Human Development

Adolescence
Adolescence is the developmental stage after childhood and before adulthood. It is described as a stage of developmental crisis; however, it is also in this stage that most adolescents develop more positively. One of the most significant event that occurs in adolescence is puberty. The hormones testosterone and estrogen reach high production during this stage in boys and girls, respectively. According to Piaget, during the adolescence stage (between the ages of 11 and 15) the ability to think abstractly and logically and engage in hypothetical-deductive reasoning are developed. This stage is called formal operational thought. One major issue during adolescence is egocentrism, wherein adolescents believe that they are unique, invincible, and the center of everyone's attention. Another issue during adolescence is the search and development of ones personal identity according to Eriksons stage of identity versus identity confusion. This search is characterized by adolescents wanting to acquire independence from their parents. Yet, they fear that they would make wrong decisions. The two dimensions of identity are exploration and commitment. Most common problems during the adolescence stage are delinquency, drug abuse, unprotected sex, adolescent pregnancy, relationship and schoolrelated problems. Successful programs to solve these problems include providing individual attention and broad community-wide interventions.