Adolescent Sexuality

10/11/2007
Psychology Applied to Modern Life, Eighth Edition, Weiten and Lloyd Psychology Applied to Modern Life, Eighth Edition, Weiten and Lloyd
Chapter 11 Chapter 11
The Transition of Adolescence

• Physical changes.
– Pubescence - “the two-year span
preceding puberty during which the
changes leading to physical and sexual
Chapter 11 maturityy take p
place”.
• Secondary sex characteristics –
Development in Adolescence “physical features that distinguish one
gender from another, but that are not
and Adulthood essential to reproduction” - develop first
(see Figure 11.1).
The Transition of Adolescence (cont.)

• Physical changes. (cont.)
– Primary sex characteristics – “the
structures necessary for reproduction”
develop next, during puberty – “the stage
that marks the beginning of adolescence
and during which sexual functions reach
maturity”.
– Puberty is marked by menarche – “or the
first occurrence of menstruation” in
females and by spermarche - “the first
ejaculation” in males.
Figure 11.1
The Transition of Adolescence (cont.) The Transition of Adolescence (cont.)

• Physical changes. (cont.) • Cognitive changes.
– The timing of puberty is very important. – Adolescents’ thinking is qualitatively
• Late maturing boys feel anxious and different from that of a child. They are now
self-conscious. capable of:
• Early
E l maturing
t i girlsil h
have more • Abstract, future-oriented thought.
academic problems, lower self-
confidence and earlier experiences with • Generating multiple hypotheses and
alcohol and sex. systematically testing them.
– Adolescents’ perceptions of the timing of • Hypothetical deductive reasoning (see
their puberty, relative to that of peers, following animation sequence).
reflects the same pattern (see Figure
11.2).
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• Personality changes. • Personality changes. (cont.)
– Erikson’s theory of development identifies – According to Marcia (1980), adolescents
eight psychosocial crises we experience can occupy one of four identity statuses,
throughout life. This chapter will focus on depending on one’s progress on these two
the last four ((see Figure
g 11.3 for an dimensions ((see Figure
g 11.4):
)
overview). • Commitment – adoption of a value
– According to Erikson, adolescence is a system.
time for searching for one’s identity, or “a • Exploration – a search for a value
relatively clear, and stable sense of who system.
one is in the larger society”.

• Personality changes. (cont.) • Adolescent suicide.
– Is adolescence truly a time of turmoil? – Despite an increase in adolescent suicides in
• There is evidence that parent- recent decades, only a small minority of
adolescent conflicts increase during adolescents actually commit suicide.
early adolescence
adolescence.
– Adolescents’ suicide attempts are often a “cry
• Adolescents also do experience more for help” and are more common in gay and
volatile emotions, more extreme moods lesbian youth than heterosexual teens.
and an increase in risk-taking
behaviors. – In addition, females are more likely to attempt
• However, the degree of distress varies suicide, but males are more likely to complete
widely from person to person. suicides.
The Expanse of Adulthood The Expanse of Adulthood (cont.)

• Early adulthood (about age 20 to 40). • Early adulthood (cont.)
– Erikson’s “Intimacy vs. Isolation” stage – Adjusting to the world of work is
characterizes young adults’ need to another key issue for young adults who
establish meaningful relationships (see must:
Figure 11
11.3).
3) • Complete schooling and secure first
– According to Erikson, the ability to job.
establish intimate relationships depends • Continue to explore career options.
upon how successfully the individual
completed the identity crisis. • Learn new skills and develop a “work
ethic”.
• Live independently from parents.
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The Expanse of Adulthood (cont.) The Expanse of Adulthood (cont.)

• Early adulthood (cont.) • Middle adulthood (about age 40 to 65).
– Adjusting to marriage and family life. – Erikson: generativity versus stagnation.
• Most people marry or become involved • During middle adulthood, we strive to
in committed relationships during early acquire generativity – “or a concern for
adulthood. the welfare of future generations” (see
• Most also have children, which often Figure 11.3).
brings a a shift toward more traditional • Adults who have successfully
gender roles. accomplished this task are well-adjusted
• Both are major transitions that affect and have high ratings of life satisfaction.
adjustment and marital satisfaction.

