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THE TEEN YEARS EXPLAINED:

A GUIDE TO HEALTHY ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT

By Clea McNeely, MA, DrPH and Jayne Blanchard

The teen years are a time of opportunity, not turmoil.

The Teen Years Explained: A Guide to Healthy Adolescent Development describes

the normal physical, cognitive, emotional and social, sexual, identity formation,

and spiritual changes that happen during adolescence and how adults can promote

healthy development. Understanding these changes—developmentally, what is

happening and why—can help both adults and teens enjoy the second decade of

life. The Guide is an essential resource for all people who work with young people.

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Printed in the United States of America. Printed and distributed by the

Center for Adolescent Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

For additional information about the Guide and to order additional copies, please contact:

Center for Adolescent Health

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

615 N. Wolfe St., E-4543

Baltimore, MD 21205

www.jhsph.edu/adolescenthealth

410-614-3953

ISBN 978-0-615-30246-1

EXPLAINED

THE TEEN YEARS

THE TEEN YEARS EXPLAINED: A GUIDE TO HEALTHY ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT Clea McNeely & Jayne Blanchard

Clea McNeely, MA, DrPH and Jayne Blanchard

A GUIDE TO

HEALTHY

ADOLESCENT

DEVELOPMENT

explained

THe Teen YeaRS

Clea McNeely, MA, DrPH and Jayne Blanchard

a GUide TO

HealTHY

adOleSCenT

deVelOpMenT

The Teen years

e x p l a i n e d

Clea McNeely, MA, DrPH

Jayne Blanchard

With a foreword by

Nicole Yohalem

Karen Pittman

A GUIDE TO

HEALTHY ADOLESCENT

DEVELOPMENT

The Teen years explained

contents

About the Center for Adolescent Health ......................................... vi

Acknowledgments ........................................................................ vii

Foreword by Nicole Yohalem and Karen Pittman ............................ ix

Introduction ....................................................................................1

chapters

1 Physical Development ..............................................................7

Brain Page .........................................................................16

Obesity: Nutrition & Exercise ..............................................17

2 Cognitive Development ........................................................... 21

Sleep ..................................................................................28

Effects of Tobacco, Alcohol & Drugs on the Developing

Adolescent Brain ................................................................29

3 Emotional & Social Development ............................................ 31

Teen Stress.........................................................................38

Bullying .............................................................................40

4 Forming an Identity ................................................................45

Mental Health ....................................................................54

5 Sexuality .................................................................................59

6 Spirituality & Religion ............................................................71

7 Proﬁles of Development .......................................................... 79

8 Conclusion ............................................................................. 87

Resources & Further Reading .......................................................89

References .................................................................................. 93

Index .........................................................................................103

The Teen years explained

C E N T E R F O R

ADOLESCENT

H E A L T H

A B O U T T H E

he Center for Adolescent Health

is a prevention research center at the Johns

Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

and funded by the Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention. We are committed to assisting

urban youth to become healthy and productive

adults. Together with community partners, the

Center conducts research to identify the needs

and strengths of young people, and evaluates and

assists programs to promote the health and well-

being of young people. Our mission is to work

in partnership with youth, people who work

with youth, community residents, public policy–

makers, and program administrators to help urban

adolescents develop healthy adult lifestyles.

vii

acknowledgmenTs

Catherine Bradshaw, PhD

Assistant Professor, Department

of Mental Health, Associate

Director, Johns Hopkins Center for

the Prevention of Youth Violence,

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School

of Public Health

Robert Crosnoe, PhD

Associate Professor, Department of

Sociology & Population Research

Center, University of Texas at Austin

Jacinda Dariotis, PhD

Assistant Scientist, Center for

Adolescent Health, Department of

Population, Family & Reproductive

Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg

School of Public Health

Nikeea C. Linder, PhD, MPH

Assistant Professor, Division of Gen-

eral Pediatrics & Adolescent Medi-

cine, Department of Pediatrics &

Department of Population, Family &

Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins

School of Medicine & Bloomberg

School of Public Health

Arik V. Marcell, MD, MPH

Assistant Professor, Division of Gen-

eral Pediatrics & Adolescent Medi-

cine, Department of Pediatrics &

Department of Population, Family &

Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins

School of Medicine & Bloomberg

School of Public Health

Sara Johnson, MPH, PhD

Assistant Professor, Department of

Population, Family & Reproductive

Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg

School of Public Health

Lisa Pearce, PhD

Associate Professor, Department of

Sociology, Fellow, Carolina Popula-

tion Center, University of North

Carolina at Chapel Hill

Stephen T. Russell, PhD

Professor & Director, Frances Mc-

Clelland Institute for Children,

Youth & Families, Norton School

of Family & Consumer Sciences,

University of Arizona

Freya L. Sonenstein, PhD

Director, Center for Adolescent

Health, Professor, Department of

Population, Family & Reproductive

Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg

School of Public Health

Janis Whitlock, MPH, PhD

Director, Cornell Research Program

on Self-Injurious Behavior, Research

Scientist, Family Life Development

Center, Lecturer, Human Develop-

ment Department, Cornell University

e authors of e Teen Years Explained: A Guide to Healthy Adolescent Development would like to express our sincere

gratitude to the following people for all of their guidance and support during the creation of this book:

Freya Sonenstein, PhD Nicole Yohalem Karen Pittman

e Guide was made possible by funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to the Center for

Adolescent Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, a member of the Prevention Research Centers

Program (CDC cooperative agreement 1-U48-DP-000040). We would also like to thank the Charles Crane Family Founda-

tion and the Shapiro Family Foundation for their support for the Guide.

Members of the Scientiﬁc Advisory Board

e Scientiﬁc Advisory Board provided insight and information in their professional review of the chapters.

We thank them for their invaluable contribution.

viii

The Teen years explained

Rebkha Atnafou, MPH

Executive Director, e After-

School Institute

Robert Blum, MD, MPH, PhD

Director, Urban Health Institute,

William H. Gates, Sr. Professor &

Chair, Department of Population,

Family & Reproductive Health,

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of

Public Health

Jean-Michel Brevelle

Sexual Minorities Program Manager,

Maryland AIDS Administration

Peter R. Cohen, MD

Medical Director, Alcohol & Drug

Abuse Administration, Maryland

Department of Health &

Mental Hygiene

Barbara Conrad, BSN, MPH

Chief, Division of Sexually Trans-

mitted Diseases/HIV Partner Noti-

ﬁcation, Maryland Department of

Health & Mental Hygiene

Cheryl De Pinto, MD, MPH

Medical Director, Child, Adoles-

cent, & School Health, Center for

Maternal & Child Health, Maryland

Department of Health &

Mental Hygiene

Additional Thanks

Denise Dalton, David Jernigan, PhD, Meg Tucker, Seante Hatcher, Beth Marshall, Rosemary Hutzler, Ann Stiller

We would like to thank the youth who contributed their voices, which can be found throughout the Guide.

Special thanks to Layne Humphrey and Christine Verdun Schoennberger for their dedication and hard work on the

early version of the Guide.

Members of the Adolescent Colloquium

e Adolescent Colloquium was formed as a partnership with the Center for Adolescent Health in 2005 to provide

important contributions to the shaping of this project. We thank them for their dedication and participation.

Christine Evans

Community Health Educator, Cen-

ter for Maternal & Child Health,

Maryland Department of Health &

Mental Hygiene

Marina Finnegan, MHC

Director of Prevention Strategies,

Governor’s Oﬃce for Children,

Maryland

Patricia I. Jones, BS

Abstinence Education Coordina-

tor, Center for Maternal & Child

Health, Maryland Department of

Health & Mental Hygiene

Mary Anne Kane-Breschi

Oﬃce for Genetics & Children with

Special Health Care Needs Resource

Development, Maryland Depart-

ment of Health & Mental Hygiene

Rebekah Lin

Communications & Technical

Assistance Specialist, e After-

School Institute

Pam Putman, BSN, MPH

Healthy Teens & Young Adults Fam-

ily Planning & Reproductive Health,

Maryland Department of Health &

Mental Hygiene

Ilene Sparber, LCSW-C

Interagency Coalition on Teen Preg-

nancy & Parenting, Montgomery

County Department of Health &

Human Services

Mischa Toland

Interagency Coalition on Teen Preg-

nancy & Parenting, Montgomery

County Department of Health &

Human Services

Carmi Washington-Flood

Chief, Oﬃce of Community

Relations & Initiatives, Maryland

Department of Health &

Mental Hygiene

Pearl Whitehurst

Program Coordinator, Oﬃce of

Community Relations & Initiatives,

Maryland Department of Health &

Mental Hygiene

Disclaimer: While many people have provided guidance in the development of this book,

e Teen Years Explained:

A Guide to Healthy Adolescent Development

represents the thoughts of its authors, who are responsible for its content.

It does not reﬂect the views of the Adolescent Colloquium, the Scientiﬁc Advisory Board, the State of Maryland govern-

ment agencies, Johns Hopkins University, nor any of its funders.

foreword

Not since the 2002 publication of Community Programs to Promote Youth Development have we recommended adding any

lengthy publications to the “must-read” list for youth workers, teachers, parents, or anyone interested in ensuring young

people’s positive development. But make room on the bookshelf, because the time has come with the release of e Teen

Years Explained: A Guide to Healthy Adolescent Development.

By compiling in plain English the science behind adolescence, the authors have produced a comprehensive yet accessible re-

source that 1) explains, without oversimplifying, the complex processes of development; 2) challenges and empowers adults

to invest more attention, more time, and more resources in adolescents as they transition to adulthood; and 3) gives youth-

development professionals the knowledge they need to ensure that healthy adolescent development is an explicit goal of

their work.

Everything from basic social development theory to cutting-edge neuroscience is packed into this guide, making it a useful

reminder of some key principles underlying the youth development movement and a resource for adults who ﬁnd themselves

helping teens navigate a world that likely feels diﬀerent from the one they grew up in.

At the Forum for Youth Investment, we are committed to supporting leaders who are working on youth issues. One thing

we try to do is meet people where they are, but quickly help them see a bolder path. Simple catchphrases often help us do

that, and three in particular are reinforced by this guide.

by Nicole Yohalem and Karen Pittman, Forum for Youth Investment

Core supports

& opportunities

Dropouts &

illiteracy

Delinquency

& violence

Isolation,

depression

& suicide

Unemployment

Sexual activity

& substance

abuse

1. Problem-free isn’t fully

prepared

In the 1990s, this phrase helped

capture both the need for, and

approaches to, risk reduction.

