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Lecture 2 Physical development
Part 1
Two times in the life where we grow a lot: two first years in your life and the years during early puberty development. The adolescent is now old enough to see these changes.
Pubertal development
Puberty: the transitional process during which the primary sex characteristics (e.g, testes, ovaries) and secondary sex characteristics (breasts, pubic hair) mature resulting in the capacity to reproduce.
The changes that occur at puberty have their origins prenatally.
Gonads develop during fetal growth
Fetuses start off with a female design
In males androgens are secreted by the gonads initiating the process that results in male sex organs and has organizing influences on the developing brain, specifically the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis.
Five areas of change
Maturation of reproductive organs, secondary sex characteristics
Nervous and endocrine systems
Skeletal growth
Body composition & distribution of fat and muscle
Circulatory and respiratory systems
People don't go through it at the same age. Picture of three 14 years old.
Three different ways of speaking about puberty:
Pubertal timing: early, on-time, late
Pubertal status: stage
Where are you along the process?
Really no development
Start to see changes
Advanced change
More advanced
Adult body status
Pubertal tempo: rate
Tempo of pubertal development: how fast do you go through these processes?
Early/late puberty > teasing: what does this with your psychological wellbeing?
The three different ways can come together: early puberty, but fast (etc.)
Regulation of hormonal changes
Two major feedback systems associated with puberty
HPG axis hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis
HPA axis hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal
Both use negative feedback to determine the amount of circulating hormones.
Two relatively independent processes occur:
Adrenarche occurs when the adrenal glands begin producing androgens in both boys and girls, the HPA axis is activated.
Androgens > muscle tissue, pubic & axillary hair, skin changes & acne
Gonarche occurs when the HPG axis is reactivated with large increases in gonadotropins, lutenizing hormones (LH) and follicle stimulating hormones (FSH) which are all related to development of the testes and ovaries etc.
For girls: HPG and HPA processes are independent > there can be differences in timing > visible differences.
Keep in mind: puberty linked with hypothalamus and surrounding limbic system
Limbic system: emotionality, reward system
Prefrontal cortex is also developing self-regulation, control. This happens relatively independently of puberty changes.
Imbalanced model: control parts is not fully mature, while ‘excited’ parts will be active during puberty.
Hormones
Testosterone
Increases 10-20 times in males, slightly in females
Stimulates muscle growth
> differences in body. In sports: females can take drugs to achieve the same results as men.
Estrogen
Increases 8-10 times in females, slightly in males
Cause accumulation of fat under skin > female skin is softer than men skin.
Females have cyclic sex hormone (menstrual cycle)
Widening of the pelvic girdle occurs
Males maintain a constant hormone level
Pubertal development
Girls mature about 2 years earlier than boys
Girls gain +- 15 kilos and 25 cm
Boys gain +- 20 kilos and 30 cm
Growth is opposite from prenatal, outward in: hand & feet grow before legs and arms
Females
Breast development is the first physical sign for girls
Pubic hair growth starts shortly after the breast budding
Menarche: onset of menstrual cycle
Occurs shortly after peak rate of physical growth
Age of onset has decreased over the last century
Means is 12,7 years
Minimum level of body fat required
Athletes & anorexics often stop or have delayed menarche
Vaginal secretions increase both with and without connection to sexual thoughts and deeds
Increase in oil production in skin (acne)
Males
Growth of testes is first physical sign
Growth of penis and accessory (internal) male organs > allows for ejaculation
Sperm production becomes fully established
Genitalia reach adult size at age 15 on average
First ejaculation at age 13
Nocturnal emissions (“wet dreams”) occur between 14-17 years
Deepening of the voice (+- 13,5 years)
Growth of pubic hair
Begins at same time as genital development. And is followed by facial and ancillary hair within 1-2 years.
Facial features become more masculine
Changes in muscle and fat
Before puberty: boys=girls on levels of muscle and fat
Between 5 and 16 years: the number of muscle cells increase 14x in males and 10x in females
Strength spurt peaks at an average age of:
15,3 in boys
11,6 in girls
Motor coordination improves gradually peaks at age 18-19
Reaction time is fastest between the ages of 18-20
End of puberty muscle/fat ratio: 3:1 for boys, 5:4 for girls
Factors influencing puberty
Genetic factors (nature)
Evolution: only monkeys and chimpanzees have the same pubertal spurts we see in humans
Family tendencies: the average difference in time of menarche for strangers is 29 months, for sisters 13 months, for identical twins 2,8 months
Diet and exercise (context)
Caloric needs increase
25% for girls between 10 and 15
90% for boys between 10 and 19
Peak caloric requirements
At age 12-15 in girls
14-17 in boys
Severe prolonged malnutrition results in slower growth, delayed menarche, short adult stature
Context
Average age of menarche is lowest in industrialized nations with adequate health care and nutrition
Girls who keep their weight down (gymnastics, ballet dancers) experience later menarche and irregular menstrual periods
Famine induced delays
Father absence before puberty (particularly coupled with stressful homes) accelerates puberty in girls (earlier menarche)
Part 2
Factors influencing puberty
Secular Trend:
From 1840 to 1980, the average age of menarche has been falling from 17 to 12,5 worldwide
Trend is likely related to nutritional factors
Now stabilized
What are the public health implications of these results?
Higher risk on breast cancer, metabolic disorder, cardiovascular diseases. Risk on developing depression.
Secular trend in males?
Marshall and Tanner (1970), which provided age references for male pubertal development, the mean age for G2 stage was found to be 11,6 years in the UK.
These stabilized references are in contrast to the lowered median age of 9,7 year at G2 that has been reported from the American NHANES III study.
