Stages of Adolescent Development by Sedra Spano Adolescence is a time of great change for young

people. It is a time when physical changes are happening at an accelerated rate. But adolescence is not
just marked by physical changes—young people are also experiencing cognitive, social/emotional and
interpersonal changes as well. As they grow and develop, young people are influenced by outside
factors such as: parents, peers, community, culture, religion, school, world events and the media. There
are a number of different theories or ways of looking at adolescent development (see chart). Each
theory has a unique focus, but across theories there are many similar elements. While it is true that each
teenager is an individual with a unique personality and interests, there are also numerous
developmental issues that just about every teen faces during the early, middle and late adolescent years
(AACAP, 2003). The feelings and behaviors of middle and high school adolescents can be categorized
into five broad areas: 1.) moving toward independence; 2.) future interests and cognitive development;
3.) sexuality; 4.) physical changes; and 5.) ethics and self-direction. Specific characteristics of
adolescent behavior within each area are described in the following material. Teenagers do vary slightly
from the following descriptions, but the feelings and behaviors are, in general, considered typical for
each stage of adolescence. Early Adolescence (approximately 10-14 years of age) Movement Toward
Independence: emerging identity shaped over time by internal and external influences; moodiness;
improved abilities to use speech to express oneself; more likely to express feelings by action than by
words (may be more true for males); close friendships gain importance; less attention shown to parents,
with occasional rudeness; realization that parents are not perfect; identification of their own faults;
search for new people to love in addition to parents; tendency to return to childish behavior during
times of stress; peer group influence on personal interests and clothing styles. Future Interests and
Cognitive Development: increasing career interests; mostly interested in present and near future;
greater ability to work. Sexuality: girls physically mature faster than boys; shyness, blushing, and
modesty; more showing off; greater interest in privacy; experimentation with body (masturbation);
worries about being normal.

Physical Changes: gains in height and weight; growth of pubic and underarm hair; increased
perspiration - body odor develops; increased oil production of hair and skin; breast development and
menstruation in girls; growth of testicles and penis, nocturnal emissions (wet dreams), deepening of
voice, growth of hair on face in boys. Ethics and Self-Direction: rule and limit testing; occasional
experimentation with cigarettes, marijuana, and alcohol; capacity for abstract thought. Middle
Adolescence (approximately 15-16 years of age) Movement Toward Independence: self-involvement,
alternating between unrealistically high expectations and worries about failure; complaints that parents
interfere with independence; extremely concerned with appearance and with one’s own body; feelings
of strangeness about one’s self and body; lowered opinion of and withdrawal from parents; effort to
make new friends; strong emphasis on the new peer group; periods of sadness as the psychological loss
of parents takes place; examination of inner experiences, which may include writing a diary. Future
Interests and Cognitive Development: intellectual interests gain importance; some sexual and
aggressive energies directed into creative and career interests; anxiety can emerge related to school and
academic performance. Sexuality: concerns about sexual attractiveness; frequently changing
relationships; more clearly defined sexual orientation, with internal conflict often experienced by those
who are not heterosexual; tenderness and fears shown toward opposite sex; feelings of love and
passion. Physical Changes: males show continued height and weight gains while female growth slows
down (females grow only 1-2 inches after their first menstrual period). Ethics and Self-Direction:
development of ideals and selection of role models; more consistent evidence of conscience; greater
goal setting capacity; interest in moral reasoning. Late Adolescence (approximately 17-21 years of age)
Movement Toward Independence: firmer identity; ability to delay gratification; ability to think through
ideas; ability to express ideas in words; more developed sense of humor; interests become more stable;
greater emotional stability; ability to make independent decisions; ability to compromise; pride in one’s
work; selfreliance; greater concern for others. Future Interests and Cognitive Development: more
defined work habits; higher level of concern for the future; thoughts about one’s role in life. Sexuality:
concerned with serious relationships; clear sexual identity; capacities for tender and sensual love.
Physical Changes: most young women are fully developed; young men continue to gain height, weight,
muscle mass, body hair. Ethics and Self-Direction: capable of useful insight; focus on personal dignity
and self-esteem; ability to set goals and follow through; acceptance of social institutions and cultural
traditions; self-regulation of self esteem.
Theories of Adolescence (Muuss, R., et.al., 1996; Rice and Dolgin, 2002) Developmental Area Primary
Theorist Main Focus Biological G. Stanley Hall, Arnold Gesell, Focus of the period is physical James
Tanner and sexual development determined by genes and biology. Psychological Sigmund Freud, Anna
Freud Focus on adolescence as a period of sexual excitement and anxiety. Psychosocial Erik Erikson
Focus is on identity formation; adolescents struggle between achieving identity and identity diffusion.
Cognitive Jean Piaget Focus is on formal operational thought; moving beyond concrete, actual
experiences and beginning to think in logical and abstract terms. Ecological (interaction Urie
Bronfenbrenner Focus is on the context in which between individual adolescents develop; adolescents
are and environment) inuenced by family, peers, religion, schools, the media, community, and world
events. Social Cognitive Albert Bandura Focus is on the relationship between Learning social and
environmental factors and their inuence on behavior. Children learn through modeling. Cultural
Margaret Mead, Carol Gilligan Focus is on the culture in which the child grows up.

What Parents Can Do When young people feel connected to home, family, and school, they are less
likely to become involved in activities that put their health at risk. Parental warmth and strong, positive
communication helps young people establish individual values and make healthy life decisions. CTION
ITEMS ( Nurture a positive relationship with your teen and listen to him/her. When parent-teen
interactions are characterized by warmth, kindness, consistency, respect, and love, the relationship will
flourish, as will self-esteem, mental health, and social skills. Active or engaged listening is probably the
skill parents need to practice the most. ( Encourage independent thought and expression in your teen;
allow him/her to make and learn from mistakes. Teens who are competent, responsible, and have high
self-esteem have parents who encourage them to express their opinions and who include them in family
decision making and rule setting. Healthy development requires that parents allow adolescents to make
mistakes, within limits. Parents can help their teen by not doing everything for their adolescent as they
develop; adolescent development is sometimes a series of “three steps forward and two steps back.”
( Show genuine interest in your teen’s activities. Having interest in the day-to-day “comings and
goings” of teenagers lives allows parents to monitor their adolescents’ behavior in positive ways.
Parents who, together with their teens, set firm boundaries and high expectations may find that their
teen’s abilities to live up to those expectations grows and grows.

Developmental Characteristics of Young Adolescents Research Summary By: Micki Caskey, Vincent
A. Anfara, Jr. Early adolescence is a distinct period of human growth and development situated
between childhood and adolescence. During this remarkable stage of the life cycle, young adolescents,
10- to 15-year-olds, experience rapid and signicant developmental change. Understanding and
responding to the unique developmental characteristics of young adolescents is central among the
tenets of middle level education. During the 20th century, early adolescence gained acceptance as a
distinctive period of development. Notably, G. Stanley Hall (1904), American psychologist, identied
early adolescence (i.e., preadolescence) as a unique growth stage. Hall's study of adolescence captured
not only the interest of scholars, but also the public (Arnett, 2010). Other notable psychologists and
theorists (Flavell, 1963; Havighurst, 1968; Piaget, 1952, 1960) advanced the credibility of early
adolescence and developmental stage theory. Researchers and academics (Kagan & Coles, 1972;
Tanner, 1973; Thornburg, 1983) increased awareness through the dissemination of articles and books.
Donald Eichhorn (1966), a founder of the middle school, highlighted the importance of considering
young adolescents' developmental characteristics when planning curriculum, instruction, and
assessment and organizing the environment of the school. Professional organizations (Association for
Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1975; National Association of Secondary School Principals,
1989; National Middle School Association, 1982, 1995, 2003, 2010) authored position statements and
oered recommendations about the educational programs and practices that would address young
adolescents' development. Joan Lipsitz (1984), a distinguished middle grades researcher, emphasized
that schools for young adolescents "must be responsive to their developmental needs” (p. 6). Research
suggests distinctive characteristics of young adolescents with regard to their physical, cognitive, moral,
psychological, and social-emotional development, as well as spiritual development (Scales, 2010).
While examining these developmental characteristics of young adolescents, two cautions warrant
consideration. First, developmental characteristics are overlapping and interrelated; each aects another
characteristic. These categorizations vary and are relatively arbitrary (Scales, 2010). Second,
developmental characteristics may be oversimplied or described in generalities (Kellough & Kellough,
2008). Many factors—race, ethnicity, gender, culture, family, community, environment and the like—
inuence development. Cognizant of these cautions, a summary of developmental characteristics
follows. Physical Developmental Characteristics Physical development refers to bodily changes
including growth, improved gross and ne motor skills, and biological maturity. In early adolescence,
the young adolescent body undergoes more developmental change than at any other time except from
birth to two years old. Young adolescents' growth is accelerated and uneven (California State
Department of Education, 1987; Kellough & Kellough, 2008; Manning, 2002; Scales, 1991, 2010;
Wiles, Bondi, & Wiles, 2006). Developmental growth includes signicant increases in height, weight,
and internal organ size as well as changes in skeletal and muscular systems (Kellough & Kellough,
2008) with growth spurts occurring about two years earlier in girls than boys (Brighton, 2007; Tanner,
1973). Because bones are growing faster than muscles, young adolescents often experience
coordination issues. Actual growing pains result when muscles and tendons do not adequately protect
bones (Kellough & Kellough, 2008; Wiles et al., 2006). Fluctuations in basal metabolism cause these
youth to experience periods of restlessness and lassitude (Kellough & Kellough, 2008). Young
adolescents, particularly European-American youth, are often physically vulnerable due to improper
nutrition, poor physical tness, and health habits (Scales, 2010) as well as high-risk behaviors such as
alcohol or drug use (Johnston, O'Malley, Bachman, & Schulenberg, 2011) and sexual activity. /
Puberty, a phase of physiological change triggered by the release of hormones, begins in early
adolescence (Manning & Bucher, 2012). The onset of puberty is an intense developmental period with
hormones signaling the development of primary sex characteristics (genitalia) and secondary sex
characteristics (e.g., breast development in girls; facial hair in boys). Girls tend to mature one to two
years earlier than boys (Caissy, 2002). The increased adrenal hormone production aects skeletal
growth, hair production, and skin changes (Dahl, 2004). These highly visible changes and disparate
rates of maturity cause many young adolescents to feel uncomfortable about dierences in their physical
development (Simmons & Blyth, 2008). The young adolescent brain undergoes remarkable physical
development. While brain size remains relatively unchanged, researchers report signicant changes
within the brain (Blakemore & Choudhury, 2006; Casey, Giedd, & Thomas, 2000; Dahl, 2004). During
early adolescence, synaptic pruning is actively restructuring the brain's neural circuitry (Giedd, 2004;
Nagel, 2010). The prefrontal cortex—an area of the brain that handles executive functions such as
planning, reasoning, anticipating consequences, sustaining attention, and making decisions—continues
to develop. Additionally, gender-specic dierences are evident in young adolescent brains (see Caskey &
Ruben, 2007.) Physical development often aects young adolescents' emotional/ psychological and
social development. Practitioners (e.g., teachers or guidance counselors) and parents can alleviate
young adolescents' concerns about physical development by explaining that these changes are natural
and common (Strahan, L'Esperance, & Van Hoose, 2009; Wiles et al., 2006). Adults can provide
accurate information, respond to questions, and encourage young adolescents to consult credible
resources (Scales, 2010). Schools can support physical development by oering responsive educational
opportunities for young adolescents. Among these opportunities are health and science curricula that
describe and explain physical changes (Kellough & Kellough, 2008). Schools also need to provide (a)
programs that encourage adequate exercise and healthy lifestyles, (b) access to plenty of water and
nutritious food during the school day, (c) appropriate instruction concerning the risks of alcohol and
drug use, teenage pregnancy, and sexually transmitted diseases. Young adolescents must be aorded
opportunities for physical movement and periods of rest (George & Alexander, 1993). When young
adolescents avoid physical activity due to concerns about body image (Milgram, 1992), teachers can
incorporate movement in classroom activities, minimize peer competition, and interrupt comparisons
between early and late maturing youth. Intellectual Development Intellectual development refers to the
increased ability of people to understand and reason. In young adolescents, intellectual development is
not as visible as physical development, but it is just as intense (Stevenson, 2002; Strahan et al., 2009).
During early adolescence, youth exhibit a wide range of individual intellectual development (California
State Department of Education, 1987; Kellough & Kellough, 2008; Manning, 2002; Scales, 2010),
including metacognition and independent thought. They tend to be curious and display wide-ranging
interests (Kellough & Kellough, 2008; Scales, 2010). Typically, young adolescents are eager to learn
about topics they nd interesting and useful—ones that are personally relevant (Brighton, 2007). They
also favor active over passive learning experiences and prefer interactions with peers during
educational activities (Kellough & Kellough, 2008). During early adolescence, youth develop the
capacity for abstract thought processes (Elkind, 1981; Flavell, 2011; Piaget, 1952, 1960) though the
transition to higher levels of cognitive function varies considerably across individuals. Young
adolescents typically progress from concrete logical operations to acquiring the ability to develop and
test hypotheses, analyze and synthesize data, grapple with complex concepts, and think reectively
(Manning, 2002). As they mature, young adolescents start to understand the nuances of metaphors,
derive meaning from traditional wisdom, and experience metacognition (Kellough & Kellough, 2008).
Similarly, they are increasingly able to think through ideological topics, argue a position, and challenge
adult directives (Brighton, 2007; Stevenson, 2002). They form impressions of themselves through
introspection and "possess keen powers of perception” (Brighton, 2007, p. 11). Additionally, they
appreciate more sophisticated levels of humor (Stevenson, 2002). To make sense of the world around
them, young adolescents, as learners, build upon their individual experiences and prior knowledge
(Piaget, 1960). Experience plays a central role in developing the brain and induces learners to construct
meaning based upon what they already believe and understand (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 1999).
During early adolescence, youth are more interested in real life experiences and authentic learning
opportunities; they are less interested in traditional academic subjects (Kellough & Kellough, 2008).
Intellectually, young adolescents seek opportunities to explore the varied facets of their environment
(Brighton, 2007). They also tend to / be inquisitive about adults and are often keen observers of adult
behavior (Scales, 2010). Moreover, they have an enhanced ability to think about the future, anticipate
their own needs, and develop personal goals (Kellough & Kellough, 2008). Implications for Practice
Teachers need to consider the intellectual developmental dierences of young adolescents when planning
learning experiences. To address this diversity, teachers need to provide an assortment of educational
approaches and materials that are appropriate for their students' wide-ranging cognitive abilities. For
example, the concrete thinkers require more structured learning experiences, while the abstract thinkers
need more challenging activities (Manning & Butcher, 2012). In addition, young adolescents need
teachers who understand and know how they think (Stevenson, 2002). Teachers need to plan curricula
around real life concepts (Kellough & Kellough, 2008) and supply authentic educative activities (e.g.,
experimentation, analysis and synthesis of data) that are meaningful for young adolescents (Scales,
2010). Because young adolescents' interests are evolving, they require opportunities for exploration
throughout their educational program (Manning & Butcher). To foster intellectual development, these
youth need to interact directly with their world—through discourse and hands-on experience with peers
and adults (Stevenson, 2002). Similarly, young adolescents need to learn and engage in democratic
principles (Brighton, 2007). Teachers can also provide forums for them to examine the reasons for
school, home, and societal rules. As adult role models, teachers can guide young adolescents to connect
intellectual thought and moral reasoning. Moral Development Moral development is dened as an
individuals' ability to make principled choices and how to treat one another. During early adolescence,
many of the attitudes, beliefs, and values that young adolescents develop remain with them for life
(Brighton, 2007). They move away from blanket acceptance of adult moral judgment to the
development of their own personal values; however, they usually embrace the values of parents or key
adults (Scales, 2010). As noted, the increased capacity of young adolescents for analytical thought,
reection, and introspection characterizes the connection between their intellectual and moral
development. Young adolescents also tend to be idealistic and possess a strong sense of fairness
(Kellough & Kellough, 2008; Scales, 2010). As they progress into the interpersonal conformity stage of
moral development (Kohlberg, 1983), young adolescents begin to reconcile their understanding of
people who care about them with their own egocentricity (Roney, 2005). They transition from a self-
centered perspective to considering the rights and feelings of others (Scales, 2010). Gender aects how
adolescents approach moral dilemmas—males view moral issues through a justice lens and females use
an interpersonal care lens (Gilligan, 1982). Young adolescents often pose broad, unanswerable
questions about life and refuse to accept trivial responses from adults (Kellough & Kellough, 2008).
They also begin to view moral issues in shades of gray rather than only in black and white. While
young adolescents start to consider complex moral and ethical questions, they tend to be unprepared to
cope with them. Consequently, young adolescents struggle with making sound moral and ethical
choices (Kellough & Kellough, 2008). Implications for Practice Teachers need to be aware of the
relationship between young adolescents' intellectual development and their moral reasoning (Scales,
2010). They can organize instructional experiences that foster critical thinking skills and higher levels
of moral reasoning. For example, teachers plan assignments that help students to incorporate their
thoughts and feelings in writing (Scales, 2010). Teachers can engage young adolescents with activities
that require consensus building and application of democratic principles; teacher advisory programs
and service learning can foster teamwork and build community (Brighton, 2007). In addition, teachers
can design experiences for students to examine moral dilemmas and contemplate responses (Scales,
2010). Such experiences can help young adolescents to develop values, resolve problems, and set their
own behavior standards (Kellough & Kellough, 2008). Young adolescents can also be aorded
opportunities to examine their own choices and the consequences of these choices (Kellough &
Kellough, 2008). Further, teachers can develop scenarios that prompt young adolescents to examine
concepts of fairness, justice, and equity. School programs or curricula can include a focus on societal
issues such as the environment, poverty, or racial discrimination. Spiritual Development / Spiritual
development is dened as a developmental process for making meaning of one's life (Lingley, 2013).
Acknowledged as a legitimate domain of human development, spiritual development is rarely
referenced in education. Understandably, concerns about the separation of church and state and First
Amendment rights prompts educators to avoid this aspect of human development (Brighton, 2007).
Nevertheless, the exclusion of spiritual domain limits the prospect of developmentally responsive
education (Lingley, 2013). Increasingly, scholars are studying the spiritual development of children and
adolescents (Roehlkepartain, Benson, King, & Wagener, 2006), which may lead to broader recognition
of this developmental domain. Acceptance of the spiritual domain in middle level education is
important. Young adolescents often want to explore spiritual matters, develop connections between self
and others, and gain a sense of themselves and the world (Scales, 2010). Implications for practice will
depend on commitments to educating the whole child. Psychological Development During early
adolescence, psychological development is characterized by identity formation and the quest for
independence. Young adolescents experience two stages of identity formation: (a) industry versus
inferiority when 10- to 11-year-olds identify themselves by the tasks and skills they perform well, and
(b) identity versus identity when 12- to 15-year-olds explore and experiment with various roles and
experiences (Erikson, 1968). Identity development depends on the degree of exploration and
commitment to an identity (see Marcia, 1980). During these years, young adolescents seek their own
sense of individuality and uniqueness (Brown & Knowles, 2007). They may experience an increased
awareness of their ethnic identity as well (Scales, 2010). As young adolescents search for an adult
identity and adult acceptance, they strive to maintain peer approval (Kellough & Kellough, 2008). As
young adolescents expand their ailiations to include family and peers, feelings of conict may arise due
to competing allegiances (Wiles et al., 2006). The search for identity and self-discovery may intensify
feelings of vulnerability, as they become attuned to the dierences between self and others (Scales,
2010). Typically, early adolescence is intense and unpredictable (Scales, 2010). Young adolescents have
a tendency to be moody, restless, and may exhibit erratic and inconsistent behavior including anxiety,
bravado, and uctuations between superiority and inferiority (Kellough & Kellough, 2008; Scales, 2010;
Wiles et al., 2006). They are often selfconscious and highly sensitive to criticism of their perceived
personal shortcomings (Scales, 2010). Young adolescents' self-esteem levels are generally adequate and
improve over time, while self-competence in academic subjects, sports, and creative activities decline
(Scales, 2010). Emotionally-charged situations may trigger young adolescents to resort to childish
behaviors, exaggerate simple events, and vocalize naive opinions or one-sided arguments. Their
emotional variability makes young adolescents at risk of making decisions with negative consequences
(Milgram, 1992) and believing that their experiences, feelings, and problems are unique (Scales, 2010).
Implications for Practice Teachers need to support young adolescents' quest for identity formation
through curricular experiences, instructional approaches, and opportunities for exploration. Young
adolescents need frequent opportunities to explore and experiment with various roles and experiences
within the classroom context. Teachers can provide educative experiences such as role-playing, drama,
and reading that foster identity formation. These experiences can help young adolescents realize that
their challenges are not unique (Kellough & Kellough, 2008). In addition, teachers can incorporate
opportunities for student choice and self-assessment. Teachers can also describe how self-esteem aects
many aspects of their development and design experiences that build young adolescents' self-esteem.
Likewise, teachers can acknowledge the importance of friendships and explain that shifting peer
allegiances are normal (Scales, 2010). To foster successful experiences for every young adolescent,
schools need to provide organizational structures such as teaming and advisory programs. These
structures help to ensure that every young adolescent is known well by at least one adult and has
regular occasions to experience positive relationships with peers. Young adolescents need opportunities
to form relationships with adults who understand them and who are willing to support their
development. Educational programs and practices can be used to promote an atmosphere of
friendliness, concern, and group cohesiveness (Kellough & Kellough, 2008). Young adolescents
deserve school environments that are free from harsh criticism, humiliation, and sarcasm. Social-
Emotional Development / Social-emotional development concerns a person's capacity for mature
interactions with individuals and groups. In early adolescence, social-emotional maturity often lags
behind physical and intellectual development. Young adolescents have a strong need to belong to a
group—with peer approval becoming more important and adult approval decreasing in importance
(Scales, 2010). As young adolescents mature socially and emotionally, they may experience conicting
loyalties to peer group and family (Wiles et al., 2006). Because young adolescents are ercely loyal to
their peer group (Kellough & Kellough, 2008), they search for social stature within the peer group.
Young adolescents often experiment with new behaviors as they seek social position and personal
identity (Scales, 2010). They are also torn between their desire to conform to the peer group norms and
their aspiration to be distinctive and independent (Brighton, 2007). Young adolescents experience a
variety of peer associations—positive and negative. During early adolescence, youth typically widen
their circle of friends (Brighton, 2007) and may experience feelings of romantic or sexual attraction
(Scales, 2010). Issues of sexual orientation and identity can also arise at this time (Brighton, 2007).
Negative peer associations, particularly bullying, also become more prevalent in the middle school
years. Young adolescents are also socially and emotionally vulnerable due to inuences of media
(Kellough & Kellough, 2008; Scales, 2010). Young adolescents tend to emulate their esteemed peers
and non-parent adults. While they prefer to make their own choices, the family remains a critical factor
in nal decision-making (Kellough & Kellough, 2008). Young adolescents may be rebellious toward
their parents and adults, yet tend to depend on them (Scales, 2010). Young adolescents also frequently
test the limits of acceptable behavior and challenge adult authority. They may overreact to social
situations, ridicule others, and feel embarrassment (Scales, 2010). When experiencing adult rejection,
young adolescents may seek the seemingly secure social environment of their peer group (Kellough &
Kellough, 2008). Importantly, teachers report that addressing young adolescents' social and emotional
needs may improve their learning and academic achievement (Raphael & Burke, 2012) Implications for
Practice Because of young adolescents' need for ailiation and belonging, they must have opportunities
to form airming and healthy relationships with peers. Teachers must recognize the importance of peer
relationships and friendship (Scales, 2010) and provide occasions for positive peer interactions
(Kellough & Kellough, 2008). Teachers can design cooperative learning activities and collaborative
experiences for young adolescents to interact productively with peers (Scales, 2010).Teachers can also
plan activities that engage students in argumentation or debate in academic settings as well as those that
simulate social situations through role-plays or simulations (Kellough & Kellough, 2008). Schools play
a key role in providing young adolescents with educative programs that promote freedom and
independence within a safe space. Organizational structures such as teaming and service learning
advance positive places for young adolescent's growth. School districts need to support programs that
interrupt negative peer interactions, particularly bullying, that impedes the healthy development of
youth. Schools can also ensure young adolescents'access to student government, service clubs, or other
leadership groups that allow them to develop their own projects and guidelines for behavior (Kellough
& Kellough, 2008). Conclusion Young adolescents warrant educational experiences and schools that
are organized to address their physical, intellectual, emotional/psychological, moral/ethical, spiritual,
and social developmental characteristics. Practitioners, parents, and others who work with young
adolescents need to be aware of both subtle and obvious changes in developmental characteristics.
Such changes can give adults insights into the challenges facing young adolescents and illuminate
possible reasons for shifts in their abilities and behaviors. The middle school founders (e.g., William
Alexander, Donald Eichhorn, John Lounsbury, Gordon Vars) emphasized the need to consider young
adolescents when developing education environmental and organizational structures. The desire for
developmental responsiveness was what set the middle school apart from its predecessor, the junior
high. Today's educators and policymakers need to continue their support of initiatives that aord young
adolescents with developmentally appropriate learning experiences and environments. References /
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Childhood Education International. Manning, M. L., & Bucher, K. T. (2012). Teaching in the middle
school (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Marcia, J. (1980). Identity development. In J.
Adleson (Ed.), Handbook of adolescent psychology (pp. 561-565). New York, NY: Wiley. Milgram, J.
(1992). A portrait of diversity: The middle level student. In J. Irvin, (Ed.), Transforming middle level
education: Perspectives and possibilities (pp. 16-27). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Nagel,
M. C. (2010). The middle years learner's brain. In D. Pendergast & N. Bahr (Eds.) Teaching middle
years: Rethinking curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment (pp. 86-100). Crows Next, Australia: Allen &
Unwin. National Association of Secondary School Principals. (1989). Middle level educators'
responsibilities for intellectual development. Reston, VA: Author. National Middle School Association.
(1982). This we believe. Columbus, OH: Author. National Middle School Association. (1995). This we
believe: Developmentally responsive middle level schools. Columbus, OH: Author. National Middle
School Association. (2003). This we believe: Successful schools for young adolescents. Westerville,
OH: Author. National Middle School Association. (2010). This we believe: Keys to educating young
adolescents. Westerville, OH: Author. Piaget, J. (1952). The origins of intelligence in children. New
York, NY: International University Press. Piaget, J. (1960). The child's conception of the world.
Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Humanities Press. Raphael, L., & Burke, M. (2012). Academic, social, and
emotional needs in a middle grades reform initiative. Research in Middle Level Education Online,
35(6), 1-13. Roehlkepartain, E. C., Benson, P. L., King, P. E., & Wagener, L. (2006). Spiritual
development in childhood and adolescence: Moving to the scientic mainstream. In E. C.
Roehlkepartain, P. E. King, L. Wagener, & P. L. Benson (Eds.), Handbook of spiritual development in
childhood and adolescence (pp. 1-15). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Roney, K. (2005). Young adolescent
development. In V. A. Anfara, Jr., G. Andrews, & S. B. Mertens, (Eds.), The encyclopedia of middle
grades education (pp. 397-401). Greenwich, CT: Information Age. Scales, P. C. (1991). A portrait of
young adolescents in the 1990s: Implications for promoting healthy growth and development.