Ensuring teenagers enter adulthood

addiction-free, without dropping out

of school, and with no arrest record is

a short-sighted goal that reﬂects low

expectations. Embracing adolescence

as a time of opportunity is diﬃcult,

given the real risks associated with

this period and the unacceptable

numbers of young people who are, in

fact, dangerously disconnected. Yet

reframing development as a positive,

normative process is critical if parents,

professionals, and institutions are to

support, socialize, challenge,

and instruct.

Without going into detail on eﬀec-

tive practice, the Guide reinforces the

idea that successful eﬀorts to prevent

speciﬁc problems and promote positive

development depend on supportive

relationships, accurate information,

and skill-building opportunities.

Core supports & opportunities

of youth problem prevention

SOURCE: Forum for Youth Investment

The Teen years explained

Youth workers and youth organizations have long claimed some of the outcome areas depicted in the ﬁgure (e.g., social and

emotional health, civic engagement, and behavioral health) and are increasingly being pressured to take on others (e.g., aca-

demics and physical health). e scientiﬁc evidence now ﬁrmly supports the notion that, while development unfolds across

diﬀerent domains, developmental processes are inextricably intertwined. Like it or not, youth work is an interdisciplinary

endeavor. Behavioral health aﬀects learning; cognitive development aﬀects behavioral health; civic engagement inﬂuences

identity development.

By describing and knitting together the processes that unfold across developmental domains and coming back to themes

such as the importance of positive relationships, the Guide reminds readers that eﬀective practitioners—whether employed

in after-school programs, teen centers, schools, courts, camps, or hospitals—understand the basics of adolescent development

and its implications for creating supportive learning environments where teens can thrive.

2. Young people don’t grow up in programs, they grow up in communities

Gracefully avoiding a scientiﬁc debate about the role of nature vs. nurture, the Guide illustrates that development is both an

individual process and one that is signiﬁcantly inﬂuenced by the formal and informal contexts in which it unfolds.

Young people move in and out of numerous settings every day—familial, institutional, informal, virtual. e range of envi-

ronments they encounter grows with the increasing autonomy of adolescence. Each of these represents an opportunity for

development, derailment, or both. Cognitive development doesn’t stop when the school bell rings, and social development

doesn’t kick in upon arrival at the teen center.

e Guide challenges us to remember that while we will not and should not always have control over adolescents, we can, in

fact, shape many of the settings where they spend time. Creating contexts that nurture growth and minimize risk requires the

kind of working knowledge of adolescent development that this guide oﬀers.

3. We need youth-centered, not system-centered, approaches

e vast majority of policy and practice conversations about youth well-being taking place across the country focuses on

systems. How can the juvenile justice system better prevent youth crime? How can we improve the school system to increase

student engagement? Increasingly, conversations are taking place across multiple systems: How can juvenile justice and child

welfare work together better to support transitioning youth? How can schools and community-based organizations work

together to reduce the dropout rate?

While these attempts to work across systems are promising, most are still system-centered conversations. As a result, they are

organized around and constrained by expertise and assumptions about systems, as opposed to expertise and assumptions

about young people and their developmental needs. is is a youth-centered guide. Adolescence is described in its full com-

plexity, yet in accessible terms.

Over the years, the Forum for Youth Investment has moved away from leading with terms like “adolescent development” and

“youth development.” We found that decision-makers are simply more interested in outcome than process, especially when

it comes to teens and young adults. Stating that we wanted to help leaders leverage the considerable ﬁnancial and human

resources spent addressing speciﬁc problems (e.g., teen pregnancies, high school dropouts, and violence), we articulated a

simple goal: to ensure that all young people are “ready by 21”—ready for college, work, and life.

If we are serious about changing the odds for young people—about ensuring that they are indeed ready for college, work, and

life—then it is our responsibility as practitioners, advocates, and policy-makers to use the information in this guide to check

our assumptions, allocate our resources, and rethink our approaches. is guide is a welcome and essential tool for every

adult who has contact with young people. It helps makes us ready to help them be ready.

Pittman, K., Irby, M., Tolman, J., Yohalem, N., & Ferber, T. (2003). Preventing Problems, Promoting Development, Encouraging Engagement: Competing Priorities or Inseparable Goals?

Available online at www.forumfyi.org.

Forum for Youth Investment. (2005, May/June). What’s Health Got to Do With It? Forum Focus, 3(2). Washington, DC: Forum for Youth Investment, Impact Strategies, Inc. Available online at

www.forumfyi.org.

foreword

xii

The Teen years explained

IntroductIon

he purpose of this guide is to

serve as an essential resource

for people who work with

young people and for youth-serving

organizations.

At no other time except infancy

do human beings pack so much de-

velopment into such a short period.

During adolescence, children gain 50

percent of their adult body weight, be-

come capable of reproducing, and ex-

perience an astounding transformation

in their brains. All these changes occur

in the context of—and indeed, allow

for—rapidly expanding social spheres.

Teens start assuming adult responsibili-

Why it’s important to understand how adolescents develop

ties such as ﬁnding a job, ﬁguring out

romantic relationships, and learning

how to be a good friend.

Understanding these changes—

developmentally, what is happening

and why—can help both adults and

teens enjoy the second decade of life.

Knowledge of adolescent develop-

ment empowers people who work with

young people to advance teens’ devel-

opment. And it allows us all to sustain

appreciation and compassion for the

joys and aggravations of adolescence:

the ebullience, the insecurities, the

risk-taking, and the stunning growth

in competence.

the teen years explaIned

An all-embracing perspective

We use the term “adolescent” throughout e Teen Years Explained: A

Guide to Healthy Adolescent Development to refer to all youth ages 10 to

19. It includes young people of all cultures and ethnicities, abilities and

disabilities, as well as gays, lesbians, transgender and bisexual youth.

Healthy adolescent

development

Most books on adolescence highlight

the problems teens face and how

adults can help resolve them. Missing

from the plethora of resources

focused on surviving adolescence

is a description of what happens to

the vast majority of young people:

normal, healthy development. is

guide is an attempt to ﬁll that void.

It describes the changes that happen

during adolescence and how adults can

promote healthy development.

is guide is based on several key

ideas, all of which are supported by

research evidence: 1) adolescence is a

time of opportunity, not turmoil;

2) normal, healthy development is

uneven; 3) young people develop posi-

tive attributes through learning and

experience; and 4) the larger commu-

nity plays a fundamental and essential

role in helping young people move

successfully into adulthood.

Adolescence is a time of opportunity,

not turmoil

Research shows that adolescence

—contrary to views that predominate

in our media and culture—is actually

positive for both teens and adults.

Most adolescents succeed in school,

are attached to their families and their

communities, and emerge from their

teen years without experiencing serious

problems such as substance abuse or

involvement with violence. Although

teens experience emotions intensely—a

consequence of brain development—

for most, the teen years are not ﬁlled

with angst and confusion. Rather,

they are a time of concentrated social,

emotional, and cognitive development.

Normal, healthy development

is uneven

Adolescence includes periods of rapid

physical growth and the emergence

of secondary sexual characteristics

(e.g., breasts in girls and deeper voices

in boys). Not visible are internal

physiologic, cognitive, and emotional

changes. Changes on these multiple

fronts do not always happen in

sync. Physically and sexually, young

people, especially girls, may mature

by their mid-teens. Yet the process of

transforming the relatively ineﬃcient

brain of the child into a leaner, more

proﬁcient adult brain may not be

completed until age 25.

Adding even more complexity, this

out-of-sync pattern of development

may seem to be constantly changing.

In early adolescence a young person

may be behind physically and ahead

emotionally. at pattern can reverse

later on as growth spurts occur in dif-

ferent areas of development.

is unevenness of development

calls for active support by caring

adults. Although they may look like

adults—and, at times, want to be

treated as adults—teens are still in a

formative stage. is guide provides

multiple strategies for supporting

young people’s development.

Young people develop positive

attributes through learning and

experience

roughout this guide, the term

positive youth development is used.

Positive youth development is the

understanding, based on research,

that healthy development is best

promoted by creating opportunities

to develop a set of core assets, dubbed

the 5 C’s: competence, conﬁdence,

IntroductIon

CARING

Perception that one has abilities and skills Provide training and practice in speciﬁc skills,

either academic or hands-on

ARACTER

CONNECTION

COMPETENCE

CONFIDENCE

Internal sense of self eﬃcacy and positive

self-worth

Provide opportunities for young people to

experience success when trying something new

How to Foster ItAsset Deﬁnition

Positive bonds with people and institutions Build relationships between youth and peers,

teachers and parents

A sense of right and wrong (morality), integrity,

and respect for standards of correct behavior

Provide opportunities to practice increasing

self-control and development of spirituality

A sense of sympathy and empathy for others Care for young people

The 5 C’s of positive youth development

connection, character and caring (see

above). Adolescents develop these

core assets when they experience

them in their own lives. A young

person learns that he or she is good at

something (competence) when given

the opportunity to try and practice

new things. Likewise, a young person

learns to be caring by being cared for,

and develops character by practicing

self-control.

e positive youth development

framework expands the traditional

focus on reducing risks. Programs in-

formed by the traditional framework—

which remains important—tend to

focus on avoiding bad things: drugs,

unprotected sex, driving while drunk,

or failing school. Although many risk-

reduction strategies have been shown

to be successful, research in the ﬁeld

of positive youth development has

demonstrated that “problem-free is not

fully prepared.” Healthy adolescent

development requires creating oppor-

tunities for adolescents to experience,

learn, and practice the 5 C’s. Examples

of eﬀective strategies to promote

healthy development are provided

throughout this guide.

Community has a role:

putting adolescence in context

Before the mid-1980s, adolescent

research focused largely on

development and behavior alone,

looking at physical growth and how

teens act. Little attention was paid to

the settings in which children live.

More recently, research has started

to examine the contexts where

adolescents develop. Context refers

to the surroundings in which a child is

growing up. e places where young

people spend time—at home, with

friends, in school, at work, in front

of television, movies, or other media,

or in the neighborhood—inﬂuence

their development.

Research is starting to show a

complex interaction between a young

person and his or her context. People’s

surroundings and experiences can

inﬂuence their emotional, cognitive,

and even physical development. At the

same time, adolescents are not simply

passive recipients of experience, all

responding to developmental “inputs”

in the same way. ey interpret and re-

spond to each new experience through

the lenses of their innate personalities

and prior experiences.

What does this mean for people

who work with young people? It is

essential to understand the strengths

and needs of adolescents when

designing programs or health-promo-

tion strategies.

It is also important to consider the

context or setting in which an adoles-

cent lives, and to address the risks and

assets of that environment.

How to use this guide

We designed this guide to be useful

to the reader who has ﬁve minutes

or ﬁve hours. Each chapter describes

a diﬀerent aspect of development—

physical, cognitive, emotional and

social, identity, sexual, and spiritual.

e chapters do not need to be read in

the teen years explaIned

Glossary of terms

ADOLESCENCE Usually deﬁned as the second decade of

life, adolescence is the period of transition from child-

hood to adulthood. Researchers now note that bodily

and brain changes associated with adolescence may

begin as early as age 8 and extend until age 24.

