Psychological Implications

Boys Vs. Girls

Girls approaching puberty tend to become concerned about their appearance while boys are often unaware of some physical changes. Boys are more positive than girls to body changes 62% of boys regard semenarche positively; only 23% of girls view menarche positively (Seiffge-Krenke, 1998)

 Pubertal changes may prompt changes in family relations Adolescents physically distance themselves from their parents They are more likely to experience conflicts with their parents partly caused by hormonal changes in the early adolescence Even when parent-child relationships are disrupted during early adolescence, they become warmer once the pubertal transition is completed

Physical Behavior
Rapid muscle development over the adolescent years makes both boys and girls noticeably stronger than they were as children (Seger & Thompson, 2000) By age 10-11, girls engage in less rigorous outdoor activities than boys Biological and Sociocultural reasons

Perceptual Development in Adolescence

A. Attention
Longer attention spans than children Less prone to distraction Can divide attention more systematically

B. Hearing
Most compromised in adolescents: concerts, loud music, power equipments
75 decibels and above causes hearing loss Noise at concerts and nightclubs: 120 decibels

Tinnitus: ringing sounds in one or both ears that can last for days, weeks , or indefinitely Teenagers, though aware of the potential damage of exposure to loud sounds, still believe that:
Hearing loss is a serious health concern for them Ear protection is not cool

C. Taste
Slight decline in preference for sweets and increased liking to sour tastes (University of Copenhagen, 2008) More likely to have an acquired taste for previously disliked or avoided foods More open to experiment with foods that may have odd textures or odors (Segovia et al., 2002)

D. Smell
Gender differences caused by hormonal differences between men and women Women generally demonstrating greater sensitivity than man to a variety of odors (Hummel et al., 2007) Women who are fertile judge the body odor of some men as more desirable than the body odor of other men during the time they are ovulating (Foster, 2008; Yamazaki & Beauchamp, 2007) Men, too, rate odor during ovulation as more pleasant than odor at other times of womens menstrual cycle (Singh & Bronstad, 2011) Therefore, both men and women reports odor as an important consideration in choosing partner

Issues in Adolescent Health

1. Nutrition and Exercise
The number of teens who meet the criteria for obesity has increased Teens have more sedentary lifestyles and consume more empty calories than they need, often in form of beverages Adolescents who drink more calorie-dense, nutrientpoor beverages not only gain weight, they have higher systolic blood pressure (Nguyen et al., 2009) Rates of diabetes have increased in recent years (Hsia et al., 2009)

 Children and adolescents whose parents are overweight have twin risk factors for becoming overweight themselves Adolescents who are overweight tend to gravitate toward other overweight teens (Valente et al., 2009) Researchers have found that individuals become less active as they reach and progress through adolescence (Butcher et al., 2008) Boys were more likely to engage in moderate to vigorous exercise than were girls Watching television and using computers for longhours may be involved in lower levels of physical fitness in adolescence (Rey-Lopez et al., 2008)

2. Sleep Patterns
Older teens got markedly less sleep on school nights than younger teens (National Sleep Foundation, 2006) When given the opportunity, adolescents will sleep an average of 9 hours and 25 minutes a night Adolescents biological clocks undergo shift as they get older Melatonin is secreted at about 9:30 pm in younger adolescents and approximately an hour later in older adolescents Early school starting times may cause grogginess, inattention in class, and poor performance on tests (Carskadon, 2005)

3. Eating Disorder
a. Anorexia Nervosa
Involves the relentless pursuit of thinness through starvation It typically begins in the early to middle adolescent years 10 times more likely to occur in females than males Most individuals with anorexia are well-educated, middle and upper-income families and are competitive and high-achieving (Schmidt, 2003) The fashion image portrayed by media contributes to the incidence

b. Bulimia Nervosa
An individual consistently follows a binge-and-purge pattern Like anorexia, people with bulimia have a strong fear of becoming overweight and have a distorted body image Unlike anorexia, person with bulimia typically fall within a normal weight range Typically begins in late adolescence or early adulthood

4. Substance Use and Abuse

Tendency to use alcohol and illicit drugs starts in childhood and early adolescence Large majority of youth who drink recognize that drinking is common among their age and is largely acceptable Risk Factors in Alcohol Abuse:
Heredity Family influences Peer relations