The stable mean age at G5 (15,3 years) in the NHANES III study is in contrast with the earlier age at G2. This would suggest that the tempo of male puberty is, in fact, decreasing.
New evidence?
Mortality hump/accident hump: risk-taking and surplus mortality are signatures of the male human's early adult years.
Across time: over time 1815-2000, increase in mortality has declined .2 years across the decade > males are also showing a secular trend.
How do we measure pubertal development?
Tanner Staging (physicians/nurses)
Girls: breast/pubic hair development
Boys: penis & testes/pubic hair development
5 stages where 1= no development, 2=beginning stages and 5=adult
Self-report
Line drawings of Tanner Stages
Questionnaires
Pubertal development Questionnaire (PDQ, Petersen)
Age at menarche
Age at first wet dream
Age at growth spurt
Pubertal timing questions
Global visual inspection by researcher of clothed adolescent
Tanner stages
Pubertal Development Questionnaire
Taps five areas
Sample item: would you say that your growth in height:
Has not yet begun to spurt
Has barely started
Is definitely underway
Seems completed
Similar question about: skin changes, body hair
Males: deepening of voice, hair on face
Females: breast development, menstruation
Are adolescents accurate/truthful when reporting on puberty?
Girls straightforward and honest
Boys say they're more advanced than they actually are
Another methodological issue: puberty versus age and experience
In most adolescent studies:
Age, level of pubertal development, and social experience are correlated and difficult to disentangle (exception: endocrine disorder)
Requires studies designed to examine these issues:
Youth of the same age and social experience
(e.g., all 13 years old in the same grade)
But varying in level of pubertal maturation
Theories of pubertal development – correlates and consequences of pubertal development
Early girls: only ones. On-time girls: also other peers (early girls and early boys).
Early girls and late boys are they the ones having the most psychologic problems? Social aspect: you don't want to be different from others.
Theories of how puberty affects development
Status
Stressful Change Hypothesis
All change is stressful, so when you're going through a period of change, you're not going to do well. You are going to be more depressed, more conflict with parents, more problems. At soon as you’re done with those changes, everything will be ok.
Not much support for this theory
Timing
Off-time Hypothesis
Early and late maturing boys and girls are at risk (because different from average gender group)
Early maturing girls and late maturing boys are at risk (they're the ‘weird’ ones from the entire peergroup)
Maturation Disparity Hypothesis/Early Timing (Stage Termination) Hypothesis
If you're early mature, you have the physical body but you don't have the psychosocial maturity to handle the things that are put in your way because you look like an adult.
Ge & Natsuaki
Hormonal Influence Hypothesis
Ge & Natsuaki
Stress responsivity, might be good or bad > increase or decrease changes of depression and other problems.
Gonadal hormones > neural circuitry > behavioral consequences
How do we test these hypotheses?
Longitudinal study
500 girls in Australia
Tested on behavior problems at 9, 13 and 15 years
Asked age at menarche at 15 years
Early =<12
On-time = 12-13
Late= 14 or older
What theory does support the results? > early timing hypothesis
Theories of how puberty affects development
Amplification hypotheses
Propose an interaction between individual or social processes and pubertal transition that increase the risk of adjustment problems
Individual
Accentuation hypothesis
Contextual amplification
Peer: deviant peer hypothesis
Parent: parenting practices
Neighborhood: contextual risk
School: heterosocial context
Problem behavior high at age 9: early pubertal timing was a stress factor that made these problems bigger.
You have a problem > experience a stressor > makes problem worse
Example 2:
It depends on the context if pubertal timing is going to have the greatest impact
Example 3:
How depressed the individuals were in the first wave of measurement, and then in the second wave of measurements. Girls who were low on depression in the first wave, there's no difference between early, average or late maturers in the second wave.
But girls who started depressed, where in the second wave more depressed.
Maternal depression, genetic factor: similar kind of effect. Kids with mothers who are highly depressed, those kids were much more depressed at wave two.
So: other factors moderate the effect of being early, on-time or late mature.
Theories of how puberty affects development
Tempo
Maturation compression hypothesis
Boys: those who matured more quickly than their peers:
More depressive symptoms in 2 studies
Less depressive symptoms in NL
No link for internalizing in US and NL youth
More externalizing problems for US but not NL youth
Girls: no consistent link
Not only looking to tempo, but also to timing effects. Really mixed results.
Part 3 Sleep
With the increasing use of mobile technologies, we're beginning to recognize that these technologies do have devastating effects.
Pubertal effects on sub-cortical regulatory systems
Changes in sleep
Changes in arousal
Circadian regulation: regular wake-sleep cycles
Challenge: finding a balance between the short-term demands & long-term goals
Fun – achievement
Limbic system (you want to have fun, emotionally) – pre-frontal cortex (cognitive)
Emotional – cognitive
Sleep and the developing brain
Sleep is primary activity of brain in early development
Sleep is fundamental to the consolidation of learning
Especially when you’re in a whole new environment (first time to college)
Newborns (0-3 months) = 14-17 hours
Age 2-5 years = 12 hours – equal amounts of sleep and waking time
Adolescents need about 9 hours of sleep (adults 8)
Sleep/arousal regulation
Some developmental changes in sleep regulation are:
Biological and linked to puberty
Others linked to social influences, habits and patterns
More activities outside the home, more use of smartphones
Interactions between these domains can lead to a negative spiral of consequences
Increased vulnerability to sleep problems and sleep deprivation during puberty
Physical shifts:
Night-time sleep becomes lighter and more prune to disruptions
Daytime sleepiness increases during puberty
Changes in circadian system shifts sleep timing preferences to a delayed-sleep phase
> go to bed later and wake up later
Social shifts:
Less parental control over bedtime
Social interactions with peers
Additional after school demands: homework, sports
Electronic media (tv, internet, text-messaging) > exposure on blue light
Use of stimulants (caffeine and nicotine) > DFA (difficulty falling asleep)
Catch-up sleeps leads to jet lag on Mondays and the cycle continues
What are the consequences of insufficient sleep in adolescents?