HEALTH RISK BEHAVIORS ese are behaviors that

make one more likely to experience a negative health

result. For example, unprotected sexual intercourse is a

health risk behavior that makes one more susceptible to

sexually transmitted infections and unplanned preg-

nancy. Health risk behaviors are commonly referred to

as risky health behaviors.

POSITIVE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT Positive youth

development is a framework for developing strategies

and programs to promote healthy development. It

emphasizes fostering positive developmental outcomes

by providing young people the experiences and oppor-

tunities to develop core developmental assets. e list

of core developmental assets typically includes what are

known as the 5 C’s: competence, connection, character,

conﬁdence, and caring.

PROTECTIVE FACTORS ese are characteristics or

behaviors that increase the likelihood of experiencing a

positive result (e.g., the presence of a caring adult is a

protective factor for school success). Protective factors

directly promote healthy development and also reduce

the negative impact of risk factors. Protective factors

exist wherever one ﬁnds young people—in school, at

home, and in the community—and include things such

as a long-term relationship with a caring adult, oppor-

tunities to build skills and become good at something,

and belonging to a group of friends who value academic

achievement. Protective factors can also be internal to a

person, such as having a sunny temperament.

PUBERTY e World Health Organization deﬁnes

puberty as “the period in life when a child experiences

physical, hormonal, sexual, and social changes and

becomes capable of reproduction.” It is associated with

rapid growth and the appearance of secondary sexual

characteristics. Puberty typically starts for girls between

ages 8 and 13, and for boys between ages 9 and 14, and

may continue until age 19 or older.

RISK FAC

TORS ese are characteristics or behaviors

that increase the likelihood of experiencing a negative

result. For example, smoking is a risk factor for develop-

ing heart disease, and harsh parenting a risk factor for

depression. Like protective factors, risk factors can be

innate (e.g., having a genetic vulnerability to a disease),

environmental (e.g., being exposed to lead or living in

a dangerous neighborhood), or learned behaviors (e.g.,

not wearing seatbelts).

e Teen Years Explained: A Guide to Healthy Adolescent Development uses a few key terms through-

out the chapters. Below are the deﬁnitions.

sequence, as adolescent development

does not happen in sequence.

The last chapter puts the various

dimensions of development together

in a single package and returns to the

theme of development happening at

diﬀerent rates.

Within each chapter are tips for

how to promote healthy adolescent

development. ese, too, can be read

by themselves. Finally, throughout the

guide we have two- and three-page de-

scriptions of issues that young people

and people who work with young

people have told us are of concern to

them. ese include, among others,

obesity and nutrition, stress, bullying,

and the eﬀects of drugs and alcohol on

the teen brain.

IntroductIon

the teen YearS explaIned

chapter 1 phYSIcal development

phYSIcal development

“I have a good

body image. If

you don’t have a

good body image,

then you will

push and push

yourself until you

think you are

perfect.”

Girl, 12

Puberty—timing differs from teen to teen

hysical changes are perhaps

the most noticeable signs that

a child is becoming an adoles-

cent. e physical transformations of

puberty aﬀect every aspect of the lives

of teens. Changing bodies may lead to

changes in circles of peers, adults’ view

of teens, and teens’ view of themselves.

Great variability can be found in

the time of onset of puberty, deﬁned

broadly as the biological and physical

changes that occur during adolescence

and result in the capacity to reproduce.

For girls, puberty can start as early

as eight years old. Girls experience a

rapid growth spurt, typically starting

around age 10. is growth spurt lasts

for a few years, and then girls continue

to grow more slowly until they are 17

or 18. During puberty, breast buds

develop, pubic hair appears, height

increases, menstruation begins, and

hips widen.

Boys usually begin their growth

spurt one to two years after most girls.

ey continue to develop for three to

four years after the girls, which means

boys may not ﬁnish growing physically

until they are 21. For boys, pubic hair

appears, the penis gets longer, height

increases, the voice deepens, and

muscle mass develops.

Puberty is triggered by the actions

of hormones on various parts of the

CHAPTER 1

the teen YearS explaIned

BraIn BOX

body. New hormones might be at work

for several months before development

becomes outwardly evident. For ado-

lescent boys, in fact, the visible changes

come late in the development process.

From the teen’s perspective,

puberty puts a bright spotlight on

body image. Body image is the picture

of personal physical appearance that

people hold in their minds. It is the

concept of one’s own changing body—

how it feels, how it moves through

space, how it looks in the mirror, and

how one thinks it looks to others.

Body image can be shaped by emo-

tions, perceptions, physical sensations,

experience, and moods. It can also be

powerfully inﬂuenced by cultural mes-

sages and societal standards.

Why do I look so different from

my friends?

Some teenagers start maturing early,

while others are late bloomers. As a

result, young people may look out-of-

sync developmentally with their peers.

Adolescents may experience a lot of

uncertainty when they do not look

similar to other young people their age.

For example, one girl may be six

months younger than her BFF (Best

Friend Forever), yet start menstruating

and wearing a bra ﬁrst. Some boys may

look in the mirror and moan that they

are freaks because their nose and ears

have suddenly grown too big for their

faces. And they may be right, at least

about the change in proportion, since

facial features develop at diﬀerent rates,

as do hands and feet.

e timing of physical and

cognitive changes varies throughout

adolescence. Even if a teenager is

adult-sized, he or she may not be fully

developed emotionally or cognitively.

Conversely, a young person may not

look full-grown, but could possess

more advanced reasoning and abstract

thinking skills than his or her more

physically developed peers.

Challenges to early and late

development

Early development for girls and late

development for boys present the

greatest challenges to healthy body

image. For girls, puberty brings on

characteristics often seen as less than

ideal—roundness and an increase in

body fat around the hips and thighs.

Conversely, the masculine ideal is often

measured by increased size and broad-

ness, which makes delayed develop-

ment tough for boys.

Although girls may begin ex-

periencing physical changes earlier

than boys, they may not be developed

enough cognitively or skilled enough

socially to handle the way they are

treated now that they have a rapidly

maturing body. Signs of puberty in fe-

males—speciﬁcally, breast development

Recent studies using MRI analysis

indicate that a wave of overproduc-

tion of gray matter—the thinking part

of the brain—occurs just prior to

puberty. This thickening of gray matter

peaks at around age 11 in girls and

12 in boys, after which the gray matter

actually thins somewhat. Previously

it was thought that the brain’s wiring

underwent just one bout of “pruning”

that was ﬁnished by the age of 3, but

researchers now have discovered that

structural changes occur in adoles-

cence and that teens’ gray matter

waxes and wanes in different functional

brain areas at different times in devel-

opment. Brain development continues

up to age 25.

SOURCE: Giedd, JN, Blumenthal, J, Jeffries,

NO, Castellanos, FX, Liu H; Zijdenbos, A, et al.

(1999). Brain development during childhood and

adolescence: a longitudinal MRI study. Nature

Neuroscience, 2(10), 861-3.

Helping teens during puberty

the physical changes happening in

their bodies.

When teens talk about their feelings,

listen. Do not jump in too quickly

with advice or, worse, tell them their

feelings are irrational or unfounded.

ncourage early-developers to stay

away from older peer groups and help

connect them to peers their own age.

nderstand that although a teen may

appear physically mature, he or she is

not an adult and cannot be expected

to think or act as an adult.

Familiarize teens with the facts about

biology and reproduction. Experts

recommend discussing puberty with

children starting at age 8 or 9—or

even as early as 5 or 6, depending on

the curiosity and the maturity level

of the child—so they are prepared for

changes when they occur.

ake comments about appearance seri-

ously and spend time actively listening

to such concerns.

et teens to talk about their feelings,

fears, and what stresses them out about

chapter 1 phYSIcal development

and menstruation—are associated with

the end of childhood and a change in

social status. Girls with fuller breasts

and body shapes may be particularly

vulnerable to unwanted attention from

boys and older males. ey may feel

pressure to develop sexual identities

and pursue sexual relationships, even

though they do not feel prepared.

Helping an early-developing girl

navigate these stresses often depends

on the unique aspects of her culture or

surroundings. Cultural diﬀerences may

also exist with respect to ideals of body

type, shape, and size.

Girls who are obese or overweight

are much more likely to develop early

and experience early menstruation,

deﬁned as beginning before age 11.

is is especially true if they have been

overweight throughout childhood. e

combination of extra pounds, early

development, and early menstruation

can be distressing, since these girls have

to deal with both a mature body and

entrenched stigmas about excess weight

encountered at home, at school, in the

media, and out in the community.

In boys, puberty can bring on

traits the culture perceives as admi-

rable—height, broadness, strength,

speed, muscularity. Early development

in boys has some social beneﬁts, since

added height and muscular appearance

may result in increased popularity

and conﬁdence.

However, stress and anxiety from

physical changes during puberty also

are typical for early-developing boys.

ey may be pushed to have sex before

they are not ready, or receive unwanted

sexual advances they cannot handle

emotionally. Teens often have a strong

need to feel accepted, so they may

Appearance of breast buds

(between 8 and 12 years of age),

followed by breast development

(13-18)

Development of pubic hair

(11-14)

Growth spurt begins (average

age, 10), which adds inches to

height and hip circumference

Menses begins (average age,

12, normal age range between

9 and 16)

Enlargement of ovaries, uterus,

labia, and clitoris; thickening of

the endo-metrium and vaginal

mucosa

Appearance of underarm hair

(13-16)

Dental changes, which include

jaw growth and development of

molars

Development of body odor

and acne

Testicular enlargement, beginning

as early as 9-½ years of age

Appearance of pubic hair (10-15)

Onset of spermarche, or sperm

found in the ejaculate

Lengthening of genitals (11-14)

Rapid enlargement of the larynx,

pharynx, and lungs, which can

lead to alterations in vocal quality

(i.e., voice cracking)

Changes in physical growth

(average age, 14), ﬁrst seen in the

hands and feet, followed by the

arms and legs, and then the trunk

and chest

Weight gain and increases in lean

body mass and muscle mass

(11-16)

Doubling of heart size and vital

lung capacity, increase in blood

pressure and blood volume

Growth of facial and body hair,

which may not be completed

until the mid-20s

Dental changes, which include

jaw growth and development of

molars

Development of body odor

and acne

normal

Physical GrOwth

Girls Boys

“I like that I am

healthy, but

I dislike that

I am short.”

Boy, 18

the teen YearS explaIned

be ill-prepared to defend themselves

against unwelcome sexual attention.