Carrboro, NC: Center for Early Adolescence, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill. Scales, P. C. (2010). Characteristics of young adolescents. In This we believe: Keys to
educating young adolescents (pp. 63-62). Westerville, OH: National Middle School Association.
Simmons, R., & Blyth, D. (2008). Moving into adolescence: The impact of pubertal change and the
school context. New York, NY: Aldine Transaction. / Stevenson, C. (2002). Teaching ten to fourteen
year olds (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Strahan, D., L'Esperance, M., & Van Hoose, J.
(2009). Promoting harmony: Young adolescent development and classroom practices. Westerville, OH:
National Middle School Association. Tanner, J. M. (1973). Growing up. Scientic American, 229(3), 35-
43. Thornburg, H. (1983). Is early adolescence really a stage of development? Theory into Practice, 22,
79-84. Wiles, J., Bondi, J., & Wiles, M. T. (2006). The essential middle school (4th ed.). Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Annotated References Brighton, K. L. (2007). Coming of age: The
education and development of young adolescents. Westerville, OH: National Middle School
Association. In this concise book for practitioners and parents, Brighton describes the uniqueness of
early adolescence—citing not only the salient middle grades literature, but also his own personal and
professional experience. In the rst section of the book, he explains the domains of young adolescent
development: intellectual, social, physical, emotional, and moral, religious, and character. Then, in the
second section, he illuminates the contexts—family and society—in which young adolescents function.
In the nal section, Brighton focuses on the well-being of young adolescents, specically health and
wellness issues and positive interventions. Throughout the text, he communicates his position that the
coming of age years—early adolescence—are a pivotal life stage warranting the support from teachers
and parents alike. Kellough, R. D., & Kellough, N. G. (2008). Teaching young adolescents: Methods
and resources for middle grades teaching (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Everything
educators of young adolescents need to know is covered thoroughly and presented clearly in a manner
that emphasizes the practical and the theoretical. Kellough and Kellough encourage educators to
actively engage students in learning and aord students with an equal chance to participate, learn, grow,
and succeed. They provide a wealth of examples and exercises for each of the book's chapters. Topics
include the characteristics of young adolescents; and planning, implementing, and assessing learning
based on these developmental qualities. This book is intended for teacher candidates, but seasoned
teachers and administrators will nd this book very useful as they continue to develop their skills in
working with young adolescents. Stevenson, C. (2002). Teaching ten to fourteen year olds (3rd ed.).
Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. In Teaching Ten to Fourteen Year Olds, Stevenson oers his readers a
succinct overview of the social, physical, and emotional development of the young adolescent. In
addition to its usefulness to educators, parents of young adolescents will nd this book helpful because it
explains young adolescent development. In Part One, Stevenson: (a) describes the underpinnings of
middle level education and establishes the context for the reader's personal and professional
development as a teacher of young adolescents, (b) guides the reader in using shadowing and inquiry
techniques as methods for observing and learning from and about young adolescents, and (c) presents
the domains of development (i.e., social, physical, and emotional) that are characterized as
"interactive.” In Part Two, the book focuses on conceptualizing, organizing, presenting, and assessing
the eectiveness of schooling that will complement the developmental characteristics of young
adolescents. In the nal section, Part Three, Stevenson highlights the teacher's personal context including
the specic roles and functions of middle grades teachers that distinguish their work from teaching in
other school levels. Recommended Resources / 1 Comments Advertisement Anfara, V. A., Jr., Andrews,
G., & Mertens, S. B. (Eds.) (2005). The encyclopedia of middle grades education. Greenwich, CT:
Information Age Publishing. Association for Middle Level Education. (2012). This we believe in
action: Implementing successful middle level schools (2nd ed.). Westerville, OH: Author. Kellough, R.
D., & Kellough, N. G. (2008). Teaching young adolescents: Methods and resources for middle grades
teaching (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Mertens, S. B., Anfara, V. A., Jr., & Caskey, M. M.
(Eds.). (2007). The young adolescent and the middle school. Charlotte, NC: Information Age. National
Middle School Association. (2010). This we believe: Keys to educating young adolescents. Westerville,
OH: Author. Oice of Adolescent Health. (2014). Adolescent Development E-Learning Module.
Retrieved from [email protected] Scales, P. C., Sesma, A., Jr., & Bolstrom, B. (2003). Coming into
their own: How developmental assets promote positive growth in middle childhood. Minneapolis, MN:
Search Institute. Author Information Micki M. Caskey is associate dean for academic aairs in the
Graduate School of Education at Portland State University. She is a co-series editor of The Handbook
of Research in Middle Level Education, past chair of AMLE's Research Advisory Committee, and past
editor of Research in Middle Level Education Online. Vincent A. Anfara, Jr. (deceased) was professor
of educational administration and supervision at The University of Tennessee. He was the founding
series editor for The Handbook of Research in Middle Level Education, past chair of NMSA's Research
Advisory Committee, and column editor for "What Research Says” in Middle School Journal.
Published October 2014 More on these topics Middle School Concept Research Young Adolescent
Development Article tags Research Summary This research is crucial for teachers in order to
successfully each young adolescences because we need to know how to appropriately take these ndings
into consideration when we make lessons. We want students to have the best learning experience they
possibly can, and we will only do this if we consider how they are physically, socially, emotionally, etc.
These factors contribute to their learning more than people put into consideration. —Sarah 12/7/2019
6:16 PM

Adolescent Psychosocial, Social, and Cognitive Development Renata Arrington Sanders, MD, MPH,
ScM Author Disclosure Dr Sanders has disclosed no financial relationships relevant to this article. This
commentary does not contain discussion of unapproved/ investigative use of a commercial product/
device. Educational Gap The cognitive and psychosocial development of adolescents is variable.
Asynchrony among physical, cognitive, and psychosocial development may limit the adolescents’
ability to perceive and judge risk effectively and may result in adolescent views that are incongruous
with parents or guardians. Pediatricians can help adolescents to transition through this important
developmental period while simultaneously providing parents with appropriate guidance and support.
Objectives After completing this article, readers should be able to: 1. Understand the stages of
cognitive and psychosocial adolescent development. 2. Understand the role of the imaginary audience
and the personal fable in adolescent development. 3. Recognize the implications of early pubertal
timing. 4. Be able to communicate effectively with adolescents and address developmental concerns
that may arise. Cognitive Development Adolescence marks the transition from childhood into
adulthood. It is characterized by cognitive, psychosocial, and emotional development. Cognitive
development is the progression of thinking from the way a child does to the way an adult does. There
are 3 main areas of cognitive development that occur during adolescence. First, adolescents develop
more advanced reasoning skills, including the ability to explore a full range of possibilities inherent in
a situation, think hypothetically (contrary-fact situations), and use a logical thought process. Second,
adolescents develop the ability to think abstractly. Adolescents move from being concrete thinkers, who
think of things that they have direct contact with or knowledge about, to abstract thinkers, who can
imagine things not seen or experienced. This allows adolescents to have the capacity to love, think
about spirituality, and participate in more advanced mathematics. Youth who remain at the level of a
concrete thinker focus largely on physically present or real objects in problem solving and, as a result,
may present with difficulty or frustration with schoolwork as they transition throughout high school.
Clinicians can help parents recognize this problem to help adolescents adjust to the educational pace.
Adolescents may also experience a personal fable as a result of being able to think more abstractly. The
personal fable is built on the fact that if the imaginary audience (peers) is watching and thinking about
the adolescent, then the adolescent must be special or different. For decades, this adolescent
egocentrism was thought to contribute to the personal fable of invincibility (eg, other adolescents will
get pregnant or get sexually transmitted infections) and risk-taking behavior. Several studies have
found that adolescents perceive more risk in certain areas than adults but that being aware of the risks
fails to stop adolescents from participating in risk-taking behavior. Neuroimaging studies demonstrate
that adolescents may experience greater emotional satisfaction with risk-taking behavior. This
satisfaction can predispose adolescents to engage in behavior despite being aware of risks. In addition,
concrete-thinking adolescents Division of General Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, Johns Hopkins
School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD. Article adolescent medicine 354 Pediatrics in Review Vol.34 No.8
August 2013 Downloaded from http://pedsinreview.aappublications.org/ at Philippines:AAP Sponsored
on September 3, 2020 may be unable to understand the consequences of actions (eg, not taking
medications), may be unable to link cause and effect in regard to health behavior (eg, smoking,
overeating, alcohol, drugs, reckless driving, and early sex), and may not be prepared to avoid risk (eg,
having condoms and avoiding riding with intoxicated drivers). Alternatively, youth who feel the
personal fable is threatened can present with stress, depression, or multiple psychosomatic symptoms.
Third, the formal operational thinking characteristic of adolescence enables adolescents to think about
thinking or meta-cognition. This characteristic allows youth to develop the capacity to think about what
they are feeling and how others perceive them. This thought process, combined with rapid emotional
and physical changes that occur during puberty, causes most youth to think that everyone is thinking
not just about what they are thinking about but about the youth themselves (imaginary audience). The
imaginary audience can be detrimental to youth obtaining clinical care and services. For example,
youth with chronic illnesses may hide or deny their illnesses for fear that the imaginary audience
(peers) may learn about their condition or to prove to the audience that the condition does not exist. It is
important to remember that the audience is very real to the adolescent. By being aware and sympathetic
to the adolescent’s concerns, as a clinician, you might be able to find solutions to address the health
needs and social needs of the patient. Adolescent Psychosocial Development The psychosocial
development that occurs during this period can be characterized as developmental tasks that emphasize
development of autonomy, the establishment of identity, and future orientation. The first area of
adolescent development—establishment of autonomy—occurs when the adolescent strives to become
emotionally and economically independent from parents. This struggle begins during early adolescence
(ages 12-14 years), which is characterized by forming same-sex peer groups, with decreasing interest in
family activities and parental advice. During this time, adolescents are concerned with how they appear
to others. The peer group, which is typically same-sex, is often idealized and has a strong influence on
the adolescent’s development. As a result, adolescents may use clothing, hairstyles, language, and other
accessories to fit in with their peers. Similarly, adolescents who do not identify with any peers may
have significant psychological difficulties during this period. Adolescents become less preoccupied
with their bodily changes as they approach the end of puberty. The adolescent’s attention shifts from
being focused on self to adopting the codes and values of larger peer, parental, or adult groups.
Clinicians who treat adolescents can help by discussing with families that this process of pubertal
maturation will often require role readjustments among and between family members, which can
sometimes result in increased stress and conflict. During middle adolescence (ages 15-17 years), the
peer group becomes a mixed-sex peer group and assumes a primary social role for the adolescent.
Adolescents begin to have short, intense “love” relationships, while looking for the “ideal” partner. It is
not uncommon for adolescents to have crushes on adults during this stage. Family conflict is likely to
be at its peak. As adolescents’ independent functioning increases, adolescents may examine their
personal experiences, relate their experience to others, and develop a concern for others. By late
adolescence (ages 18-21 years), adolescents have developed a separate identity from parents.
Simultaneously, adolescents may move away from their peer group and strive to achieve adult status.
Adolescent conflict with parents may very well decline during this stage. As adolescents begin to enter
more permanent relationships, they establish responsible behavior and their personal value system
matures. Pediatric health care professionals should be aware that most adolescents seek independence
in a gradual fashion, and a sudden shift from parents can be a warning sign that the adolescent needs
help in transitioning. In fact, some studies have demonstrated that 11-year-old girls spend 68% of their
time with family and 22% with friends compared with 46% and 44%, respectively, in 18-year-old girls.
Anticipatory guidance for parents about the emerging needs of independence will help to inform
parents about this important developmental stage, provide guidance in promoting independence in a
safe setting, and alleviate some of the problems experienced in the family. Development of clinic
policies that promote an adolescent’s need for privacy, confidentiality, and involvement in decision-
making can aid in this transition. The second task of adolescence is for youth to develop a sense of
identity. Identity relates to one’s sense of self. It can be divided into 2 areas: self-concept and self-
esteem. Self-concept refers to an adolescent’s perception of self— one’s talents, goals, and life
experiences. It can also relate to identity as part of ethnic, religious, and sexual identity groups. Self-
esteem relates to how one evaluates selfworth. adolescent medicine psychosocial development
Pediatrics in Review Vol.34 No.8 August 2013 355 Downloaded from
http://pedsinreview.aappublications.org/ at Philippines:AAP Sponsored on September 3, 2020 In 1950,
Erikson described the psychosocial crisis that was occurring during this stage as “identity vs. role
confusion” (13-19 years). As adolescents transition into adults, they start to think about their roles in
adulthood. Initially, it is common for adolescents to experience role confusion about their identity and
describe mixed ideas and feelings about the specific ways in which they feel they fit into society. As a
result, they may experiment with a range of behaviors and activities to sort out this identity.
Adolescents may experiment with different peer groups or different styles of dress or behavior as a way
of searching for their identity. Some degree of rebellion away from the family’s image is part of the
adolescent’s search for identity. Erikson described that an adolescent’s inability to settle on an identity
or career path can result in identity crisis. Although this stage likely lasts for a short period, because of
the current extension of adolescence and young adulthood, with more youth obtaining advanced
degrees or vocational training, it may take more time for youth to establish their identity. Adolescents
with a chronic illness may have a harder time developing a positive identity or self-image because of
the impact of the illness on body image and the limited ability to achieve independence. Pediatric
health care professionals can support adolescent identity development by encouraging parents to allow
adolescents to have the space and time to independently make health care decisions and to participate
in and explore a range of activities that can promote this development. Inadequate development of self-
identity can result in poor self-esteem in the adolescent. Poor self-image and esteem have been
associated with poor adjustment (depression or suicide), school underachievement, substance use, and
other risk-taking behaviors. Educating parents about the importance of praise and acceptance during
this stage may be helpful to ensure that adolescents emerge from it with a secure identity. The ability
for future orientation is the third area of adolescent psychosocial development. This stage usually
occurs during late adolescence (ages 18-21 years). Youth have gained the cognitive maturity that is
necessary to develop realistic goals pertaining to future vocation or career, have developed a sense of
self-identity, and are most likely refining their moral, religious, and sexual values. It is during this time
that youth also expect to be treated as an adult. As autonomy increases, youth are given more
responsibility. They are also provided with more access to alcohol and drugs. Emotional and Social
Development Adolescence is also characterized by the development of emotional and social
competence. Emotional competence relates to the ability to manage emotions, whereas social
competence focuses on one’s ability to relate effectively with others. During this process, adolescents
become more aware of being able to identify and label their own feelings and the feelings of others.
The rate of emotional and cognitive development does not parallel the rate of physical maturation. Dr
Deborah Yurgelun-Todd, director of Neuropsychology and Cognitive Neuroimaging at McLean
Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts, compared magnetic resonance images of adults and teenagers to
demonstrate how cognitive development does not occur simultaneously with emotional development in
adolescents. Unlike in the adult brain, where both the limbic area of the brain (emotion center) and the
prefrontal cortex (judgment and reasoning center) are enhanced when viewing images that expressed
fear, in the adolescent brain, after seeing the same images, the limbic area is enhanced, with almost no
activity in the prefrontal cortex. Such emotional-cognitive asynchrony can result in adolescents
misinterpreting other’s feelings and emotions, whereas emotional-physical asynchrony can result in
adolescents being treated as older than their emotional stage of development. Early rapid pubertal
development in girls and boys may significantly affect body image and social performance. Early
maturing boys are often perceived as older and more responsible. In general, they perform better on
team sports than boys who mature late and, as a result, may be more popular and seen as class leaders.
However, timing and duration of puberty appear to matter. In a study by Ge et al, boys who were
physically more developed in seventh grade, compared with their less physically developed peers,
manifested more externalized hostile feelings and internalized distress symptoms in grades 8 through
10. Early maturation may predispose girls to social disadvantage. Early maturation has been identified
as a risk factor for conduct problems, depression, early substance use, poor body image, pregnancy, and
early sexual initiation. Management or self-regulation of emotions is an important process in any
adolescent. Research has found that an increased level of testosterone during puberty can result in
swelling of the amygdala, the area of the brain critical in emotional regulation. Health care
professionals can help adolescents recognize triggers and symptoms of out-ofcontrol emotions and use
reasoning skills to step back, examine emotions, and consider long-term consequences of behavior.
adolescent medicine psychosocial development 356 Pediatrics in Review Vol.34 No.8 August 2013
Downloaded from http://pedsinreview.aappublications.org/ at Philippines:AAP Sponsored on
September 3, 2020 Implications for Practice The pediatric health care professional is poised to educate
adolescents and their parents about the psychosocial and developmental aspects of adolescence.
Explaining that the adolescent’s physical development may be asynchronous with the psychosocial,
emotional, and cognitive development may help to avoid unrealistic expectations and smooth the
process. It is helpful to provide adolescents with appropriate education about the social and emotional
changes that occur during this timeframe. The goal of youth during this stage is to gain independence
and establish a secure identity of who they are. Recommendation to parents and guardians to continue
to provide parental or supervisory monitoring and model positive health behaviors and conflict
resolution is critical for ensuring that teens remain safe while gradually becoming more independent.
There are different parental styles that have been demonstrated to be helpful. The American Academy
of Pediatrics endorses the authoritative style where parents have a balanced approach with
unconditional love, combined with clear boundaries and consistent discipline. This perspective is based
on research demonstrating that adolescents who have an authoritative parent are less depressed, enter
into risk-taking behaviors at later ages, and succeed better academically than parents who use other
approaches. It is also important for parents to recognize that parental acceptance of adolescent
separation and identity formation is necessary for healthy self-esteem and self-concept and enables the
adolescent to return to the family later. Clinicians can use the primary care visit to promote
independence among adolescents. Starting during early adolescence, the parent and the adolescent
should be seen together initially to assess the emotional and psychiatric health of adolescents and
understand how family dynamics may contribute to symptoms experienced, identify not only sources of
stress within families but predominant modes of coping with stress, and encourage parental
involvement with the adolescent’s school, extracurricular activities, and knowledge about their child’s
friends. These steps can protect against future delinquency and risk-taking behavior. Spending time
separately with the parent and the adolescent can help the adolescent independently be able to voice
concerns about health information while simultaneously building confidence. Health care professionals
can use the interview time to ask open-ended questions that allow the adolescent to consider a range of
options, help the adolescent understand how emotions can affect decision-making, and identify skill-
building activities that promote self-esteem, independence, and selfmanagement of medical conditions.
As adolescents’ relationships evolve, they may become interested in dating, intimacy, and sex-related
experimentation. Health care professionals should create a climate that is sensitive to personal issues,
including sexual identity development and sexual orientation, so that youth feel comfortable discussing
different types of sexual activity, fantasies, and attractions. Adolescents will also need appropriate
health information about avoiding risk-taking behavior, such as drug use and unsafe sexual behavior,
skills that enhance their ability to negotiate difficult situations with peers, and career guidance.
Clinicians’ advice or explanation should be adapted to the cognitive level of the adolescent.
Adolescence is also an appropriate time for clinicians to discuss career options for youth. Resources
can include local or distant college, military service, or a specific program, such as Job Corps. Job
Corps is a comprehensive residential, educational, and job-training program that has assisted
approximately 2 million adolescents and young adults gain the vocational and social skills training
necessary to obtain long-term jobs and further their education. Resources are available for clinicians to
help in guiding the adolescent through the critical stages of adolescent cognitive and psychosocial
development. The American Academy of Pediatrics’ Bright Futures Guidelines for Health Supervision
of Infants, Children, and Adolescents, a developmentally organized, practical resource for clinicians,
and the Teen Years Explained, a practical guide for adolescents, parents, and clinicians developed by
the Center for Adolescent Health at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, are 2 resources that can be
used to help adolescents and their families successfully reach young adulthood.

Adolescence and Adulthood 10 PSY_C10.qxd 1/2/05 3:36 pm Page 202 Learning Objectives By the
end of this chapter you should appreciate that: n the journey from adolescence through adulthood
involves considerable individual variation; n psychological development involves physical, sensory,
cognitive, social and emotional processes, and the interactions among them; n although adolescence is
a time of new discoveries and attainments, it is by no means the end of development; n there is some
evidence of broad patterns of adult development (perhaps even stages), yet there is also evidence of
diversity; n some abilities diminish with age, while others increase. Development is a lifelong affair,
which does not stop when we reach adulthood. Try this thought experiment. Whatever your current age,
imagine yourself ten years from now. Will your life have progressed? Will you have attained any goals?
What state will your body be in, and how will you feel about it? Where will you be living? Will your
cognitive and occupational skills have improved and broadened, or started to slow down? Do you
anticipate changes in your financial status? Will you have gained/retained/replaced a partner? How will
you adjust to new responsibilities (at work, at home)? Will your leisure activities differ? Will you have
had children/seen existing children grow up and leave home? Would you expect other people to regard
and treat you differently from the ways they do now? What changes in the larger world (technological,
political, economic) might affect you in a decade’s time? If ten years ahead is an awesome prospect,
imagine yourself 20, 30 or more years from now and repeat the exercise. Did you find this an easy or
difficult task? Is your life course planned and your intention to follow it unshakeable, or do you see it
as open to the decisions of others, or governed by pure chance? Do you look forward to change (and
ageing), or does the prospect unnerve you? It soon becomes clear when we contemplate our own
futures that change is inevitable. But to what extent is development in adulthood due to intrinsic,
fundamental changes in the organism, to accumulating experiences in complex environments, or to
social and community pressures to adapt? Is change continuous and gradual, or is it marked by major
transitions? You will notice that these are similar issues to those questions we considered in chapter 9.
In this chapter, we follow developments beyond childhood, beginning with adolescence and then
moving into the phases of adulthood – early, middle and late. Although there are many aspects to
development during adolescence and adulthood, and wide individual variation in circumstances and
achievements, the core issues, psychologically speaking, continue to revolve around the themes
covered in chapter 9. So, once again, we will follow each phase of development from physical,
cognitive and social perspectives. INTRODUCTION PSY_C10.qxd 1/2/05 3:36 pm Page 203 204
Adolescence and Adulthood The effects of variation Variations in the pace of development lead to
complex outcomes. In some respects, those who mature early tend to have an advantage in that they are
seen – and treated – as more adult-like. Some young people, especially males, gain from this,
developing greater popularity and confidence that can endure into adult life ( Jones & Bayley, 1950). In
contrast, late maturers may experience some insecurities as they compare themselves with their peers
who are ahead of them in the prized achievement of growing up (Alsaker, 1992). But there can be
drawbacks to early maturation, too. For example, some early maturing boys are drawn into activities
(like truancy or delinquency) that get them into trouble with parents, teachers and other authorities (Ge
et al., 2001). Some early maturing girls report higher levels of psychosomatic distress during their
teens. This is perhaps because their earlier involvement in activities such as dating and other people’s
expectations of them to behave as adults lead to pressures they are not yet equipped to handle (Ge,
Conger & Elder, 1996; Graber et al., 1997). COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT Less immediately visible
is an intellectual growth spurt during this period (Andrich & Styles, 1994). The young person is
becoming capable of thinking about the world, and dealing with the challenges it presents in new and
more powerful ways. The period of formal operations In Piaget’s view, the cognitive advances of
middle childhood (the concrete operational period) are limited because they can only be applied to
relatively accessible problems, i.e. tasks concerned It is difficult to decide exactly when adolescence
begins or ends, as both boundaries are subject to individual variation. Is a person an adolescent when
he or she reaches a particular age – say, the teens? Some people at this age are already relatively mature
sexually, whereas others are still pre-pubertal. Intellectual maturity can vary just as widely. And when
is adolescence complete – at the end of the teens, at 21, or later? Some people have adult
responsibilities – perhaps a job and family – by their late teens, while others can be found
skateboarding around university campuses, free of commitments and still quite unsure of where they
are heading in life, into their mid 20s. For these reasons, psychologists working on adolescence tend to
define the period broadly, as a time of transition between childhood and adulthood, acknowledging that
the timing and pace of development is subject to considerable variation. PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
Through most of childhood, people grow at a fairly steady pace – about 5–10 cm and 2–3 kg per
annum. But with the beginnings of adolescence, most individuals undergo another radical change, often
called a growth spurt. In girls, this typically occurs at around age 10 to 13; in boys, it occurs between
12 and 15. Growth is quite rapid compared to earlier in the lifespan – a girl may add around 9 kg in a
year, and boys around 11 kg (Tanner, 1962). Remember the tadpole in chapter 9? The transformations
of puberty – as the developing body commences the changes that allow it in turn to contribute to the
reproductive process – are almost as radical. Secondary sexual characteristics A particularly important
physical change during puberty is the emergence of secondary sexual characteristics. In girls, this
means an increase in subcutaneous fat and rounding of the body, the beginnings of breasts and, towards
the end of the spurt, pubic hair and the menarche (the first period). In boys, the penis, testes and
scrotum begin to enlarge, pubic hair appears, the voice begins to deepen, and muscles grow and
strengthen. At around 13 to 14, most boys experience ejaculations or nocturnal emissions (wet dreams).
Underlying all of these external changes, there are important hormonal developments, due to the
increased production of oestrogen (in girls) and androgen (in boys). Young people are now heading
towards their mature size and form, but the pace of development varies markedly across individuals.
These developmental changes are important from a psychological perspective, because they affect the
young person’s sense of self and relations with others (Brooks-Gunn & Paikoff, 1992; Durkin, 1995).
Unlike the tadpole, human adolescents are very much consciously aware of the changes they are
undergoing. The emergence of the secondary sexual characteristics prompts them to think of
themselves as young adults, and to change their appearance and activities accordingly.
ADOLESCENCE Figure 10.1 During puberty, secondary sexual characteristics, such as facial hair in
males, begin to emerge. PSY_C10.qxd 1/2/05 3:36 pm Page 204 Adolescence 205 with the physical
‘here and now’, or easily imagined scenarios (see chapter 9). During adolescence, many individuals
progress beyond this limitation, and are able to deal with more abstract cognitive tasks. Piaget calls this
(the final stage in his model) the period of formal operations. Once again, Piaget and his collaborators
studied this phase of development in great detail (Inhelder & Piaget, 1958). They set a number of tasks
for children and adolescents, designed to illuminate changes in their reasoning processes. In one task,
participants were presented with a set of pendulums, with objects of different weights suspended from
strings of different lengths (figure 10.2). The task was to determine what influences the speed with
which the pendulum swings: is it the weight of the object, the length of the string, the height from
which the object is dropped, the speed with which it is pushed, or some combination of factors?
Children still in the concrete operational stage set about the task rather haphazardly. They tried
guessing and random combinations of actions but were unable to isolate the effects of a single factor.