Missed school
Sleepiness (including micro-sleeps: missing whatever is going on in the classroom)
Negative synergy with alcohol
Tiredness (decreased motivation for a lot of activities, especially cognitive activities)
Irritability and low-frustration tolerance
Difficulties with self-control of attention, emotion, and behavior
Sleep loss, unintentional injuries
Sleep deprivation creates impairments in attention, reaction time, judgement at levels comparable to intoxication with alcohol
Couple the sleep loss that is accrued by the end of the week with a late night party on friday > increases in drowsy-driving related accidents
There needs to be balance
Between sleep and waking cycle
Part 4 – adolescent brain development
Brain development
Black box: we didn't know what changed during adolescence
Brain development in adolescence: four general principles
Adolescence is a period of heightened brain plasticity
Brain maturation continues until a later age than previously believed
Different systems mature at different points in time and at different rates
The different developmental timetables of different regions create unique characteristics of adolescence
Adolescent brain development
Prefrontal cortex and limbic system and connections between them
Two main systems
Prefrontal cortex: in the front of the brain, frontal lobe, and is implicated in a lot of complex behavior: planning, decision-making, moderating, social behavior, cognitive control
Limbic system: amygdala, hippocampus etc.
Jayne Blakemore's research
Through MRI more information about the brain. FMRI: functional MRI.
Prefrontal cortex: changes in adolescence
Gray matter: peaks in adolescence > cellbodys and connections between cells > synaptic pruning: synapses that aren't used, go away.
Part of the prefrontal cortex, medial prefrontal cortex, is more active in adolescence than it is in adults. This part decreases during adolescence.
Taking perspective from others. In adolescence more errors than in adults.
Limbic system: rewarding feeling to risk-taking
Graphic: different parts at different times
Brain maturation in adolescence
Synaptic pruning: taking away certain connections in the brain
Myelination: ncrease in the support structures around the axons
> resulting in improved brain function
Increased efficiency of local computations
Increased speed of neuronal transmission
Some functions of the prefrontal cortex
Deliberate thinking
Logical reasoning
Planning ahead
Weighing costs and benefits
Regulating impulses
Blakemore: medial prefrontal cortex use decreases during adolescence for social tasks
More errors compared to adults on these tasks too
Some implications of immaturity in the prefrontal cortex
Adolescents are:
Less likely than adults to consider the future consequences of their actions
Less likely than adults to plan ahead
Less able than adults to control their impulses
Less able to simultaneously consider the risk and rewards of a decision
Some functions of the limbic system
Experience of reward and punishment
Processing emotions
Associating emotions with memories
Processing social information
Some implications of heightened limbic system arousal
Adolescents
Experience: higher “highs” and lower “lows”
Are especially sensitive to:
Emotional cues
Social information
Rewards
Young adolescents show stronger preference for immediate reward
How do we know this?
Delay discounting task
Would you rather have $200 today or $1000 in six months?
The farther something is in time, the less reward it has (the more it is discounted)
Continue until indifference point is reached
Lower amount accepted short-term indicates stronger need for short-term gratification
Age differences in delay discounting
Young adolescents show stronger preference for immediate reward
How does this preference for immediate rewards relate to brain development?
As an adolescent, your brain is really good at seeking out new experiences, recognizing social and emotional information > brain is responsive to reward and emotion.
How does the teenage brain make decisions?
Prefrontal cortex: part of the brain that helps you think about potential consequences of actions.
Striatum: key component of reward system. You see something that is rewarding > striatum is responsive
FMRI: you can take a snapshot of the brain in motion. See how your brain is active.
Difference between teens and adults in how they liked the ‘sugar water’> what's the reason for this difference?
Striatum reacts on the water, sees it at a reward.
Difference: how excitable the brain is. Teens are much more excited about the same stimulus > greater activity in the brain as reaction on the sugar.
Test 2 with money instead of sugar. Teenagers more responsive to money than adults, but kids less responsive than teenagers. Teenager's brain is thus special.
Take home points
The teenage brain is constantly changing, even right now, this moment
The teenage brain is very responsive to the environment
The teenage brain gets really excited about rewards, emotions and new experiences.
Hormonal influence hypothesis (mechanisms – from Peper and Dahl)
Risk taking and brain development
Heightened stimulation seeking – linked with puberal development
Reward sensitivity > incentive driven behavior > substance use or unsafe sex
Pubertal status linked with reward sensitive circuitry
Self regulatory systems – linked purely with age/experience not with puberty
Gray area: explaining why adolescents take more risks than other age groups.
Hypothesis: starting the engines without a skilled driver
Limbic system is starting, but there's no cognitive control system to hold it back.