• Middle adulthood (cont.) • Middle adulthood (cont.)
– Confronting the aging process. – Transitions in the parenting role.
• Middle-aged adults are forced to face • Parents consistently rate adolescence
their own mortality as they witness the as the most difficult stage of child-
rearing
rearing.
loss of parents, spouses and friends.
• Interestingly, the gap between actual
• Contrary to popular opinion, the “empty
nest” is actually associated with
age and subjective age, or how old we improved mood and well-being for most
view ourselves, widens with time, women.
especially among women (see Figure
11.6).

– Transitions in the parenting role. (cont.) – Transitions in the work role.
• The postparental period provides • At mid-life, workers adhere to one of
couples time with each other and is two patterns:
associated with increases in marital 1 The
1. Th stable
t bl career pattern,
tt which
hi h
satisfaction. brings more responsibility, money
and influence, or
2. The changing careers pattern, in
which people embark on new
careers, or in which women with
grown children re-enter the
workforce.
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– Is there a midlife crisis? – Is there a midlife crisis? (cont.)
• Whether or not there is a midlife crisis • However, subsequent studies cast
– a “turbulent period of doubts and doubt on this assertion, finding signs of
reappraisal of one’s life” – is heavily a midlife crisis in only a tiny minority
debated. (2% - 5%) of study participants.
• Early research suggested it exists and
is a normal part of human
development.

• Late adulthood (after age 65). • Late adulthood (cont.)
– Erikson: integrity versus despair. – Retirement.
• In this stage, the challenge is to • Today, it is a more gradual process.
achieve ego integrity, or a sense of • For
o most,
ost, itt has
as no
o ad
adverse
e se e
effect
ect o
on
satisfaction, meaningfulness and health or life satisfaction.
purpose with regard to one’s life
experiences. • In short, adjustment is best when:
• Otherwise, older adults experience – There is adequate income.

despair, or a profound sense of regret – Health is good.
over life’s mistakes or missed – One has an extended social
opportunities (see Figure 11.3). network.
The Expanse of Adulthood (cont.) Aging: A Gradual Process

• Late adulthood (cont.) • Physical changes.
– Changes in support networks. – Changes in appearance.
• Relationship satisfaction tends to • Weight increases until about 50 years,
increase late in life and remains high then decreases due to loss of muscle.
until a spouse or partner dies
dies.
• While older adults maintain ties with • Skin sags and wrinkles.
children, siblings and friends become • The nose and ears become longer and
more important. wider.
• Men rely more on their wives for • Hair becomes gray.
emotional support, however, leaving
them vulnerable should they outlive
their wife.
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Aging: A Gradual Process (cont.) Aging: A Gradual Process (cont.)

• Physical changes. (cont.) • Physical changes. (cont.)
– Sensory changes. – Neurological changes.
• From age 30 to 50, adults become more • The number of neurons, “the individual
farsighted; then become increasingly cells that receive, integrate, and transmit
information”, declines throughout
information
nearsighted. adulthood.
• Depth perception, ability to adjust to • Despite this, dementia, a condition
darkness, recovery from glare and marked by multiple cognitive deficits
peripheral vision also decline. including memory impairment, is NOT a
• Hearing loss also begins in the 50s. normal part of aging and is usually
associated with conditions such as
• Both vision and hearing losses are more Alzheimers.
prominent among men.

• Physical changes. (cont.) • Physical changes. (cont.)
– Hormonal changes. – Men also experience decreases in
• Women experience the most drastic shift testosterone, but these changes are more
in hormones when estrogen levels gradual than those experienced by women at
abruptly fall during menopause, “the time menopause
menopause.
when menstruation ceases”. – In addition, these changes in men are not
• Women’s reactions to menopause vary usually associated with physical or
greatly, depending on expectations. psychological distress.
• Some women even regard it positively,
feeling liberated from menstruation and
worries about birth control.
Aging: A Gradual Process (cont.)

