Samenvatting tussentoets Adolescent Development

Lecture notes:
Adolescent Development



Content

Lecture 1 – Introduction to the study of adolescence
Lecture 2 – Emotional and Moral development
Literature week 1
Introduction / Ch1 (13-33) / Ch3
Ch9 (250-261) / Coe-Odess et al., 2019


Lecture 3 – Cognitive and brain development
Lecture 4 – Self and Identity
Literature week 2
Ch2 / Ch9 (244-250)
Ch8

Lecture 5 – Psychopathology
Literature week 3
Ch13 (375-383) / Ballonof Suleiman & Dahl, 2017 / Orben et al., 2020

Lecture 6 – Substance use and Delinquency
Literature week 4
Ch13 (348-375) / Degenhardt et al., 2016

, Lecture 1 – Introduction to the study of adolescence

a) What is adolescence?

‘Teenage brain’ is often perceived as negative
 Undesirable behavior
 Mostly perceived by adolescents on parents, parents and parents
on adolescents

Stanley Hall: first research psychologist to characterize adolescence
 Period of storm and stress
 Hormonal
 Biologically determined
 Unavoidable

Current view > Adolescence as a second window of opportunity ->
positive
- Rapid learning
- Brain development
- Vulnerability
- Opportunity

>Effects of negative stereotypes about adolescence -> more negative
expressivity
= less emotion regulation and more negative emotions
 Self-fulfilling prophecy
 Also affects behavior -> risk taking

Definition of adolescence : period between onset of sexual maturation
and the attainment of adult roles and responsibilities -> depends on
societal expectations
 Adult monitoring  self-responsibility

Age boundaries:
o Early adolescence – 10-13 years
o Middle adolescence – 14-17 years
o Late adolescence – 18-21 years
o Young adulthood – 22-30 years
o Emerging adulthood – 18-25 years

Three primary changes during adolescence:

1. Biological changes
 Individual differences
 Physical appearance
2. Cognitive changes
 Reasoning
 Empathy

,  Self-conceptualization

3. Social domain (social roles)
 Expectations regarding behavior and responsibilities

Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Model -> effects of environment on
development

b) The beginning of adolescence

Puberty = maturational process -> capacity to reproduce
 Primary sex characteristics (testes, ovaries)
 Secondary sex characteristics (breasts, pubic hair)

5 areas of change:
1. Maturation of reproductive organs + secondary sex characteristics
2. Nervous and endocrine system
3. Skeletal growth
4. Body composition: distribution of fat and muscle
5. Circulatory and respiratory systems

Measuring pubertal development

 Tanner staging (5 stages)
 Girls: breasts / pubic hair
 Boys: penis and testes / pubic hair
 Self report
 Line drawings of Tanner Stages (which one looks the most like
your body)
 Questionnaires
 Visual inspection by researcher
 Hormones (saliva)

HPA- vs HPG-axis

HPA-axis
- Hypothalamus
- Pituitary glands
- Adrenal glands -> muscle tissue, skin changes, body hair


HPG-axis
- Hypothalamus
- Pituitary glands
- Gonads
 Females: estrogen -> physical changes, menstruation
 Males: testosterone -> sperm cells, physical changes

,Both can be the first activated during puberty (starting with pubic hair or
breasts)
 Depends on set point

Factors influencing puberty:
o Genetics
o Increase in kisspeptin -> influenced by leptin & melatonin
o Environmental factors
 SAFE Nutrition, health care (leptin)
 UNSAFE Stress, conflict

Secular trend – group differences > earlier maturation and puberty
= onset of menstruation is declining over years
= growth (males) is increasing




Effects of early or late puberty on psychosocial effects

 Early maturation – boys > desirable
o Increased popularity EMOTIONAL
o Improves self-concept and -esteem EMOTIONAL
o Small increase in internalizing problems EMOTIONAL
o Deviant friends BEHAVIORAL
o Risk-taking BEHAVIORAL

 Early maturation – girls > undesirable
o Increased emotional difficulties (depression, self-image)
EMOTIONAL
o Increased popularity EMOTIONAL
o Deviant friends BEHAVIORAL
Maturational deviance hypothesis : early maturing girls/late maturing
boys stand out compared to peers in a time in which they want to fit in

Developmental readiness hypothesis : early girls struggle to cope with
early maturations, while early boys are relatively older and
psychologically more mature

Cultural desirability of body types : tall and muscular for boys, thin for
girls but they gain body fat

c) The end of adolescence

,Markers of adulthood
- Financial dependence
- Completion of education
- Working full time
- Leaving parental home x
- Getting married x
- Having children x

Average age of leaving parental home increases -> more constrains

Milestones are shifting
 Adult social roles occur a decade after puberty
 Adolescence has expanded to 6-15 years




Lecture 2 – Emotional and Moral development

a) Emotional Development – Emotion experiences

Adolescence is a crucial period for emotional development
- Emotional world increases
 Autonomy, more situations that require emotion regulation
- Increase of emotional independency > detachment or
individualization
- Physiological changes
 Hormonal changes
- Advanced cognitive abilities

Emotions
Situation -> stimulus
 Primary Appraisal Process (physiological arousal)
 Secondary Appraisal Process (interpretation of
stimulus/cognitive labeling)

,  Emotional Experience

Emotion vs mood
- Emotion: shorter duration – specific cause
- Mood: longer duration – no specific cause

Measure of emotional experiences:
 Retrospective assessment -> dependent on mood
 Interviews
 Questionnaires
 Ambulatory assessment -> multiple reports on emotions
 Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA)
 Experience Sampling

Emotion intensity

Changes in anger
Anger intensity increases during middle adolescence, and decreases after
 Decrease is caused by transition into adult roles

Changes in sadness
Sadness intensity increases during adolescence
 Adolescents become less able to regulate sadness
 Emotional independency




Changes in anxiety
Anxiety intensity increases during adolescence
 More expectations from society
 Thinking about opinions of others

Changes in happiness
Happiness intensity decreases during adolescence
 Overwhelmed by other emotional experiences

Changes in self-conscious emotions
Higher prevalence of shame and guilt in adolescence
 Increased reproductive hormones
 Heightened sensitive to social status and feedback

 Positive emotions are still reported most intense and often despite
changes

Emotion fluctuations


Younger
adolescents experience