Adolescents (aged 14–15) who had reached formal operations worked in a much more systematic
fashion. They tested the effects of varying a factor (e.g. length of string) while holding the other factors
constant (e.g. using the same weight for each trial), keeping track of the different manipulations and
possibilities. In due course, they came up with the correct answer. (What do you think? Test your own
formal operational reasoning. The answer is given on p. 222.) Another problem devised by Inhelder and
Piaget (1958) was a chemistry task, which involved creating a yellow solution from five unidentified
liquids, each initially in its own test tube. Some combinations of colours achieved this outcome, and
others removed it. How would you set about finding which combinations work, and then how to make
the colour disappear? Concrete operational children favoured a trial-and-error approach: they kept
trying random mixtures. Some children never worked it out, some hit occasionally on a combination
that worked but were not sure exactly how they had done it, or how to reverse the process (i.e. make
the colour disappear). The formal operational thinkers were much more systematic. They contemplated
the range of possible combinations, formulated hypotheses, and tested them sequentially; they also kept
a record of the combinations they had tried and the outcomes. In these (and many other) tasks, formal
operational thinkers demonstrate not simply that they are systematic and able to keep track of their
attempts, but that they are able to formulate abstract hypotheses about possible outcomes. They are able
to conceive of different propositions about the same set of factors, and to work out means of testing
them to achieve a resolution. Formal operational thought is not restricted to tackling science education
puzzles. Again, from a Piagetian perspective, the important point is that this higher level of reasoning
enables young people to deal with many aspects of the world more profoundly. They now have access
to more abstract ideas and principles, and some become very interested in the principles governing the
broader social environment. For example, many adolescents develop an interest in political issues,
human rights, feminism, the environment or spiritual matters (Klaczinski, 2000) – all concerns that
reflect their ability to conceive of alternatives to the present reality. This is a time of ‘great ideals’
(Piaget & Inhelder, 1966). Piaget challenged Although most developmental psychologists would agree
that adolescent thought reflects important advances beyond childhood, not all agree with Piagetians
about the nature of the changes, and not all of the evidence is consistent with the theory. For example,
large-scale studies have reported that only small proportions of adolescents perform sufficiently well to
meet the criteria for formal operational reasoning (Neimark, 1975; Shayer, Kuchemann & Wylam,
1976). The comprehensiveness of Piagetian theory is in doubt if it fails to characterize a majority.
Contemporary researchers agree with Piaget that cognitive development does proceed during the
adolescent years, but they disagree with him about the patterns and processes entailed (Byrnes, 2003;
Klaczinski, 2000). During this period, young people show improved abilities in several areas, including
deductive and inductive inferences, objective thinking, mathematical operations and decision making
(Byrnes, 2003). But the developmental evidence does not support the Piagetian assumption of
domaingeneral transitions (see chapter 9). For example, participants’ scores on different reasoning tests
do not correlate highly during adolescence, and there are greater age differences on some tests than on
others (Csapo, 1997). If a general improvement were underway, we would expect to find comparable
and simultaneous improvements across cognitive domains. Instead, adolescents appear to function
better in cognitive tasks where they have an existing strong knowledge base (Byrnes, 2003) or have
received specific training designed to accelerate performance (Iqbal & Shayer, 2000). These findings
lead many researchers to favour domainspecific models of cognitive development in adolescence.
According to such models, developmental progress depends at least in part on the cognitive
opportunities, tasks and challenges to which adolescents are exposed (Byrnes, 2003). Alternative
accounts of adolescent reasoning have been advanced more recently, drawing upon information-
processing theories, and arguing that what really underpins development in period of formal operations
the last of Piaget’s stages of intellectual development, when thought is no longer dependent on concrete
operations tied to immediately present objects and actions, but is based on reasoning about abstract
propositions and the evaluation of alternative possible outcomes Figure 10.2 Materials for the
pendulum task. PSY_C10.qxd 1/2/05 3:36 pm Page 205 206 Adolescence and Adulthood You are
probably aware of strong popular assumptions about the effects of peers on adolescents. Peers are often
regarded as a potentially harmful influence, leading impressionable teenagers into dangerous
experimentation (e.g. with drugs and sex), dereliction of responsibilities (e.g. schoolwork) and hostility
to adults and adult society. Peer values are often assumed to be the antithesis of parental values. But
were these your own experiences? Certainly, friends’ behaviour does tend to be correlated with
adolescents’ choices and actions in many areas (Durkin, 1995). But, as you already know from reading
chapter 2, correlation does not equal causation. In fact, we choose our friends – and adolescents tend to
choose friends who have similar interests. If you are a smoker, you probably will not choose to hang
out most of the time with the sports crowd. More generally, adolescents themselves report that,
although they are subjected to peer pressures sometimes, they do not generally experience this as a
major influence on their behaviour or as something that they find particularly difficult to handle (du
Bois-Reymond & Ravesloot, 1994; Lightfoot, 1992). Furthermore, perceived peer influence tends to
vary across different domains of life. It is quite strong with regard to appearance (e.g. hairstyle,
clothing) and socializing (e.g. dating, finding out adolescence is not so much changes in formal logical
skills as changes in processing capacity or efficiency – such as improved memory skills or attention
span (see Keating, 1990). These capacities may also be linked to ongoing neural developments, as there
is now substantial evidence that the frontal lobes continue to develop during adolescence (Byrnes,
2003). SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT The adolescent’s social world is changing fast.
The changes reflect the biological and cognitive developments summarized above, as well as new
opportunities and the impact of other people’s expectations. Gender and sexual development During
adolescence, gender becomes of much more central importance for most individuals. The biological
changes discussed above make gender all the more salient – to the adolescent and to others. One
consequence is that societies’ expectations about genderappropriate behaviour are brought home more
powerfully than ever before. During childhood, cross-sex interests are tolerated to some extent in girls
(although, as we have seen in chapter 9, this is less the case for boys). But in adolescence, parents and
peers tend to provide stronger messages about acceptable and unacceptable behaviour – there is a
narrowing of the gender ‘pathways’ as we move closer to our adult roles (figure 10.3; Archer, 1992). In
some cultures, the sexes are increasingly segregated in adolescence, although in others (such as many
Western societies) many adolescents are particularly keen to socialize with the opposite sex. In
societies that do allow for mixed gender interactions in adolescence, a number of factors bear on young
people’s sexual development. Increased hormonal levels are associated with heightened interest in sex
in both boys and girls. For boys, this tends to lead to involvement in sexual activity (though much of
this is solitary), while girls tend to be more influenced by social factors, such as parental attitudes and
friends’ sexual behaviour (Crockett, Raffaelli & Moilanen, 2003; Katchadourian, 1990). Whatever the
specific influences and motivations, the outcome is that a lot of adolescents have apparently
experienced sexual relations. For example, in America, about two-thirds of 12th graders (16- to 17-
year-olds) report having had sexual intercourse (Crockett et al., 2003) – although this figure may be
somewhat inflated by peer pressure. The importance of peers There is no doubt that peers are very
important to adolescents. During this phase of the lifespan, people spend increasing amounts of time in
the company of their peers (Brown & Klute, 2003; Collins & Laursen, 2000) and increasingly focus on
peer relations as crucial to their sense of identity (Pugh & Hart, 1999). Figure 10.3 Adolescents become
interested in adult appearance. There is a narrowing of gender ‘pathways’ and an increased interest in
sex. PSY_C10.qxd 1/2/05 3:36 pm Page 206 Adolescence 207 Studying adolescent development: What
a bedroom wall can reveal The research issue Have you ever experienced an attraction to a movie star?
Pinned a poster of a rock hero above your bed? Dreamed of a date with your idol? If you have, you are
not unique. These are quite common experiences in adolescence. Some teenagers even describe
themselves as ‘in love’ with these glamorous but remote characters, whom they will probably never
meet. Some report jealousies about their idols’ on-screen and real-life relationships. What
developmental psychological processes are involved in the adornment of a bedroom wall? To find out,
Rachel Karniol (2001) studied 13- and 15-year-old girls’ reasons for hanging posters of media stars in
their bedrooms. Karniol reasoned that girls at this age are subject to conflicting pressures as their
sexuality emerges. On the one hand, they are maturing physically and developing emotional needs for
attachments. But on the other hand, boys of the same age tend to be less mature because they have
entered the growth spurt later. Furthermore, there are strong societal values that limit the expression of
sexuality in young females. Karniol hypothesized that posters of their idols provided these young
teenagers with convenient but safe love objects, providing a transition into sexuality that precedes their
physical relationships with boys. At the stage when girls are still ambivalent about sex, Karniol
expected that they would prefer idols with relatively feminine features (for example, relatively large
eyes, heart-shaped face, small jaw, petite nose), such as Leonardo Di Caprio, Brad Pitt or Nick Carter
of the Backroom Boys, to hyper-masculine stars, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, or Sylvester
Stallone. She also hypothesized that posters would serve a social function – something to talk about
with other girls. Design and procedure Fifty teenage girls completed questionnaires about their
favourite stars, including whether they had posters of them on their bedroom wall (and, if so, how
many). Examples of questionnaire items include: Do you look for information about the star in
newspapers and magazines? How excited are you when you think of the star? What percentage of your
conversations with your friends is devoted to talking about the star? How jealous are you of the women
that the star has relations with in movies or performances? How jealous are you of the women the star
has relations with in real life? Results and implications All but one of the participants indicated that she
did have an idol, and about 40 per cent hung posters of their favourite(s) on their bedroom wall. Most
of the idols were males. Consistent with Karniol’s hypothesis that the bedroom wall is a location for the
safe love object, the girls who did not yet have or want boyfriends tended to favour male stars with
feminine features, whereas those who were already dating all chose more masculine looking stars. The
girls who were already dating also reported becoming more excited when thinking about their favourite
stars and being jealous of their stars’ screen or real relationships. Presumably these girls (whose
sexuality was more advanced than that of the girls who favoured more feminine-looking stars)
experienced vicarious sexual involvement with their heroes. The results also showed a positive
correlation between the number of posters a girl displayed of her favourite star and the amount of time
she spent talking to friends about him – consistent with the hypothesis that the posters do serve a social
function. While Karniol’s study was limited in sample size and gender, it yields intriguing preliminary
findings. The findings indicate that the seemingly mundane aspects of everyday life can be valuable
sources of information to the psychologist, and may reveal patterns in our thought processes and
behaviour that are not obvious on first sight. From these findings, what would you predict about the
posters on teenage boys’ bedroom walls? Karniol, R., 2001, ‘Adolescent females’ idolization of male
media stars as a transition into sexuality’, Sex Roles, 44, 61–77. Research close-up 1 ch close-up 1
PSY_C10.qxd 1/2/05 3:36 pm Page 207 208 Adolescence and Adulthood individuals tend to have
already chosen their peers. Evidence suggests that an adolescent’s choice of peers is itself influenced by
his parents (i.e. the parents encourage or discourage particular friendships) and that the impact of
friends’ behaviour is moderated by parental guidance (Blanton, Gibbons, Gerrard et al., 1997; Mounts
& Steinberg, 1995). So peers are important, but not omnipotent. As you can see in table 10.1, the ‘peer
pressure’ issue is not the only aspect of adolescent development about which there are strong folklore
beliefs that are not actually borne out by the research evidence. These discrepancies remind us once
again that ‘common sense’ does not always provide a reliable basis for psychological analysis. It makes
sense to divide adulthood into three broad phases: early (from approximately 18 to 40 years of age),
middle (41–65), and late (66+). Clearly, this is only a rough breakdown, and there are substantial
differences within each phase, but it does serve as a preliminary framework for the study of the largest
period of human development – our adult lives. By the time we reach early adulthood, we have spent a
long time developing. Like the young frog hopping to a new pond, the young person setting up a first
home is physically and mentally transformed from the infant first presented to his or her parents. Just as
it is difficult to determine precisely when adolescence begins and ends, determining exactly when
adulthood commences proves elusive. There are some rough formal markers, such as reaching a
particular birthday, gaining the vote or becoming eligible to join the military services, but these
markers vary across and within societies. Other criteria, such as gaining financial autonomy, getting
married or establishing a home, are met by different people at widely differing ages, if at all. In fact, no
single event in and of itself establishes an individual as ‘adult’ in all areas of his or her life. EARLY
ADULTHOOD where it is cool to be seen), but peer pressure is less influential when it comes to moral
values, antisocial behaviour and career decisions (Brown, 1999). And when they do try to exert
influence, peers are not invariably aiming to promote bad habits: for example, peers often try actively
to dissuade their friends from smoking (Paavola, Vartiainen & Puska, 2001). Rather than peers
providing the antithesis of parental influences, research suggests that the relationship is more complex.
In early adolescence, some patterns of adolescent behaviour (such as drug use) tend to show a greater
association with parental than peer practices (Bush, Weinfurt & Iannotti, 1994). Parents are often the
first models in terms of drug use (smoking, drinking and other substances) and often the first to offer
the young person an opportunity to try (Bush et al., 1994; Engels et al., 1994). Older adolescents
perceive peer influence in matters of drug use as greater than parental influence (Bush et al., 1994). But
this perception may not take into account that, by this age, Table 10.1 Myths and realities of
adolescence. Myth Adolescence is a period of storm and stress There is a huge ‘generation gap’
between adolescents and their parents Adolescents are dominated by peer pressure Adolescents are
dominated by television viewing Adolescents are irresponsible Adolescents are reckless drug takers
Adolescents are all the same Reality Only a minority of adolescents experience serious psychological
disturbances Most adolescents continue to value their parents as companions and as sources of advice
Adolescents tend not to rate peer pressure as a major problem and feel able to resist it Adolescents
spend less time in front of the television than other age groups Many adolescents undertake substantial
responsibilities at home, at school and at work Most adolescents experiment with legal and illegal
drugs, but for the majority this is a short-lived experimentation that does not lead to dependency This is
patently not true: adolescence covers a large developmental period, and there are enormous individual
differences among people in this age group as in others Figure 10.4 Parents are often the earliest
models for smoking and, more surprisingly, they are often the first to offer adolescents the opportunity
to try cigarettes for themselves. PSY_C10.qxd 1/2/05 3:36 pm Page 208 Early Adulthood 209 This is
part of the challenge of studying adult development. Not only are the boundaries difficult to identify,
but the experiences are widely varied too. PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT Early adulthood is, for most
people, the time of peak physical capacity. The body reaches full height by the late teens, and physical
strength increases into the late 20s and early 30s (Whitbourne, 2001). Manual agility and coordination,
and sensory capacities such as vision and hearing, are also at their peak. But change is imminent, even
in these basic capacities. Some decline in the perception of high-pitched tones is found by the late 20s
(Whitbourne, 2001), and manual dexterity begins to reduce in the mid 30s. In general, people in early
adulthood feel robust and energetic, although it is not unusual to see fluctuations around deadlines and
exam periods! On the other hand, people in this age group are also legally able to use damaging
substances, such as alcohol and tobacco, and many can obtain access to illegal stimulants or narcotics.
Young adults also have increasing responsibility for organizing their own eating habits and exercise
regimes. Not surprisingly, the health status and prospects of young adults are dependent more than ever
before on their own behavioural choices. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT By the end of adolescence,
most people are capable of the levels of reasoning that we would expect for normal functioning in adult
society. Although there are wide individual differences in attainment, most young adults are able to deal
with cognitive tasks in a more abstract way than before, and to attain solutions to problems by
comparing possible explanations. Does this mean that cognitive development has reached a plateau?
Many investigators of adult cognition think not. Riegel’s theory of postformal thought Riegel (1975)
proposed that adult experiences expose us to a new level of cognitive challenge – the discovery of
dialectical (opposing) forces. In other words, we find that many aspects of our environment can
manifest contradictory features. This is especially so in the human environment. For example, someone
we love can be warm and generous at times, but on other occasions the same person can be self-centred
and aloof. Are they generous or selfish, affectionate or remote? There are many other contexts in which
we experience contradictory information about a person, group or organization, or we encounter
strongly differing points of view on the same issue. There may be no absolute resolution of the
conflicts. We simply have to integrate our understanding into a more complex picture. Life, we
discover, is often ambiguous and complicated. Riegel argued that achieving the intellectual ability to
deal with the contradictions that confront us in our everyday life requires progress to a fifth stage of
reasoning – the stage of dialectical operations, now more commonly called postformal thought.
Research into postformal reasoning indicates that development continues well into adulthood (Sinnott,
1998). Research participants are often presented with problems relating to complex topics (e.g. in
science, education, religion, politics or personal relationships) and encouraged to provide and justify
decisions. Their reasoning is coded and categorized into stages. Kramer’s three stages Kramer (1983,
1989) proposed that people progress through three broad stages: absolutist, relativist and dialectical. In
early adulthood, many people are in the absolutist phase: they are capable of addressing many
problems, but they tend to believe that all problems have a correct answer. For example, a young
person might commence university study believing that it will be a matter of learning facts and
procedures, that the lecturers know everything and will tell you what is right and wrong. People in the
relativist stage have become aware that there are often different perspectives on any given issue, and
that the ‘correct’ answer may depend on the context. Students now appreciate that there are many
theories and much conflicting evidence – but awareness of the diversity of perspectives can lead them
to assume that very little is dependable. So, for example, your lecturer could spring a new theory on
you at any time, and could herself be wrong. There is evidence that the undergraduate experience
(where one is regularly dealing with conflicting theories and ideas) can facilitate the development of
relativist thinking (Benack & Basseches, 1989). If the idea of relativism seems strange at this stage,
make a note to return to this chapter towards the end of your degree! Eventually, in the dialectical
phase, people become able to integrate competing positions and achieve synthesis. They can understand
why there are diverse views, and they can appreciate that the overall progress and contributions of their
chosen discipline derives from efforts to resolve its internal absolutist reasoning that assumes there is
always a single, clear answer to a given problem dialectical reasoning in which competing positions are
integrated and synthesis achieved relativist reasoning in which the individual has become aware that
there are often different perspectives on any given issue, and that the ‘correct’ answer may depend on
the context postformal reasoning a level of thought beyond Piaget’s period of formal operations,
characterized by the understanding that there may be multiple perspectives on a problem and that
solutions may be context-dependent PSY_C10.qxd 1/2/05 3:36 pm Page 209 210 Adolescence and
Adulthood It seems, therefore, that this important dimension of human development certainly does not
cease at the end of adolescence. SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT Young adults face
some formidable developmental tasks. Many people at the beginning of this stage are concerned with
launching a career. They may be studying to gain the critical qualifications, or training at the entry level
of an organization. Some will not be so lucky. In many countries, youth unemployment rates have been
very high during the last century and appear set to continue. Studying, employment and unemployment
each presents its stresses. At the same time, young adults tend to be finding their way through the world
of romance, which can also lead to stress and anguish. All of this happens alongside changes in
relationships with parents, and the increasing expectation that the young person will take responsibility
for her own life – including, perhaps, a shift to a new home. It would be an unusual person indeed who
proceeded through these developmental tasks without at least occasionally wondering who she is, or
who she is becoming, and how she is faring compared to her peers. For most people, facing these issues
brings a range of emotional reactions. A stage model for personal development Several different
theories have been put forward to account for personal development during early adulthood. From a
psychoanalytic perspective, Erikson and Erikson (1997) see the dominant focus of this stage as the
development of intimacy – the ability to love and trust another person. Levinson (1978) extended some
of Erikson’s ideas, but drew also on social psychological theory to explain the relationship
contradictions. Basseches (1984) found that this type of reasoning is more characteristic of people
studying at higher degree level or of university staff. Although aspects of dialectical reasoning can be
found in adults in their 20s and 30s, Kramer’s (1989) research led her to the conclusion that this stage
is only fully realized in late adulthood. Measuring intelligence Other approaches to the investigation of
intellectual development in adulthood are grounded in the psychometric tradition (see chapter 13). By
applying standardized IQ tests, researchers have sought to discover whether there are age-related
differences in intelligence during adulthood. There are many different ways to measure intelligence. K.
Warner Schaie and his colleagues have conducted major longitudinal studies of the evolution of
primary mental abilities among several thousand adult Americans (Schaie, 1996, 2000). They focused
on five primary abilities: 1. numeric facility 2. verbal recall 3. verbal ability 4. inductive reasoning 5.
spatial orientation Figure 10.5 presents a summary of scores on the five tests as a function of age. For
the moment, note the data for early adulthood (up to age 40). As you can see, there are modest gains on
most of the tests during the participants’ 20s and 30s. Whether we measure this in terms of performance
on the qualitative reasoning tasks favoured by investigators in the postformal thought school, or in
terms of more traditional psychometric techniques, it appears that intelligence is still increasing well
into adulthood. Pioneer K. Warner Schaie (1928– ) was born in Germany and moved to the US in the
1930s. He is now the Evan Pugh Professor of Human Development and Psychology and Director of the
Gerontology Center at the Pennsylvania State University. His doctoral research into cognitive
flexibility led to the initiation, in 1956, of the Seattle Longitudinal Study. This large-scale study tracks
the mental abilities of people of different age groups every seven years, which enables Schaie and
colleagues to chart individual differences in cognitive ageing across the lifespan, examining the
influence of health, demographic, personality and environmental factors. The study, which still
continues today, has also led to important investigations of family similarity in cognition and cognitive
training effects in older adults. The participating families are now being followed into a third
generation. Mean T-scores 25 32 39 46 53 60 Age Total sample 67 81 88 74 Inductive reasoning Spatial
orientation Perceptual speed Numeric ability Verbal ability Verbal memory 60 55 50 45 40 35 30
Figure 10.5 Longitudinal patterns of cognitive abilities. Source: Schaie (1996). PSY_C10.qxd 1/2/05
3:36 pm Page 210 Early Adulthood 211 between the developing individual and the demands of society.
He emphasized the social role requirements at different life stages, and the interaction between personal
growth and relationships. He maintained that all normally developing adults progress through the same
stages in the same sequence, and at roughly the same pace. Early adulthood begins with the sub-stage
of early adult transition (approximately 17–22 years), in which young people are working towards
autonomy from their parents and formulating a ‘Dream’ of what they hope to become in life. The
Dream is important because it guides their efforts and choices in both the occupational and personal
spheres. Do you have your own Dream, or did you have one during this phase of life, and how does/did
it relate to your current occupation and plans? The next sub-stage is the period of entering the adult
world (22–28), and is organized around forging a pathway at work and attaining a special personal
relationship. This is followed by the ‘age 30’ transition (28–33), in which people undergo a moderate
degree of self-questioning – reviewing their Dream, the choices they have made and the problems in
their lives. The rest of this decade (33–40) is the ‘settling down’ period, when people have usually
found their niche in life and are striving to consolidate their professional and domestic roles – they are
basically getting their lives in order. Levinson arrived at his account on the basis of a series of intense
individual interviews with a group of American men in mid-life. Although they came from a variety of
backgrounds and had a range of careers and family histories, similar patterns appeared to emerge.
Although Levinson’s original sample was relatively limited, subsequent work has shown that the model
fits many American women reasonably well, too (Levinson, 1996; Roberts & Newton, 1987). Intimacy
– are you secure, anxious or avoidant? According to developmental models such as Erikson’s and
Levinson’s, young adults are developing a sense of personal identity along with a need for closeness to
others. They have also progressed through the biological developments of adolescence, and are now
fully matured sexual beings. Not surprisingly, finding and developing relationships with an intimate
partner, or series of partners, becomes a priority for many young adults. Interestingly, there are strong
similarities in the ways people develop early relationships with caregivers during infancy and intimate
adult relationships later on. This would not surprise John Bowlby (1988), who saw the initial
attachment relationship as providing the crucial foundation of much later development (see chapter 9).
Clearly, as adults we form attachments to other people and, just as in infancy, these relationships are
intensely emotional. Just as in infancy, our adult attachments motivate us to seek proximity to the
person we feel we need, to engage in extensive eye contact, to hold – and, just as in infancy, we tend to
become distressed at separation. Some social psychologists (Mickelson, Kessler & Shaver, 1997;
Shaver & Clark, 1996) have gone further, to argue that the types of attachments we form as adults can
be classified using the framework Ainsworth and others developed to account for infant attachments –
namely, ‘secure’, ‘anxious/ ambivalent’ and ‘avoidant’ (see chapter 9). ‘Securely’ attached lovers find
intimate relationships comfortable and rewarding. They trust their partner and feel confident of his or
her commitment. ‘Anxious/ambivalent’ lovers experience uncertainty in their relationships. Sometimes,
they fret that their Pioneer Erik Erikson (1902–94) was born in Germany. His biological father, a Dane,
abandoned Erik’s mother before their child was born. When Erik was aged about three she married the
family doctor, who happened to be Jewish. Erik was raised as a Jew, but his ethnicity was mixed – like
his biological father, he was blond and blue-eyed. With the rise of Nazism in Europe, Erik moved to
Boston, where he adopted the surname Erikson and took up a position at the Harvard Medical School.
One of his early and most influential books, Childhood and Society (1950), contains an analysis of
Adolph Hitler, wide-ranging discussions of America (including Native Americans) and the framework
of his version of psychoanalytic theory. This combination of topics encapsulates his interests in the
impact of culture on personality development. Dream Levinson’s term for an individual’s vision of his
life goals, formed around 17 to 22 years of age and contributing to the motivation for subsequent
personal development Figure 10.6 The period of entering the adult world (22–28) is partly organized
around the world of work. PSY_C10.qxd 1/2/05 3:36 pm Page 211 212 Adolescence and Adulthood
ments, with (approximately) 59 per cent secure, 11 per cent anxious/ambivalent and 25 per cent
avoidant (Mickelson et al., 1997). Other research indicates that adults who fall into these different
categories recall their childhood relationships with their parents in ways that are consistent with these
patterns. So, ‘secure’ individuals report relaxed and loving parents, ‘anxious/ambivalent’ people feel
their parents were over-controlling, and the ‘avoidant’ adults reported lower levels of communication
partner does not love them enough and might leave, and they may respond to this anxiety by putting
pressure on the partner, running the risk of causing the very outcome they fear. ‘Avoidant’ lovers find
getting close to others uncomfortable, find it difficult to trust others, and are reluctant to commit
themselves fully to a relationship. Shaver and colleagues found that the proportions of adults who fall
into these types is very similar to those of infant attachThe development of the university student
Consider some of the developmental tasks that you have already faced as a university student. You got
past Day One (and not everyone does), so you have made a start on determining the ‘goodness of fit’
(Lerner, 1995) – the extent to which a person’s characteristics and behaviour are compatible with the
demands of a life situation. We know you have the intellectual capacity to profit from the experience
(you passed the entry test, and not everyone does), but you also have to decide how you feel about the
new institution and people surrounding you. Will you stick around? Not everyone does. Whether you
are an ‘on time’ (young) or a ‘late entry’ (mature) student, you will experience rapid changes in your
identity, skills, values and personal relationships during the university years. The contents of the course
you elected to study may change your ways of looking at the world, and have fundamental
consequences for your reasoning style. At university, you are going to learn a lot about your work
habits. Money matters may become more salient than ever before. You might well be dealing with
issues such as relocation and the impact that has on personal attachments (e.g. issues of homesickness
and missing family members are very common among first-year university students). And your future
role as an autonomous adult member of the workforce may loom large. You will be an unusual student
if you do not experience some heightening of anxiety and stress levels at key times (such as exams or
the arrival of bank statements). Moreover, recent reports indicate that about 30 per cent of university
students find themselves overwhelmed by academic demands (Montgomery & Côté, 2003). You might
change your political beliefs – or acquire political beliefs for the first time (Pascarella & Terenzini,
1991). You are likely to have to handle issues related to drugs, especially alcohol (Park, 2004), and
concerning sexual activity. So, in a very real sense, at university you are living out a developmental
psychology field study! Developmental psychologists have investigated most of the issues mentioned
above. Montgomery and Côté (2003) provide an excellent review of the findings, which indicate that
going to university has substantial and long-term developmental consequences. The research also raises
a controversial question. Are you going to change at university holistically (i.e. in a domaingeneral
sense) or only in particular aspects (i.e. a domain-specific sense)? For example, we would expect some
cognitive benefits from receiving an advanced education, and the evidence does show that most
students make cognitive gains during their university years. But what about other aspects of life –
dealing with people, developing a more mature and complex sense of self, or moral reasoning capacity?