• Physical changes. (cont.)
– Changes in health status.
• Vulnerability to certain diseases increases
with age.
• The
Th mostt common health
h lth problems
bl over
age 65 are hypertension, arthritis, heart
disease, cancer and diabetes (see Figure
11.7).
• However, those who exercise and remain
active tend to enjoy better health than
those who do not.
Figure 11.7
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• Cognitive changes. • Cognitive changes. (cont.)
– Intelligence. – Information processing and problem
• Declines, if they do occur, begin after solving:
age 60 and vary from individual to • More significant declines are seen in
individual
individual. this area
area.
• However, most adults do not • Older adults have more difficulty
experience declines in their overall focusing attention, handling multiple
intelligence (see Figure 11.8). cognitive tasks, solving problems and
• Adults with good health and intellectual retrieving memories.
stimulation also tend to experience • In addition, information processing
fewer declines. speed tends to slow.

• Cognitive changes. (cont.) • Personality changes.
– Memory. – The following traits tend to remain fairly
• Capacity for short-term, or working, stable:
memory does decline with age. • Emotional stability.
• However,
H memory llosses are moderate
d t
• Extraversion.
and are not universal.
• Adults who use strategies (such as • Assertiveness.
taking more time) to compensate for – In contrast, traits such as masculinity and
memory declines retain better function. femininity tend to change as people age.
Death and Dying Death and Dying (cont.)

• Attitudes about death. • Attitudes about death. (cont.)
– In Western society, the most common – Adults who are more certain about their
strategy of coping with death is avoidance. religious beliefs (e.g., both devout
– A death system is “the collection of rituals Christians and devout atheists) have lower
and procedures used by a culture to death anxiety than those who are
handle death”. ambivalent.
– In Western society, the death system – Death anxiety is also less prevalent
encourages negative attitudes about among those who feel they have
death and death anxiety – “fear and accomplished more in life and have
apprehension about one’s own death”. greater life satisfaction.
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Death and Dying (cont.) Death and Dying (cont.)

• Attitudes about death. (cont.) • The process of dying.
– Death anxiety also tends to decrease with – Kubler-Ross’s five stages of death are:
age. 1. Denial.
2. Anger.
3. Bargaining.
4. Depression.
5. Acceptance.
– However, recent research suggests that
not everyone progresses through these
stages the same way.
Death and Dying (cont.) Death and Dying (cont.)

• Bereavement and grieving. • Bereavement and grieving. (cont.)
– Bereavement – is “the painful loss of a – The grieving process:
loved one through death”. • John Bowlby outlines the following four
– Mourning – “refers to the formal practices stage grief process:
of an individual and a community in 1. Numbness.
response to a death”.
2. Yearning.
– In America and Western Europe, the
bereaved break emotional ties with the 3. Disorganization.
deceased more quickly than do Asian, 4. Reorganization.
Hispanic and African cultures.
Death and Dying (cont.)

• Bereavement and grieving. (cont.)
– Research shows that most grief reactions
do not follow Bowlby’s model, however.
– In addition, research shows that absent
grief, or a pattern characterized by low
levels of depression before and after a
spouse’s death, is actually more likely
than common grief, a pattern associated
with increased depression after a
spouse’s death (see Figure 11.11).
Figure 11.11
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Death and Dying (cont.) Application: Becoming an Effective Parent