Generally for all adolescents puberty ignites passions for adolescents before the development of neurobehavioral systems necessary for self-control and affect regulation
Earlier timing of puberty results in several years with a sexually-mature body and sexually-activated brain circuits
Yet with relatively immature neurobehavioral systems necessary for self-control and affect regulation
Predicts:
Increased risk for disorders of self-control
Difficulties navigating complex social-emotional situations
Hormonal influence hypothesis
Pubertal hormones > neural circuitry > behavioral consequences
Testosterone (see slide)
Ventral striatum > approach-related behaviors
Proactive aggression
Risk taking
Sensation seeking
Sensitivity to rewards
Estradiol (see slide)
Ventral striatum + anterior temporal lobe > approach-related behaviors
Risk taking
Summary: brain changes during adolescence
Prefrontal cortex gradually becomes more efficient over the course of adolescence and early adulthood
Maturation of executive functions
Limbic system goes through a temporary period of heightened arousability soon after the onset of puberty
Increased reward sensitivity and emotional arousal
Different parts of brain become more interconnected
Better coordination of thinking and feeling
Conclusions
Adolescence is a time of heightened arousal
This occurs against a backdrop of immature self-control
This combination make the period one of heightened vulnerability but also opportunity (creativity)
JoHo can really use your help! Check out the various student jobs here that match your studies, improve your competencies, strengthen your CV and contribute to a more tolerant world
Lecture 1
Part 1
10 risk behaviors
Alcohol
Delinquency
Gambling
Internet
“extreme sports”
Smoking
School
Unsafe sex
Softdrugs
Traffic
When being different becomes the norm: how microaggressions affect Dutch lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth.
Who are adolescents?
Beginning: 10/11 years old children > you see differences in size and how old they look.
The end: physique that is like the adult level. So huge change in physical appearance, but also from being relatively immature to much more mature.
Defining adolescents
The period between the onset of sexual maturation and the attainment of adult roles and responsibilities.
The transition from:
“child” status (requires adult monitoring)
To “adult” status (self-responsibility for behavior)
Adolescents in action 1
Video ‘tieners reageren op Nederland verwelkomt Trump’
The adolescents understand this form of comedy and can reflect on it and can see what other countries think.
Part 2
The health paradox of adolescence
Adolescence is the healthiest and most resilient period of the lifespan
From childhood to adolescence:
Increase strength, speed, mental reasoning, immune function
Resistance to cold, heat, hunger, dehydration, and most types of injury
Yet: overall morbidity and rates increase 200-300% from childhood to late adolescence
Sources of morbidity and mortality in adolescence:
Primary causes of death/disability are related to problems of control of behavior and emotion.
Increased rates of accidents, suicides, homicides, depression, alcohol & substance use, violence, reckless behaviors, eating disorders, health problems related to risky sexual behaviors
Increased risk-taking, sensation-seeking, and erratic (emotionally influenced) behavior
Recognized for a long time
Youth are heated by Nature as drunken men by wine – Aristotle
I would that there were no age between ten and twenty-three …. for there is nothing in between but getting wenches with child, wronging the ancientry, stealing, fighting... - Shakespeare
Scientific questions (Ronald Dahl)
What is the empirical evidence that adolescents are heated by Nature?
Are these changes based in biology?
In the hormones of puberty?
In specific brain changes that underpin some behavioral and emotional tendencies & problems that emerge in adolescence?
What are the implications for interventions? Should we intervene?
If we don't intervene
Onset of problems such as nicotine dependence, alcohol and drug use, poor health habits, etc. Will show up as mortality in adulthood.
Many adult onset problems such as depression can be traced to early episodes in adolescence.
The father
.....read moreLecture 3
Part 1 – adolescent cognitive development
Conditional reasoning/propositional logic: Classic Modus Ponens (MP) inference: if p then q
What is cognition?
Cognition: aspects of mind related to the acquisition, modification, and manipulation of knowledge in particular contexts
Cognitive development: changes in how an individual thinks, solves problems, and changes in memory, attention and information processing
Two perspectives in text: Piagetian and Information Processing
Piagetian perspective: focuses on what are the changes that we see all people go to
Information processing perspective: how do we process information? How does this change across time? Based on individual differences.
Textbook: adolescent thinking compared to children differ in (at least) 5 ways
Better at thinking about what is possible
Children: focus on here and now
Better at thinking about what is abstract
More often think about the process of thinking – able to think about how they think about things (metacognition)
Thinking is multidimensional (what persons say, how they say it and what they mean)
Able to see things as relative rather than absolute (not black - white)
Cognitive development during adolescence: a Piagetian perspective
Jean Piaget (1896-1980) Swiss cognitive psychologist
Stage Theory of Cognitive Development (individuals in different stages think differently)
How thinking changes in varies stages of adolescence. Piaget believed that children were active instructors of their knowledge (not only teachers/parents).
Stages | Age | Brief Description |
Sensorimotor | 0–2 | Cog. dev. involves learning how to coordinate activities of the senses with motor activities
|
Preoperational | 2–7 | Capable of representing the world symbolically (e.g. language) |
Concrete Operations | 7–11 | Become more adept at using mental operations which leads to a more advanced understanding of the world
|
Formal Operations | 11–15+ | Allows adolescents to reason about more complex tasks and problems involving multiple variables
|
Cognitive development during adolescence: a Piagetian perspective
Formal operations – final stage of cognitive development
Concrete: discuss world as it is
Formal: as it might be/become
Increase in ability for abstraction/abstract thought, speculation about the future
--> Allows an individual to place their lives in a personal and societal perspective
Needed to: achieve identity, form goals, select an occupation
Adolescent cognitive abilities
Understand impact of: past on present, present on future
How one thing relates to another
Greater capacity to evaluate immediate and long-range costs and benefits
World as might be, ought to be
Formal operations: 4 overlapping
.....read moreLecture 4
Morality: right and wrong. How do we know what is right/wrong?
Trolley problem 1
There is a runaway trolley barreling down the railway tracks. Ahead there are 5 people tied to the tracks. You are standing near a level that will switch the trolley to a different track where 1 person is tied.
Should you pull the lever to divert the runaway trolley onto the sidetrack?
Clash between utilitarianism – (actions that maximize happiness and well-being) and deontological ethics – the morality of an action should be based on whether that action itself is right or wrong under a series of rules, rather than based on the consequences of that action…
2 options: do nothing and allow the trolley to kill 5 people, or pull the lever divert the train and kill one?