Early-developing adolescents

are also more vulnerable to making

risky decisions because their physical

and brain changes are happening on

widely divergent tracks. eir physical

development may garner invitations

and opportunities with older teens and

young adults (parties, drinking, etc.)

just as changes in the brain trigger the

desire for thrill-seeking and risk-tak-

ing. However, their brains are not fully

developed, so the urge to experiment is

not balanced by the capacity to make

sound judgments.

Pubertal development at later ages

is completely normal, but boys and

girls with delayed physical maturity

may see themselves—or friends and

family may see them—as still stuck in

childhood.

Later developers, especially boys,

can be excluded from sports. ey

might be bullied and picked on, which

puts them at risk for low self-esteem

and depression.

When puberty is not

on track

While there is no set schedule for

physical changes, on average girls

Potential unhealthy responses to physical changes

It is normal for young people to feel self-conscious and fret about

their appearance. Once in a while, more serious difﬁculties arise

as teens deal with physical changes. These include:

Fear, confusion, or withdrawal, especially during early adolescence,

ages 10-14

bsessive concern about appearance

Excessive dieting or exercise

Early-maturing teens being exposed to social situations they may not

be ready to handle (e.g., being invited to parties with older teens)

Experiencing depression and eating disorders

Being bullied, teased, or excluded

begin puberty with the development of

breast buds around the age of 10, with

growth spurts and menstruation usu-

ally following two years later. For boys,

testicular enlargement, growth spurts,

and other signs of puberty normally

start at 12 or 13—although some

pubertal changes can begin at the age

of 9. e rate of maturity may be rapid

for some adolescents, while others may

take four or ﬁve years to complete their

development. When a child begins to

develop much earlier than usual, it is

called precocious puberty. Precocious

puberty in boys is deﬁned as testicular

or penile enlargement, and genital or

body and facial hair growth occurring

before the age of 9. In girls, it is breast

development, onset of menstruation,

and pubic or underarm hair growth at

the age of 7 or 8.

It is generally thought that im-

proved nutrition has resulted in the

earlier start of puberty throughout

the 20th century, although genetic,

metabolic, and environmental factors

also contribute.

Physical growth much later than

average—for example, in girls who

have not developed breast buds by age

13 and in boys whose testicles have

not enlarged by age 13-½—is termed

delayed puberty. e causes of delayed

puberty may be growth patterns within

the family, medical conditions, eating

disorders, problems with the pituitary

or thyroid glands, or chromosome

irregularities. Girls who are extremely

“The best thing

about my looks is

my eyes and lips.

he things I like

the least are my

butt, hips,

and thighs.”

Girl, 15

chapter 1 phYSIcal development

Eating disorders

Boys, as well as girls, can develop eating disorders, which are ac-

companied by severely distorted views of their bodies.

ANOREXIA NERVOSA Extreme weight loss and a fear of weight gain. Warn-

ing signs include dramatic weight loss, preoccupation with weight, food,

calories, fat grams or dieting, excessive or obsessive exercise, and frequent

comments about feeling overweight despite extreme weight loss.

BULIMIA NERVOSA Bulimics eat large amounts of food and then vomit or

take excessive amounts of laxatives to lose weight. Warning signs include evi-

dence of binge-eating or vomiting (purging), excessive or obsessive exercise,

and ritual behavior that accompanies binging and purging sessions.

BODY DYSMORPHIC DISORDER An intense preoccupation with a perceived

defect in one’s appearance.

MUSCLE DYSMORPHIA Sometimes known as “reverse anorexia,” muscle

dysmorphia is a preoccupation with the idea that one’s body is not suﬃcient-

ly lean and muscular. Warning signs include working out and weight-lifting

to the point where school, social life, and family life are pushed aside. Boys

are most susceptible to muscle dysmorphia, and often in adolescents it leads

to such dangerous behavior as steroid use.

active in sports may experience delayed

puberty because their level of exercise

keeps them quite lean, and girls need a

certain amount of fat in order to start

their periods.

Weight and height measurements

may also indicate that an adolescent’s

development is oﬀ-track. Excess weight

is associated with earlier onset of

menstruation in girls. Teenagers who

are short for their age are usually physi-

cally normal, but short stature can also

be caused by bone defects, systemic

illness, and hormone deﬁciency. Simi-

larly, extreme tallness can be normal,

but it can also be associated with a

syndrome or hormonal deﬁciency.

Medical tests can evaluate whether or

not these conditions exist, and a doc-

tor can advise treatment options.

Physical changes & healthy

body image

e way adolescents feel about their

bodies can aﬀect the way they feel

about themselves as a whole.

Although most body image

research has focused on white youth,

research does indicate that African-

American adolescents, particularly

girls, tend to have healthier body

images than their white counter-

parts. Asian Americans may have

healthier body images than their

white, African-American, and His-

panic peers.

Concerns about the body can

erode the quality of life for young

people, keeping them from healthy

relationships, taking up an inordinate

amount of time they could be us-

ing to cultivate other aspects of their

personalities, and leading them to

overspending on goods and services

to improve their bodies.

the teen YearS explaIned

How steroids affect healthy bodies and minds

Anabolic steroids and legal and illicit supplements

(recombinant human growth hormone, injections of

insulin to increase muscle mass, thyroxine, clenbuterol,

cocaine) are used by athletes to boost strength and

sports performance. Steroids are easily found on the

Internet or in the locker room at some private gyms.

Dietary supplements with similar chemical properties

can be bought at health food stores. Young people who

want steroids can ﬁnd them.

Recent studies show that 3 percent to 9 percent of

teenagers illegally use steroids, with the highest rates of

use reported in the middle-school years.

Anabolic steroids are a group of laboratory-made drugs

designed to mimic the eﬀects of the male hormone tes-

tosterone. ese drugs cause muscle and bone growth,

as well as the development of male sexual character-

istics. For girls, steroids can cause the development

of male-pattern baldness, infertility, facial hair, and

irreversible hoarseness of the voice.

Anabolic steroids can also increase estrogen produc-

tion as the body tries to compensate for the high levels

of male-dominant hormones. In boys, the increase in

estrogen can cause hot ﬂashes, testicular shrinkage,

weight gain, bloating, and the growth of fatty breast

tissue.

If teenagers abuse steroids before the normal puberty

growth spurt is complete, they may never reach their

full adult height. Humans are programmed to stop

developing after puberty, and steroid use can boost

hormone levels to the point where the body is tricked

into thinking growth is done.

Some of the short-term side eﬀects of anabolic steroids

for both boys and girls include acne, hostility, anxiety,

and aggression. e psychological eﬀects of steroid

use can be severe, and include paranoia, delusions or

hallucinations, depression, and suicidal thoughts. Ste-

roid use also can lead to heart disease, and liver

and prostate cancer.

Signs of steroid use include quick weight and muscle

gains, combativeness and rage (known as “’roid rage”),

jaundice, purple or red spots on the body, swelling of

feet and lower legs, trembling, persistent unpleasant

breath odor, severe acne and oily skin.

chapter 1 phYSIcal development

Dealing with powerful media images of youth

Explain that media images do not reﬂect the average person—there is wide

diversity in physical appearance and rate of development.

Point out how body sizes, shapes, and faces are altered in magazines and

photographs using software programs like Photoshop. Waists and thighs are

whittled, cheekbones sharpened and lips plumped for women. Muscles are

pumped up and deﬁned, and complexions smoothed for men.

Encourage critical thinking about the media and the nature of our con-

sumer culture. Now is the perfect time to help teens develop their critical

thinking skills—help them question what is “normal.”

Turn to resources that reﬂect realistic, diverse appearances of actual people.

Encourage activities that focus on attributes other than physical appear-

ance, such as academics, sports, music, the arts, writing, or crafts.

Reinforce these messages regularly.

To cultivate a healthy body image,

adolescents can tap into their develop-

ing critical thinking skills. A healthy

dose of skepticism can help them sift

through the bombardment of messages

related to body image, appearance,

attractiveness, and eating that they

encounter in the media, at home, and

from their friends.

13 is not a magic number

ere is no single age at which teens

enter puberty. irteen is not the

miraculous age when a child suddenly

transforms into a young adult. Puberty

can begin as early as age 8 or as late as

15. Regardless of when a child enters

puberty, the changes he or she under-

goes aﬀect his or her social interactions

and psychological outlook.

Adults should be aware of these

changes and of the way cultural dif-

ferences play into such issues as sexual

maturity, body image, and pressures

to behave like a fully grown man

or woman.

Adults can provide accurate in-

formation regarding physical develop-

ment, healthy eating, and the eﬀects

of media, society, culture, peers, and

family on body image. Beginning at a

young age, adolescents need to under-

stand that bodies come in all shapes

and sizes and that these disparities are

nothing out of the ordinary.

“I look at photos in

magazines and on

and no way do

I measure up.”

Girl, 14

the teen YearS explaIned

15-19

10-14

phYSIcalageS emotIonal

Body fat increases (girls)

Breasts begin to enlarge (girls)

Menstrual periods begin (girls)

Hips widen (girls)

Testicles and penis grow larger (boys)

Voice deepens (boys)

Breasts can get tender (girls and boys)

Height and weight increases (girls and boys)

Skin and hair become oilier, pimples may ap-

pear (girls and boys)

Appetite may increase (girls and boys)

Body hair grows (girls and boys)

Hormonal levels change (girls and boys)

Brain develops (girls and boys)

Girls usually reach full physical development

Boys reach close to full physical development

Voice continues to lower (boys)

Facial hair appears (boys)

Weight and height gain continue (boys)

Eating habits can become sporadic—skipping

meals, late-night eating (girls and boys)

Independent functioning increases

Firmer and more cohesive sense of

personal identity develops

Examination of inner experiences

becomes more important and may

include writing a blog or diary

Ability for delayed gratiﬁcation and

compromise increases

Ability to think ideas through

increases

Engagement with parents declines

Peer relationships remain important

Emotional steadiness increases

Social networks expand and new

friendships are formed

Concern for others increases

Sense of identity develops

May feel awkward or strange about

themselves and their bodies

Focus on self increases

Ability to use speech to express feelings

improves

Close friendships gain importance

Realization grows that parents are not

perfect, have faults

Overt aﬀection toward parents declines

Occassional rudeness with parents

occurs

Complaints that parents interfere with

independence increase

Friends and peers inﬂuence clothing

styles and interests

Childish behavior may return, particu-

larly at times of stress

Key Features In adolesCent GroWth and develoPment

chapter 1 phYSIcal development

CHART SOURCES: Adapted from www.aacap.

org/publications/factsfam/develop.htm. American

Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,

Normal Adolescent Development, handout,

2/2005; http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/

ency/article/02003.htm.