• Bereavement and grieving. (cont.) • Maternal behavior and infant-mother
– Coping with different types of loss. attachment.
• Mothers who lose their children have the highest – By eight months of age, most babies form
rates of depression. a strong emotional bond with their primary
• Women who lose their husbands are more caregiver (usually the mother)
mother), termed
depressed than women who lose a parent. infant attachment.
• Children and teens who lose a parent are
– Secure attachments are important for
especially vulnerable.
healthy relationships later in life because
• Bereavement overload – “occurs when
the child develops a sense of trust in the
individuals experience multiple losses in close
succession”. mother and in the greater world.
Application: Becoming an Effective Parent (cont.) Application: Becoming an Effective Parent (cont.)
• Infant-mother attachment (cont.) • Infant-mother attachment (cont.)
– Ainsworth (1978) found that infants developed – How do caregivers promote secure
one of three attachment styles by eight months of attachment?
age:
1. Secure – infant welcomes contact with mother
• Mothers of securely attached infants
(the majority of infants). are perceptive of their babies’ needs.
2. Anxious-ambivalent – infant has a mixture of • Respond quickly and consistently to
desire for contact with mother, and rejection of their baby’s needs, and
mother’s affection.
• Enjoy physical contact with their baby.
3. Anxious-avoidant – infant ignores the
mother.
• Day care and attachment. • Dimensions of child rearing.
– Full-time day care in the first year of life is – Two dimensions underlie child-rearing
associated with more attachment styles:
difficulties. 1. Parental acceptance (children whose
– However, this depends heavily upon the parents who hold them in high regard
quality of day care and other family develop high self-esteem and self-
factors. control).
– Finally, day care can also have positive 2. Parental control (moderate control is
effects on the child’s intellectual and social associated with maturity and
development. responsibility).
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Application: Becoming an Effective Parent (cont.)

• Correlates of parenting styles.
– Baumrind (1967, 1971, 1978) identified
four parenting styles, based on these two
dimensions, summarized in Figure 11.12.
• The authoritative style is associated
with the most positive outcomes.
• Children reared with this style are the
most self-reliant, friendly and
cooperative and perform best in school.
Figure 11.12
• Correlates of parenting style. (cont.) • Rearing adolescents.
– Children of permissive parents tend to be – Adolescents’ increasing cognitive abilities
undisciplined, impulsive and easily enable them to question parental values.
frustrated. – This is necessary for identity formation,
but calls for a more equal parent-child
– Children of authoritarian parents tend to relationships, and can create parent-teen
have difficulty in school, have lower self- conflicts.
esteem and poorer social skills.
– Authoritatively reared adolescents have
– Baumrind did not report on the neglectful parents who listen to their input, while
style, but others have found it to be most setting limits, and and are the best
maladaptive. adjusted.
• Toward effective parenting - five basic rules: • Using punishment effectively – five tips:
1. Set high, but reasonable standards. 1. Punishment should not damage the child’s
2. Stay alert for “good” behavior and reward self-esteem.
it. 2. Punishment should always be swift.
3. Explain your reasons when you ask a 3. Punishment should be consistent.
child to do something. 4. Punishment should be explained.
4. Encourage children to take the 5. Point out the alternative, positive ways for
perspective of others. your child to behave and reinforce these
5. Enforce rules consistently. actions.

Adolescent Sexuality

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10/11/2007

The Transition of Adolescence

The Transition of Adolescence (cont.)

The Transition of Adolescence (cont.) The Transition of Adolescence (cont.)

The Transition of Adolescence (cont.) The Transition of Adolescence (cont.)

The Transition of Adolescence (cont.) The Transition of Adolescence (cont.)

The Expanse of Adulthood The Expanse of Adulthood (cont.)

The Expanse of Adulthood (cont.) The Expanse of Adulthood (cont.)

The Expanse of Adulthood (cont.) The Expanse of Adulthood (cont.)

The Expanse of Adulthood (cont.) The Expanse of Adulthood (cont.)

The Expanse of Adulthood (cont.) The Expanse of Adulthood (cont.)

The Expanse of Adulthood (cont.) The Expanse of Adulthood (cont.)

• Otherwise, older adults experience – There is adequate income.

The Expanse of Adulthood (cont.) Aging: A Gradual Process

Aging: A Gradual Process (cont.) Aging: A Gradual Process (cont.)

Aging: A Gradual Process (cont.) Aging: A Gradual Process (cont.)

Aging: A Gradual Process (cont.)

Aging: A Gradual Process (cont.) Aging: A Gradual Process (cont.)

Aging: A Gradual Process (cont.) Aging: A Gradual Process (cont.)

Death and Dying Death and Dying (cont.)

Death and Dying (cont.) Death and Dying (cont.)

Death and Dying (cont.) Death and Dying (cont.)

Death and Dying (cont.)

Death and Dying (cont.) Application: Becoming an Effective Parent

Application: Becoming an Effective Parent (cont.)

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