Here, the evidence is more mixed, but some researchers have reported greater changes in self-concept,
personal adjustment and psychological wellbeing in university students than in age-matched peers.
Changes in political and moral thinking are quite common at university, too. In areas such as general
personality development, though, it is less clear that all students undergo significant changes. Some
findings indicate that mature age students are more likely to experience more personality/ego changes
at university than younger students. This may be because people who already have considerable
experience of the world and of themselves perceive the opportunities and stimulation of university in a
different way. In this context, the challenges of university life may therefore be more personally salient
and more powerful for them (Manners & Durkin, 2000). The extent to which you experience domain-
general or domain-specific changes over your next few years at university will depend at least in part
on who you are – your background, your current stage of personal development, your coping style and
what you are prepared to put into your education. Finally, when all of this is over and you are maybe
qualified as a psychologist, you might consider becoming a clinical or counselling psychologist
specializing in student concerns. Psychological support services are an important feature of any higher
education institution, and they represent one way in which psychologists can and do make a difference
to society. Furthermore, becoming involved in worthwhile activities such as this may well also create a
feeling of ‘generativity’ about your life and its developmental course (i.e. you feel that you have
contributed usefully to subsequent generations). Montgomery, M.J., & Côté, J.E., 2003, ‘College as a
transition to adulthood’ in G.R. Adams & M.D. Berzonsky (eds), Blackwell Handbook of Adolescence,
Oxford: Blackwell. Everyday Psychology yday Psychology PSY_C10.qxd 1/2/05 3:36 pm Page 212
Middle Adulthood 213 and emotional support from their parents (Rothbard & Shaver, 1994). Students
make for interesting participants in attachment research, because many are dealing with the issues of
finding and maintaining relationships at the time the study takes place. In an Australian study, Feeney,
Noller and Patty (1993) investigated the romantic relationships of heterosexual students of different
attachment types. They found that the relationships of ‘secure’ individuals tended to be more stable and
loving, while those of ‘anxious/ambivalent’ people were less enduring and more numerous. ‘Avoidant’
individuals tended to be more accepting of casual sex, presumably because they are less interested in
maintaining commitments to others. Once again, it is difficult to define this phase of life precisely. The
variety of human life courses means that individuals can be in very different stages of their personal
development at the age point (i.e. turning 40) that we have taken as a rough measure of entry to middle
age. PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT During mid-life, people experience a range of external and internal
physical changes. External changes include the appearance of grey hair and hair thinning, increases in
facial wrinkles, and a tendency to put on weight around the waist or lower body. Internal changes
include reductions in the efficiency of the cardiovascular, respiratory and nervous systems
(Whitbourne, 2001). There are changes to the sensory capacities, too. One of the most noticeable for
most middle-aged people is the onset of presbyopia – a condition of farsightedness due to progressive
changes in the shape of the lens of the eye (Glasser & Campbell, 1998). This leads to difficulty in
reading small print – you may notice people of this age holding printed matter further away than a
younger reader does (figure 10.7). Hearing, particularly sensitivity to higher frequency sounds, is also
prone to weaken during middle age (Brant & Fozard, 1990; Wiley et al., 1998). This is the time when
women experience the menopause – the cessation of menstruation. Many women suffer some level of
physical and psychological discomfort as a result, such as hot flushes, mood changes, loss of libido and
insomnia. But the intensity of these symptoms varies considerably among individuals (Leiblum, 1991;
Notman, 1998), and menopausal status is not a strong predictor of psychological distress (Avis, 1999;
Becker et al., 2001). There is some evidence that the physical symptoms associated with menopause
vary across some cultures (Avis et al., 2001). This may reflect variations in diet and/or social
expectations about the nature of the menopause. MIDDLE ADULTHOOD As at other stages of the
lifespan, physical changes are closely interwoven with psychological changes. Signs of ageing prompt
many people to review their lives (see below) and some begin to feel dissatisfied with their bodies. In a
large sample of middleaged and older Swiss women, for example, Allaz, Bernstein, Rouget et al.
(1998) found that a majority expressed dissatisfaction about their weight and many had dieted to
control it, even though their weight fell within the normal range. Individuals’ own behavioural choices
can moderate the effects of biological changes. For example, menopausal women who take regular
aerobic exercise report more positive moods and less somatic discomfort than non-exercising peers
(Slaven & Lee, 1997). The reactions and support of partners can also influence women’s experience of
menopause (Leiblum, 1991). COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT In terms of primary mental abilities,
Schaie’s (1996) data depict mid-life as a relatively stable period (see figure 10.5). In fact, on most
measures, middle-aged adults perform as well as or slightly better than younger adults. Schaie did find
a decline in numeric skill, and other researchers have obtained evidence of a modest decrease in
reaction time (Wielgos & Cunningham, 1999) and a reduction in conscious processing efficiency (Titov
& Knight, 1997) during this period. However, in terms of psychometric measures of intellectual
functioning, middle-aged people perform well overall. menopause the time in a woman’s life when
menstruation becomes less regular and then ceases Figure 10.7 Text as it appears to a middle-aged adult
with presbyopia. If you notice an adult at this stage of life holding printed matter further away in order
to read it, this is the most likely explanation. PSY_C10.qxd 1/2/05 3:36 pm Page 213 214 Adolescence
and Adulthood SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT Each phase of life brings new
challenges, and for many people mid-life brings a multiplicity of them – from all quarters. By this time,
people’s histories are very varied. In their personal and occupational lives, many different options may
have been chosen and many different events and circumstances will have affected their progress. So
can we pin down any particular patterns of social and emotional development associated with middle
age? Despite this variety in individuals’ personal background, some lifespan developmentalists
maintain that we can. The ‘mid-life crisis’... Erikson (1980) saw middle age as a period when adults
have to face a conflict between generativity and stagnation. Generativity – the process of making a
contribution to the next generation – can be realized in a variety of ways through personal (family) or
career attainments that provide a basis for others to progress. For example, a businessperson in mid-life
might find satisfaction in her professional achievements to date and in the scope now to pass on skills
to younger colleagues. Another person might find a sense of generativity through having reared
children that she is proud of and who are now entering the adult world well equipped to meet
challenges. A ‘link between the generations’, maintained Erikson, is ‘as indispensable for the renewal
of the adult generation’s own life as it is for the next generation’ (1980, p. 215). Stagnation is the
opposing feeling of having achieved relatively little and of having little to offer to the next generation.
Some people in mid-life, for example, conclude that they have not met the family or occupational goals
that once motivated them. Some respond to this sense of ‘standing still’ with a period of selfabsorption,
and an acute awareness that time is limited. Individuals are likely to experience both types of feeling –
generativity and stagnation – and the core developmental process of mid-life, according to Erikson, is
the resolution of this conflict. Those who resolve it successfully attain a sense of care (about both the
present and the future), and those who fail to do so develop a sense of rejectivity (i.e. they turn away
from society and have little interest in contributing to it). Recent research has supported Erikson’s
claims that generativity is positively associated with subjective well-being in middleaged people, while
a preoccupation with ageing (‘time running out’) is negatively associated with well-being (Ackerman,
Zuroff & Mostkovitz, 2000; Stewart, Ostrove & Helson, 2001). Levinson (1978) also depicts mid-life
as a period of inner conflict. Recall that Levinson saw the period from approximately 33 to 40 as the
‘settling down’ period (see above). But settling Life skills There are some tasks on which middle-aged
adults tend to fare worse than young adults. For example, Denney and Palmer (1981) gave people
between the ages of 20 and 80 a traditional problem-solving test – a game of ‘Twenty Questions’. (The
goal is to identify an object known to the tester by asking a series of indirect questions about it: ‘Is it a
plant?’ ‘Can you eat it?’ etc.) The older people got, the worse they did. But this could well be because
this type of test was more familiar to the younger participants, who were therefore likely to do better.
This interpretation of the findings is perhaps borne out by another series of tests administered by
Denney and Palmer. These ‘real world’ tests related to practical applications of reasoning, such as how
to deal with faulty purchases, flooding in the basement, or a child returning late from school. On these
practical tests, middle-aged people scored significantly higher than young adults. In other research,
Denney and Pearce (1989) found that the number of solutions people generate in response to everyday
practical problems peaks in middle age. Emotion and clear thinking Researchers who focus on
qualitative developments in adult reasoning have found evidence of continuing development through
the lifespan. The progression through absolutist, relativist and dialectical reasoning may continue for
decades (Kramer, 1989). Some researchers argue that there is an important reorganization of thinking in
middle adulthood, as people achieve an integration of information-processing and emotional self-
regulation (Labouvie-Vief, 1999). A good illustration is provided by Blanchard-Fields (1986). She
tested adolescents, young adults and middle-aged adults on three hypothetical problems, each involving
a conflict of perspectives. One problem concerned competing historical accounts of a civil war, with
different historians taking different sides. Another problem concerned a dispute over a proposed visit to
grandparents, with parents in favour of the visit and their adolescent children against. The third
problem concerned a pregnancy dilemma, with the female and male taking different views over
whether to terminate. The participants’ task was to explain the conflict in each case. Blanchard-Fields
analysed the quality of the participants’ reasoning. She found that the middle-aged adults performed at
a higher level than each of the younger groups. The younger participants tended to take sides,
especially in the emotionally engaging ‘visit’ and ‘pregnancy’ problems, leading to distorted, one-sided
accounts. The middle-aged participants were more likely to try to understand why each party felt the
way they did, and to provide more balanced descriptions, taking all perspectives into account. In other
words, it seemed that the younger participants tended to be swayed by their own emotions about the
conflicts, while the middle-aged participants appeared to integrate emotional understanding with other
problem-solving skills. generativity the feeling in mid-life that one has made or is making a
contribution to the next generation stagnation the feeling experienced by some individuals in mid-life
that they have achieved relatively little and have little to offer to the next generation PSY_C10.qxd
1/2/05 3:36 pm Page 214 Late Adulthood 215 down is not the end of the story. Levinson found that
most of his interviewees next underwent a major new phase, during a period of mid-life transition (40–
45). Many of the men he interviewed reported that this was a time of personal crisis. They began to
review their lives, asking themselves what they had achieved and where they were heading. Many
wondered whether their personal and career struggles had been worthwhile, and some contemplated or
underwent radical changes in direction (changing career paths, divorcing). Although Levinson’s sample
was all male, other research indicates that many women report similar periods of reassessment during
middle age (Koski & Steinberg, 1990; Waskel & Phelps, 1995). These kinds of reassessment are
popularly associated with the notion of the ‘mid-life crisis’. The visible signs of aging, changes in the
family structure as children become adolescents or young adults, and frustrations in the workplace may
all serve to remind the middle-aged person that life is passing by – and this might precipitate a personal
‘crisis’. Levinson argued that this is a normative process, and that successful adult development beyond
mid-life requires facing up to and resolving the crisis. . . . debunking the myth Appealing as the idea
may seem (and much as newspaper writers and TV dramatists relish it), subsequent research shows that
it is an oversimplification to assume that everybody undergoes a mid-life crisis. For example: 1.
Periods of turbulence and self-doubt can be experienced by adults of most ages (Soldz & Vaillant,
1999), and some individuals – especially those who score highly on measures of neuroticism (see
chapter 14) – may be prone to develop crises at any age (Kruger, 1994). 2. In larger samples than
Levinson’s (1978), only a minority of middle-aged people feel they have experienced a crisis (Shek,
1996; Wethington, 2000). 3. Substantial proportions of middle-aged people report better mental health
and self-esteem during this phase of life than ever before ( Jones & Meredith, 2000; McQuaide, 1998).
The mid-life crisis therefore does not appear to be as widespread as once thought, and there is no
guarantee that you will have any more (or less) crises during your middle years than in other phases of
your life. But there is no doubt that there are many pressures on middleaged people (Lachman &
James, 1997). Some of these pressures relate to domestic and family life, and others to the world of
work. For many middle-aged people, there are new parenting challenges as their children reach
adolescence or early adulthood. At a time when adults are becoming aware of their own physical
decline, their children may be gaining the attractions of youth. Often, these demands coincide with
increasing anxieties about and responsibilities towards the older generation (Belsky, 1997; Cavanaugh,
1998). For some middle-aged people, usually women, looking after both their own children and their
aging parents can cause ‘caregiving pile-up’ – an experience of overload due to too many competing
demands (Doress-Waters, 1994). As in earlier phases of life, the quality of a person’s attachment to his
or her partner has important implications for adjustment, personal satisfaction and dealing with life
stresses (Diehl et al., 1998; Fraley & Shaver, 1998; Fuller & Fincham, 1995; Kirkpatrick & Hazan,
1994). For example, in a longitudinal study of middleaged people, Kirkpatrick and Hazan found that
those with secure relationship attachment styles were less likely to experience a break-up of their
partnership. Late adulthood is perhaps the most difficult of all to define precisely – mainly because
there is very wide individual variation in the physical, cognitive and social processes of aging.
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT In late adulthood, external physical changes include changes in the skin
(wrinkling, loss of elasticity), loss of subcutaneous fat, thinning of the hair, and changes in general
posture due to the loss of collagen between the spinal vertebrae (Cavanaugh, 1997; Whitbourne, 2001).
There are also many internal changes, less apparent to the onlooker but important to the functioning of
the aging individual. These include changes to the cardiovascular LATE ADULTHOOD Figure 10.8
Erikson argued for the importance of a ‘link between the generations’, enabling the older generation to
contribute skills and knowledge to younger people – a process known as generativity. PSY_C10.qxd
1/2/05 3:36 pm Page 215 216 Adolescence and Adulthood If perceptual abilities were so vital at the
outset of life, what are the psychological consequences of beginning to lose them? Imagine becoming
less able to listen to music, experiencing difficulties in attending to conversations, or finding that food
and drink seem less interesting. Research indicates that our physical senses remain important at this end
of the lifespan, too. There is a strong connection between sensory functioning and intelligence in old
age (Baltes & Lindenberger, 1997). Gradual deficits in hearing can affect older people’s ability to
process speech in the context of other noise, which in turn affects how easily they interact with other
people. Certainly, the decline of abilities that were once taken for granted can lead to a reduced sense of
competence for the older person (Whitbourne, 2001). And the curtailment of activities that were
previously enjoyed can affect people’s assessment of their quality of life. But, once again, the extent of
the impact of biological decline varies from person to person, and is influenced by both the rate of
change and the individual’s coping skills (which are, in turn, influenced by personality and social
circumstances). COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT Does intellectual capacity decrease with age? Let us
return again to Schaie’s data on primary mental abilities across the lifespan (figure 10.5). Look at the
average performance of 67-year-olds compared to adults in mid-life, and you will see evidence of some
decline. At this stage it is not particularly dramatic, but our eyes are drawn to the right of the figure,
where we see more marked reductions in the performance of people in their 70s and 80s. It seems that
by the mid 60s, the downward trend is set. But take another look. If we compare the performance of the
67-year-olds with the 25-year-olds, it turns out that they are very similar on three of the measures, and
only slightly poorer on two of them. On average, people in their mid 60s are performing on these tests
at roughly the same level as those in their mid 20s. Schaie’s and other research (Powell, 1994; Rabbitt
et al., 2001) also shows that while there is variation between age groups on some measures of
intellectual performance, there is also great variation within groups – and this variation within groups
increases with age (figure 10.10). Older people do tend to perform less well than younger adults on
tasks dependent upon reaction time and processing speed (Bashore, Rindderinkof & van der Molen,
1997; Rabbitt, 1996). Some researchers have also reported that older adults perform less well on
Piagetian-type tasks measuring formal operations (Denney, 1984). But these differences do not
necessarily support the conclusion that intellectual capacity in the elderly is pervasively inadequate.
Intelligent behaviour in everyday life typically involves several capacities, and people may be able to
compensate for reductions in one ability (such as processing speed) by placing greater weight on
another (such as judgements based on experience). system and loss of cardiac muscle strength, decline
in muscle mass and reductions in the efficiency of the respiratory, digestive and urinary systems
(Whitbourne, 2001). But, although physical change is inevitable, the timing and extent are highly
variable (and, to some degree, influenced by the behavioural choices and lifestyle of the individual).
For example, aging of the skin is affected by exposure to sunlight, physical strength and fitness decline
less in people who exercise regularly, and the well-being of the digestive system is influenced by diet
and drug use (Whitbourne, 2001). Physical and sensory capacities, so important in our earliest
encounters with the world (see chapter 9), also tend to decline with age. Manual dexterity is reduced
(Francis & Spirduso, 2000), and the visual system becomes less effective (Glasser & Campbell, 1998).
The older person’s pupils become smaller, and the lens of the eye becomes less transparent (and so less
sensitive to weak lights, and less able to adapt to darkness) and less able to accommodate. Hearing,
taste, olfaction and touch all become less sensitive during later adulthood (Marsh, 1996; Whitbourne,
2001). Figure 10.9 Although physical change with age is inevitable, physical strength and fitness
decline less in people who exercise regularly. PSY_C10.qxd 1/2/05 3:36 pm Page 216 Late Adulthood
217 Another myth debunked Many of the studies that point to age-related differences are based on
different cohorts – that is, groups of people who were born at different times, and experienced different
educational systems (see Baltes, 1987). Some studies compare young adults at university with older
adults drawn from the broader community, which confounds education with age. Hooper, Hooper and
Colbert (1985) addressed this issue by comparing students of different age groups, and found that older
participants’ (aged 61–80) performance on formal reasoning tasks was comparable to those of the
young people. Returning to figure 10.5 once more, it is tempting to interpret the declining slope from
the 70s to 80s as confirming an inevitable and irreversible decline in performance. But suppose we
intervened by providing training to show (or remind) older people how to perform the kinds of tasks
being tested? Schaie and Willis and their colleagues have done exactly this – with impressive results! In
a number of studies, they have found that older people’s performance can be significantly improved by
training, and that these benefits endure (Schaie & Willis, 1986; Willis & Nesselroade, 1990). Even
reaction time can be improved in the elderly, as Goldstein et al. (1987) demonstrated by the imaginative
technique of training a group of older people on video games. SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL
DEVELOPMENT Theorists such as Erikson and Erikson (1997) and Levinson (1978) regarded late
adulthood as another major stage of adult development. Erikson and Erikson again saw the individual
as facing a conflict – this time between integrity and despair. They maintained that as people realize
they are coming towards the end of their life, they reminisce about their past and review how they feel
about themselves. Have I met life’s challenges successfully/ achieved goals that I value/contributed to
the wellbeing of those I care about? Or have I failed to realize my potential/wasted time in pointless
work or futile relationships/been a burden to others? Erikson and Erikson believed that individuals who
arrive at a predominantly positive view (i.e. regarding their life as integrated and successful) experience
a more contented late adulthood. Levinson saw the period from approximately 60 to 65 as the late adult
transition, when the individual has to deal with intrinsic changes in capacity and performance, as well
as changes in relations with others and in society’s expectations. One of the key aspects of many
people’s adult life – their job – is now approaching its end, or has already concluded. All of these
changes pose challenges. How do older people cope with the demands of ageing and their changing
social status? Not surprisingly, the answer is that there is considerable variation. Relations with others
As in all other parts of the lifespan, relationships are important to the older person’s adjustment
(Johnson, 2001). For some people, the marital relationship may become more rewarding during old
age. Some research has found that satisfaction with marriage tends to be rated higher in retired people
than in middle-aged adults (Orbuch, House, Mero & Webster, 1996). This may be partly because older
married people tend to be those whose marriages have been successful (i.e. they have stayed together
because they were satisfied with the relationship). But it could also be because partners now provide
each other with a degree of companionship and support that may not always have been so apparent or
so appreciated in busier earlier years, when many other types of relationship were competing with the
person’s time. On the other hand, it may be that older people of today grew up in times when marriages
were expected to last, and so their more positive ratings may reflect a more traditional determination to
‘see things through’ (Norris, Snyder & Rice, 1997). % change 40 50 60 Age 70 75+ 120 100 80 60 40
20 0 –20 –40 Variability Total score Figure 10.10 Variance within age groups on tests of cognitive
function. Source: Powell (1994). Pioneer Patrick Rabbitt (1934– ) was born in India but spent the
majority of his working life in the UK, studying at Cambridge University and working predominantly
at the Universities of Oxford and Manchester, where he established an Age & Cognitive Performance
Research Unit (funded by the Medical Research Council). Rabbitt developed a large longitudinal
cohort, shared between Manchester and Newcastle. He has published widely and influentially, and has
been especially interested in the source of inter-individual ability in adult development and ageing
(focusing on issues such as speed of intellectual processing and IQ). PSY_C10.qxd 1/2/05 3:37 pm
Page 217 218 Adolescence and Adulthood age. Such improvements are usually connected with
pragmatic reasoning rather than with mechanical/motor abilities. For example, researchers have found
that older people show evidence of increasingly complex reasoning about interpersonal issues, life
planning and moral dilemmas (Pratt, Golding & Kerig, 1987), and they perform better than younger
adults with respect to oral narrative production (Pratt & Norris, 1994). The good news for aspirant
psychologists is that a professional life involved in cognitively challenging and stimulating work
appears to promote the prospects for successful aging. Indeed, Hogan (2000) points out that there are
over 30 former presidents of the American Psychological Association who have lived into their 90s,
often continuing their work and enjoying social and leisure activities until very late in life. Other social
roles – such as grandparenting or great-grandparenting – are also enjoyed by many older people, and
allow them to feel that they contribute to their family and to a new generation (Barer, 2001; Smith,
1995). Sibling relationships often become particularly important (Cicirelli, 1995) – by this stage, our
most long-lasting relationships are usually those with our brothers and sisters. And the many positive
benefits of friendships (see chapter 9) remain at least as important in the later years as they are earlier
in the lifespan (Antonucci, 2001). Overall, when asked to identify the most important considerations
affecting quality of life, older people consistently place personal relationships and social networks high
on their lists (Antonucci, 2001). Successful ageing Although there are losses and declines with age, we
have already seen that many people respond to them adaptively – one of the remarkable characteristics
of human beings throughout the lifespan is our resilience (Baltes & Mayer, 1999). For example, there is
little evidence among older people of a direct link between physical decline and psychological
problems such as depression (Lenze et al., 2001; Penninx, Guralnik, Simonsick et al., 1998; Shmuely-
Dulitzki & Rovner, 1997). Many older people adjust well to the changes associated with ageing, and
report high levels of enjoyment of life in their later years (Penninx et al., 1998). What factors promote
successful aging? In many respects, this is one of the final developmental issues facing us all. In recent
years, lifespan developmental psychologists have begun to provide valuable insights. As you might
expect, social support and social networks emerge as primary considerations: people with better levels
of social support from family and friends tend to enjoy better physical and mental health in the later
years (Antonucci, 1994; Johnson, 2001; Lang & Baltes, 1997; Pearlin & Skaff, 1998). Paul and Mary
Baltes and their colleagues have investigated the processes of successful aging among participants in
the largescale Berlin Aging Study (Baltes & Lindenberger, 1997; Baltes & Mayer, 1999; Marsiske et
al., 1995). They have proposed a model of ‘selective optimization with compensation’, according to
which people face problems associated with aging by finding ways to handle cognitive tasks that
minimize their dependency on their declining biological capacities. A concrete example is provided in a
study of younger and older golfers conducted by Over and Thomas (1995). The younger players
(average age 34 years) were stronger than the older (average age 62 years), and they had better vision,
so they had the advantage when it came to driving off and striving for distance. But the older golfers
had certain advantages of their own: they were less prone to be affected by negative emotions and
cognitions about the game, they were better able to prepare mentally, and they were more cautious. The
two age groups in fact performed to the same handicap level, but did so via different combinations of
abilities. The older golfers were apparently exploiting the fact that there are some areas of intellectual
performance that improve with Figure 10.11 Although there are losses and declines with age, many
people respond to them adaptively; indeed, many older people adjust well to the changes associated
with ageing, and report high levels of enjoyment of life in their later years. PSY_C10.qxd 1/2/05 3:37
pm Page 218 Late Adulthood 219 Perceptions of ageing and the will to live The research issue At the
beginning of this chapter, you thought about your own attitudes towards ageing. Think carefully about
your answers – they may predict how long you will live. Life is a biological process, but its course,
quality and duration are influenced by psychological factors. Among these factors are the expectations
and beliefs that we hold about ageing. If you expect ageing to be a largely negative process, then there
is a reasonable chance that – for you – it will be. The importance of perceptions and stereotypes of
ageing was demonstrated in an intriguing longitudinal study by Becca Levy, Martin Slade, Suzanne
Kunkel and Stanislav Kasl (2002). To appreciate the magnitude of their investigation, we need to travel
back to 1975, to the small town of Oxford, Ohio. At that time, another researcher, Robert Atchley of
Miami University, set up the Ohio Longitudinal Study of Aging and Retirement (OLSAR). Design and
procedure All Oxford citizens aged 50 or over were invited to take part in OLSAR, and almost 80 per
cent agreed to do so. Participants provided demographic details (age, gender, socioeconomic status),
and then completed a number of measures, including general health, as well as a scale measuring their
‘self-perceptions of ageing’ and another measuring their ‘will to live’. The ‘self-perceptions of ageing’
scale had five items, including: Things keep getting worse as I get older. I have as much pep as I did
last year. As I get older, things are better than/worse than/the same as I thought they would be.
Respondents received one point for every answer that indicated a positive attitude towards ageing (e.g.
saying ‘No’ to ‘Things keep getting worse’ and ‘Yes’ to ‘I have as much pep as I did’). Total scores on
this scale could therefore range from 0 to 5, with a higher score indicating that the respondent had a
more positive self-perception of ageing. The ‘will to live’ measure employed the ‘semantic differential’
method. Participants were given a series of adjectives, paired to form opposite ends of a seven-point
scale (e.g. empty–full, hopeless–hopeful, worthless–worthy), and asked to check one box that ‘best
describes what you think about your life in retirement’. Consider, for example, the responses of Persons
A and B. What can we conclude about their respective feelings about what retirement has in store for
them? Person A Empty √ Full Hopeless √ Hopeful Worthless √ Worthy Person B Empty √ Full
Hopeless √ Hopeful Worthless √ Worthy Now we move forward to 1998. At this point, Levy and
colleagues were able to collect some additional, very important data on the original OLSAR
participants – how long they had actually lived. Levy et al. examined the survival rates of the original
OLSAR participants as a function of ‘self-perceptions of ageing’ scores. They achieved this by splitting
the sample into two groups – those individuals whose scores fell above the sample’s mean score on this
scale, and those that fell below the mean score. Results and implications The results are quite striking
(figure 10.12), suggesting that the benefits of having a positive outlook on ageing can be enormous.