cognItIve Sexual moral/valueS

Interests tend to focus on the

present, thoughts of the future

are limited

Intellectual interests expand

and gain in importance

Ability to do work (physical,

mental, emotional) expands

Capacity for abstract thinking

increases

Risk-taking behaviors may

emerge (experimenting with

tobacco, alcohol, physical risks)

Girls develop ahead of boys

Shyness, blushing, and modesty increases

Showing oﬀ may increase

Interest in privacy increases

Interest in sex increases

Exploration of issues and questions about

sexuality and sexual orientation begins

Concerns about physical and sexual attrac-

tiveness to others may develop

Worries about being “normal” become

common

Short-term romantic relationships may occur

Testing of rules and limits increases

More consistent evidence of con-

science becomes apparent

Capacity for abstract thought

develops

Ideals develop, including selection

of role models

Questioning of moral rights and

privileges increases

Interest in moral reasoning in-

creases

Interest in social, cultural, and

family traditions expands

Emphasis on personal dignity and

self-esteem increases

Capacity increases for useful

insight

Feelings of love and passion intensify

More serious relationships develop

Sharing of tenderness and fears with romantic

partner increases

Sense of sexual identity becomes more solid

Capacity for aﬀection and sensual love increases

Interests focus on near-future and

future

More importance is placed on

goals, ambitions, role in life

Capacity for setting goals and fol-

lowing through increases

Work habits become more deﬁned

Planning capability expands

Ability for foresight grows

Risk-taking behaviors may emerge

(experimenting with tobacco,

drugs, alcohol, reckless driving)

KEY FEATURES IN ADOLESCENT GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

the teen YearS explaIned

n e Teen Years Explained: A Guide to Healthy Adolescent Development, you will

ﬁnd many references to the rich cognitive changes and development that occur

throughout the teen years. is page will help explain the diﬀerent parts of the

brain and how they function.

e human brain is an extremely complex organ composed of interdependent

parts, each with its own speciﬁc functions and properties. e brain has three

fundamental segments: the forebrain, the midbrain, and the hindbrain.

parietal

occipital

frontal

temporal

The Forebrain

e forebrain is the most advanced

and the largest section of the brain,

located in its uppermost part. e

forebrain is involved in all brain func-

tions except for the autonomic activi-

ties of the brain stem. It is the part of

the brain responsible for emotions,

memory, and “higher-order” activities

such as thinking and reasoning. e

forebrain is made up of the cerebrum

and the limbic system.

e cerebrum, or cerebral cortex,

is divided into two hemispheres (left

and right). Each hemisphere consists of

four sections, called lobes:

reasoning, planning, voluntary move-

ment, and some aspects of speech.

e prefrontal cortex is the part of the

frontal lobe right behind the forehead.

It is associated with complex cognitive

skills such as being able to diﬀerentiate

among conﬂicting thoughts, deter-

mine good and bad, identify future

consequences of current activities, and

suppress impulses. As the adolescent

brain develops, the prefrontal cortex

becomes increasingly connected with

the seat of emotions, the limbic sys-

tem, allowing reason and emotion to

be better coordinated. e prefrontal

cortex has also been linked to

personality.

e limbic system, the set of brain

structures that form the inside border

of the cerebrum, accounts for about

one-ﬁfth of the brain’s volume. e

limbic system serves three functions:

First, in cooperation with the brain

stem, it regulates temperature, blood

pressure, heart rate, and blood sugar.

Second, two parts of the limbic system,

the hippocampus and the amygdala,

are essential to forming memories.

ird, the limbic system is the center

of human emotions. e amygdala is

thought to link emotions with sensory

inputs from the environment. Nerve

impulses to the amygdala trigger the

emotions of rage, fear, aggression,

reward, and sexual attraction. ese

emotions trigger the action of the

hypothalamus, which regulates blood

pressure and body temperature.

The Midbrain

e midbrain is the topmost section

of the brain stem and the smallest re-

BRAINPAGE

Occipital Lobe—Located at the

back of the head just above the cer-

ebellum, the occipital lobe processes

sensory information from the eyes.

Temporal Lobe—Located at the

sides of the head above the ears, the

temporal lobes perform several func-

tions, including speech, perception and

some types of memory.

Parietal Lobe—Located at the top

of the head, the parietal lobe receives

data from the skin, including heat,

cold, pressure, pain, and how the body

is positioned in space.

Frontal Lobe—Located under the

forehead, the frontal lobe controls

The Brain

gion of the brain. It is associated with

some, but not all, reﬂex actions, as well

as with eye movements and hearing.

midbrain

cerebellum

brain stem

e midbrain also contains several

structures necessary for voluntary

movement.

The Hindbrain

e hindbrain is the part located at

the upper section of the spinal cord.

e hindbrain includes the brain stem

and the cerebellum. e brain stem,

sometimes called the “reptilian brain,”

is the most basic area of the brain and

controls breathing, heartbeat, and

digestion. Next to the brain stem is

the cerebellum, which is responsible

for many learned physical skills, such

as posture, balance, and coordination.

Actions such as throwing a baseball

or using a keyboard take thought

and eﬀort at ﬁrst, but become more

natural with practice because the

memory of how to do them is stored

in the cerebellum.

The Forebrain

The Midbrain

The Hindbrain

CHAPTER 1 PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

any young people today are

living large. Obesity rates

have doubled since 1980

among children and have tripled for

adolescents. In the past 20 years, the

proportion of adolescents aged 12

to 19 who are obese increased from

5 percent to 18 percent. Obesity is

deﬁned as a body mass index (BMI)

that is equal to or greater than the

95th percentile for age and gender on

growth charts developed by the Cen-

ters for Disease Control and Preven-

tion (CDC).

A predisposition to obesity can be

inherited. However, genetic factors do

not explain the dramatic increase in

obesity over the last 30 years. Human

beings, like animals, are hardwired

to eat not simply to sustain life, but

to eat high-calorie foods in anticipa-

tion of an unpredictable food supply.

Our surroundings make it possible to

eat fatty foods on a regular basis, but

diﬃcult to burn oﬀ all those calories

through activity. High-fat food is

cheap and tasty, and teens’ primary

activities—school and media consump-

tion—are sedentary.

us, obesity is a social problem

rather than a personal ﬂaw or a failure

of willpower. Teens, especially, are

impacted by their surroundings, and

several studies at the University of

Illinois-Chicago and the University

of Michigan conﬁrm that our mod-

ern environment is designed to make

adolescents fat.

ere are some environmental fac-

tors that contribute to teen obesity.

Schools sell more high-fat, high-

calorie foods and sugary drinks than

nutritious, lower-calorie choices.

Low-income communities oﬀer lim-

ited access to healthy food. In some

neighborhoods, convenience stores

are the only places to buy food.

Adolescents live sedentary lives.

Teens spend the school day mostly

sitting, and then go on to spend an

average of three more hours parked

in front of a TV or computer screen.

School physical education programs

have been slashed. In 1991, 42 per-

cent of high school students partici-

pated in daily phys. ed. classes. By

2007, that number was 25 percent

or lower.

Airwaves are saturated with food-

product ads. Teenagers see, on

average, 17 ads a day for candy and

snack foods, or more than 6,000 ads

a year.

Big portions provide far more

calories than young people can

burn up. Fast-food burgers can top

Weight matters

The

Perils

Pounds

Obesity is a societal problem

Obesity: Nutrition and Exercise

Being overweight or obese is

more than a matter of appear-

ance. Excess pounds contribute

signiﬁcantly to health problems

and can lead to Type 2 (adult-on-

set) diabetes, high blood pres-

sure, stroke, heart conditions,

cancer, gallstones and gall bladder

disease, bone and joint prob-

lems, sleep apnea, and breathing

diﬃculties. An adolescent who

is obese (with a body mass index

above the 95th percentile) has a

60 percent chance of developing

one of these conditions.

In addition, studies have found

that overweight youth are at

greater risk for emotional distress

than their non-overweight peers.

Overweight teenagers have fewer

friends, are more likely to be

socially isolated, and suﬀer higher

rates of depression than young

people of normal weight. Being

overweight also aﬀects self-es-

teem. According to one study,

obese girls aged 13 to 14 are four

times more likely to suﬀer from

low self-esteem than non-obese

girls. Low self-esteem in adoles-

cents is associated with higher

rates of loneliness, sadness, and

nervousness.

the teen years explained

become the norm; and some popular

restaurant chains oﬀer entrees that

weigh in at 1,600 calories. e aver-

age adolescent needs only 2,300 to

2,500 calories a day.

Because the causes of excess

weight are so complex, dietary changes

are just one aspect of treating obesity.

Adolescent weight problems can be re-

lated to poor eating habits, overeating

or binging, physical inactivity, family

history of obesity, stressful life events

or changes (divorce, moves, deaths,

and abuse), problems with family and

friends, low self-esteem, depression,

and other mental health conditions.

Teens are consuming

more calories, but getting

less nourishment

Adequate nutrition during adolescence

is particularly important because of

the rapid growth teenagers experience:

they gain 50 percent of their adult

weight and 50 percent of their bone

mass during this decade of life.

Dietary choices and habits

established during adolescence greatly

inﬂuence future health. Yet many stud-

ies report that teens consume few fruits

and vegetables and are not receiving

the calcium, iron, vitamins, or miner-

als necessary for healthy development.

Low-income youth are more suscep-

tible to nutritional deﬁciencies, and

since their diets tend to be made up of

high-calorie and high-fat foods, they

are also at greater risk for overweight

or obesity.

Teasing about weight

is toxic

Weight is one of the last sanctioned

targets of prejudice left in society.

Being overweight or obese subjects

a teen to teasing and stigmatization

by peers and adults. It can happen

at home, at school, on the street—

anywhere, even on TV. Ads and

programming usually portray the

overweight as the target of jokes,

perpetual losers, and not as smart or

successful as their thinner counterparts.

Teasing by family members,

including parents, is surprisingly com-

mon, perhaps because family members

mistakenly believe they are being

helpful when they draw attention to

someone’s size or harass them about

what they are eating. When they label

their overweight adolescents with such

epithets as “greedy,” “lazy,” or “little

piggies,” parents and siblings become

an integral part of the problem.

A 2003 study of nearly 5,000

teenagers in the Minneapolis area

found that 29 percent of girls and 16

percent of boys were teased by family

members and one-third of the girls and

chapter 1 physical development

one-fourth of the boys had been teased

by their peers about their weight.

Weight-based taunting is not

harmless. Adolescents in the study saw

the teasing as having a greater negative

impact on their self-image than did

their actual body size.

Teasing should be taken seriously

and never tolerated at home, in school,

or in the community. Policies have

helped to establish norms making eth-

nic slurs unacceptable. Perhaps similar

policies can be formed to send a clear

message that bullying people about

body shape is not sanctioned in the

schools or the community.