Trolley problem 2
A trolley is hurtling down a track towards five people. You are on a bridge under which it will pass, and you can stop it by putting something very heavy in front of it. There is a very fat man next to you – your only way to stop the trolley is to push him over the bridge and onto the track, killing him to save five. Should you proceed?
Most people: do nothing, don't push an innocent person.
This solution is essentially an application of the doctrine of double effect, which says that you may take action which has bad side effects, but deliberately intending harm (even for good causes) is wrong.
Different rationale for making the same decision.
Trolley problem
A moral dilemma is a conflict in which you have to choose between two or more actions and have moral reasons for choosing each action.
Trolley problem 1:
Utilitarianism (greatest good; 1 person dead is better) vs. Deontological ethics (moral action regardless of consequence; putting the lever gets you involved in a situation > you become in a criminal act)
Trolley problem 2:
Utilitarianism: push the person
Deontological: you don't push the person. Don't get involved.
Nature-nurture debate on moral development
Biological/evolutionary viewpoint
Developmental process of maturation. Morality rises because of this maturation.
Nature of the human being is ‘good’. Something built into us: we recognize who is helpful or not > nature of human is good.
Cultural viewpoint
Developmental process of interiorization/internalization
Nature of the human being is ‘bad’
Teach people to have certain values (not built into us). Teach the child to move the original sin.
Interactionist viewpoint
Nature of the human being is morally neutral, neither good nor bad. It depends on what happens and how they interact and mature
Lecture 5 Self and Identity
Part 1 - Introduction
Video: what kind of elements of identity do you recognize?
Everybody wears a mask
Insecurity, focus on others
Different faces > multiple identities
Showing her true face > search for autonomous identity: being yourself
Social/peer identities, peer groups
Why is identity an adolescent issue?
Biological changes
Puberty
Appearance
Changes on the outside have an impact on how one perceives oneself.
Cognitive changes
More self-conscious
Develop a future orientation
Imagine themselves from the outside, different time, able to consider different types of identities that they may want to adopt.
Social changes
Norms and values
Social choices
Educational choices
What is important for them?
Identity
Who am I?
Personal identity: who am I in terms of sense of self
Central is the process of figuring out who one is
Social identity: who am I in terms of group memberships
Identifying with social group
Central is one's sense of belonging to social groups
These identities may influence ones believes about oneself > self-concept
Mental image that one has about oneself
Views about oneself, including:
Values
Attributes
Goals
Self-esteem
Competence
Self-concept clarity (consistent self-concept)
Identity + self-concept > the self (the totality of me)
Part 2 – personal identity
Erikson's identity development
Adolescence = psychosocial moratorium
Time gap between childhood security and adult autonomy
Adolescents experiment with numerous roles and identities
Sense of insecurity: what is the future? What am I going to do?
Crisis in adolescence
Identity diffusion versus achievement
Identity diffusion: failure to form a stable and secure identity
Identity achievement: establishing a clear and definite sense of who you are and how you fit into the world around you
Erikson: achievement by end of adolescence
Characteristics that can help you to achieve identity achievement:
Mental and emotional capacity (so, not possible before end of adolescence)
Interactions with others (others serve as a mirror)
Exploration (trying out possibilities, only possible in environment that gives you the opportunity to explore)
Commitment (making choices among alternatives. Making decisions: who are you?)
Marcia's 4 stages model (extension of Eriksons model)
4 markers: commitment vs crisis/exploration
Absent/present
Lecture 6 Family relations
Part 1
How and why do (dynamics of) parents-adolescent relationships change during adolescence?
How are adolescents affected by (changing) experiences in the parent-adolescent relationship, and vice versa?
What is family?
Dictionary definition: married, 2-parent, biological offspring
But: different forms and sizes
Definition may be culture-dependent
Structures common ‘historically’ are not as common today
Ruggles:
Fragmentary household (1 parent, divorced etc.): increased
Extended households (multiple generations, family-units): decreased
In white and in non-white. But different slope of decrease and increase
In all societies, the family fulfills similar functions:
Socialization of children/adolescents
Enduring source of (practical/economic & emotional/social) support
Continuity of relationships across the life course = social embedding
The family as a system
Focus traditionally on mother (primary caregiver)-child/adolescent relationship
Family systems theory: an organized whole, consisting of interrelated parts that influence each other
System: set of elements standing in interrelation among themselves and with the environment
Interrelation: not A affects B, but A & B affect each other
Changing, self-organizing, and adapting to (changes in) its members and the outside environment
System is flexible, but strives for stability (= equilibrium: each person a particular role)
Family = cohesive emotional unit (emotional bond)
Three aspects – family system theory
Holism
To understand family, not enough to look at members separately
Roles (e.g., caretaker)
Illustration of depression: mother can't take her role > influences the system > the child takes the ‘mother'-role
‘hierarchy’/structure
Organized into subsystems
By gender or generations
Dyadic relationship
Marital relationship
Parent-child relationship
Sibling relationship
Triadic level
Particular with both her parents
Family level/whole
Boundaries
At every level (subsystems, inside/outside)
Permeability varies across families
Permeability evolves over time
How much what happens when a specific subsystem of the family affects other subsystems or the entire family?
Spillover vs. Compensation
Associations between dyadic relationships within the whole family
When there are loose boundaries between subsystems
Spillover: do we see that what happens in a systems, affects what happens in other systems?
Compensation: do we see that what happens in a particular system, is compensated in another system?
