes are not uniform,
because the changes of adolescence is shaped by the environment. There has to be
an ecological perspective on human development that has 4 main context:
Families: changes in family relationships, affect psychological development.
Peer groups: important role in socialization and development teenagers.
Schools: occupy, socialize and educate adolescents.
Work & leisure: changes their attitudes, beliefs and behavior.
3. Psychosocial development of adolescence: psychosocial are aspects of
development that both psychological and social in nature. There are 5 challenges
that has a special turn during this stage:
Identity: to find their identity, they experience a period od experimentation
of trying different personalities.
, Autonomy: becoming less emotionally dependent on parents, learning to
function independently and establishing a personal code of values and
morals.
Intimacy: changes in capacity to be intimate, more intimate friendship and
dating is more important.
Sexuality: incorporating sexuality into a still-developing sense of self, sexual
orientation, sexual values and morals and relationships.
Achievement: crucial decisions depend on achievements, evaluations of own
competencies and capabilities, expectations and guidance.
This stage most common time for onset psychological difficulties. There are 3 sets of
problems associated with adolescence:
1. Drugs and alcohol use and abuse.
2. Delinquency and externalizing problems.
3. Depression and internalizing problems.
There are several theoretical perspective on adolescence:
1. Biosocial theories: emphasize the biological changes of the period:
Hall’s theory of recapitulation: development individual parallel to human
species. The development through the stages was determined by instinct
and biological / genetic forces. The adolescence is a period of storm and
stress caused by changes of puberty that is biological determined so
unavoidable.
Dual systems theories: there are 2 different brain systems- 1 that helps with
brain processes rewards, punishment and information processing and 1
helps with self-control and thinking abilities. The arousal in the first system
takes place in early adolescence, while the other is still maturing
maturational imbalance. Develop a better self-regulation
2. Organismic theories: emphasize the interaction between biological changes of the
period in context in which they take place:
Freudian theory: psychosexual conflict arise at different point in
development. Puberty throws the adolescent into a crisis by reviving old
conflicts over uncomfortable sexual urges that had been buried in the
unconscious. Detach from parents, to develop well.
Eriksonian theory: internal, biological developments moved the individual
from one developmental stage to the next. There are 8 psychosocial stages
of development with each specific crisis, because the interplay between
internal forces of biology and the demands of society. Resolve the identity
crisis and emerge with a coherent sense of who one is.
Piagetian theory: as children mature, they pass through distinct stages of
cognitive development. Adolescence learn to think in hypothetical terms
and abstract things, that is influenced by internal biological changes and the
intellectual environment.
3. Learning theories: emphasize the ways in which patterns of behavior are acquired
through reinforcement and punishment or through observation and imitation:
, Behaviorism: reinforcement (more behavior) and punishment (less
behavior) main influences on adolescent behavior.
Social learning theory: learn to behave not only by reinforcement /
punishment, but also to learn from others and modeling this behavior.
4. Sociological theories: emphasize the ways in which adolescents, as a group
(common by virtue) , are treated by society. Two discussed themes:
Adolescent marginality: difference in power between adult and adolescent
feeling marginalized. Because adolescents are prohibited from occupying
meaningful roles in society, they become more frustrated and threated
immature by isolating them.
Intergenerational conflict: adult and adolescent grow up in different social
circumstances and develop different attitudes/ beliefs / values
generation tension.
5. Historical / anthropological theories
Historical perspective: adolescence as a developmental period has varied
from one historical era to another no generalization possible about
stressfulness, developmental tasks and nature intergenerational relations. It
al depend on the society at that time.
Extreme historical perspective: adolescence is a social invention that is a
reflection of the political, economic and social circumstances they live. Social
conditions define the nature of adolescents development.
Anthropological perspective: societies vary considerably in the ways in
which they view and structure adolescence adolescence as culturally
defined. Benedict says there are 2 societies: unindustrialized (transition is
peaceful) and industrialized (transition of difficult)
Stereotypes of adolescents as troubling have important implications how teenagers are
treated. Parent-teenager relations are influences by the expectation they have about each
other. Teenagers themselves are affected by the stereotypes they hold about the period.
Chapter 1: biological transition