What can be done?

Young people can conquer weight

problems and get adequate nutrition

with a combination of a healthful diet,

regular physical activity, counseling,

and support from adults and peers.

For severely obese teens, medication

or bariatric surgery is sometimes

prescribed to supplement weight

management eﬀorts.

While proper diet and exercise

improve physical health, parents and

caregivers can also enhance mental

health by emphasizing the overweight

teen’s strengths and positive quali-

ties. After all, the measure of a young

person’s worth is far more than the

numbers on the scale.

Some heavier adolescents will

lose excess weight through positive

lifestyle changes and through the

normal growth spurts of puberty that

make their bodies taller and leaner.

In other cases, obesity becomes a life-

long struggle.

Eating healthy foods in right-sized

portions and exercising are lifelong

habits, not temporary ﬁxes. During

growth spurts, adolescents do need a

lot of calories, and the classic portrait

of a teenager as a bottomless pit—

someone who can consume volumes of

food and burn it all oﬀ—seems to hold

true. ese increased calories should

come from healthy foods because teens

need more nutrition as well as more

calories. Learning to pay attention

to cues of fullness from the body, as

opposed to eating mindlessly, will

help teens avoid a habit of overeating

in later years when their metabolism

inevitably slows down.

Adults can help control what

happens in the home, schools, and

neighborhood when it comes to eating

and exercise. One of the best ways

adults can inﬂuence young people is by

changing their own eating and exercise

habits. Adults can help young people

establish healthy habits by

ot skipping breakfast.

Eating fruits, vegetables, lean pro-

tein, and whole grains.

Cooking dinner at home using fresh,

whole foods.

Not buying or drinking beverages

with added sugars.

Building exercise and physical

activity into one’s own daily routines

and encouraging one’s children to

join them.

Not inappropriately encouraging

youth to lose weight.

Weight gain accompanies puberty:

teens grow in height, boys develop

muscle mass; girls develop breasts and

hips; and both boys and girls can put

on body fat before a growth spurt.

Adults should understand normal

physical development (see the Physical

Development chapter) to avoid putting

undue pressure on an adolescent to be

a certain size or weight.

ways you can make a

difference

REALIZE that “kid-friendly” meals

such as chicken nuggets, fries, and

pizza with meat toppings are not

the healthiest choices.

ADVOCATE for recreation and

com-munity centers and safe parks

and trails so that youths can read-

ily participate in physical activities

and sports programs.

DISCOURAGE late-night eating or

the habit of consuming most of

the day’s calories in the evening.

RALLY for the building of super-

markets and for greater access to

fresh foods in urban neighborhoods.

PUSH for direct access from bus

and subway routes to farmers’

markets.

SUPPORT schoolwide eﬀorts to

promote physical activity and to

limit oﬀerings of junk foods and

sugary beverages in the cafeteria

and vending machines.

JOIN forces with adolescents on

an advocacy project insisting that

food companies live up to their

promises to stop marketing un-

healthy foods to youth.

ACKNOWLEDGE disparate views

of the body and food based on

gender, such as approval of larger

size among boys.

EXAMINE whether entrenched be-

liefs within your family, e.g., that

it is important to ﬁnish everything

on your plate, might be contribut-

ing to overeating.

“I think there’s a

lot of pressure

out there to look

perfect, but

what’s perfect?”

Girl, 16

the teen years explained

chapter 2 cognitive development

cognitive development

“I see and think

differently now

that I am a

teenager. I know

that there are

negative and

positive outcomes

to everything that

you do.”

Girl, 14

The ever-expanding teenage brain

ewly developed thinking skills

are one of the most thrilling

aspects of adolescence. As

their ability to think in abstract terms

grows, young people love to debate,

challenge established ideas or values,

and question authority. ey begin

to question notions of absolute truth

and to acquire the capability to present

logical arguments.

is higher level of brainpower

helps adolescents to consider the

future, judge options, solve problems,

and set goals. Part of gaining new

thinking skills includes making mis-

takes and learning from them. Adults

can play an important role in guiding

cognitive development by helping

young people master the skills of criti-

cal thinking and decision making.

The three main components of

adolescent cognitive skills

In adolescence, cognitive develop-

ment occurs in three main areas. First,

young people strengthen their ad-

vanced reasoning skills, which includes

thinking about multiple options and

possibilities, pondering things hypo-

thetically (the age-old “what if…?”

questions), and following a logical

thought process.

Second, teenagers start to develop

abstract thinking skills, meaning they

CHAPTER 2

the teen YearS explained

think about things that cannot be seen,

heard, or touched. Abstract thought

allows one to think about faith, love,

trust, beliefs and spirituality, as well as

higher mathematics.

ird, they enlarge their capac-

ity to think about thinking, a process

known as “meta-cognition.” Meta-

cognition allows young people to con-

sider how they feel and what they are

thinking, and also involves being able

to think about how one is perceived

by others. Meta-cognition can also

be used to develop strategies such as

mnemonic devices, which are useful in

memorization and learning.

Recent neurological ﬁndings

map changes in the teenage

brain

e brains of babies and toddlers pro-

duce billions of brain cells (neurons)

and connections between brain cells

(synapses). en, starting around age

3, the synapses are “pruned.” Research-

ers have discovered a second period of

overproduction of synapses that starts

just before puberty (age 11 in girls, 12

in boys), also followed by pruning.

e pruning of synapses ap-

pears to be an essential part of brain

maturation. Taking away the weaker

synapses allows the remaining ones

to become stronger and more stable,

much like the pruning of a tree allows

the remaining branches to thrive. Be-

tween ages 13 and 18, adolescents lose

approximately 1 percent of their gray

matter every year.

e spurt of synapse formation

and pruning during adolescence occurs

in several parts of the brain, including

the prefrontal cortex. e prefrontal

cortex is responsible for advanced

reasoning, including the ability to

plan, understand cause and eﬀect,

think through scenarios, and manage

impulses. ere may be an impor-

tant link between brain development

and an adolescent’s ability to stop to

consider consequences, develop logical

plans, or ﬁlter thoughts before blurting

them out.

e brain changes continue up

to at least age 21, and some scientists

believe maturation is not complete

until 25. Brain development seems to

vary so much between individuals that

it is impractical to pinpoint a speciﬁc

age at which young people reach full

maturity in thinking and reasoning.

roughout adolescence, the capacity

for advanced reasoning, abstract think-

ing, and meta-cognition expands

and improves.

Do brain changes spur

risk-taking?

For decades, the story line for adoles-

cents—written both by developmental

psychologists and by parents—was that

adolescents underestimate risk.

The teen years are a time of intense

brain changes. Interestingly, two of

the primary brain functions develop at

different rates. Recent brain research

indicates that the part of the brain that

perceives rewards from risk, the limbic

system, kicks into high gear in early

adolescence. The part of the brain

that controls impulses and engages

in longer-term perspective, the frontal

lobes, matures later. This may explain

why teens in mid-adolescence take

more risks than older teens. As the

frontal lobes become more developed,

two things happen. First, self-control

develops as teens are better able to

assess cause and effect. Second, more

areas of the brain become involved

in processing emotions, and teens

become better at accurately interpreting

others’ emotions.

SOURCE: Steinberg, L. (2008) A social neuroscience

perspective on adolescent risk-taking. Developmental

Review, 28:78-106.

Brain BOX

chapter 2 cognitive development

Teens, it was thought, feel invin-

cible: “It will never happen to me.”

e “it” might be the possibility of

becoming pregnant (“I can’t possibly

get pregnant”), or of contracting a

sexually transmitted disease after hav-

ing unprotected intercourse (“He/she

couldn’t possibly have a disease”), or

any of the numerous adverse eﬀects of

unsafe behavior. is perceived sense

of invulnerability was considered to be

a stage of cognitive development that

adolescents had to pass through on the

way to adulthood.

We now have considerable scien-

tiﬁc evidence that adolescents do feel

vulnerable to contracting a sexually

transmitted disease or getting sick

“Now that I am

older, I can make

choices for myself

and think before

I act.”

Girl, 12

Teens enjoy exercising their budding ability for lively debate.

For them, conﬂicts may just be a way of expressing themselves.

Adults, on the other hand, tend to take arguments personally and

may view them as intense and disruptive or as a direct threat to

their authority.

Understanding teens’ new thinking skills

Be patient when teens “test drive”

their newly acquired reasoning

skills, and encourage healthy,

respectful debate by setting “rules

of engagement.”

Disrespect should never be toler-

ated by either an adolescent or

an adult.

Never correct or put down ado-

lescents’ logic; simply listen to

and acknowledge what they say.

A good strategy is to ask how they

arrived at the thoughts or conclu-

sions they are expressing.

Don’t take it to heart when teens

criticize adult opinions and

behaviors. ey may challenge

you, but they still need you.

Unless a teen has a history of

problem behavior, do not worry

if he or she demonstrates

melodramatic tendencies.

Remember that not every dis-

agreement is a conﬂict.

the teen YearS explained

Cognition ignition

from drinking too much. In fact, sev-

eral studies have found that adolescents

perceive more risk in certain areas

than adults do, such as the chance of

getting into an accident if they drive

with a drunk driver. Teenagers also are

not as optimistic as their parents are

about avoiding injuries and illness.

However, they are less likely than

adults to believe poor health will result

from experimenting with sex, drinking,

drugs, or smoking.

For many adolescents, being aware

of the risks involved in a given action

fails to stop them from participat-

ing. Research is starting to discover

that adolescents judge the beneﬁts of

partaking in risky behaviors diﬀerently

than adults do, and this diﬀerence in

judgment may have a biological basis

in the brain. Functional magnetic reso-

nance imaging studies have shown that

while winning at gambling, the “re-

ward” center lights up more in teens’

brains than in adults’ brains, meaning

that teens experience greater emotional

satisfaction when risk-taking produces

a desired outcome.

Teens also may discern social

beneﬁts from smoking, drinking, or

sexual activity. In schools and com-

munities where the popular students

are more likely to smoke, drink, and

be sexually experienced, trying out

these risky behaviors could be viewed

by young people as a rational strategy

for gaining approval from their friends

and fellow students. Most teens who

experiment with alcohol and cigarettes

do not develop addictions, but some

Freshly acquired reasoning and logic skills are like a new gadget

adolescents are just itching to try out. Here are some ways you can

help young people make effective use of their developing capacities:

“As an adolescent, I think more for myself

now. I am also more aware of the feelings

of people around me and more aware of

my own feelings.”