Compartmentalization: systems are quite independent from each other
Sherill:
Interparental conflict >
Lecture 7 Peers
Book ‘The nurture assumption’: peers play a big role in development of youth (instead of (only) the parents)
Part 1 - Importance of peers across adolescence
Higher in needs fulfillment when you fulfilled the lower needs (survival needs) > belongingness and love needs and esteem needs. These are psychological needs.
Importance also visible in the brain: social relationships. Example: exclusion from playing a game: social pain when excluded (analogous in its neurocognitive function to physical pain).
Peers become more central in adolescence
Time spent with family decreases
Time spent with peers increases
Peers compared to parents in adolescence
Differences between the two relationships
Parents = vertical (parents are more powerful), peers = horizontal relationship
Being equal in experiences, characteristics etc.
Shift from parents to friends as main source of support and happiness
Discuss with friends for romantic issues, emotional issues;
Discuss with parents for career/education issues;
Thus: relationships are different and friends become more important
Peers vs friends
Peers
Large network of same-age peers
Friends
People you know, like and with whom you develop a valued, mutual relationship (broad definition)
More specifically:
Mutual liking
Emotional closeness
Loyalty
Reciprocal validation of self-worth
General support
Time spent together
Childhood vs adolescence
From shared activities (childhood) to intimacy: trust, loyalty, self-disclosure > relying on each other
Why? It requires a certain role-play: perspective-taking, keep their own views and other's views in mind at the same time (that's complex to do)
Social competences therefore increasingly important (conflict management, perspective-taking etc.)
From same-sex to mixed-sex
And “friends with benefits”
From dyads (2) and small groups (3-4) to cliques (5-6) or larger crowds (these are larger to contain)
“Subcultures” used to form identity > understand who you are
Selection vs influence
Friends are often similar to each other
Is this due to selection or influence?
Research:
On the one hand: due to selection. Principles of interpersonal attraction:
Proximity (being close by)
Homophily/similarity (in values, interests, characteristics)
Adolescents: orientation toward school, leisure activity, SES, ethnicity (perhaps due to attitudes/prejudice)
Reciprocity
So: selection plays a role > “birds of a feather flock together”
But, parents also play a role in this selection process
Expressing disapproval
Type of school
Neighborhood
Extra-curricular activities
Adolescent personality & behavior
Lecture 8
Part 1 – adolescents in school
Schools:
Educate young people: prepare them for adulthood
Define young persons’ social world
Context in which they spend most of their waking hours
Shape their psychosocial development
Classroom factors:
Classroom climate
Teachers' expectations
Instructional quality
Emphasis on performance vs learning (grades)
Friends' engagement
Peer norms
Social organizations of schools
School transition at age 12
Educational tracks
Select school
Admission by lottery
School size
Part 2 – Dutch school system
NL: freedom of education
Guiding principle in educational governance is article 23 of the Constitution:
Education shall be the constant concern of the Government
All persons shall be free to provide education (start their own school), without prejudice to the authorities’ right of supervision
Then: protestants vs Catholics
Now: many different school types
Based on religion
Based on teaching philosophy
Relatively easy to change teaching principles as long as it meets the quality criteria
Consequences of freedom of education for classroom climate
Diversity educational approaches
Relatively large differences in learning outcomes in different schools
Consistency values home & school
Segregation: similar peers
“free-market system” (popularity of schools varies > competition between schools)
NL: early educational tracking
Level on which they receive their teaching
Red countries: single school for both primary and lower secondary education
Pink: transition between primary and lower secondary education, but still with common core curriculum for students
Blue: differentiated branches/tracks
Decrease in combined educational tracks in the 1st year of secondary school
E.g., havo-vwo
Consequences of early educational tracking for classroom climate
Instruction adapted to level of understanding > teaching is more efficiently
Similar performing classmates
Achievement constrained by level of instruction
Less contact between different social groups
Lower status of vocational pathways
Selection based on?
Test scores standardized achievement test
Also based on achievement motivation and work ethic of the student
Lower level advised to students with low SES parents > unequal opportunities
But: reading level at age 15 overlaps (PISA)
Maybe students become different because we put them in different tracks
How is the Dutch system doing?
PISA scores 2018: Netherlands score average on performance, but in regard to variation, there is more variance in comparison with other countries
Conclusion: the way a society organizes a school system shapes the experiences of adolescents in the classroom.
Part 3 – school transition
School transition involves many changes
Lecture 9 Media use
Adolescents are heavy users of media.
How does this media use impact the development? (2)
How does adolescent development influence media use? (1)
Moderate discrepancy hypothesis (MDH)
Children and adolescents are predominantly attracted to entertainment that deviates only moderately from the things they know, understand, and are capable of.
Children and adolescents are not or less interested in entertainment that deviates too much from their existing framework and experiences.
Developmental approach: Hypothesis is a viable explanation of why media preferences differ so much among different age groups. As children develop, they learn and understand more, so what attracts them in media also changes.
Children and adolescents like to be challenged, but not too much. It has to relate to the things they know.
Media can be used to gratify certain needs. Individuals select media to gratify needs that they have (e.g., needs to lift your mood (> choose a happy song))
Needs are determined by developmental level
Depends on different situational and individual factors, including development
Five main developmental characteristics that inform needs and gratifications
Identity exploration
Autonomy and self-efficacy
Peer orientation (and romantic partners)
Emotionality and sensation seeking
Physical development (hormonal changes)
Changes in appearance
Interest in sex (curious and questions)
Impact on mood (moody, fluctuations in mood)
Link to media
Needs in media preferences
Adolescents have a need for information: insecure about bodies, interest in sex > what should a body look like? What is attractive?
