Research Paper on Adolescence Development and Biological Transitions

Introduction of Adolescence Development and Biological Transitions

            In the life of a human, the adolescence is one of the complex and fascinating periods in which a child is moving towards adulthood.  The youth is a biological process in which the complete transitions happen in the human body; it is also referred to as puberty. During the period of different puberty transitions like physical, mental and sexual happen after which the fertility in achieved. In this paper, there would be a discussion about the 4 four different characteristics of development during the puberty in the human body (Sawyer, Azzopardi, Wickremarathne, & Patton, 2018). The report mainly focuses on the natural transition that happen in the body. Throughout the puberty period, the individual is likely to experience psychological growth that is primarily controlled by interactions between the pituitary gland, brain, and the gonads. Adolescence is a phase of incredible potential and growth, but it is a significant risk time.  It is the matter of concern that many of the people would debate that today being an adolescent is different from what it was some decades ago. Some of the developmental characteristics of the adolescence and the natural transition is discussed in the paper (Cicognani, 2011).

Developmental characteristic 1: The Impact of Puberty on family relationships

The puberty of the child also hurts his/her family and relationships.  The person during the adolescence has to go through a lot of physical mental and sexual transitions that is very complex and sometimes disturbing for the people. Many of the children during the puberty seems to have some psychological issues, and they usually are going through mood swing. The pubertal maturing during adolescence is related with emotional distance among teenagers and their parents; the adolescent developing in girls and early adolescent developing in boys upsurge conflict among teenagers and their mothers, but not indeed fathers; and adolescent developing and, particularly, late maturing may go with increased interactive independence for the teenager. All in all, it can be said that throughout the process of adolescence the person has to go through a lot of biological change that is not easy for him and this family relationships in some cases (Bakken & Brown, 2011).

Developmental characteristic 2: The Impact of Early Puberty on Delinquency

It can be said that puberty is a very delicate and sensitive period during which a person demonstrates quick alterations in the delinquent or aggressive behavior. Puberty's early onset has been implicated in not only the frequent delinquent behavior but a higher degree of aggression as well. At the age of 14, both females and males had almost similar levels of delinquency (Sebastian, Viding, Williams, & Blakemore, 2010). The early period of puberty for females was additionally related to more symptoms of misconduct at the follow-up of 14-year. It can be said that for males by the follow-up of 21-year, the YASR higher levels of aggression were not exhibited by the ones who had experienced puberty's early onset.

Meanwhile, for females, only late and early age of puberty's occurrence were related to the evidence of longer-term of delinquent behavior. The rates of the female in terms of delinquent behavior might have increased during the period for matching the ones which were observed in adolescent males. There is evidence for the puberty's sustained effect over a long-period for only females (Curtis, 2015).

Comparison of Adolescence Development and Biological Transitions

There is an also a correlation between puberty impact on family relationships and the impact of early puberty on delinquency. The puberty especially the early adolescence in the adolescent is not only disturbing the family relations but also result in misconduct in the children.  It is estimated that the person during his period of adolescences is more likely to get involved in bad habits, law violation, conflicts, and other criminal activity.  The main reason behind the issue is that the mental conditions in the adolescent are not very stable and they feel emotionally distant to the friends, family and other relatives. So it can be said that during the phase of adolescence the person not only feels distant from the family members but also have more chances to get involved in the different delinquent activity (Zelazo & Carlson, 2012).

Developmental characteristic 3: Eating Disorders and sexuality

Although females and males of all ages can be affected by eating disorders, the average time for the onset of disordered eating, Bulimia Nervosa, and Anorexia Nervosa occurs during the period of adolescence. Even though eating disorders result from some social, psychological, environmental, and personal factors, it seems that teenagers are most at risk in developing eating disorders and it is because of several factors (Tolman & McClelland, 2011). The duration of puberty is one of the intense changes which can bring a lot of stress, anxiety, and confusion for many with it. During this time, physical transformation that occurs is tremendous and usually combined with the emotions of comparison, low self-esteem, self-consciousness with fellows. Additionally, there are brain and hormonal changes that take place and impact an individual psychologically, emotionally, mentally, and physically (Sherar, Cumming, Eisenmann, Baxter-Jones, & Malina, 2010).

There is also a problem of environmental and social change with the duration of early teenage or adolescence, commonly being a time when an individual will change friendship groups, schools, and maybe create an interest in the same or opposite gender. Concerning the confusion and stress that comes together with the duration of puberty, it is a little surprising that a person might be struggling to handle the whirlpool of low self-esteem, uncertainty, and change. Disorders of eating are frequently a coping mechanism for individuals to try and control their situations when they are feeling helpless in other aspects.