Girl, 15

do, especially if they start experimenta-

tion at an early age.

e upside of perceiving rewards

for taking risks is that teens are willing

to assume new challenges necessary

for adulthood, such as starting a job,

leaving home, and forming diverse

relationships. In fact, adolescence is

the perfect time to strike out in diﬀer-

ent directions. Only in early childhood

are people as receptive to new informa-

tion as they are in adolescence.

Given the developmental directive

to experiment, it is not surprising that

scare tactics, school-based abstinence

curricula, and “Just say no” cam-

Ask open-ended questions that invite thought and debate. is will help

adolescents consider their range of options and the natural consequences of

each choice.

Example of an open-ended question that invites discussion:

“How do you think it will beneﬁt you and/or harm you to quit your after-school

job to join the basketball team?”

(invites thought and debate)

Example of a close-ended question that ellicits a yes or no response:

“Will you regret quitting your after-school job to join the basketball team?”

Never subject an adolescent to public criticism or mockery of their

thoughts or ideas.

Encourage a deeper understanding of issues and topics an adolescent

brings up by pointing them to accurate, factual information.

Make sure teens grasp the role of emotions in the decision-making

process—feelings like anger, fear, sadness, or elation can cloud judgment.

Decisions, especially important ones, should be made while calm and

revisited after “sleeping on it.”

Realize teens bring a variety of strengths—logic, common sense, creative

approaches—to the decision-making process.

chapter 2 cognitive development

paigns have proven to be ineﬀective

with young people. More successful

strategies engage youth in using their

emerging critical-thinking skills. For

example, taking young people through

the risks of a certain action or activity

and having them assess the situation’s

consequences at every juncture allows

them to develop future-thinking

techniques and makes them feel more

in control. is tactic challenges their

intellect, while simply forbidding them

Adolescents need opportunities

to practice and discuss realistic

decision-making. Here are

some ways adults can facilitate

the process:

Get youth actively practicing deci-

sion-making through role-playing

and group problem-solving exercises.

Take a look at how you make deci-

sions and then lead by example.

Demonstrate to teens how to choose

between competing pressures and

demands.

Many adolescents live in the now.

Show them the beneﬁts of future

thinking by anticipating diﬃcult

situations and planning in advance

how to handle them.

Encourage adolescents to spend time

with friends who share their values.

Decision-making

strategies

Adults often support each other by sharing stories about their own experi-

ence in a similar situation. is strategy works less well with teens, who may

respond to adults’ attempts to help this way with exclamations of “You don’t

understand!” or “My life is ruined!”

Try not to take it personally when young people discount your experiences.

Just listen to their concerns and empathize. Seek to understand their feel-

ings ﬁrst before oﬀering up anecdotes about what you were like as a teen,

and when you do, speak about your vulnerabilities and the mistakes that you

made at that age. Don’t let it all hang out, though. Experts advise that adults

talk about their past experiences cautiously and conservatively.

Sharing your experiences

to do something only challenges their

sense of autonomy.

Cognitive mindsets

is section details some of the cogni-

tive mindsets—ways of thinking and

believing—experienced by adolescents

as a result of brain development.

I don’t think that’s fair

Advances in reasoning skills lead

teens to become interested in fairness

or justice. ey are quick to point

out inconsistencies between adults’

words and their actions. However, the

developing adolescent brain makes it

diﬃcult for them to see shades of gray

or nuances in arguments and opinions.

ey tend to view things in extremes

of black and white, allowing little

room for error. eir reasoning skills

can be honed by encouraging teens to

talk about their views, whether it is

their political or spiritual beliefs, or

the teen YearS explained

their responses to something they saw

on the Internet or in a magazine.

Researcher Laurence Steinberg,

PhD, has suggested that adults and

adolescents have diﬀerent views of con-

ﬂict. It is the parents who get stressed

out by dust-ups over daily mundane

issues. A possible reason for this is that

adults see the decisions in question

as stemming from moral distinctions

of right and wrong, traditions, social

customs, and core beliefs, whereas

teens tend to view decisions simply as

matters of personal choice.

Take a clean bedroom. Adults

view the issue from a moral stand-

point (cleanliness is next to godliness;

cleaning your room is the right thing

to do). An adolescent is more commit-

ted to the issue of fairness—my room

is my domain; it is not fair for parents

to dictate whether my room is neat

or messy, and what does it matter in

the grand scheme of things? Adoles-

cents are less interested in the moral

standpoint, so the conﬂict may not be

as meaningful for them. erefore, the

parent may walk away upset—and

stay upset—more often than the

young person.

“I am capable of making my own decisions

and I challenge myself a lot more since I

am not a child anymore.”

Boy, 15

chapter 2 cognitive development

I am taking up the cause

On the one hand, teens are concerned

with their appearance and their every

move. One consistent experience of

adolescence is the constant feeling of

being “on stage”and that everyone and

everything is centered on their appear-

ance and actions. is preoccupation

stems from the fact that brain changes

actually spur adolescents to spend an

inordinate amount of time thinking

about and looking at themselves.

is does not mean young people

are inherently selﬁsh. On the contrary,

cognitive development also prompts

them to become outward-directed and

interested in something larger than

themselves. Embrace this paradox and

accept it.

e newfound ability to consider

abstract concepts may make teens want

to become involved in things that have

deeper meaning. ey want to tackle

the big issues and are often drawn into

causes. is not only widens a young

person’s perspective but also is greatly

empowering. After reading about cru-

elty to animals, an adolescent may

become vegetarian and active in animal

rights campaigns. Support their inter-

ests and help them ﬁnd ways large and

small they can contribute to the causes

in which they believe. is is an excel-

lent way for adolescents to move from

self-consciousness to a greater con-

sciousness of the world.

“Being a teenager

means thinking

about going to

college, acting

more mature,

and being more

interested in girls.”

Boy, 15

THE TEEN YEARS EXPLAINED

rain development even aﬀects

the way teens sleep. Adoles-

cents’ normal sleep patterns

are diﬀerent from those of children

and adults. Teens are often drowsy

upon waking, tired during the day, and

wakeful at night.

Until the age of 10, most chil-

dren awaken refreshed and energetic.

In adolescence, the brain’s biologi-

cal clock, or circadian rhythm, shifts

forward. Melatonin secretions, which

trigger sleepiness, start later at night

and turn oﬀ later in the morning. is

natural shift peps up adolescents at the

traditional weekday bedtime of 9 or 10

p.m. and can explain why it is so hard

to rouse them at sunrise. In contrast,

circadian rhythms in middle-aged

people tend to swing backward, and

many parents struggle to stay awake

when their adolescent children are at

their most alert.

Teenagers actually need as much

sleep or more than they got as chil-

dren—nine to 10 hours are optimum.

Most adolescents are chronically

sleep-deprived, averaging a scant six to

seven hours a night. Part of the blame

can be placed on early starting times

for school, which, coupled with many

teens’ 11 p.m. and midnight bedtimes,

result in a considerable sleep deﬁcit.

Too little sleep can result in un-

controlled napping (either in class or,

more dangerously, behind the wheel),

irritability, inability to do tasks that are

not exciting or of a competitive nature,

and dependence on caﬀeine drinks to

stay alert.

Sleep debt also has a powerful

eﬀect on a teen’s ability to learn and re-

tain new material, especially in abstract

subject areas such as physics, philoso-

phy, math, and calculus.

Battling biology can be daunt-

ing, but adults can help teenagers get

enough sleep by keeping TVs and elec-

tronic gadgets out of their bedrooms,

switching to caﬀeine-free drinks in

the evening, and getting them to wind

down activity by a reasonable hour.

Catch-up sleep on weekends is

a second-best option because it can

confuse the brain as to when night-

time occurs and is not as restorative

as regular slumber.

Teen brains need more Zzzzzzzs

Sleep and Cognitive Development

CHAPTER 2 COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Effects of Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs

on the Developing Adolescent Brain

isk-taking may be based in bi-

ology, but that does not diminish

the possible unhealthy conse-

quences of alcohol and other drugs and

tobacco on the developing teen brain.

Recent brain research with mag-

netic resonance imaging suggests that

alcohol impacts adolescents diﬀerently

than it does adults. Young people are

more vulnerable to the negative eﬀects

of alcohol on the hippocampus—the

part of the brain that regulates work-

ing memory and learning. Conse-

quently, heavy use of alcohol and

other drugs during the teen years

can result in lower scores on tests of

memory and attention in one’s early

to mid-20s.

People who begin drinking before

age 15 are four times more likely to

become alcohol-dependent than those

who wait until they are 21. Teens also

tend to be less sensitive than adults to

alcohol’s sedative qualities. Sedation

in response to alcohol is one of the

ways the body protects itself, since it

is impossible to keep drinking once

asleep or passed out. Teenagers are

able to stay awake longer with higher

blood alcohol levels than older drinkers

can. is biological diﬀerence allows

teens to drink more, thereby exposing

themselves to greater cognitive impair-

ment and perhaps brain damage from

alcohol poisoning.

ere are also striking diﬀerences

in the way nicotine aﬀects adolescent

and adult smokers. Nicotine results in

cell damage and loss throughout the

brain at any age, but in teenagers the

damage is worse in the hippocampus,

the mind’s memory bank. Compared

to adults, teen smokers experience

more episodes of depression and

cardiac irregularities, and are more apt

to become quickly and persistently

nicotine-dependent.

Drugs such as cocaine and am-

phetamines target dopamine receptor

neurons in the brain, and damage to

these neurons may aﬀect adolescent

brain development for life in the areas

of impulse control and ability to expe-

rience reward.

Other eﬀects of substance abuse in

adolescents include delays in develop-

ing executive functions (judgment,

planning and completing tasks, meet-

ing goals) and overblown and imma-

ture emotional responses to situations.

the teen years explained

chapter 3 emotional & social development

emotional & social

development

“Adults inﬂuence

me more than my

friends because

they have more

wisdom and

experience in

the world.”

Girl, 16

A quest for emotional and social competence

lthough the stereotype of ado-

lescence emphasizes emotional

outbursts and mood swings,

in truth, the teen years are a quest for

emotional and social competence.

Emotional competence is the

ability to perceive, assess, and manage

one’s own emotions. Social compe-

tence is the capacity to be sensitive and

eﬀective in relating to other people.

Cognitive development in the adoles-

cent brain gives teens increasing capac-

ity to manage their emotions and relate

well to others.

Unlike the physical changes of

puberty, emotional and social develop-

ment is not an inevitable biological

process during adolescence. Society

expects that young people will learn to

prevent their emotions from interfer-

ing with performance and relate well to

other people, but this does not occur

from brain development alone—it

must be cultivated.

Four areas of emotional and

social development

Emotional and social development

work in concert: through relating to

others, you gain insights into your-

self. e skills necessary for managing

emotions and successful relationships

have been called “emotional intel-

ligence” and include self-awareness,

CHAPTER 3

the teen Years explained

social awareness, self-management, and

the ability to get along with others and

make friends.