Media can used to seek advice about these topics
Risky consequence: e.g., boys asking girls for nude selfies, difficult to oversee the consequences
Physical development
Pruning: decline grey matter > more efficient processing
Cell bodies and synapses
‘Use it or lose it’
Explains why after this process of pruning, it becomes much harder to learn new things
Cognitive development
Formal operational thinking: logical, abstract hypothetical, problem-solving, interest in future
Only completely in place at the end of adolescence
Adolescents will switch between concrete and formal operational thinking
Disadvantages:
Egocentrism is on overdrive. They imagine this audience: what would other people think about what I’m doing?
This all has implications for media use
Media implications
More complexity in story lines
More complex characters
Topic that deal with big world issues > war movies, science fiction
Fast-pace media which stimulates problem-solving skills
Multiple levels: not easily get bored
Lecture 10 Love and sex
Part 1 &2 – Adolescent romance
Not only being in a romantic relationship, but also:
Daydreaming about the person in front of you in class with whom you have never spoken
Claims to have a boyfriend, but denied by the boy
Talk on phone everyday (or texting), but never seen in public together for fear of being ridiculed
Going together but only spend time together with other members of their crowd
Going steady for 3 years (the “real” thing)
Fantasies to interactions to relationships = romantic experiences
Romance
Love or romance is central theme in 68% of pop music
One of top 5 script themes for adolescent characters on TV
Adolescent girls attribute 34% of their strong emotions to real or fantasized heterosexual relationships
Adolescent boys 25%
Substantially higher than any other topic
Organizing principles of peer culture
Focal topic of conversation in leisure time
Romantic relationship
Romantic Relationship = mutually acknowledged ongoing voluntary interactions.
Compared to other peer relationships, romantic ones typically have a distinctive intensity, commonly marked by expressions of affection and current or anticipated sexual behavior.
Applies to same-gender, as well as mixed-gender, relationships.
Romantic experiences
Refers to activities and processes that include romantic relationships and also behavioral, cognitive, and emotional phenomena that do not involve direct experiences with a romantic partner.
Includes:
fantasies and one-sided attractions (“crushes”),
interactions with potential romantic partners (including flirting) and
Brief, nonromantic sexual encounters (e.g., “hooking up,” or casual involvement in activities usually thought to take place with romantic partners, from “making out” to intercourse)
Adolescent romance
Romantic relationships support the development of interpersonal skills and promote a sense of identity.
Experiment with romantic relations
may facilitate healthy relations in adulthood.
Opportunities to gain skills in the expression and regulation of emotions, empathy and intimacy.
Developmental progression of romantic and sexual interest and behavior
8-11 (Pre and early puberty) adrenarche
First crush
Sexual attraction
Sexual arousal
More awareness of social rules
12-17 Mid and late puberty
Gender intensification
Gender binary
conformity increases and then subsides
Romantic relationships
Duration longer
More intense
Some life-long partners
Sexual Experiences increase
Not until adolescence do truly intimate relationships first emerge
Characteristics of true intimacy:
Openness, honesty, self-disclosure, and trust
Intimacy becomes an important concern due to changes of
Puberty
Cognitive changes
Lecture 11 Alcohol use and delinquency
Intro
Under the influence of alcohol, youth are at higher risk to be involved in aggressive behavior and violent behaviors.
Part 1 – alcohol use and delinquency
Do the Dutch drink?
Underage drinking
13 years old > monthly drinking = 8.8%
15 year old drinkers > binge drinking = 70.8%
Are they delinquent?
Self-reported criminal behavior (at least one delinquent act in the last 12 months):
12-17 year
2010: 38%
2015: 35%
10/11 year old
2010/2015: 20%
Most prevalent delinquent acts:
Violence acts
Threatening
Vandalism
Registered minor suspects:
50% fewer registered minor suspects in 10 year
Part 2 – Similarities and differences between alcohol use and delinquency
Shared similarities
Interrelated
Correlated and co-occurrence
Table: number of offenses and prevalence rate of different drinking behaviors. Those adolescents who were not involved in any offense, half of them had drunk alcohol at least once in their life. Number of kids that had been involved in lifetime drinking, increases in amount of offenses
Longitudinal predictions: most studies find no predictive effect of alcohol use on delinquency, whereas delinquency mostly is a significant predictor of alcohol use
Peak in adolescence
Predictor of other risk behaviors (e.g., drug use, risky sex)
Shared underlying mechanisms (e.g., self-control, peers)
Importance of parental control and warmth
Decline in recent years
decline started from 2006/2007 onwards
Registered minor suspects: also a decline starting from 2006/2007
What is going on there?