Levy et al. point out, for comparison, that the extra lifespan to be won from a regular exercise
programme is approximately 1–3 years. Research close-up 2 ch close-up 2 PSY_C10.qxd 1/2/05 3:37
pm Page 219 220 Adolescence and Adulthood In chapter 9 we considered our own developmental past:
how did we get to become who we are today, with the social and cognitive competencies we take for
granted? In this chapter, we have moved into our developmental present and future. As adults, we are
still developing and will continue to develop throughout the remainder of our lives. As in childhood,
much depends on the opportunities, guidance and challenges that we encounter along the way. How
much of our personal development is given by nature and how much by experience? There is evidence
that both contribute extensively. We have seen, for example, that during adolescence cognitive
competencies continue to develop. These changes may be underpinned by biological developments in
the brain and information-processing capacities, but they also appear to depend crucially on what we
experience, the knowledge bases that become available to us, and the kinds of education we enter. Is
change gradual, or stage-like? We have seen that some lifespan developmentalists believe there are
predictable stages of adulthood through which each of us passes on a predictable time course. Others
regard development as more domain specific, with each domain involving its own structures and
principles. Lifespan developmentalists also take into account that many of the factors influencing an
adult’s development are less predictable, such as the characteristics of our social and occupational
world, or random events, accidents and opportunities. Development interacts with just about every
psychological topic, so whatever human psychological capacity you study, bear in mind that it is likely
to have developed through childhood and will continue to change through adulthood. Our
understanding of developmental issues is fundamental to an understanding of ourselves. FINAL
THOUGHTS What could be going on to bring about this apparent leap from people’s mental outlook to
their physical wellbeing? The researchers suggest that an important intervening variable is the ‘will to
live’. In further statistical analyses, Levy et al. showed that controlling statistically for scores on the
‘will to live’ scale reduced the relationship between ‘self-perceptions of ageing’ and survival. So the
implications of these findings are that Person A (above) who regards his or her latter years as empty,
hopeless and worthless, is not going to relish the latter part of her life. Person B, in contrast, sees life as
full, hopeful and worthy – for him or her, every day is worth getting up for. In short, it seems that if
people have a positive outlook on what getting older involves, they are more likely to look forward to
the remainder of their lives, and to respond to change with energy and optimism. Levy et al. believe
that their study carries two crucial messages: ‘The discouraging one is that negative self-expectation
can diminish life expectancy; the encouraging one is that positive self-perceptions can prolong life
expectancy’ (p. 268). Do we know from this study whether a positive outlook on ageing extends life, a
negative outlook shortens life, or are both processes operating together? Drawing on the arguments
about methodology in Chapter 2, how could we test a hypothesis about these possible effects? Levy,
B.R., Slade, M.D., Kunkel, S.R., & Kasl, S.V., 2002, ‘Longevity increased by positive self-perceptions
of aging’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 261–70. Positive Negative Self-
perceptions of ageing Years Mean survival in years 25 20 15 10 5 0 Figure 10.12 Mean survival in
years of middle-aged participants as a function of positive vs. negative perceptions of ageing. Source:
Based on Levy et al. (2002). PSY_C10.qxd 1/2/05 3:37 pm Page 220 Summary 221 FURTHER
READING Cavanaugh, J.C. (1998). Adult Development and Aging. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
An excellent textbook, covering most aspects of adult psychological development in a clear and
thoughtful style. Erikson, E.H., & Erikson, J.M. (1997). The Life Cycle Completed. New York: Norton.
One of the major accounts of Erikson’s theory of the stages of adult development, extended in this book
to consider development in very old age. Pratt, M.W., & Norris, J.E. (1994). The Social Psychology of
Aging. Oxford: Blackwell. A rich account of developments in social reasoning and communication in
later life. Summary n The journey from adolescence through adulthood involves many changes and
adjustments, and entails considerable individual variation from one person to another. n Psychological
development involves physical, sensory, cognitive, social and emotional processes, and the interactions
among these. For example, the age at which a person enters puberty can have implications for their
personality which can extend all the way through their lives. n Although adolescence is a time of new
discoveries and new attainments, it is by no means the end of development. Indeed, according to some
theorists, there are stages of potential adult psychological development which some of us may never
attain. n There is some evidence of broad patterns of adult development (perhaps even stages), yet there
is also evidence of diversity and the potential to affect our own development by the life choices that we
make. n Some abilities diminish with age, while others increase; successful aging appears to involve
skilful re-balancing of the resources and opportunities available to us, such that we learn to make the
most of our strengths at the same time as coping with our limitations. 1. What individual variations
occur during the journey from adolescence through to adulthood? 2. Discuss the physical, sensory,
cognitive, social and emotional processes (and the interactions among them) that occur during
psychological development. 3. Does adolescence represent the end of individual development? (In
formulating your response to this question, draw upon the issues raised in this chapter.) 4. Consider the
contrast between the established patterns of adult development and patterns of interindividual diversity.
5. Which abilities diminish with age and which, if any, improve? 6. What are the consequences of
individual differences in the pace of pubertal development? 7. Do university students have longer
adolescences than their peers who enter the workforce early? 8. What are the benefits of becoming
capable of formal operational reasoning? 9. Do adults develop in stages? 10. Romantic movies tell us
that couples live happily ever after. Does it matter what attachment style the individuals have? 11. Is
there really such a thing as the ‘mid-life crisis’? 12. Does cognitive functioning change in early
adulthood? 13. Does cognitive functioning change in late adulthood? REVISION QUESTIONS
PSY_C10.qxd 1/2/05 3:37 pm Page 221 222 Adolescence and Adulthood Schaie, K.W. (1996).
Intellectual Development in Adulthood: The Seattle Longitudinal Study. New York: Cambridge
University Press. A detailed research report, and a very readable account of some of the key
psychological changes of adulthood. Skinner, B.F., & Vaughan, M.E. (1983). Enjoy Old Age: A
Program of Self-management. New York: Norton. A practical guidebook on how to ensure positive
reinforcement, productive activity and rewarding social relationships in old age. Whitbourne, S.K.
(2001). Adult Development and Aging: Biopsychosocial Perspectives. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Combines laboratory and applied perspectives on successful aging, covering biological, social,
cognitive and personality factors. Answer to the pendulum problem on p. 205

Stress Management in Adolescence Prerana.R.Huli.* M.A (Psychology) DHARWAD. Received 10

July, 2014; Accepted 25 July, 2014 © The author(s) 2014. Published with open access at
www.questjournals.org ABSTRACT:- This is an extensive Review of Literature Study on Stress
Management in Adolescents. Stress is being experienced by everyone nowadays. Stress Management
has become very essential. Stress can be constructively channelized to reduce the stress. Managing
stress is also a skill which we all have to develop. Stress among the Adolescents can be crucial in the
well being of the family as a whole. Stress can be caused due to many factors and can alter the
relationships dynamics in the family. Especially stress in the adolescence can be very taxing on the
parents and the adolescents themselves. During adolescence boys and girls go through lot of turmoil.
The reasons for Stress during adolescence as per the review of literature are because of disturbed
family dynamics , peer pressure , inability to cope with studies, drug abuse, lack of competence. One of
the important trends which are being observed is getting instant gratification from the electronic media
and gadgets. The involvement of adolescents in getting instant gratification of needs has led to lot of
stress in them and in their relationships with family and peers. Stress leads to maladaptive behavior as
mentioned above. Keywords:- Stress Management and Adolescents. I. INTRODUCTION Technically
Adolescence is the period from the beginning of sexual maturity (puberty) to the completion of
physical growth. The teenage years are also called Adolescence. During this period there will be great
amount of growth in height and weight. It is also time for puberty changes. Some adolescents may
experience these signs of maturity sooner or later than others. Stress is a very uneasy feeling that we all
go through in our life. During adolescence they imbibe both positive and negative things from their
parents and environment. The choice they make in this phase is very much dependent upon the
upbringing they get and expectations from Family, Society, Peers, and more importantly their own
„Self‟. The problem arises when the adolescents are unable to cope with stressful situations and end-up
themselves in the distressed state of mind. In this distressed situation they indulge themselves in Anti-
Social and Self-Destructive Activities. II. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM: Adolescence is one of
the transitional periods in everyone‟s life. The term Adolescence has been derived from Latin word
adolescere which means “to grow up”. Adolescence is linked to teenage years. But puberty begins prior
to teenage years. Adolescence can be understood with the help of stages that is early adolescence and
late adolescence. Beginning of puberty in girls average age is 8-13 and in boys 9.5-14 years. It also
depends upon the heredity and nutrition. The total years of Adolescence are from 13- 18 years. During
puberty there will be key changes they are Primary sexual Characteristics and Secondary Sexual
Characteristics. These are essential changes of Adolescence. Adolescents will be very Vulnerable to
Stress because of the rapid Physical and Psychological changes .The onus is on the parents to take care
of their Adolescents because they may succumb to pressures from schoolwork, peer relationships,
mood swings because of stress. Environment at home also plays important role. The chances of
Adolescents to Indulge in deviant behaviors are very high when they are not paid attention by parents
and teachers. In this study with the extensive review of literature I have tried to present the causes and
symptoms of Stress and Coping Mechanism for Stress. Stress Management In Adolescence
*Corresponding Author: Prerana.R.Huli. 51 | Page M.A (Psychology) DHARWAD. The observations
made by eminent Psychologists on Adolescence phase: Havighurst (1952) suggested that two important
areas of focus for Adolescents included work and relationships. Levinson (1978) suggested that two
important areas of focus for Adolescents includes changing relationships and on exploration. Erikson
(1968) commented on Adolescents intimacy and commitment to goals. Super (1963) indicated that
exploring and crystallizing vocational choice are important to older Adolescents and young adults.
Comprehending what the psychologists have observed about adolescents is that, the adolescents are
focused on making their personal life better and also to have good education and then career. Their
world revolves around these things and they want to have control over things. III. REVIEW OF
LITERATURE An intensive literature search was conducted by Angela J Dean et al (2010) to locate
controlled trails that described specific interventions focusing to improve abiding to long-term
medication, where participants were aged 18 years. These findings suggest that education interventions
alone are insufficient to promote adherence in children and adolescents and that incorporating a
behavioral component to abiding intervention may increase efficacy. Ann.C.Crociter and Mathew
(2001):Study linking parents work stress to Adolescents Psychological Adjustment. It reveals that the
effects of parental work stress on Adolescent„s Adjustment appear to be indirect .Work stress is linked
to parents feelings of overload and strain , which in turn are related to less positive adjustment of
adolescents . In the face of high work stress withdrawing from family involvement may be adaptive in
the short run but ultimately problematic. The strength of those associations depends on parent‟s
personality, coping styles, work and family circumstances. BJ Cassey , Rebecca M. Jones et al (2010)
indicate that the adolescence is the time of storm and stress. In spite of intense and frequent negative
affect this period has been hypothesized to explain increased rates of affective disorders, suicide and
accidental death. Yet some teens emerge from adolescence with minimal turmoil. It provides
neurobiological model for adolescence which proposes that an imbalance in the development of sub
cortical limbic ( eg amygdala) relative to prefrontal cortical regions as a potential mechanism for
heightened emotionality during this period. Bruce.E.(1987) In his research article, how child and
adolescents cope with stress. And coping‟s role in reducing the adverse psychological states associated
with stress is reviewed. Child and adolescent coping is reflected in seven different lines of research-
infant‟s responses to maternal separation, social support, interpersonal and cognitive problem solving,
coping in achievement contexts, Type A behavior pattern in children, repression-sensitizing, and
resilience to stress. A variety of different coping resources, styles and specific strategies are important
in successfully adapting to stress, including efforts that focus directly on the problem, as well as
attempts to deal with adverse emotions associated with stress. A study conducted by Caplan, Merlen
etal (1992) reveals that positive training effects on S‟s skills in handling interpersonal problems and
coping with anxiety. Teachers‟ ratings revealed improvement in S‟S constructive conflict resolution
with peers, impulse control, and popularity. Self report ratings indicated gains in problem solving
efficacy. Daniel M. Finkelstein et al (2007) investigated whether psychological resources influenced
the association between parent education(PE), a maker of socioeconomic status (SES) and perceived
stress crosssectional analyses were conducted in a sample of 1167 non Hispanic black and white junior
and senior high school students from a mid western public school district in 2002-2003. Results reveal
that adolescents from families with lower parent education are less optimistic than teens from more
educated families. This pessimism may be a mechanism through which lower SES increases stress in
adolescence. Study conducted by Hains Anthony et al (1990) examined the effectiveness of a cognitive
intervention to help adolescents cope with stress and other forms of negative emotional arousal. The
trained adolescents showed significant reductions in levels of anxiety and anger, and also improvement
in self-esteem. James.D.A Parker et al (2008) examined the relationship between emotional intelligence
(EI) and several addiction related behaviors like gambling, internet use and video games playing in two
community based sample of adolescent 13-15 years old (N 209) and 16-18 years old (N= 458) both
were measured using Stress Management In Adolescence *Corresponding Author: Prerana.R.Huli. 52 |
Page M.A (Psychology) DHARWAD. respective scales. Emotional Intelligence was found to be
moderate to strong predictor of addiction related behavior in both the groups. Jodi B.Dworkin et al
(2003) : little theory and research exist on the developmental processes that occur during adolescents
participation in extracurricular activities, community based activities. As a step in that direction they
conducted study on high school students which reveals that the students shared about personal
experience which includes experimentation, leadership qualities, setting goals, time management,
emotional regulation and interpersonal relationships, they learnt to build team and work as a team,
developing valuable connection with adults. Across domains adolescents described themselves as
agents of their own development and change. The study conducted by Jigisha Gala and Sangeeta
Chaudhary (2004) on seventeen to eighteen years old adolescents revealed that academics is the major
stressor. Adolescents cope with stress in distinct ways; Two major ways to cope with stress one way is
problem solving. This involves trying to deal with the problem. Another way of handling stress is
managing emotions. This involves wielding the thoughts and feelings caused by the problem.
Adolescents use both methods, and both can be effective, depending on the situation. Most adolescents
seek help from their parents, as the parents are perceived to be understanding and supportive. Leslie
Morrison Gutman et al (2005) using latent variable structural equation modeling that they tested
theoretical model linking financial strain, neighborhood stress, parenting behaviors and adolescent
adjustment . The sample consisted of 305 African American families 40% were living at or below the
US poverty threshold. The results indicate that the in come to need ratio was significantly related to
financial strain and neighborhood stress, both of which were positively associated with psychological
distress, both of which were positively associated with psychological distress in parents. The findings
demonstrate that neighborhood characteristics are an important mediators between economic hardships
and parent and adolescent behavior. Mark Scott Smith and William Womack(1987) conducted study on
selected adolescents who were suffering from Psychophysical Stress. After clinicians examined, the
adolescents were taught relaxation techniques which included progressive muscular relaxation,
Meditation, biofeedback and self hypnosis. These techniques worked for the adolescents. Martin
H.Teicher (2006) Studies reveal that recent studies have reported an association between exposure to
childhood abuse or neglect and alteration in brain structure or function. Exposure to early abuse and
early stress has been associated with the emergency of epileptiform electroencephalogram (EEG)
abnormalities, alterations in corpus callosum area and reduced volume or synaptic density of the
hippocampus. Further there is evidence that different brain regions have unique periods when they are
maximally sensitive to the effects of early stress. To dopreclinical studies have guided clinical
investigation and will continue to provide insights. Pamela Martyn-Nemeth et al (2009) The purpose of
study was to examine relationships among selfesteem, stress, social support ,coping and to test a model
of their effects on eating behavior and depressive mood in a sample of 102 high school students.
Results indicate that stress and low self-esteem were to avoidant coping were related to unhealthy,
eating behavior. Results also suggest that teaching adolescents skills to reduce stress, build self-esteem
and use more positive approach to coping may prevent unhealthy eating and subsequent obesity and
lower risk of depressive symptoms. A study conducted by Raymond Montemayor (1986) elicits that
parents and adolescents who have good communication between them and when parenting style is
helping the adolescents to communicate their stress have better relationship. And parents also facilitate
the adolescents to combat stress. A study conducted by Rex Forehand et al (1991) on Adolescents and
their parent‟s stress. The Study indicated that the stress in the family like divorce, intrapersonal conflict
and maternal depression leads to stress in the adolescents which deteriorates functioning. Further a
positive Parent-Adolescent relationship as perceived by the Adolescents was associated with less
deterioration in all areas of functioning. Sangeeta Chaudhary and Priya Mary. Joseph (2010) conducted
a study it was designed to understand adolescents‟ perceptions on coping with stress in middle income
group. It mainly aims to explore their awareness regarding alternate ways of coping, adaptive coping
and its need and importance .This research is descriptive in nature. The results revealed that across the
four domains, adolescents perceive parental support for their adaptive coping styles, whereas for
adaptive coping, adolescents perceive guidance or no support. However, adolescent girls have
perceived parents to be stricter with boys especially in academics and boys have Stress Management In
Adolescence *Corresponding Author: Prerana.R.Huli. 53 | Page M.A (Psychology) DHARWAD.
perceived parents to be more concerned for girls in heterosexual relationships and physical
appearance .Academics were found to be major stressor. In an article by Suvarna Sen (2006) has
touched upon every aspect of the adolescence phase. Through review of research she has put forth the
important aspects of adolescence. And they are: a) the role confusion among adolescents b)
encouraging adolescents to explore opportunities c) Helping the adolescents with Identity crisis d)
Influence on adolescents of family e) the attitude of parents towards and vice-versa. Suldo,Shannon M
et al (2009) The study investigated the environmental stressors and psychological adjustment of 162
students participating in the IB program and a comparison sample of 157 students in general education.
Factor analysis revealed that primary source of stress experienced by IB students was related to
academic requirements. In contrast, students in the general education program indicated higher levels
of stress associated with parent-child relations academic struggler, conflict within the family and peers
relations, as well as role transitions and societal problems. Applied implications stem from findings
suggest that students are more likely to experience stress due to exams than any other stressors. The
causes of stress during Adolescence are: The Biological Cause: Stress occurs due to sexual and other
physical maturation that occurs during puberty and results in hormonal changes. As child nears puberty
a gland in the brain, pituitary gland increases the secretion of a hormones called Follicle Stimulating
Hormone (FSH). This hormone then causes additional effects. In girls FSH activates the ovaries to start
producing estrogen. In boys FSH, causes sperm to develop. Beginning of puberty in girls average age is
8-13 and in boys 9.5-14 years. Here one of the important factors that need to be considered is Nutrition.
It plays very important role in growth of the adolescents. To support the above biological cause of
stress a study conducted on adolescents by BJ Cassey , Rebecca M. Jones et al (2010) indicate that the
adolescence is the time of storm and stress. In spite of intense and frequent negative affect, this period
has been hypothesized to explain increased rates of affective disorders, suicide and accidental death.
Yet some teens emerge from adolescence with minimal turmoil. It provides neurobiological model for
adolescence which proposes that an imbalance in the development of sub cortical limbic ( eg
amygdala) relative to prefrontal cortical regions as a potential mechanism for heightened emotionality
during this period. The presence of environmental factors may exacerbate the turmoil of Adolescents.
The biological causes affect the adolescents both internally and externally.Internally the body
undergoes hormonal changes and at this crucial phase counseling and advice by parents and teachers
could stem the deviant behavior. It can cause disorders and it may even precipitate to suicide and an
adrenalin rush often leads to risky behavior which may cause death. The internal imbalance may also
result in extreme emotional behavior that could harm an individual. The external factors like parents‟
divorce, domestic violence, bad company and unhealthy habits would affect the adolescents
personality. These adolescents deviant behavior are common where parents are of lower income
groups, unemployed parents, compared to higher income middle class groups. This may also be true in
higher income groups where they experience deviant behavior due to lack of parental attention and
extreme indulgence. IV. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT This is one of the important causes of stress
because during cognitive development adolescents try to experience the world on their own. This is the
phase of information gathering and experimenting. It causes stress because an adolescent is expected to
enter the final stage of cognitive development. According to Jean Piaget‟s theory an adolescent is
capable of thinking like an adult about the age of 16. He proposed that the basic process we use to think
do not change much beyond this stage. The process what Piaget calls is Formal Operations. It involves
stages and they are Abstract Thinking, Hypothetical Thinking, Inter Propositional Logic and Reflective
Thinking. Cognitive development in the form of: thinking, reasoning, learning, reflecting takes place
during adolescence. In this computer age the adolescents try to experience both the real and virtual
world on their own. They are also bombardment with information both good and bad that may make
them to experiment which would create an inquisitive mind and help them to be analytical and logical.
But at the same time wrong use of information may lead to risky and deviant behavior. Stress
Management In Adolescence *Corresponding Author: Prerana.R.Huli. 54 | Page M.A (Psychology)
DHARWAD. V. DECISION MAKING Building on Piaget‟s work Lawrance Kohlberg (1976) and his
associates (Colby et al 1983) studied the development of moral reasoning by asking people of various
age to resolve moral dilemmas. Kohlberg argued that moral reasoning passes through three levels as we
grow. They are pre conventional level, Conventional, and Post Conventional level. Most theorists agree
that as a both males and females move from childhood into adolescence they rely mostly entirely on
abstract moral principles to make decisions. The above three levels of decision during adolescence are
based on moral judgment : The first level, is a gross moral judgment where the individual thinks of
himself and does not bother of the larger consequences. At the second level, the issues of society and
law enter into decision making process. At third level, they get into abstract moral principles where
they feel the social order of the society would disintegrate and question of moral and ethical principles
creep in decision making process. If their reasoning is influenced by above three levels, they may
reason in and enter into a proper decision making process. VI. ACHIEVING IDENTITY, A KEY TASK
OF ADOLESCENCE: Erik Erikson in his developmental theory, the core conflict is between role
Confusion and Identity. Seeking Identity involves searching for continuity and sameness in one-self
and trying to get a clear sense of what one‟s skills and personal attributes are to discover. Where one is
headed in life, and that one can count on recognition from “significant others”. According to Erikson
Adolescent who forms a sense of Identity gains two key benefits they are „A feeling of being at home
in one‟s body‟ and „A sense of psychological Well-being”. He also speaks about Psychosocial
Moratorium that is an Adolescent may delay in taking up responsibilities and showing Rebellion
Pattern where in the Adolescents go against their parents and well wishers in spite of being told for
their own good. To seek out the confusion the Adolescents make use of their Abstract Thinking. In
confusion and Identity crisis an individual tries to understand himself about his strength and weakness.
He seeks to establish his identity in the world around him. Confusion sets in when he is not sure of his
potentialities and skills. So, he has to hone up his skills and set them a tune to his personality. He has to
identify his role in the society and strive towards that goal. Once he is focused about his role there ends
its confusion, as, he has goal to reach and thus works towards it. VII. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT This
is also one crucial Stressor because it is the phase where Adolescents prefer to spend their time more
outside family and demand for freedom. As proposed in one of the studies; In relationship between
Adolescents and their parents a central theme is often that of testing limits. Most teen parents‟
arguments concern the timing of rights and responsibilities (Hartup 1983). In this phase parents can
expect less obedience and more resistance that is because the adolescents can think of alternatives to
parents‟ rules. To support the above, a study conducted by Rex Forehand et al (1991)on Adolescents
and their parent‟s stress. The Study indicated that the stress in the family like divorce, intrapersonal
conflict and maternal depression leads to stress in the adolescents which deteriorates functioning.
Further a positive Parent-Adolescent relationship as perceived by the Adolescents was associated with
less deterioration in all areas of functioning. In another study linking parents work stress to Adolescents
Psychological Adjustment. It reveals that the effects of parental work stress on Adolescent„s
Adjustment appear to be indirect .Work stress is linked to parents feelings of overload and strain ,
which in turn are related to less positive adjustment of adolescents . In the face of high work stress
withdrawing from family involvement may be adaptive in the short run but ultimately problematic. The
strength of those associations depends on parent‟s personality, coping styles, work and family
circumstances. The crucial concern during the process of social development is first within the family
and then within the society . Healthy family would generate a healthy adolescence period. And troubled
family could endanger the parent child relationships resulting in deviant behavior. The relationship
between parents and adolescents is vital during these disturbed times of adolescence parents should
take great care, watch the adolescents and oversee their movements among their friends and the
external environment. The emotional support which the parents give to their adolescent is very essential
as, this, would keep them in constant touch with their parents and would be easy to take care of them.
In the absence of such a parent child relationship, the child would try to seek emotional support outside
his family which could be dangerous. VIII. PEER RELATIONSHIPS A peer group membership
assumes more importance during adolescence than at any other time of life. A peer group can provide a
refuge and a source of support for youngsters in conflict with their families. Moreover, being part of a
clearly defined group can help answer the burning question, “Who am I” for these and Stress
Management In Adolescence *Corresponding Author: Prerana.R.Huli. 55 | Page M.A (Psychology)
DHARWAD. other reasons. Adolescents spend great deal of time with other Adolescents. One study
which used beepers to contact adolescents at random times (Larson et al 1977), found that they spend
more time talking with peers than doing academic work or being alone. The structure of peer groups
seems to change over the course of adolescence. (Coleman, 1980, Dunphy, 1963)Adolescents move
from small unisex groups to large groups and later develop contact with opposite sex. Dominance
hierarchy it is the leadership quality that is developed during adolescence (Hartup, 1983, Savin-
williams, 1980). The other important problems that cause stress are: Substance Abuse, Instant
Gratification from Electronic Media and Gadgets, Lack of Competence, Risk Behaviors, Emotional
disturbance, bullying, Cyber bullying. In the absence of family support adolescents seek refuge in peer
groups. They feel that peer group satisfy their needs. As said earlier, adolescents move from small
unisex groups to larger groups and then towards opposite sex. These may be trying times because an
adolescent is trying to establish his identity within the group .At the same time hierarchy practiced in
the groups would lead to developing leadership skills. Symptoms which will be helpful in identifying
the stressful behaviors of Adolescents:  Adolescents may be experiencing irritability because of lack
of proper sleep at night. Then it‟s a Wakeup call for parents.  They may be unable to concentrate on
academics and sports.  Adolescents may be having unexplained fears or increased anxiety. 
Adolescents isolate from family activities or peer relationships.  Adolescents may be experimenting
with drugs and alcohol.  Adolescents may complain about headaches or stomach aches. 
Adolescents may have poor appetite and low immunity. The Role of Parents’ in reducing the
Adolescents’ stress.  The parents have to be aware of their child‟s behavior and emotions.  The
parents have to be available and open to talk with their child when they are ready.  The parents have to
teach and model good emotional response.  Remind the adolescents of his/her ability to get through
tough times, particularly with love and support of family and friends.  Keep the adolescents aware of
anticipated family changes.  Monitor television programs that could worry adolescents and pay
attention to the computer games, movies and the internet.  Help the adolescents select appropriate
extracurricular activities and limit over scheduling.  Encourage healthy and diverse friendships. 
Teach the adolescents to solve problems.  Encourage “safe” risk taking.  Encourage them to tell if
they feel overwhelmed. The Coping Mechanisms for Stress Management:  Adolescents must learn to
solve problems.  Should develop positive relationships at home, school, with peers and adults. 
