Adolescence

11-18 years

Physical Development – Puberty

o Growth hormone (GH) production doubles causing great body growth
o Sexual maturation takes place

Language Development
o Language becomes more abstract
o Way of communicating is more pragmatic – pay attention to others’
feelings and thoughts

Cognitive Development
o Think logically about abstract concepts
o Engage in hypothetical deductive
reasoning

Social-Emotional Development
o Explores who they are
o Forms a personal identity

Moral Reasoning/Self-regulation
o Often question authority and moral
understanding of society
o Delinquency rises and then declines in
the latter years

Signs of atypical development

Ø A very big set-back in puberty
Ø Deep depression is a big sign that something is wrong in the child’s life
What social factor(s) influence development?
⇒ Peer acceptance is a huge need for adolescents, at times they do
reckless things to gain peer acceptance

How does culture influence development?

♦ Chinese/Korean adolescents spend much more time involved in
intense studying rather than spending time with friends like American
adolescents

What can families do to influence their child’s development?

A family game night will enhance an adolescents cognitive
development and build relations
Visit community events or volunteer at community events together. This
will be a fun experience for the whole family and it will be very
beneficial for the adolescent in the family to be exposed to the
community for them to see how the community they live in functions
and how they can contribute to the community.