Developmental characteristic 4: Causes of obesity

Teenagers become obese and overweight for several reasons. Unhealthy patterns of eating, lack of physical processes, genetic factors, or a mix of these elements. In uncommon cases, a medical condition causes overweight like a hormonal issue. Blood tests and a physical exam can rule out the likelihood of a medical cause as a reason for overweight. Even though, weight issues run in the family lineage, not every other child will be a subject to obesity (Musaiger, 2011). Kids whose siblings or parents are obese might be at a higher risk of being obese themselves, but this can be related to the shared behavior like activity and eating habits. The activity level and the total diet of a child are significant in the determination of the weight of a child. At present, countless kids seem to spend time doing nothing. For instance, an average child watches television for almost four hours a day. As video games and computers have become more popular, the duration of inactivity might rise (Luppino, Wit, & Bouvy, 2010).

Comparison

            The 3^rd and 4^th developmental characteristics the eating disorders, sexuality and the causes of the obesity in the adolescent is discussed. During the adolescence, the young boys and girls go through eating disorders because of the changing in their sexual characteristics. The correlations between all of the variables are that the transition in the sexual characteristics result in the eating disorders among the youngsters and the eating disorders can result in the obesity in the youngsters. The impact on obesity is then disturbed by the sexual biological transition in the adolescent. It is not necessarily that the eating disorder always results in obesity; sometimes the youngsters skip the meals that eventually cause weakness and other health issues in them. So it can be said that during the adolescent eating disorder can cause a lot of problems like obesity and other health-related problems (Sebastian, Viding, Williams, & Blakemore, 2010).

Integrative Summary

Summing up the discussion related to four development characteristics of the adolescence development and natural transitions it can be said that the adolescence is a phase of incredible potential and growth, but it is a significant risk time. It is the matter of concern that many of the people would debate that today being an adolescent is different from what it was some decades ago. The early age of puberty for females was additionally related to more symptoms of delinquency at the follow-up of 14-year. The youth especially the early adolescence in the adolescent is not only disturbed the family relations but also resulted in misconduct in the children. 

The duration of puberty is one of the great changes which can bring a lot of stress, anxiety, and confusion for many with it. Concerning the excitement and fear that comes together with the duration of puberty, it is a little surprising that a person might be struggling to handle the whirlpool of uncertainty, low self-esteem, and change. The activity level and the total diet of a child are very important in the determination of the weight of a child. The impact on obesity is then disturbed the sexual biological transition in the adolescent.

References of Adolescence Development and Biological Transitions

Bakken, J. P., & Brown, B. B. (2011). Parenting and Peer Relationships: Reinvigorating Research on Family–Peer Linkages in Adolescence. JOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE, 153 – 165.

Cicognani, E. (2011). Coping Strategies With Minor Stressors in Adolescence: Relationships With Social Support, Self-Efficacy, and Psychological Well-Being. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 559–578.

Curtis, A. C. (2015). Defining adolescence. Journal of Adolescent and Family Health.

Luppino, F. S., Wit, L. M., & Bouvy, P. F. (2010). Overweight, Obesity, and Depression. ARCH GEN PSYCHIATRY, 67(3). Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/dell/Downloads/yma90003_220_229.pdf

Musaiger, A. O. (2011). Overweight and Obesity in Eastern Mediterranean Region:. Journal of Obesity, 1-17.

Sawyer, S. M., Azzopardi, P. S., Wickremarathne, D., & Patton, G. (2018). The age of adolescence.

Sebastian, C., Viding, E., Williams, K. D., & Blakemore, S.-J. (2010). Social brain development and the affective consequences of ostracism in adolescence. Brain and Cognition, 72, 134–145.

Sherar, L. B., Cumming, S. P., Eisenmann, J. C., Baxter-Jones, A. D., & Malina, R. M. (2010). Adolescent Biological Maturity and Physical Activity: Biology Meets Behavior. Pediatric Exercise Science, 332-349.

Tolman, D. L., & McClelland, S. I. (2011). Normative Sexuality Development in Adolescence: A Decade in Review, 2000 – 2009. JOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE, 21(1), 242 – 255.

Zelazo, P. D., & Carlson, S. M. (2012). Hot and Cool Executive Function in Childhood and Adolescence: Development and Plasticity. 354–360.