Differences
Development
Alcohol use: increases up to at least 25 years
Delinquency: decline 18 year onwards
Across gender
Alcohol use: hardly any differences between boys and girls
Delinquency: boys are more likely to be involved in delinquent behavior than girls
Representation ethnic minorities
Alcohol use: less likely to drink
Delinquency: more likely to be involved
Behavior-specific vs general parenting
Age restriction
Alcohol-specific rules/communication
Delinquency: general parenting
No age restriction
Level of control and support are important in both parenting behaviors
Four different parenting styles
Neglectful: these kids are most likely to drink and engage in risky behaviors
Balance between control and support – alcohol use
Most of the parents in authoritative/average authoritative group
Lecture 12 Depression, self-harm and suicide
Moods and emotions
Relatively sudden changes in both positively- and negatively valanced affect
The intensity and/or frequency of negative emotion peaks in early adolescence
Young adolescents also experience less positive emotions
Emotions become more complex with a comprehension of mixed emotions
Dramatic changes of mood
The incidence of dysphoric or depressed moods radically increases, especially for girls
Social aspects of emotion expression and regulation become more developed
Increased in the ability to mask emotions
The use of emotion to manage relationships
Yet, emotional expression during early adolescence
The social referencing aspects of emotion become highly attuned
in early adolescence, there is a sharp increase in the awareness of other's perceptions of the self, and therefore shame
More daily fluctuations in self-esteem
Adolescents are more “moody” or variable in their emotions across the course of a day or week
Changes in negative and positive mood in mid-adolescence
Significant drop in positive mood, no change in negative mood
Mood variability across adolescence using daily internet diaries
Three times a year at age 13-18
4 different moods: happiness, sadness, angry, anxiety
Steady decrease across mid- to late adolescence in variability
Anxiety: does not show the same pattern, slight decrease but not an entire decrease
Moodiness decreases across adolescent period
Depression in all its forms
Depression: an enduring period of sadness
Depressed mood: an enduring period of sadness, without any other related symptoms
Depressive syndrome: sadness plus other symptoms such as crying, feelings of worthlessness, and feeling guilty, lonely or worried
Major depressive disorder: depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure in almost all activities plus 4 of other symptoms (for at least 2 weeks)
Clinical valuation on slide
Gender differences in CDI depression in mid-adolescence
Girls show higher levels of depression than boys
Depression over the lifespan
5-9: boys are more depressed than girls, but as soon as adolescence hit, then girls show higher rates of depressive disorders than boys. Across the lifespan, women show higher levels of depression than men.
But: men also show a significant increase in depression across the lifespan as well.
Self-harm
NSSI: non-suicidal self-injury
What is self harm?
A variety of behaviors in which an individual intentionally inflicts harm to his or her body for purposes not socially recognized or sanctioned and without suicidal intent
Includes: see slide
Prevalence
4% of adults report a history
14% of adolescents
High
Lecture 12a suicide and related problems in adolescence
Suicide in the Netherlands
1% of all deaths
Males commit suicide 2 times more than females
Cause of death of young people in NL
10-25 years
Traffic accidents
Suicide
25-40 years
Suicide
40-60 years
Health related causes
Suicide
Methods of suicide
men: violent method: 50% hanging, 1 in 9 jump in front of train (more often among youth)
Women: less violent: 33% hanging, 25% medication overdose, 1 in 9 jump in front of train (more often in youth)
Leading cause of death US youth
Second cause of death
Also a high homicide rate
Across various ages:
Suiciding is the leading cause of death among individuals between 1 and 65 years of age
Suicide methods US: children and others
Availability of guns > firearms is the leading methods, then suffocation/hanging, ingestion, CO poisoning, jumping from a height, cutting, other causes
Suicide rates by race/ethnicity
Males are more likely to attempt suicide
Rural areas
Frequency of suicidal ideation and attempts
Thinking of suicide > ideation > attempt > suicide
Once one attempts suicide, they are more likely to do it again (15-fold)
Most common diagnoses in teen suicides:
Depression
Antisocial
Substance abuse
Anxiety
Despite the high rates of depression, among those who commit suicide, 24% who have completed suicide, were prescribed antidepressants, but zero found at autopsy: lack of using antidepressants > increases changes of suicide
Why do males complete more suicides than females, even though females are more likely to attempt suicide?
Gender paradox of suicidal behavior:
Areas with lower prescription rates (antidepressants), the rates of suicide are higher
If males are not going into doctors to get treatment, then this could be a potential explanation for why we see more suicides completions among males
Factors that predispose to suicide
Personal characteristics
Psychopathology
History of prior suicide attempt
Cognitive and personality (hopelessness & poor interpersonal problem-solving)
Homosexuality
Biological factors
Family characteristics
Family history of suicidal behavior
Higher rates of parental psychopathology
Non-intact families
Impaired parent-child relationships
Adverse life circumstances
Stressful life events
Childhood physical abuse
Sexual abuse
Contextual factors
Lecture 12b the end of adolescence
When does adolescence end?
In the past – criteria that have been used to mark entry into adulthood include:
Events such as marriage, child-bearing
Important responsibilities to provide, protect, and procreate – duties towards others
Gender-specific criteria
Average age of marriage in the Netherlands 1950-2018
Shift in percentage who marry + older ages
Average age of the mother at the birth of a child in NL in 2018
29,9. Age of marriage: 35
Shift in society to say that we don't need to marry first to have children
Demographic distinctions
Median age of marriage and child birth is now much later than it was in the past
Young people attend school and college longer than in the past
In addition, more young people are going to college before starting work
From jobs to career
Arnett's theory of emerging adulthood
Influenced by theories of
Erikson: prolonged adolescence
Love, work, worldviews
Levinson: novice phase 17-33
Keniston: youth (role exploration)
What is emerging adulthood?
In Western cultures, could last from about 18 until the mid 20's
A life period which is typically characterized by an ongoing exploration of, and experimentation with possible life directions
Young people have left the dependency of childhood and adolescence, but have not entered the enduring responsibilities of adulthood
Emerging: it is a process of becoming an adult
In Western cultures
Young people no longer consider marriage and other events (such as finishing school, getting a job, etc.) as criteria for adulthood
They emphasize the capacity of the individual to stand alone as a self-sufficient person as the criterion for adulthood
Top 3 criteria defining adulthood
Responsible behavior, accept one's responsibility
Autonomous, independent decision making
Financial independence
Individualistic qualities of character
Criteria like chronological age and role transitions ranked very low
5 aspects of emerging adulthood
Age of identity exploration
Trying out various possibilities, especially in love and work
Difference between US and European educational system
Us: university level: orientation where you can study different areas before you make a choice of your major
European: more specialized, stronger connection to the work that you will be doing
Difference between US and Southern Europe versus Nothern Europe in cohabitation (become smaller)
Cohabitation more common in Northern Europe
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