Adolescents should have Clear Goals.  Adolescents should have Permission and ability to learn from
mistakes.  Adolescents should develop competencies (academic, social, life skills).  Adolescents
being Consistent, Positive and Disciplined helps in combating stress.  Adolescents should take good
nutritional food and exercise regularly.  Adolescents should take time out to relax or to do
recreational activities.  Adolescents should develop hobbies. Having learnt the causes, symptoms and
how to prevent stress from review of literature we can draw inference that Adolescence is a phase in
which there is rapid physical and psychological growth that is bound to create stressful events. “Storm
and Stress” this was the view of G. Stanly Hall, (1904) an American Psychologist whose book
Adolescence helped make this age period a focus of scientific study. Anna freud argued that those
Adolescents who maintain their psychological stress during Adolescence may be abnormal. It‟s very
much evident that the Adolescents who use coping mechanisms and who are taught life skills are less
stressed. They can deal with their stress in a much better way. The Adolescents who channelize their
Stress Management In Adolescence *Corresponding Author: Prerana.R.Huli. 56 | Page M.A
(Psychology) DHARWAD. stress are much better academic performers, are involved in extracurricular
activities and community services. They are more positive compared to the adolescents who do not
channelize their stress. To substantiate that stress management leads to better life. There are few
research studies that have indicated the above A study conducted by Raymond Montemayor (1986)
elicits that parents and adolescents who have good communication between them and when parenting
style is helping the adolescents to communicate their stress have better relationship. And parents also
facilitate the adolescents to combat stress. In another study pretest and posttest control group design
was employed to determine the effectiveness of a tenweek stress management for middle school control
group. The experimental group used cognitive control coping strategies .The Adolescents in the
experimental group reported significantly lower degree of stress than those in the control group. Then
experimental group also used relaxation procedure. The program appears to have been successful in
developing stress management skills in two major areas emphasized in the intervention, cognitive
control coping strategies and relaxation methods. Mark Scott Smith and William Womack(1987)
conducted study on selected adolescents who were suffering from Psychophysical Stress. After
clinicians examined, the adolescents were taught relaxation techniques which included progressive
muscular relaxation, Meditation, biofeedback and self hypnosis. These techniques worked for the
adolescents. IX. CONCLUSIONS To Conclude Stress is part and parcel of every one‟s life. Stress
among adolescents can create havoc in their life. But sometimes Stress can yield better results. It can
make the Adolescents perform better at task and helps to become better and competitive person.
Because of the biological, cognitive and social causes the adolescents go through a harsh period in their
life. So the parents have to be alert in managing the stress during adolescence. Two common trends
among adolescents being observed from the above literature are Academic Stress and Emotional
Turmoil. Problem solving, cognitive interventions and relaxation techniques are widely used to combat
stress among adolescents. The high level of stress during adolescence may cause dysfunctional
personality like anti-social. The present day adolescents are extremely vulnerable to various kinds of
bad influences through various sources of communication. Adolescents can take wrong decisions under
the influence of stress. Under stress the performance gets hindered. In order to overcome deviant
behaviors the parents play a constructive role in channelizing energies of the adolescents. Proper care
should to be taken in helping to take the right decisions which may affect their future. The social
implications of this study: 1) The review of literature will be helpful in making policies on adolescence.
2) This study can play a crucial role in providing timely help to Adolescents by providing Counseling.
3) Strong, proper coping mechanisms have to be developed to have healthy Personality and Society. 4)
Adolescents should be encouraged to take part in social service. 5) Intervention programs should be
conducted for both parents and adolescents for better society. 6) Academic curriculum has to be framed
very diligently so that the adolescents can no longer feel the stress. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I am
thankful to the organizers of International Stress Management AssociationIND held on 8th and 9th
November 2013 at Hyderabad, for having accepted and allowing me to present the above paper .
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Stress Management in Adolescence Prerana.R.Huli.* M.A (Psychology) DHARWAD. Received 10

July, 2014; Accepted 25 July, 2014 © The author(s) 2014. Published with open access at
www.questjournals.org ABSTRACT:- This is an extensive Review of Literature Study on Stress
Management in Adolescents. Stress is being experienced by everyone nowadays. Stress Management
has become very essential. Stress can be constructively channelized to reduce the stress. Managing
stress is also a skill which we all have to develop. Stress among the Adolescents can be crucial in the
well being of the family as a whole. Stress can be caused due to many factors and can alter the
relationships dynamics in the family. Especially stress in the adolescence can be very taxing on the
parents and the adolescents themselves. During adolescence boys and girls go through lot of turmoil.
The reasons for Stress during adolescence as per the review of literature are because of disturbed
family dynamics , peer pressure , inability to cope with studies, drug abuse, lack of competence. One of
the important trends which are being observed is getting instant gratification from the electronic media
and gadgets. The involvement of adolescents in getting instant gratification of needs has led to lot of
stress in them and in their relationships with family and peers. Stress leads to maladaptive behavior as
mentioned above. Keywords:- Stress Management and Adolescents. I. INTRODUCTION Technically
Adolescence is the period from the beginning of sexual maturity (puberty) to the completion of
physical growth. The teenage years are also called Adolescence. During this period there will be great
amount of growth in height and weight. It is also time for puberty changes. Some adolescents may
experience these signs of maturity sooner or later than others. Stress is a very uneasy feeling that we all
go through in our life. During adolescence they imbibe both positive and negative things from their
parents and environment. The choice they make in this phase is very much dependent upon the
upbringing they get and expectations from Family, Society, Peers, and more importantly their own
„Self‟. The problem arises when the adolescents are unable to cope with stressful situations and end-up
themselves in the distressed state of mind. In this distressed situation they indulge themselves in Anti-
Social and Self-Destructive Activities. II. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM: Adolescence is one of
the transitional periods in everyone‟s life. The term Adolescence has been derived from Latin word
adolescere which means “to grow up”. Adolescence is linked to teenage years. But puberty begins prior
to teenage years. Adolescence can be understood with the help of stages that is early adolescence and
late adolescence. Beginning of puberty in girls average age is 8-13 and in boys 9.5-14 years. It also
depends upon the heredity and nutrition. The total years of Adolescence are from 13- 18 years. During
puberty there will be key changes they are Primary sexual Characteristics and Secondary Sexual
Characteristics. These are essential changes of Adolescence. Adolescents will be very Vulnerable to
Stress because of the rapid Physical and Psychological changes .The onus is on the parents to take care
of their Adolescents because they may succumb to pressures from schoolwork, peer relationships,
mood swings because of stress. Environment at home also plays important role. The chances of
Adolescents to Indulge in deviant behaviors are very high when they are not paid attention by parents
and teachers. In this study with the extensive review of literature I have tried to present the causes and
symptoms of Stress and Coping Mechanism for Stress. Stress Management In Adolescence
*Corresponding Author: Prerana.R.Huli. 51 | Page M.A (Psychology) DHARWAD. The observations
made by eminent Psychologists on Adolescence phase: Havighurst (1952) suggested that two important
areas of focus for Adolescents included work and relationships. Levinson (1978) suggested that two
important areas of focus for Adolescents includes changing relationships and on exploration. Erikson
(1968) commented on Adolescents intimacy and commitment to goals. Super (1963) indicated that
exploring and crystallizing vocational choice are important to older Adolescents and young adults.
Comprehending what the psychologists have observed about adolescents is that, the adolescents are
focused on making their personal life better and also to have good education and then career. Their
world revolves around these things and they want to have control over things. III. REVIEW OF
LITERATURE An intensive literature search was conducted by Angela J Dean et al (2010) to locate
controlled trails that described specific interventions focusing to improve abiding to long-term
medication, where participants were aged 18 years. These findings suggest that education interventions
alone are insufficient to promote adherence in children and adolescents and that incorporating a
behavioral component to abiding intervention may increase efficacy. Ann.C.Crociter and Mathew
(2001):Study linking parents work stress to Adolescents Psychological Adjustment. It reveals that the
effects of parental work stress on Adolescent„s Adjustment appear to be indirect .Work stress is linked
to parents feelings of overload and strain , which in turn are related to less positive adjustment of
adolescents . In the face of high work stress withdrawing from family involvement may be adaptive in
the short run but ultimately problematic. The strength of those associations depends on parent‟s
personality, coping styles, work and family circumstances. BJ Cassey , Rebecca M. Jones et al (2010)
indicate that the adolescence is the time of storm and stress. In spite of intense and frequent negative
affect this period has been hypothesized to explain increased rates of affective disorders, suicide and
accidental death. Yet some teens emerge from adolescence with minimal turmoil. It provides
neurobiological model for adolescence which proposes that an imbalance in the development of sub
cortical limbic ( eg amygdala) relative to prefrontal cortical regions as a potential mechanism for
heightened emotionality during this period. Bruce.E.(1987) In his research article, how child and
adolescents cope with stress. And coping‟s role in reducing the adverse psychological states associated
with stress is reviewed. Child and adolescent coping is reflected in seven different lines of research-
infant‟s responses to maternal separation, social support, interpersonal and cognitive problem solving,
coping in achievement contexts, Type A behavior pattern in children, repression-sensitizing, and
resilience to stress. A variety of different coping resources, styles and specific strategies are important
in successfully adapting to stress, including efforts that focus directly on the problem, as well as
attempts to deal with adverse emotions associated with stress. A study conducted by Caplan, Merlen
etal (1992) reveals that positive training effects on S‟s skills in handling interpersonal problems and
coping with anxiety. Teachers‟ ratings revealed improvement in S‟S constructive conflict resolution
with peers, impulse control, and popularity. Self report ratings indicated gains in problem solving
efficacy. Daniel M. Finkelstein et al (2007) investigated whether psychological resources influenced
the association between parent education(PE), a maker of socioeconomic status (SES) and perceived
stress crosssectional analyses were conducted in a sample of 1167 non Hispanic black and white junior
and senior high school students from a mid western public school district in 2002-2003. Results reveal
that adolescents from families with lower parent education are less optimistic than teens from more
educated families. This pessimism may be a mechanism through which lower SES increases stress in
adolescence. Study conducted by Hains Anthony et al (1990) examined the effectiveness of a cognitive
intervention to help adolescents cope with stress and other forms of negative emotional arousal. The
trained adolescents showed significant reductions in levels of anxiety and anger, and also improvement
in self-esteem. James.D.A Parker et al (2008) examined the relationship between emotional intelligence
(EI) and several addiction related behaviors like gambling, internet use and video games playing in two
community based sample of adolescent 13-15 years old (N 209) and 16-18 years old (N= 458) both
were measured using Stress Management In Adolescence *Corresponding Author: Prerana.R.Huli. 52 |
Page M.A (Psychology) DHARWAD. respective scales. Emotional Intelligence was found to be
moderate to strong predictor of addiction related behavior in both the groups. Jodi B.Dworkin et al
(2003) : little theory and research exist on the developmental processes that occur during adolescents
participation in extracurricular activities, community based activities. As a step in that direction they
conducted study on high school students which reveals that the students shared about personal
experience which includes experimentation, leadership qualities, setting goals, time management,
emotional regulation and interpersonal relationships, they learnt to build team and work as a team,
developing valuable connection with adults. Across domains adolescents described themselves as
agents of their own development and change. The study conducted by Jigisha Gala and Sangeeta
Chaudhary (2004) on seventeen to eighteen years old adolescents revealed that academics is the major
stressor. Adolescents cope with stress in distinct ways; Two major ways to cope with stress one way is
problem solving. This involves trying to deal with the problem. Another way of handling stress is
managing emotions. This involves wielding the thoughts and feelings caused by the problem.
Adolescents use both methods, and both can be effective, depending on the situation. Most adolescents
seek help from their parents, as the parents are perceived to be understanding and supportive. Leslie
Morrison Gutman et al (2005) using latent variable structural equation modeling that they tested
theoretical model linking financial strain, neighborhood stress, parenting behaviors and adolescent
adjustment . The sample consisted of 305 African American families 40% were living at or below the
US poverty threshold. The results indicate that the in come to need ratio was significantly related to
financial strain and neighborhood stress, both of which were positively associated with psychological
distress, both of which were positively associated with psychological distress in parents. The findings
demonstrate that neighborhood characteristics are an important mediators between economic hardships
and parent and adolescent behavior. Mark Scott Smith and William Womack(1987) conducted study on
selected adolescents who were suffering from Psychophysical Stress. After clinicians examined, the
adolescents were taught relaxation techniques which included progressive muscular relaxation,
Meditation, biofeedback and self hypnosis. These techniques worked for the adolescents. Martin
H.Teicher (2006) Studies reveal that recent studies have reported an association between exposure to
childhood abuse or neglect and alteration in brain structure or function. Exposure to early abuse and
early stress has been associated with the emergency of epileptiform electroencephalogram (EEG)
abnormalities, alterations in corpus callosum area and reduced volume or synaptic density of the
hippocampus. Further there is evidence that different brain regions have unique periods when they are
maximally sensitive to the effects of early stress. To dopreclinical studies have guided clinical
investigation and will continue to provide insights. Pamela Martyn-Nemeth et al (2009) The purpose of
study was to examine relationships among selfesteem, stress, social support ,coping and to test a model
of their effects on eating behavior and depressive mood in a sample of 102 high school students.
Results indicate that stress and low self-esteem were to avoidant coping were related to unhealthy,
eating behavior. Results also suggest that teaching adolescents skills to reduce stress, build self-esteem
and use more positive approach to coping may prevent unhealthy eating and subsequent obesity and
lower risk of depressive symptoms. A study conducted by Raymond Montemayor (1986) elicits that
parents and adolescents who have good communication between them and when parenting style is
helping the adolescents to communicate their stress have better relationship. And parents also facilitate
the adolescents to combat stress. A study conducted by Rex Forehand et al (1991) on Adolescents and
their parent‟s stress. The Study indicated that the stress in the family like divorce, intrapersonal conflict
and maternal depression leads to stress in the adolescents which deteriorates functioning. Further a
positive Parent-Adolescent relationship as perceived by the Adolescents was associated with less
deterioration in all areas of functioning. Sangeeta Chaudhary and Priya Mary. Joseph (2010) conducted
a study it was designed to understand adolescents‟ perceptions on coping with stress in middle income
group. It mainly aims to explore their awareness regarding alternate ways of coping, adaptive coping
and its need and importance .This research is descriptive in nature. The results revealed that across the
four domains, adolescents perceive parental support for their adaptive coping styles, whereas for
adaptive coping, adolescents perceive guidance or no support. However, adolescent girls have
perceived parents to be stricter with boys especially in academics and boys have Stress Management In
Adolescence *Corresponding Author: Prerana.R.Huli. 53 | Page M.A (Psychology) DHARWAD.
perceived parents to be more concerned for girls in heterosexual relationships and physical
appearance .Academics were found to be major stressor. In an article by Suvarna Sen (2006) has
touched upon every aspect of the adolescence phase. Through review of research she has put forth the
important aspects of adolescence. And they are: a) the role confusion among adolescents b)
encouraging adolescents to explore opportunities c) Helping the adolescents with Identity crisis d)
Influence on adolescents of family e) the attitude of parents towards and vice-versa. Suldo,Shannon M
et al (2009) The study investigated the environmental stressors and psychological adjustment of 162
students participating in the IB program and a comparison sample of 157 students in general education.
Factor analysis revealed that primary source of stress experienced by IB students was related to
academic requirements. In contrast, students in the general education program indicated higher levels
of stress associated with parent-child relations academic struggler, conflict within the family and peers
relations, as well as role transitions and societal problems. Applied implications stem from findings
suggest that students are more likely to experience stress due to exams than any other stressors. The
causes of stress during Adolescence are: The Biological Cause: Stress occurs due to sexual and other
physical maturation that occurs during puberty and results in hormonal changes. As child nears puberty
a gland in the brain, pituitary gland increases the secretion of a hormones called Follicle Stimulating
Hormone (FSH). This hormone then causes additional effects. In girls FSH activates the ovaries to start
producing estrogen. In boys FSH, causes sperm to develop. Beginning of puberty in girls average age is
8-13 and in boys 9.5-14 years. Here one of the important factors that need to be considered is Nutrition.
It plays very important role in growth of the adolescents. To support the above biological cause of
stress a study conducted on adolescents by BJ Cassey , Rebecca M. Jones et al (2010) indicate that the
adolescence is the time of storm and stress. In spite of intense and frequent negative affect, this period
has been hypothesized to explain increased rates of affective disorders, suicide and accidental death.
Yet some teens emerge from adolescence with minimal turmoil. It provides neurobiological model for
adolescence which proposes that an imbalance in the development of sub cortical limbic ( eg
amygdala) relative to prefrontal cortical regions as a potential mechanism for heightened emotionality
during this period. The presence of environmental factors may exacerbate the turmoil of Adolescents.
The biological causes affect the adolescents both internally and externally.Internally the body
undergoes hormonal changes and at this crucial phase counseling and advice by parents and teachers
could stem the deviant behavior. It can cause disorders and it may even precipitate to suicide and an
adrenalin rush often leads to risky behavior which may cause death. The internal imbalance may also
result in extreme emotional behavior that could harm an individual. The external factors like parents‟
divorce, domestic violence, bad company and unhealthy habits would affect the adolescents
personality. These adolescents deviant behavior are common where parents are of lower income
groups, unemployed parents, compared to higher income middle class groups. This may also be true in
higher income groups where they experience deviant behavior due to lack of parental attention and
extreme indulgence. IV. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT This is one of the important causes of stress
because during cognitive development adolescents try to experience the world on their own. This is the
phase of information gathering and experimenting. It causes stress because an adolescent is expected to
enter the final stage of cognitive development. According to Jean Piaget‟s theory an adolescent is
capable of thinking like an adult about the age of 16. He proposed that the basic process we use to think
do not change much beyond this stage. The process what Piaget calls is Formal Operations. It involves
stages and they are Abstract Thinking, Hypothetical Thinking, Inter Propositional Logic and Reflective
Thinking. Cognitive development in the form of: thinking, reasoning, learning, reflecting takes place
during adolescence. In this computer age the adolescents try to experience both the real and virtual
world on their own. They are also bombardment with information both good and bad that may make
them to experiment which would create an inquisitive mind and help them to be analytical and logical.
But at the same time wrong use of information may lead to risky and deviant behavior. Stress
Management In Adolescence *Corresponding Author: Prerana.R.Huli. 54 | Page M.A (Psychology)
DHARWAD. V. DECISION MAKING Building on Piaget‟s work Lawrance Kohlberg (1976) and his
associates (Colby et al 1983) studied the development of moral reasoning by asking people of various
age to resolve moral dilemmas. Kohlberg argued that moral reasoning passes through three levels as we
grow. They are pre conventional level, Conventional, and Post Conventional level. Most theorists agree
that as a both males and females move from childhood into adolescence they rely mostly entirely on
abstract moral principles to make decisions. The above three levels of decision during adolescence are
based on moral judgment : The first level, is a gross moral judgment where the individual thinks of
himself and does not bother of the larger consequences. At the second level, the issues of society and
law enter into decision making process. At third level, they get into abstract moral principles where
they feel the social order of the society would disintegrate and question of moral and ethical principles
creep in decision making process. If their reasoning is influenced by above three levels, they may
reason in and enter into a proper decision making process. VI. ACHIEVING IDENTITY, A KEY TASK
OF ADOLESCENCE: Erik Erikson in his developmental theory, the core conflict is between role
Confusion and Identity. Seeking Identity involves searching for continuity and sameness in one-self
and trying to get a clear sense of what one‟s skills and personal attributes are to discover. Where one is
headed in life, and that one can count on recognition from “significant others”. According to Erikson
Adolescent who forms a sense of Identity gains two key benefits they are „A feeling of being at home
in one‟s body‟ and „A sense of psychological Well-being”. He also speaks about Psychosocial
Moratorium that is an Adolescent may delay in taking up responsibilities and showing Rebellion
Pattern where in the Adolescents go against their parents and well wishers in spite of being told for
their own good. To seek out the confusion the Adolescents make use of their Abstract Thinking. In
confusion and Identity crisis an individual tries to understand himself about his strength and weakness.
He seeks to establish his identity in the world around him. Confusion sets in when he is not sure of his
potentialities and skills. So, he has to hone up his skills and set them a tune to his personality. He has to
identify his role in the society and strive towards that goal. Once he is focused about his role there ends
its confusion, as, he has goal to reach and thus works towards it. VII. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT This
is also one crucial Stressor because it is the phase where Adolescents prefer to spend their time more
outside family and demand for freedom. As proposed in one of the studies; In relationship between
Adolescents and their parents a central theme is often that of testing limits. Most teen parents‟
arguments concern the timing of rights and responsibilities (Hartup 1983). In this phase parents can
expect less obedience and more resistance that is because the adolescents can think of alternatives to
parents‟ rules. To support the above, a study conducted by Rex Forehand et al (1991)on Adolescents
and their parent‟s stress. The Study indicated that the stress in the family like divorce, intrapersonal
conflict and maternal depression leads to stress in the adolescents which deteriorates functioning.
Further a positive Parent-Adolescent relationship as perceived by the Adolescents was associated with
less deterioration in all areas of functioning. In another study linking parents work stress to Adolescents
Psychological Adjustment. It reveals that the effects of parental work stress on Adolescent„s
Adjustment appear to be indirect .Work stress is linked to parents feelings of overload and strain ,
which in turn are related to less positive adjustment of adolescents . In the face of high work stress
withdrawing from family involvement may be adaptive in the short run but ultimately problematic. The
strength of those associations depends on parent‟s personality, coping styles, work and family
circumstances. The crucial concern during the process of social development is first within the family
and then within the society . Healthy family would generate a healthy adolescence period. And troubled
family could endanger the parent child relationships resulting in deviant behavior. The relationship
between parents and adolescents is vital during these disturbed times of adolescence parents should
take great care, watch the adolescents and oversee their movements among their friends and the
external environment. The emotional support which the parents give to their adolescent is very essential
as, this, would keep them in constant touch with their parents and would be easy to take care of them.
In the absence of such a parent child relationship, the child would try to seek emotional support outside
his family which could be dangerous. VIII. PEER RELATIONSHIPS A peer group membership
assumes more importance during adolescence than at any other time of life. A peer group can provide a
refuge and a source of support for youngsters in conflict with their families. Moreover, being part of a
clearly defined group can help answer the burning question, “Who am I” for these and Stress
Management In Adolescence *Corresponding Author: Prerana.R.Huli. 55 | Page M.A (Psychology)
DHARWAD. other reasons. Adolescents spend great deal of time with other Adolescents. One study
which used beepers to contact adolescents at random times (Larson et al 1977), found that they spend
more time talking with peers than doing academic work or being alone. The structure of peer groups
seems to change over the course of adolescence. (Coleman, 1980, Dunphy, 1963)Adolescents move
from small unisex groups to large groups and later develop contact with opposite sex. Dominance
hierarchy it is the leadership quality that is developed during adolescence (Hartup, 1983, Savin-
williams, 1980). The other important problems that cause stress are: Substance Abuse, Instant
Gratification from Electronic Media and Gadgets, Lack of Competence, Risk Behaviors, Emotional
disturbance, bullying, Cyber bullying. In the absence of family support adolescents seek refuge in peer
groups. They feel that peer group satisfy their needs. As said earlier, adolescents move from small
unisex groups to larger groups and then towards opposite sex. These may be trying times because an
adolescent is trying to establish his identity within the group .At the same time hierarchy practiced in
the groups would lead to developing leadership skills. Symptoms which will be helpful in identifying
the stressful behaviors of Adolescents:  Adolescents may be experiencing irritability because of lack
of proper sleep at night. Then it‟s a Wakeup call for parents.  They may be unable to concentrate on
academics and sports.  Adolescents may be having unexplained fears or increased anxiety. 
Adolescents isolate from family activities or peer relationships.  Adolescents may be experimenting
with drugs and alcohol.  Adolescents may complain about headaches or stomach aches. 
Adolescents may have poor appetite and low immunity. The Role of Parents’ in reducing the
Adolescents’ stress.  The parents have to be aware of their child‟s behavior and emotions.  The
parents have to be available and open to talk with their child when they are ready.  The parents have to
teach and model good emotional response.  Remind the adolescents of his/her ability to get through
tough times, particularly with love and support of family and friends.  Keep the adolescents aware of
anticipated family changes.  Monitor television programs that could worry adolescents and pay
attention to the computer games, movies and the internet.  Help the adolescents select appropriate
extracurricular activities and limit over scheduling.  Encourage healthy and diverse friendships. 
Teach the adolescents to solve problems.  Encourage “safe” risk taking.  Encourage them to tell if
they feel overwhelmed. The Coping Mechanisms for Stress Management:  Adolescents must learn to
solve problems.  Should develop positive relationships at home, school, with peers and adults. 
Adolescents should have Clear Goals.  Adolescents should have Permission and ability to learn from
mistakes.  Adolescents should develop competencies (academic, social, life skills).  Adolescents
being Consistent, Positive and Disciplined helps in combating stress.  Adolescents should take good
nutritional food and exercise regularly.  Adolescents should take time out to relax or to do
recreational activities.  Adolescents should develop hobbies. Having learnt the causes, symptoms and
how to prevent stress from review of literature we can draw inference that Adolescence is a phase in
which there is rapid physical and psychological growth that is bound to create stressful events. “Storm
and Stress” this was the view of G. Stanly Hall, (1904) an American Psychologist whose book
Adolescence helped make this age period a focus of scientific study. Anna freud argued that those
Adolescents who maintain their psychological stress during Adolescence may be abnormal. It‟s very
much evident that the Adolescents who use coping mechanisms and who are taught life skills are less
stressed. They can deal with their stress in a much better way. The Adolescents who channelize their
Stress Management In Adolescence *Corresponding Author: Prerana.R.Huli. 56 | Page M.A
(Psychology) DHARWAD. stress are much better academic performers, are involved in extracurricular
activities and community services. They are more positive compared to the adolescents who do not
channelize their stress. To substantiate that stress management leads to better life. There are few
research studies that have indicated the above A study conducted by Raymond Montemayor (1986)
elicits that parents and adolescents who have good communication between them and when parenting
style is helping the adolescents to communicate their stress have better relationship. And parents also
facilitate the adolescents to combat stress. In another study pretest and posttest control group design
was employed to determine the effectiveness of a tenweek stress management for middle school control
group. The experimental group used cognitive control coping strategies .The Adolescents in the
experimental group reported significantly lower degree of stress than those in the control group. Then
experimental group also used relaxation procedure. The program appears to have been successful in
developing stress management skills in two major areas emphasized in the intervention, cognitive
control coping strategies and relaxation methods. Mark Scott Smith and William Womack(1987)
conducted study on selected adolescents who were suffering from Psychophysical Stress. After
clinicians examined, the adolescents were taught relaxation techniques which included progressive
muscular relaxation, Meditation, biofeedback and self hypnosis. These techniques worked for the
adolescents. IX. CONCLUSIONS To Conclude Stress is part and parcel of every one‟s life. Stress
among adolescents can create havoc in their life. But sometimes Stress can yield better results. It can
make the Adolescents perform better at task and helps to become better and competitive person.
Because of the biological, cognitive and social causes the adolescents go through a harsh period in their
life. So the parents have to be alert in managing the stress during adolescence. Two common trends
among adolescents being observed from the above literature are Academic Stress and Emotional
Turmoil. Problem solving, cognitive interventions and relaxation techniques are widely used to combat
stress among adolescents. The high level of stress during adolescence may cause dysfunctional
personality like anti-social. The present day adolescents are extremely vulnerable to various kinds of
bad influences through various sources of communication. Adolescents can take wrong decisions under
the influence of stress. Under stress the performance gets hindered. In order to overcome deviant
behaviors the parents play a constructive role in channelizing energies of the adolescents. Proper care
should to be taken in helping to take the right decisions which may affect their future. The social
implications of this study: 1) The review of literature will be helpful in making policies on adolescence.
2) This study can play a crucial role in providing timely help to Adolescents by providing Counseling.
3) Strong, proper coping mechanisms have to be developed to have healthy Personality and Society. 4)
Adolescents should be encouraged to take part in social service. 5) Intervention programs should be
conducted for both parents and adolescents for better society. 6) Academic curriculum has to be framed
very diligently so that the adolescents can no longer feel the stress. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I am
thankful to the organizers of International Stress Management AssociationIND held on 8th and 9th
November 2013 at Hyderabad, for having accepted and allowing me to present the above paper .
REFERENCES [1]. Ann C. Crociter and Mathwew F.Bumpus (2001): linking Parents work stress to
Adolescents Psychological Adjustment.Psychological Science: A Jounal of the Association for
Psychological Science October 2001 Vol 10 no 5 156-159. [2]. Angel J Dean et al (2010) A Systematic
Review of Interventions to enhance medication adherence in childhood and adolescents with chronic
illness. Arch Dis Child 2010 :95 p-717-723. [3]. BJ Casey, Rebecca.M.Jones et al (2010:) The Storm
and Stress of Adolescence: Insight from Human Imaging and Mouse Genetics. Devpsychobiol 2010
April; 52(3) 225-235. [4]. Bruce .E. (1987): Coping with stress during childhood and adolescence .
Psychological Bulletin vol 101(3), May 1987, 393-403. [5]. Clifford T. Morgon et al (2011) :
Introduction to Psychology, Tata McGraw-Hill Education Private Limited New Delhi . [6]. Caplan,
Merlene etal (1992) Effects on social adjustment and alcohol use. Journal of consulting and clinical
psy, vol 60(1) Feb 1992 52-63. Stress Management In Adolescence *Corresponding Author:
Prerana.R.Huli. 57 | Page M.A (Psychology) DHARWAD. [7]. Daniel .M. Finkelstein et al (2007)
Socio-Economic Differences in Adolescent Stress: The role of Psychological Resources. Journal of
Adolescent Health volume 40, Iss 2, Feb pages 127-134. [8]. Hains etal (1990): A cognitive stress-
reduction intervention program for adolescents. Journal of counseling psychology, vol 37(1), Jan 1990,
79-84. [9]. James D.A Parker et al (2008): Problem Gambling in Adolescence Relationships with
internet misuse, gaming abuse and emotional intelligence. Jounal of Perssonality Differences Vol 45,
Issue 2 July 2008 pages 174-180. [10]. Jodi.B.Dworkin , Reed Larson, David Hansen (2003): Journal
of youth Adolescence , February 2003, volume 32, Issue 1 pp 17- 26. [11]. Jigisha Gala and Sangeeta
Chaudhary (2004): Coping with stress among Indian adolescents belonging to the high income group.
Department of Human Development and Family Studies. Maharaja Sayajirao University , Baroda. [12].
Leslie Morrison Gutman et al (2005) : Financial Strain ; Neighbhorhood Stress, Parenting Behaviours,
and Adolescent Adjustment in Urban African American Families. Journal of Research on Adolescence
Vol 15, Issue 4, pages 425-449, November 2005. [13]. Mark Scott Smith et al (1987): Relaxation
Training , Meditation, Hypnosis and Biofeeback: Appropriate Clinical Applications. Dpt of Pediatrics
university of Washington school of Medicine.CLIN PEDIATRY November 1987 vol 26 no 11 581-585
[14]. Martin H Teicher et al (2006): Neurobiological Consequence of Early Stress and Childhood
Maltreatment: Are results from Human and Animal Studies Comparable? Vol 1071, Psychobiology of
Post Traumatic Stress Disorders.A decade of progress pages 313-323 July 2006. [15]. Pamela Martyn-
Nemeth et al (2009): The relationships among self-esteem, stress, coping, eating behavior and
depressive mood in adolescents.. Research in Nursing and Health. [16]. Raymond Montemyor (1986) :
The Storm and Stress of Adolescence: Family variation in Parent-Adolescents. Journal of Adolescent
Research Spring 1986 vol 1. no 115-31. [17]. Rex ForeHand et al (1991) : The Role of Family Stressor
and Parent Relationships on Adolescent Functioning. University of Gerogia. Journal of the American
Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry vol 30 Issue 2 p 316 March 1991. [18]. Sangeeta
Chaudhary and Priya Mary Joseph (2010) : Adolescents‟ perceptions about coping with stress: A
Qualitative view from India. International journal of Humanities, vol 7, issue 11, pp 87-110. [19]. Sen,
S(2006) Adolescence: a period of stress and strain. Mental Health Reviews, Accessed from [20]. Suldo,
Shannon.M et al (2009): Sources of Stress in High School College preparatory and General Education
Programs : Group Differences and Associations with Adjustment Adolescence Winter vol 44 issue 176;
pages925-948

Mind Mapping This module covers concepts such as: • Constructing mind maps • Use mind mapping to
prepare for essays, take notes, www.jcu.edu.au/students/learning-centre 1 Mind Mapping Mind maps
are tools which help you think and learn. This workshop describes how to do a mind map and in what
contexts you might use them, such as when preparing for an essay, taking notes or preparing for exams.
There is also an online version of this workshop. The information in this module has been adapted from
the work of Tony Buzan and others who have promoted mind mapping as a learning and thinking tool.
For a full explanation of the mind mapping technique see Buzan, T. (1991). The Mind Map Book. New
York: Penguin. How to do a Mind Map Mind mapping (or concept mapping) involves writing down a
central idea and thinking up new and related ideas which radiate out from the centre. By focussing on
key ideas written down in your own words, and then looking for branches out and connections between
the ideas, you are mapping knowledge in a manner which will help you understand and remember new
information. 1. Look for relationships Use lines, colours, arrows, branches or some other way of
showing connections between the ideas generated on your mind map. These relationships may be
important in you understanding new information or in constructing a structured essay plan. By
personalising the map with your own symbols and designs you will be constructing visual and
meaningful relationships between ideas which will assist in your recall and understanding. 2. Draw
quickly on unlined paper without pausing, judging or editing All of these things promote non-linear
thinking and the idea of mind mapping is to think creatively and in a non-linear manner. There will be
plenty of time for modifying the information later on but at this stage it is important to get every
possibility into the mind map. Sometimes it is one of those obscure possibilities that may become the
key to your knowledge of a topic. 3. Write down key ideas Some students find that using capital letters
encourages them to get down only the key points. Capitals are also easier to read in a diagram. You
may, however, wish to write down some explanatory notes in lower case. Some students do this when
they revisit the mind map at a later date while others write in such things as assessment criteria in this
way. 4. Put the main idea in the centre Most students find it useful to turn their page on the side and do
a mind map in "landscape" style. With the main idea or topic in the middle of the page this gives the
maximum space for other ideas to radiate out from the centre. 5. Leave lots of space Some of the most
useful mind maps are those which are added to over a period of time. After the initial drawing of the
mind map you may wish to highlight things, add information or add questions for the duration of a
subject right up until exam time. For this reason it is a good idea to leave lots of space. Try Activity 1
 Imagine you have the task of trying to explain to someone how to do a mind map. Your task in this
activity is to construct a mind map about how to do a mind map! After you have finished your mind
map, you may like to search “how to do a mind map image” online and see how others have completed
this task. 2 Essay Preparation Mind maps can help you in the early stages of your essay by
summarising your research and providing you with a picture of all aspects of the question. You can then
move from your nonlinear mind map to a more structured essay plan. Housekeeping It is often useful to
put down on the mind map various "housekeeping" details such as: • assessment criteria and weighting
• due date • timeline • any other requirements Prior knowledge You should always put down on your
mind map all that you already know about the essay question. This knowledge may have come from
personal experience, lectures, readings or other sources. You may be surprised as to how this part of the
mind map branches out in lots of directions! Possible topics to be covered Most essays will involve the
possibility of tackling a number of topics within the question. Put all of these possible topics down. You
may not have the time or length of essay to tackle all of them but getting them down and looking for
connections, relevance and priorities is a good start. Areas to research The areas to research will be
suggested by the possible topics and from here your mind map may lead you on to various sources of
information you will need to pursue. Often you will have to choose carefully which areas will be the
most productive and relevant to research. Alternative approaches One of the powerful things about
mind mapping is that it is a tool which encourages creative thinking and often creative solutions to
problems. Always look at alternative ways of approaching essay questions and always be prepared to
be a critical researcher and writer who is prepared to go outside the normal boundaries! Sample Essay
Mind Map This mind map was used to plan a critical essay in engineering. It doesn't use capitals or
include items such as assessment criteria but it does show a thorough outline of possible approaches the
student could take. 3 Summarising Readings Mind mapping can help you understand and remember the
important issues in your readings. We suggest you follow 5 steps in creating mind maps which
summarise your readings. 1. Skim Firstly, read the abstract, introduction, conclusion, key headings or
chapter headings. When skimming through the text observe any diagrams, pictures or graphs. This
gives you an overview of what you are about to read, puts it in context and may already give you some
clues as to where the most relevant parts are located. 2. Read Read the article in one sitting (or chunk it
into sections/chapters if it is a whole book) and go over any parts of which you are not quite sure. 3.
Mind Map It is important to do the mind map from memory at this stage so don't consult the article or
any other source of information. 4. Study The mind map you have just done (in steps 1-3) is very
valuable as it will show the areas you have understood and also areas about which you are unsure.
Study your mind map to discover the gaps in your knowledge and refer back to the source material to
fill in any of these gaps. 5. Personalise Using different colours or symbols, add your own comments
and questions to the mind map. Questions relating to relationships, implications, alternative
approaches, usefulness, clarity and personal experience could all be considered at this stage. It is in this
personalising stage where your mind map really starts to help you with your learning. The trick now is
to address all those questions you have raised and to keep returning to your mind map with the
answers! Sample Reading Mind Map This mind map contains only the essential points a student picked
up from the first reading of a text and was produced from memory alone. The student who produced
this mind map then went on to add details and questions and then consult the text again. Notice how
space has been left for this purpose. Try Activity 2  Some people use mind maps to manage their
time. Construct a mind map of how you intend to use your time over the next seven days. 4 Lectures,
Seminars, Workshops and Tutorials Some students find it useful to create mind maps for various
sessions where new information is presented. Mind mapping can be a helpful notetaking and
summarising tool. Adds structure Mind mapping can help you record information in a structure that
suits your learning style and means something to you. The content may be coming at you thick and fast
but a mind map allows you to put information where you want it and make the necessary connections.
Helps review The open space of a mind map can allow you to revisit it in that first vital review after the
session. It is in this first review that you can highlight key areas, gaps in your understanding and list
questions that need to be addressed. Some students find it hard to consult a mind map during a lecture
so they take standard notes in the lecture but construct a mind map afterwards in their first review of
the lecture notes. Suits repeated reviews By continually returning to your mind maps of these sessions
you can use the empty space to add new information and to expand on your understanding of the work
covered in the session. Better recall By having all of the information covered in a session incorporated
into a single mind map, many students find this an aid to them remembering what was covered.
Prompts questions You mind map should raise some questions about the information you have
received. These questions will need to be followed up on so it is important to develop your own set of
symbols which will prompt further action by you. Helps exam preparation Imagine how useful it would
be if you had a set of mind maps for each of your lectures! These mind maps would show you the areas
where you had difficulty and include the follow-up information you added in order to resolve these
problems. You would also be able to construct a mind map of the entire subject prior to the exam and
this would help you identify the key themes and likely exam questions. Sample Lecture Mind Map This
mind map was produced from standard lecture notes so that a student could clarify the key points of the
lecture. The mind map was produced in the first review after the lecture and was added to throughout
the semester. It was then used for exam preparation. 5 Where to from here? Searching the web for
“mind map” produces many useful resources and samples of mind maps. Here are some that students
have found useful: • The following website contains many excellent examples of mind maps and links
to related resources: http://mappio.com/ • Credo Reference is a database that has a clever tool that will
construct a concept map on any topic. This is useful for brainstorming and refining a topic or refining a
search for resources. Click on the Concept Map tab then type in your topic in the search field:
http://www.credoreference.com.elibrary.jcu.edu.au/home.do • Inspiration also lets you create mind
maps on your computer (30 day free trial): http://www.inspiration.com/Freetrial The following mind
map was downloaded from www.learningfundamentals.com.au
Right Brain vs. Left Brain – What’s the Difference? By Julie A. Daymut, M.A., CCC-SLP The human
brain is a complex organ responsible for intelligence, senses, movement, and behavior (National
Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, 2007, ¶ 1). The halves of the brain—the “right brain”
and the “left brain”—perform different functions and communicate information with each other
through a band of nerves that connect them. The right side of the brain controls most of the movement
and functions of the left side of the body, and the left side of the brain controls most of the movements
and functions of the right side of the body. You may hear that someone is a “right-brained” or “left-
brained” individual. This is called “brain dominance,” meaning that an individual has a natural
preference for processing information on one side of the brain. The right side is considered the intuitive
or spontaneous side, while the left side is logical. Knowing an individual’s brain dominance can help
you understand his/her “ways” of thinking, behaving, speaking, and functioning. Also, it can help
parents and educators tailor activities to a child’s natural learning preferences. Right-brain
characteristics include creativity, the ability to see patterns, spatial awareness, and the understanding of
how things relate to one another in different contexts. You may find that individuals with this brain
dominance are good at recognizing faces, places, and objects (Sousa, 1995, p. 88). These individuals
seem to “have a knack for”:  “Out-of-the-box” thinking  Art, including the ability to draw,
paint, sculpt, etc.  Imaginative thinking  Music, including the ability to play instruments with
ease or to recognize a song melody and play it back upon “hearing it” Keep in mind that “right-
brained” individuals may exhibit one or several of these traits. Left-brain characteristics include a gift
for language, analytical skills, and mathematical concepts such as time and sequence. You may find
that individuals with this brain dominance are good with letters, numbers, and words (Sousa, 1995, p.
88). These individuals seem to “have a knack for”:  Language skills including reading, writing,
and speaking  Math  Logic and reasoning  Science Keep in mind that “left-brained”
individuals may exhibit one or several of these traits. 202 How Do I Know If Someone Is “Right-
Brained?” How Do I Know if Someone Is “Left-Brained?” © You can observe students’ “ways” of
thinking, behaving, speaking, and functioning to understand their natural learning preferences. Certain
characteristics or abilities from your students may appear to be “right-brained” or “left-brained.” Once
you see what those natural strengths and preferences are, you can tailor activities to their learning
styles. Keep in mind, though, that using many different teaching techniques can benefit all your
students, both “right-” and “left-brained.” It is also important to remember that an individual can
exhibit both “right-” and “left-brained” traits. For many students, particularly those who are “right-
brained,” a visual, such as a picture or 3-D model, can help them better understand a concept. Another
way to help “right-brained” students is to pair music with learning. Have students make up a song
about history facts and sing it to the melody of a familiar song such as “On Top of Old Smoky.” Let
these students see, feel, and touch things. “Right-brained” students also seem to thrive when doing
group or hands-on activities, such as (Quantum Learning, 1999, p. 31):  Shared learning 
Group discussions  Role-play/simulations  Experiments To help “left-brained” students,
provide information in very logical sequences—for example, make (numbered) lists for them. Another
way to help students with a left-brain preference is to give them typed or printed directions. Let these
students do their work step by step. “Left-brained” students seem to thrive when following plans and
having structure with activities, such as (Quantum Learning, 1999, p. 31):  Analysis 
Research  Realistic projects  Worksheets Resources National Institute of Neurological
Disorders and Stroke (2007). Brain basics: Know your brain. Retrieved January 19, 2009, from
http://ninds.nih.gov/disorders/brain_basics/know_your_brain.htm?css=print Quantum Learning (1999).
Orchestrating student success. Oceanside, CA: Quantum Learning Network. Sousa, D. R. (1995). How
the brain learns. Reston, VA: NASSP. How Can Educators Help the “Right-Brained”/“Left-Brained”
Student? © 2009 Super Duper® Publications • www.superduperinc.com Super Duper® Handy
Handouts!® Number The list of Super Duper® products below may be helpful when working with
children who have special needs. Visit www.superduperinc.com or call 1-800-277-8737. Click the links
below to see the product description. Interactive Sing-Along Big Books – Set 1 Ask for Item #TPX-
18409 http://www.superduperinc.com/products/view.aspx?pid=TPX18409 Webber® Hear It! Say It!
Learn It!™ Ask for Item #BKCD-407 http://www.superduperinc.com/products/view.aspx?
pid=BKCD407 Yogarilla™ Ask for Item #OTSC-8609
http://www.superduperinc.com/products/view.aspx?pid=OTSC8609

The Brain: Hemispheres Introduction to Cognitive Science “Left-Brained” People vs “Right-Brained”

People Left-Brained Right-Brained Analytical Synthesizing Rational Intuitive Linear / sequential
Simultaneous Detailed Holistic / whole picture Rules Associations ‘Sciency’ ‘Artsy’ How much of this
is true? The Two Hemispheres The hemispheres Communicate via the Corpus Callosum People use
both hemispheres Right Hemisphere Left Hemisphere Lateralization • When a certain cognitive
function is processed in one of the hemispheres, as opposed to the other, then that cognitive function is
lateralized. • A clear example of laterilization: – Left brain takes care of sensory-motor functions of
right half of body – Right brain takes care of sensory-motor functions of left half of body • Does left-
handedness vs right-handedness correlate with ‘right-brained’ vs ‘left-brained’? • What about eye
dominance? • Any other clear lateralization? Language Broca’s Area: Speech Production Wernicke’s
Area: Speech Understanding In 95% of right-handed people, the language is predominantly processed
on the left In 20% of left-handed people, It’s on the right, and for another 20% it’s bilateral (so for
most, it’s still on the left) Detailed vs Holistic Processing • The left hemisphere seems to process
information with an eye for detail • The right hemisphere seems to process information with an eye for
the bigger picture • Navigation: People with right-brain damage have to navigate their environment
with explicit ‘scripts’ based on detailed landmarks. • Face recognition: People with damaged right brain
have to ‘piece together’ who is in front of them based on facial features. • Right brain has more white
matter, as axons of neurons are longer in right brain The ‘Rational’ Left vs the ‘Impulsive’/’Intuitive’
Right • Much of what the right brain is doing is unconscious (or at least difficult to express in words:
connection between consciousness and language?). As such, decisions or judgments made by the right
brain are the kind of decisions we often call ‘hunches’ or ‘impulses’. • On the other hand, the decisions
made by the left brain are the kind of planned out, consciously deliberated (or at least, expressed in
words), decisions. • Note the immediate stygma we attach to both kinds of decisions: Rational = good
(objective), Impulsive = bad (subjective) – But there are many cases where ‘impulsive’ decisions are
actually perfectly good decisions (‘Blink’ is a nice popular- science book on this) – And many cases
where ‘reasoned out’ decisions are bad ones -> ‘rationalization’ The Two Hemispheres as a Team • The
resulting picture thus seems to be that while there is no clear lateralization of cognitive functions, the
two hemispheres do seem to have subtle differences in their ‘style’ of processing. • Indeed, it is
probably often by pooling together the strengths/findings of the two hemispheres that we accomplish
cognitive tasks. When the Team Members get Separated: Split-Brain Patients • In split-brain patients,
the two hemispheres are not communicating (often because the corpus callossum, for medical reasons,
has been surgically severed) • A typical split-brain patient can verbally report what is in their right
visual field (-> left brain -> language), but not what is in their left visual field. • Still, information from
the left visual field can be processed: – Experiment: A split-brain patient was shown picture of a spoon
in left visual field. When asked what she saw, patient said “Nothing”. Patient then had to reach with left
hand behind a curtain, and pick one of the objects there: book, pen, spoon, etc. Patient picked the
spoon. When asked what she had in her hand, she said “pencil” Another Split-Brain Experiment
Subjects are asked to point to what they are seeing. Left hand points to shovel, right to chicken
Explanation: Snowy scene in left visual field is registered by right hemisphere, which controls left
hand, and vice versa Subjects are then asked to explain why they made that choice They say: Well, I
see a chicken foot, so I point to the chicken, and the chicken poop needs to be shoveled! Explanation:
with language in left hemisphere, they can only report on what’s on the right. And while the shovel
initially doesn’t fit in, the patient quickly comes up with a story, i.e. rationalizes, why Video he picked
the shovel. Split Brain -> Two Minds? Two Personalities? One side of face mirrored Other side of face
mirrored Atheist or Believer? Alien Hands: Another case of Non-Communication • Some people suffer
from alien hands (often the left one: ‘sinistra’ = left): it does things without them being in control of
what it does. • In fact, the alien hands often negates what the other hand just did (e.g. left hand will
unbutton the shirt that the right hand just buttoned) as if it is the expression of some ‘evil twin’ inside
them. • Is this why most people are right-handed? • Is this why ‘right’ also means ‘correct’?

National Adolescent Health Information Center The M ental Health of Adolescents: A National Profile,
2008 David K nopf, M. Jane Park , & Tina Paul Mulye OVERVIEW Parents, practitioners, and
policymakers are recognizing the importance of young people’s mental health. Youth with better mental
health are physically healthier, demonstrate more socially positive behaviors and engage in fewer risky
behaviors.1 Conversely, youth with mental health problems, such as depression, are more likely to
engage in health risk behaviors.2 Furthermore, youths’ mental health problems pose a significant
financial and social burden on families and society in terms of distress, cost of treatment, and
disability.3,4,5 Most mental health problems diagnosed in adulthood begin in adolescence. Half of
lifetime diagnosable mental health disorders start by age 14; this number increases to three fourths by
age 24.6 The ability to manage mental health problems, including substance use issues and learning
disorders, can affect adult functioning in areas such as social relationships and participation in the
workforce. Federal initiatives have highlighted the importance of mental health for youth and adults.
Both the Surgeon General and the White House have convened major meetings on mental health, with
significant discussion on issues related to adolescents.7,8 Several mental health objectives are among
the Healthy People 2010 21 Critical Health Objectives for Adolescents and Young Adults.9 In addition,
clinicians increasingly recognize that mental health and related problems are important and demanding
parts of their practices, with pediatricians reporting that nearly one fifth of their patients have an
emotional, behavioral, or school problem.10 To improve mental health, policymakers and program
administrators need accurate information about the issue. This brief highlights existing national data
about adolescent mental health status. Despite limitations of current research, we can draw some
conclusions about adolescent mental health. The evidence shows: • One in five adolescents experience
significant symptoms of emotional distress and nearly one in ten are emotionally impaired; • The most
common disorders among adolescents include depression, anxiety disorders and attention-deficit/
hyperactivity disorder and substance use disorder. This brief also assesses shortcomings of current data
and offers recommendations to address these limitations. We hope this brief helps strengthen systems
that monitor the mental and emotional health of young people at national, state and local levels.
Monitoring systems are animportant component of efforts to promote mental health, and prevent and
treat mental health problems. Such efforts promote a healthy adolescence and lay the groundwork for
healthy adulthood. Before turning to mental health data, we review definitions of mental health and
describe methods for assessing mental health status. N A H I C A Mental Health Profile of Adolescents
Page 2 BACKGROUND n What is mental health and mental illness? The 1999 Surgeon General’s
Report on Mental Health defined mental health as “successful performance of mental function,
resulting in productive activities, fulfilling relationships with other people, and the ability to change
and to cope with adversity.” Mental illness refers to diagnosable mental disorders that are characterized
by alterations in thinking, mood, or behavior (or a combination thereof ) associated with distress and/or
impaired functioning.” 8 A 2004 report by the World Health Organization (WHO) includes a similar
distinction between mental health and mental illness.11 With children this includes a wide range of
emotional and behavior problems that in lay terms may not be considered mental, or psychiatric
disorders. Here, the terms emotional, behavioral, and mental disorders are used interchangeably.
Common disorders include mood disorders such as depression; anxiety disorders; behavioral problems
such as oppositional defiant disorder or conduct disorder; eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and
bulimia; addictive disorders; and other disorders commonly seen in childhood and adolescence such as
autism, learning disorders and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD). Research suggests that
co-occurrence of disorders is not uncommon in adolescence, although national data are largely lacking.
According to the Surgeon General’s report, “children with pervasive developmental disorders often
suffer from AD/HD. Children with a conduct disorder are often depressed, and the various anxiety
disorders may cooccur with mood disorders. Learning disorders are common in all these conditions, as
are alcohol and other substance use disorders (DSM-IV).” 8 Schizophrenia, a relatively rare diagnosis,
typically has its onset in late teens/early adulthood for males and in the late 20s to early 30s for
females.12 According to the Surgeon’s General’s report and WHO, mental health encompasses positive
aspects of well-being and healthy functioning as well as negative aspects of mental disorder and
dysfunction.8,11 Ideally, a comprehensive overview of adolescent mental health status would reflect
both positive and negative aspects. A comprehensive overview would also recognize that family,
community and social contexts influence mental health status. For example, exposure to violence can
have adverse consequences for mental health status.8 However, research in the health and mental
health fields has traditionally focused on negative indicators of individual pathology. Available data
reflect this emphasis, with relatively little focus on contextual influences. Box 1 describes efforts to
assess positive mental health in adolescence. n How do we measure the mental health status of youth?
This report presents data from studies using nationally representative samples only. While community
and regional studies have yielded useful data,13,14,15 variation in study methodologies limits their
generalizability to the national level. Local studies vary in the sampling, age groupings, disorder
definitions, and analysis. For example, one review of 52 studies found estimates of the
psychopathology rate among children and adolescents ranging from 1% to nearly 51%.16 The national
studies reviewed for this report use various methodologies for assessing mental health status. Findings
may be biased due to misrepresentations. For example, findings understate the prevalence of problems
if respondents attach a strong stigma to mental health problems. Alternatively, problems may be
overstated if respondents desire benefits that may accompany certain diagnoses. Table 1 (on page 12)
lists the main studies cited in this report, including abbreviations. Approaches to assessing mental
health status can be categorized as follows: • Positive indicators such as well-being and resiliency. As
indicated above, few nationally representative data are available using this approach. Box 1 provides
more information about positive mental health and protective factors. • Broad questions to measure
symptoms of well-being or emotional distress. This approach includes research that measures
limitations in functioning due to mental health problems. Several national surveys of youth and parents
offer this type of N A H I C Box 1: Measuring Positive Mental Health “There is a relative dearth of
information about teens’ positive mental health – that is, on teens who are optimistic, happy and
prepared for life.” a Since the late 1950s, several conceptual frameworks have addressed positive
mental health. These frameworks include a range of emphases, such as cultural definitions of mental
health, subjective sense of well-being, and capacity for coping and resiliency in the face of stressors.b
In the adolescent health field, similar efforts have expanded the definition of health from one that
examines negative behaviors and outcomes to one that incorporates positive youth development and
functioning.c,d,e A 2005 textbook on adolescent mental health states, “As important as it is to reduce or
eliminate problems among children and adolescents, it is just as important to help them thrive and form
positive connections to the larger world.”f Frameworks for conceptualizing positive adolescent
development cover many domains, including: • individual assets (e.g., social and emotional
competency, self-efficacy, positive identity, life satisfaction and pro-social involvement) and •
environmental factors that foster positive youth development (e.g., family, school and community
connections).g,h,I,j,k,l There is no national consensus on measuring positive mental health. However,
several states and many communities have adapted existing frameworks to measure positive
function.c,m,n One example of an effort using a more comprehensive approach is a 2001-02 study of
34 industrialized countries, including the U.S. In addition to examining prevalence of problems such as
substance use and violence, this analysis also addressed satisfaction with life and relationships with
parents. Most adolescents reported positive satisfaction with life, with the percentage reporting this
decreasing slightly among older teens.o In addition, adolescents generally report close relationships
with their parents, with some variation by demographic factors. Younger adolescents were more likely
to feel close to their parents than older teens. Black and Hispanic youth feel close to their mothers more
than White youth. Youth with less educated parents were more likely to feel very close to their parents
than did youth whose parents had more education.p The references (on page 15) provide more
information about positive mental health indicators. A listing of positive indicators is available from
The Forum for Youth Investment’s “What gets measured, gets done: Indicators of youth well-being,
expanded resource list.” Available online at: http://www.forumfyi.org/Files/FF_
WGMGD_Resources.pdf. A Mental Health Profile of Adolescents Page 3 data, such as the Youth Risk
Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS),17 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS),18,19 National
Survey of America’s Families (NSAF),20 and the National Survey on Drug Use and Health
(NSDUH).21 • Formal assessment techniques, including standardized scales or interview schedules.
These scales are usually linked to psychiatric classification systems such as the Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) of theAmerican Psychiatric
Association.22 Examples of studies using these techniques include the NHIS,18,19 the National Co--
Morbidity Study,23 and the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health (AddHealth).24 It
should be noted that, over time, the criteria for inclusion of some disorders has changed and the criteria
for defining some disorders has been revised. Consequently, data collected at different points in time
may be problematic for monitoring trends. • Data about receipt of services for mental health related
problems. NSDUH asks about receipt of counseling services as well as substance use services;21 the
Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) conducts interviews regarding health care use and analyzes
billing records related to services;25 and, the Pediatric Research in Office Settings and Ambulatory
Sentinel Practice Network (PROS/ASPN) asks health care providers about services performed.26
Combining the research findings from different approaches yields a more comprehensive profile of
mental health than relying on any single approach. Despite shortcomings of different approaches, these
data collectively provide useful information to inform programs and policies to improve adolescent
mental health. N A H I C HOW ARE YOUNG PEOPLE DOING? Mental health issues are a serious
concern among adolescents. Although most adolescents are doing well, about one in five report
symptoms of mental health problems, depression being the most common. To describe the prevalence
of mental health problems, we organize the findings as follows: global estimates of behavioral and
emotional problems, estimates of specific disorders, suicide, and utilization of mental health services. n
Global estimates of behavioral & emotional problems Data from the 2004 NHIS found that over 1 in 10
(11.6%) adolescents ages 12-17 had serious behavioral or mental healthdifficulties, as rated by parents
using a modified version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Male adolescents were
slightly more likely to have these mental health difficulties than female peers (12.3% vs. 10.9%); low-
income adolescents had more than twice the rate of higher-income adolescents (17.9% vs. 8.0% ).19
Previous data from NHIS, using a modified version of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), show a
similar income disparity. By contrast, looking at trends between 1997 and 2002, the NSAF study found
low-income adolescents to be improving slightly, while higher-income adolescents fared slightly worse
(Figure 1). 20 n Comprehensive evaluations A Mental Health Profile of Adolescents Page 4 Studies that
comprehensively evaluate mental health disorders from childhood through adolescence using national
samples could not be located. Moststudies address specific disorders. Estimates of the proportion of
youth with mental health problems variedtremendously, depending on how mental health problems
were defined and measured. • Using data from the 1992-1994 NHIS surveys, researchers examined
parents’ perceptions of their children’s limitations in school participation due to mental health
problems. About 3% (30.7/1,000) of 12- to 17-year-olds have school limitations due to mental health
disorders. This includes those with mental retardation, learning disabilities, attention deficit and
hyperactivity disorder and other disabling mental health problems such as depression, autism, anxiety,
or oppositional defiant disorder.27 This may be an underestimate, since accommodations within
schools now enable many with significant difficulties to participate in school.28 Thus, some parents
may not perceive their child as limited. Source: Vandivere et al., 2004; see reference #20; *See Page 14
for income definition Figure 1: Parents Reporting Child Has High Level of Behavioral and Emotional
Problems by Age, Income and Year, 1997-2002 Source: Achenbach et al., 2003; see reference #30
Figure 2: Youth with Significant Problems, Ages 7-16, 1989 & 1999 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 1989 1999
10.8% 9.3% 3.5% 2.2% 6.8% 9.2% 7.9% 9.3% 9.4% 8.6% 10.4% 9.5% ODD Anxiety Somatization
Conduct ADHD 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% Ages 6-11 Ages 12-17 Ages 6-11 Ages 12-17 Low-Income
Higher-Income 9.5% 4.3%4.2% 7.0% 5.8% 5.2% 5.8% 11.1% 10.4% 14.9% 9.1% 9.3% 1997 1999
2002 * * N A H I C • According to the 1995 National Survey of Adolescents (ages 12- to 17), 16% of
males and 19% of females met most of the diagnostic criteria in the DSM-III for one of three
psychiatric diagnoses—major depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, or substance
abuse/dependence disorder.29 • In 1999, just under one fourth (23.9%) of 7- to 16-year-olds had at least
one emotional or behavioral problem, according to research using the CBCL. Overall, there were few
statistically significant changes in the prevalence of problems between 1989 and 1999 (Figure 2). Of
the main diagnostic categories, the one significant finding was the decrease in oppositional defiant
disorder between 1989 and 1999.30 n Specific Disorders Depression Depression is one of the most
widely studied mental health conditions because of its large burden on individuals, families, and
society and its links to suicide. Depression is the most widely reported disorder, with over a quarter of
adolescents affected A Mental Health Profile of Adolescents Page 5 by at least mild depressive
symptoms.24 Reported prevalence of depression varies, depending on which symptoms and what
degree of severity are measured. • One of the broadest indicators ofdepressive symptoms comes from
the YRBSS. This study asks: Have you ever felt so sad or hopeless almost every day, for two weeks in
a row, that you couldn’t do some of your usual activities? Results from the 2005 YRBSS indicate that
36.7% of female and 20.4% of male high school students reported this level of sadness; Hispanic
students reported higher rates (46.7% of females & 26.0% of males) than their non-Hispanic Black &
White peers (Figure 3). 17 • Depression is more than twice as prevalent among females ages 15-20,
compared to same-age males, according to an analysis of data from the 1990-1992 National
Comorbidity Study (Figure 4). Three quarters (76%) of those who fulfilled the criteria for major
depression also had other psychiatric diagnoses. In more than twothirds of the cases, these other
diagnoses preceded the depression. Among those with multiple diagnoses, anxiety disorders were
experienced first by 40%, addictive disorders by 12%, and conduct disorders by 25% of the young
people between 15 and 20 years of age. Only about one half of the depressed youth had ever told
aprofessional of their depression.23 Figure 3: Sadness or Hopelessness which Prevented Usual
Activities by Gender and Race/Ethnicity, High School Students, 2005 Source: Kessler & Walters, 1998;
see reference #23 Source: YRBSS, 2007; see reference #17 Figure 4: Lifetime Prevalence of Major
Depression (DSM-III-R) by Age and Gender, Ages 15-20, 1990-1992 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
White, non-Hispanic Black, non-Hispanic Hispanic Total 33.4% 25.8% 28.5% 36.9% 28.4% 19.5%
26.0% 36.2% 20.4% 36.7% 46.7% Females Males Total 18.4% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% Ages 15-
16 Ages 17-18 Ages 19-20 Males Females Total 5.7% 12.2% 6.6% 23.4% 15.6% 20.4% 14.6%
13.5%13.5% • Rushton et al., using the Center for Epidemiological Studies – Depression Scale (CES-
D), identified degrees of depressive symptomatology: minimal, mild, moderate, and severe. Research
on adolescents generally combines those with moderate and severe symptoms to identify those who are
depressed. Examining AddHealth data, Rushton et al. found that 9.2% of all students met their criteria
for moderate or severe depression within the past week (5.9% of males and 12.6% of the females).
Those who were non-White, had single parents, or whose mothers did not finish high school, had
higher depression scores (Figure 5). A follow-up study one year later yielded data about the trajectory
of depressive symptoms. Although symptoms were continuous for many youth, the severity of the
symptoms changed for many (Figures 6 & 7): 4Of those with minimal symptoms the first year, 84%
continued to report only minimal symptoms the following year. 4Of those with mild symptoms the first
year, 46% improved, 17% got worse, and 37% stayed the same. 4Of the youth with moderate/severe
symptoms, 44% stayed the same, 24% improved markedly, and 32% improved somewhat.24 Anxiety
Disorders National prevalence data on specific anxiety disorders in adolescents are limited, although
regional studies suggest that the combined prevalence of anxiety disorders is among the highest in
childhood and adolescence.31 National data were located on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD):
according to the 1995 National Survey of Adolescents (NSA), 3.7% of all males and 6.3% of all
females ages 12-17 were reported N A H I C A Mental Health Profile of Adolescents Page 6 Source:
Rushton et al., 2002; see reference #24 Figure 5: Moderate and Severe Depression Using CES-D, High
School Students, 1995 Figure 6: Depressive Symptoms, Wave 1, CES-D Scale, Ages 12-17, 1995
Figure 7: Depressive Symptoms, Wave 2 by Wave 1 Category, CES-D Scale, Ages 12-17, 1996 Source:
Rushton et al., 2002; see reference #24 Source: Rushton et al., 2002; see reference #24 0% 10% 20%
30% Low Maternal Education 14.0% Mother is High School Grad 7.5% Living with Single Parent
12.1% Living with Both Parents 8.1% White 10.8% All Students 9.2% Males 5.9% Females 12.6%
Non-White 8.5% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Minimal, Wave 1 Moderate/Severe, Wave 1 Mild,
Wave 1 84.0% Minimal Mild Moderate/Severe 44.0% 32.0% 24.0% 17.0% 37.0% 46.0% 3.0% 13.0%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Minimal Mild Moderate/Severe 72.0% 19.0% 9.0% N A H I C A Mental
Health Profile of Adolescents Page 7 to have PTSD in 1995. Among these youth, nearly half of the
males (47.3%) also had symptoms of major depressive disorder, as did nearly 30% of the females.29
Substance Abuse Disorders Although substance abuse incidence is widely reported from several
national surveys using different samples,17,21,32 fewer sources assess the prevalence of the more
disabling psychiatric diagnosis of substance abuse dependence disorder, in which one’s life is
controlled by substance use. The1995 NSA estimated that 8.2% of males and 6.2% of females ages 12-
17 have a substance abuse dependence disorder.29 In 2006, the NSDUH data showed that 8.2% of 12-
to 17-year-olds depended on/ abused alcohol or illicit drugs; this behavior was slightly higher among
female adolescents than male peers (8.4% vs 7.9%).33 Conduct Disorder and Oppositional Defiant
Disorder Although complete evaluation of all DSM criteria for conduct disorder could not be located,
the 1995 AddHealth study reported “proxy variables,” including stealing, damaging property, and
threatening others which were associated with conduct disorder diagnosis. Using 7 of the 15 criteria in
the DSM-IV diagnosis for conduct disorder, AddHealth found that 3.4% of adolescents ages 12-17 met
the criteria for diagnosis of a conduct disorder.34 Community studies have found a similar range when
the DSM-IV was used, but a higher rate in older studies using the DSM-III-Revised.35 Learning
Disabilities and Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Learning disabilities and ADHD
disorders are functional impairments that can challenge relationships and well-being. Youth with
learning disabilities are nearly twice as likely to report emotional distress and suicide attempts.36
Although often treated in primary care and through educational interventions, these disorders are also
considered mental health problems. The NHIS asks parents if they had ever been told by a professional
that their child had a learning disability or ADHD. In 2005, 9.2% of 12- to 17-year-olds were reported
to have a learning disability, compared to 6.5% of 5- to 11-year-olds. ADHD was identified among
8.9% of the adolescents and 6.1% of the children.18 This survey also shows more males than females
as having a learning disability or ADHD (Figure 8). 19 Eating Disorders National data related to eating
disorders could not be located except for two questions in the YRBSS. The first relates to bulimia
symptoms and the second addresses use of diet products. In 2005, 4.5% of high school students took a
laxative or vomited and 6.3% took diet pills, powders or liquids without a doctor’s advice to lose
weight or avoid gaining weight. More females purged than males, with 6.2% of females and 2.8% of
males saying they had taken laxatives or vomited to control weight. This gender trend is similar for
taking diet pills, powders or liquids with 8.1% of females and 4.6% of males reporting this behavior.17
n Suicide While not a mental health disorder, suicide is more common among adolescents with certain
mental health problems, according to the Surgeon General’s report.8 In addition to depression, the
presence of other mental health problems, such as conduct disorders, eating disorders, and anxiety
disorders, also increase the risk of suicide.37,38,39,40 Suicide is the third leading cause of adolescent
mortality. Nationally, in 2005, there were 270 suicides among 10- to 14-year-olds and 1,613 suicide
deaths among 15- to 19-year-olds, accounting for 10.8% of deaths among 10- to 19-year-olds. Males
ages 10-14 had a suicide death rate 2.5 N A H I C A Mental Health Profile of Adolescents Page 8 times
that of females; for 15- to 19-year-olds, this disparity increased to 3.9. Adolescent suicide rates have
decreased over the the past decade, particularly suicide using firearms. After a sharp decrease in the late
1990s, rates decreased more gradually between 2000 and 2005, with a slight increase between 2003
and 2004.41 The rate of suicide by suffocation has increased and now accounts for more than half of all
suicidal deaths among 10- to 14-yearolds and more than one third of all suicidal deaths among 15- to
19-year-olds.42 Suicide attempts vastly outnumber completed suicides. The 2005 YRBSS found that,
in contrast to completed suicide, female high school students are much more likely to attempt suicide
than male peers (Figure 9). Hispanic students and 9th graders have higher rates of suicide attempts.17
Students involved in physical fights were also more likely to indicate they had attempted suicide.43
Overall, 8.4% of all high school students reported an attempted suicide in 2005, a slight increase from
7.3% in 1991. The percentage of students who say they have seriously considered suicide has decreased
significantly since 1991 (Figure 10). 17 The data presented throughout thissection show the range in
type and severity of mental health problems experienced by young people. It merits reiterating that
these data focus on individual pathology: they do not examine either the context in which mental health
problems arise or positive mental functioning. Research on context and positive function will advance
policymakers’ and program managers’ ability to reduce the burden of mental health problems. Despite
these limitations, these prevalence data do provide clear evidence that a significant proportion of youth
experience emotional distress. We now supplement this prevalence data with research on utilization of
mental health services. Source: NHIS - NAHIC, 2007a; see reference #19 Figure 8: Learning
Disabilities and ADHD by Gender and Age, Ages 5-17, 2005 Source: YRBSS, 2007; see reference #17
Figure 9: Suicide Attempts by Race/Ethnicity and Gender, High School Students, 2005 Source:
YRBSS, 2007; see reference #17 Figure 10: Trends in Suicidal Ideation and Behavior, High School
Students, 1991-2005 0% 5% 15% 25% 35% Females Males Females Males 4.4% 12.6% 11.0% 5.1%
7.4% 8.5% 8.3% 3.7% Ages 5-11 Ages 12-17 Learning Disabilities Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder 0% 10% 20% 30% Males Females 14.9% 7.8% 5.2% 9.3% 5.2% 9.8% White, non-Hispanic
Black, non-Hispanic Hispanic 0% 5% 15% 25% 35% 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005
Seriously Considered Suicide 29.0% Made Suicide Plan Attempted Suicide 7.3% 8.6% 8.7% 7.7%
8.3% 8.8% 8.5% 8.4% 13.0% 15.7% 14.5% 14.8% 16.5% 17.7% 18.6% 19.0% 16.9% 16.9% 19.3%
19.0% 20.5% 24.1% 24.1% N A H I C A Mental Health Profile of Adolescents Page 9 n Utilization of
Mental Health Services Utilization data add to our understanding of the prevalence of mental health
problems. These data generally mirror the findings cited in the previous section: that is, about one in
five youth experiences significant emotional distress and almost ten percent experience more serious
mental illness. Utilization data also indicate that many youth may not meet criteria for serious mental
disorders, but are in significant enough emotional distress to seek and need services. Data on treatment
underscore the huge burden of depression. For example, among adolescents ages 12-17 who reported
receiving mental health treatment, four in 10 cited feeling depressed as the reason for treatment (Figure
11). 33 While utilization data are helpful, their limitations should be noted. First, studies consistently
indicate that most children and youth with significant emotional distress do not receive mental health
services. This suggests that data on the percentage of youth who use mental health services
underestimate the actual prevalence of problems. Estimates of unmet need differ, depending in part on
researchers’ measurement of disorder and definition of services. Examining the 2002 NSAF,
researchers found that, of those children ages 6-17 judged to have significant mental health problems
according to the adapted CBCL, only 39.2% received mental health services in the previous year.44
Kataoka et al., using a validated checklist of symptoms from NHIS, NSAF, and the Community
Tracking Survey, found that only about 10% of children and adolescents with symptoms of mental
health problems received any type of specialty mental health evaluation or service.45 In addition to
unmet need, researchers have documented disparities by ethnicity, income, and geography in young
people’s receipt of mental health services.46,47 For example, non-Hispanic African-Americans ages 6
to 18 are less likely to receive outpatient treatment for depression than same-age Hispanics and White,
non-Hispanics.46 A second limitation is that these data only identify problems presented to individual
service providers. Many adolescents are also served by programs (e.g., after-school programs) that
address young people’s mental and emotional problems and promote healthy development. Reflecting
the traditional focus described earlier, most available data on mental health services examine individual
treatment, usually based on identified disorder or pathology. This focus excludes services outside the
formal health care system, such as those provided in community programs. Figure 11: Reasons for
Mental Health Treatment during Past Year, Ages 12-17, 2006 Source: NSDUH - SAMHSA, 2007; see
reference #21 Source: NSDUH - NAHIC, 2007b; see reference #33 Figure 12: Past-Year Mental Health
Treatment by Age and Gender, Ages 12-17, 2006 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% Mental Disorder
Diagnosis 2.4% 6.4% 43.7% 26.8% 25.3% 22.7% 17.2% 16.2% 15.9% 15.3% 10.4% 8.6% Physical
Fight Eating Problems Other Reasons Anger Control Friend-related Problems Thought About or
Attempted Suicide Felt Afraid or Tense Felt Depressed Breaking Rules/”Acting Out” Family/Home
Problems School-related Problems 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% Females Males 20.5% 21.1% 23.8%
20.2% 17.5% 24.6% Ages 12-13 Ages 14-15 Ages 16-17 N A H I C A Mental Health Profile of
Adolescents Page 10 Prevalence of Treatment The broadest measure of receipt of services comes from
the NSDUH, which asks youth if they had received some mental health treatment or counseling for
emotional or behavioral problems from a mental health or health care professional in a school, home,
outpatient, or inpatient setting. The 2006 NSDUH found that 21.3% of youth ages 12-17 had received
some form of mental health treatment. Older males ages 16-17 were least likely to receive services
(Figure 12). This figure varied little by income. While these data do not indicate the frequency or
adequacy of treatment services, they do indicate that many young people receive some type of adult
professional help. Youth in the NSDUH were most likely to receive services from a private therapist or
a school professional, although they also report receiving services from many other sources.21 Primary
care providers report that mental health problems are a significant part of their practice. In the 1996
Child Behavior Study of 21,000 pediatricians, 18.7% of patients ages 4-15 were seen by the
pediatrician as having psychosocial problems. The types of problems that were identified by the
pediatricians included emotional problems, conduct problems and ADHD (Figure 13). While this study
does not report on treatment offered by the pediatricians, it does indicate that significant need is
identified in the primary care setting and suggests the potential for strengthening services in this
setting.10 CONCLUSION National data make clear that a sizeable proportion of young people have
symptoms of emotional distress. The studies presented here suggest that 20-25% of youth have
symptoms of emotional distress, and about one in ten has moderate to severe symptomatology,
indicating significant impairment. Although young people receive help from many sources, there
remains considerable unmet need. A continuing challenge for those who develop policy and allocate
resources is assessing the level of need. Estimates of need for services are likely to vary depending on
the method used, e.g., reported symptoms of distress, fulfillment of psychiatric diagnostic criteria,
functional impairment, or desire for services.49 Larger cultural trends, geopolitical events, and even
marketing also change perceptions of need. Monitoring mental health status should extend Most other
research focuses morenarrowly on services provided by mental health specialists, and, not surprisingly,
reports much lower prevalence of mental health services. The 2002 NSAF asked parents whether their
child (ages 6-17) had “received mental health services, including such services from a doctor, mental
health counselor, or therapist.” Overall, 8.8% of the sample indicated their child had used mental health
services.44 Data from the 2005 NHIS found that 8.2% of the parents of adolescents (ages 12-17)
reported that their youths had at least one visit with a mental health specialist within the last year.19
The 1997 MEPS found 4% of those ages 13 to 17 had received psychotherapy and 2% of those under
13 had received psychotherapy. These rates were not significantly different from 1987.48 *Physical
Manifestations include psychosomatizing disorders and anorexia. Source: Kelleher et al., 2000; see
reference #10 Figure 13: Problems Identified by Pediatricians of Patients Ages 4-15, 1996 0% 5% 10%
15% Developmental Delay 2.4% Emotional Problems Physical Manifestations* Other Adjustment
Reactions Conduct Problems ADHD 9.2% 7.2% 4.4% 3.9% 3.9% 3.6% beyond current measures of
disorder and impairment. Limitations of available data merit reiterating: national data largely focus on
measures of individual disorder and dysfunction, without consideration of positive function or regard to
contextual factors that shape mental health and well-being. Research has identified contextual factors
that place adolescents at greater risk of mental health problems.8 There are also factors that strengthen
resilience among adolescents, buffering them against problems stemming from negative
environments.50 Family support, for example, can help mitigate adverse consequences for children
exposed to violence.51 Measures that account for the influence of cultural background would also
enhance our ability to assess adolescent mental health status. Culture shapes the way individuals view
and respond to emotional distress.8 National data are often available by demographic breakdowns and
often show, for example, that poor adolescents suffer disproportionately from mental health problems.
While this is a useful starting point, a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between socio--
economic status and culture could strengthen the capacity of monitoring systems to assess mental
health more accurately. Finally, better data on the mental health status of special populations of
adolescents would help decision-makers target resources more effectively. Some national studies have
gone beyond traditional demographic breakdowns, to focus on populations known to be at significant
risk. An analysis using AddHealth data, for example, shows that sexual minority youth report higher
levels of depression, substance use, and suicide attempts.52 Smaller studies of incarcerated youth
suggest that this population has much higher rates of substance use disorders, PTSD, and learning
disorders.53 Youth in the foster care system and maltreated youth also have higher prevalence of
mental health problems.54,55,56 While there are clearly limitations in our understanding of adolescent
mental health, we know enough to act. The challenge is to translate emerging research findings in these
diverse areas—such as context, positive function, resilience, culture and special populations—into
indicators that can be monitored over time and used to guide policy and program development. As
stated in numerous reports and recommendations, such as those from the federal government and
professional medical organizations, adolescents need access to comprehensive mental health
services.8,57,58 N A H I C A Mental Health Profile of Adolescents Page 11 N A H I C A Mental Health
Profile of Adolescents Page 12 Abbreviation Name** Citation(s) Sample and Year(s) Data Collected
AddHealth National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health Rushton et al., 2002; Van Dulman et al.,
2002 National probability sample; interviewed and surveyed youth (grades 7-12) at home in 1995 and
1996* CBCL Child Behavior Checklist Achenbach et al., 2003 National probability sample; surveyed
parents of children and adolescents (ages 7-16) in 1976, 1989 and 1999 MEPS Medical Expenditure
Panel Survey Cohen, 1997; Olfson et al., 2002 National stratified probability sample; interviewed
children and adolescents (ages 6-18) in 1987 and 1997* NCS National Comorbidity Study & National
Comorbidity Study replication Kessler et al., 1998; Kessler et al., 2005 National probability study;
interviewed youth (ages 15-24) and adults (ages 18+) at home in 1990-1992 and 2001-2003 NHIS
National Health Interview Survey Halfon & Newacheck, 1999; NAHIC, 2007a National probability
sample; parents of children and adolescents (ages 6-17) interviewed at home in 1992-1994, 2004 and
2005* NSA National Survey of Adolescents Kilpatrick et al., 2003 Adolescents (ages 12-17) in national
probability sample interviewed over telephone in 1995 NSAF National Survey of America’s Families
Kataoka et al., 2002; Sturm et al., 2003; Vandivere et al., 2004; Howell, 2004 Nationally representative
households (with children and adolescents ages 6-17) interviewed in home in 1997, 1999 and 2002*
NSDUH National Survey of Drug Use and Health SAMHSA, 2007; NAHIC, 2007b Nationally
representative sample of adolescents (ages 12-17) interviewed in home in 2006* PROS and ASPN
Pediatric Research in Office Settings and Ambulatory Sentinel Practice Network Kelleher et al., 1997
National sample of Pediatricians and Family Practice physicians; surveyed about patients (ages 4-15) in
1996 YRBSS Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System YRBSS, 2007 National cluster sample of high
schools; surveyed students (grades 9-12) every two years between 1991 and 2005 Table 1: National
Data Sources Cited in this Brief* *Please note that this table only lists the data collection years that
were cited in this brief. Additional years of data may be available from the sources. **The data sources
are hyperlinked in the “Name” column where possible. N A H I C A Mental Health Profile of
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Acknowledgements: The authors would like to thank the following colleagues for their contribution to
this brief: at UCSF, Sally H. Adams assisted with data runs & did an editorial review; Charles E.Irwin,
Jr. & Claire D. Brindis did a substantial review. Vaughn Rickert at the Mailman School of Public
Health, Columbia University reviewed this brief. Mark Wiest at the University of Maryland and
Howard Adelman & Linda Taylor at the Center for Mental Health in Schools at University of
California, LosAngeles reviewed an earlier version of this brief. This document was developed with
support from the Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau,
Office of Adolescent Health (U45MC 00002 & U45MC 00023). Published by: National Adolescent
Health Information Center University of California, San Francisco, Division of Adolescent Medicine
3333 California Street, Box 0503 San Francisco, California, 94143-0503 Phone: 415-502-4856 Fax:
415-502-4858 Email: [email protected] Web site: http://nahic.ucsf.edu