Self-awareness: What do

I feel?

Self-awareness centers on young people

learning to recognize and name their

emotions. Feelings cannot be labeled

accurately unless conscious attention is

paid to them, and that involves going

deeper than saying one feels “good,”

“bad,” or the all-purpose “OK.”

Going deeper means an adolescent

might discover he or she feels “anxious”

about an upcoming test, or “sad” when

rejected by a potential love interest.

Identifying the source of a feeling can

lead to ﬁguring out constructive ways

to resolve a problem.

Without this awareness, undeﬁned

feelings can become uncomfortable

enough that adolescents may grow

withdrawn or depressed or pursue such

numbing behaviors as drinking alco-

hol, using drugs, or overeating.

Social awareness: What do

other people feel?

While it is vital that youth recognize

their own emotions, they must also de-

velop empathy and take into account

the feelings of others. Understanding

the thoughts and feelings of others and

appreciating the value of human dif-

ferences are the cornerstones of social

awareness.

Cognitive development during

adolescence may make social aware-

ness diﬃcult for some young people.

Adolescents actually read emotions

through a diﬀerent part of the brain

than do adults. Dr. Deborah Yurge-

lun-Todd, director of Neuropsychol-

ogy and Cognitive Neuroimaging at

McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mas-

sachusetts, took magnetic resonance

imaging (MRI) scans of the brains

of both teenagers and adults as they

were shown images of faces that clearly

expressed fear. All the adults correctly

identiﬁed fear. About half of the teens

got it wrong, mistaking the expression

as that of shock, sadness, or confusion.

Yurgelun-Todd discovered that on

the MRI scans of the adults, both the

limbic area of the brain (the part of the

brain linked to emotions) and the pre-

frontal cortex (connected to judgment

and reasoning) were lit up. When teens

saw the same images, the limbic area

was bright, but there was almost no

activity in the prefrontal cortex. Until

the prefrontal cortex fully develops in

Increases in estrogen and testosterone

at puberty literally change the brain

structure so that it processes social situ-

ations differently. Pubertal hormones

prompt a proliferation of receptors for

oxytocin, a hormone that functions as a

neurotransmitter, in the limbic area of

the brain, where emotional processing

occurs. The effect of increased oxytocin

is to increase feelings of self-conscious-

ness, to the point where an adolescent

may truly feel that his or her behavior is

the focus of everyone else’s attention.

These feelings of having the world as

an audience peak around age 15 and

then decline.

SOURCE: Steinberg, L. (2008) A social neuroscience

perspective on adolescent risk-taking. Developmental

Review, 28, 78–106.

Brain BOX

chapter 3 emotional & social development

early adulthood, teens may misinter-

pret body language and facial expres-

sions. Adults can help by telling teens

how they are feeling. For example, a

parent can say, “I’m not mad at you,

just tired and crabby.”

Self-management: How can

I control my emotions?

Self-management is monitoring and

regulating one’s emotions and estab-

lishing and working toward positive

goals. Adolescents can experience in-

tense emotions with puberty. Research-

ers have found that the increase of

testosterone in both boys and girls at

puberty literally swells the amygdala,

an area of the brain associated with

social acceptance, responses to reward,

and emotions, especially fear.

Nonetheless, adolescents can and

do learn to manage their emotions.

Self-management in a young person

involves using developing reasoning

and abstract thinking skills to step

back, examine emotions, and consider

how those emotions bear on longer-

term goals. By actively managing emo-

tions rather than reacting to a ﬂood

of feelings, young people can learn to

avoid the pitfalls and problems that

strong emotions often evoke. Recog-

nizing that they have the power to

choose how to react in a situation can

greatly improve the way adolescents

experience that situation.

Peer relationships: How can

I make and keep friends?

Social and emotional development

depends on establishing and main-

taining healthy, rewarding relation-

ships based on cooperation, eﬀective

communication, and the ability to

resolve conﬂict and resist inappropri-

ate peer pressure.

ese social skills are fostered by

involvement in a peer group, and teens

generally prefer to spend increasing

amounts of time with fellow adoles-

cents and less time with family. Peers

provide a new opportunity for young

people to form necessary social skills

and an identity outside the family.

“My mom is my biggest inﬂuence

because she always knows the answers

to my questions and would never tell

me anything that would hurt me in

the long run.”

Boy, 15

e inﬂuence of peers is normal

and expected. Peers have signiﬁcant

sway on day-to-day values, attitudes,

and behaviors in relation to school, as

well as tastes in clothing and music.

Peers also play a central role in the

development of sexual identities and

the formation of intimate friendships

and romantic relationships.

Friends need not be a threat to

parents’ ultimate authority. Parents re-

main central throughout adolescence.

Young people depend on their families

and adult caregivers for aﬀection, iden-

tiﬁcation, values, and decision-making

skills. Teens report, and research con-

ﬁrms, that parents have more inﬂuence

than peers on whether or not adoles-

cents smoke, use alcohol and other

drugs, or initiate sexual intercourse.

Teens also frequently seek out

adult role models and advisors such

Possible causes of heightened emotions in adolescents

Hormones, which set oﬀ physical changes at puberty, also aﬀect moods

and general emotional responses in teens.

Concerns about physical changes—height, weight, facial hair, developing

breasts in girls—are a source of sensitivity and heightened emotions.

Irregular meal patterns, skipping breakfast, and fasting to lose weight can

aﬀect mood.

Inadequate sleep can lead to moodiness, gloominess, irritability, and a

tendency to overreact.

Experiencing the normal ups and downs of social relationships, especially

romantic relationships, can make a teen feel anything from elation to

abject despair.

the teen Years explained

as teachers, relatives, club leaders, or

neighbors. Studies show that connec-

tions to teachers, for example, can be

just as protective as connections to par-

ents in delaying the initiation of sexual

activity and use of drugs, alcohol,

and tobacco.

Some teenagers, of course, trade

the inﬂuence of parents and other

adults for the inﬂuence of their peers,

Popularity plusses and minuses

Most parents wish their teenagers to be popular. Certainly, most teens want

to be popular, too. However, a recent study in the journal Child Development

suggests that being on the A-list is not always what it’s cracked up to be.

e advantages of popularity are that popular adolescents possess a broader ar-

ray of social skills than their less well-liked peers, better self-concepts, a greater

ability to form meaningful relationships with both friends and parents, and

greater ability to resolve conﬂicts within these relationships.

But there is a downside. Popular teens are at higher risk for exposure to—and

participation in—whatever risky behaviors are condoned by their peers. Popu-

larity can be associated with higher levels of alcohol and substance abuse and

minor deviant behavior, such as vandalism and shoplifting.

Popular kids tend to get along better with their friends and family members

and seem to have more emotional maturity than others. is maturity can be

compromised by their need for group approval, as popular teens may be even

more willing than other teens to adopt behaviors they think will earn them

greater acceptance. Sometimes the behaviors are “pro-social”—as when a group

pressures popular members to be less aggressive and hostile. Sometimes, when

risky behaviors are valued by popular kids, the behaviors are more deviant.

SOURCE: Allen, J.P., Porter, M.R., & McFarland, F,C. (2005). The two faces of adolescents’ success with peers:

adolescent popularity, social adaptation, and deviant behavior. Child Development. 76(3), 747–760.

but this usually happens when family

closeness and parental monitoring are

missing. Youth need to learn inde-

pendent-thinking, decision-making,

and problem-solving skills from their

parents or guardians and other caring

adults, so they can apply these skills

within their peer network.

e nature of social relation-

ships changes as adolescents get older.

Younger teens typically have at least

one primary group of friends, and the

members are usually similar in many

respects, including gender. During the

early teen years, both boys and girls are

concerned with conforming and being

accepted by their peer group.

Emerging brain science indicates

that during early adolescence social

acceptance by peers may be processed

by the brain similarly to other pleasur-

able rewards, such as receiving money

or eating ice cream. is makes social

acceptance highly desirable and helps

explain why adolescents change their

behavior to match their peers’. Teens

often adopt the styles, values, and

interests of the group to maintain an

identity that distinguishes their group

from other students.

Peer groups in middle adolescence

(14-16 years) tend to contain both

boys and girls, and group members are

more tolerant of diﬀerences in appear-

ance, beliefs, and feelings. By late ado-

lescence (17-19 years), young people

have diversiﬁed their peer network

beyond a single clique or crowd and

develop intimate relationships within

these peer groups, such as one-on-one

friendships and romances.

Dating is a way to develop social

skills, learn about other people, and ex-

plore romantic and sexual feelings. e

hormonal changes that accompany pu-

“A good parent

listens to you and

does not look

down on you.”

Girl, 14

chapter 3 emotional & social development

“My friends have

inspired me to

help anyone that

I see in need.”

Girl, 12

berty move adolescents toward dating

relationships. Mainstream culture plays

a role as well. Media and popular cul-

ture are awash in images and messages

that promote adolescent sexuality and

romance. Dating can lead to sexual

activity, but also to opportunities for

expanded emotional growth. Dating

and friendships open up an adolescent

to experiencing extremes of happi-

ness, excitement, disappointment, and

despair. Recent research has shown that

both boys and girls value intimacy in

romantic relationships, dispelling the

prevailing stereotype that boys prefer

casual sexual relationships.

Emotional and social

development in context

Adolescents face an astonishing array

of options in modern society—every-

thing from choosing multiple sources

of entertainment to deciding among

alternative educational or vocational

pathways. Teenagers are confronted

with more decisions, and more compli-

cated decisions, than their parents and

grandparents faced, often in complex

environments that trigger conﬂicting

feelings and desires.

Responsible decision-making

involves generating, implementing,

and evaluating ethical choices in a

given situation. e choices ideally will

beneﬁt both the decision-maker and

the well-being of others.

e still-developing frontal

lobes in the brain render adolescents

vulnerable to making poor deci-

sions; they can have trouble forming

judgments when things are cloudy or

uncertain. e Cognitive Development

chapter gives strategies for helping

young people with their decision-

making skills.

adults. Risky behavior increased for

both boys and girls.

In a follow-up study, Laurence

Steinberg, PhD, of Temple University

used functional MRI to map brain

activity during the video driving game.

e brain scans showed that teen

brains respond diﬀerently when peers

are present compared to when they are

not present. When teens played the

driving game alone, brain regions

linked to cognitive control and reason-

ing were activated. When peers were

present, additional brain circuitry that

processes rewards was also activated,

The building blocks of empathy

Decisions about risk-taking often

are made in group situations—set-

tings that activate intense feelings

and trigger impulses. In a recent

experimental study, teenagers, col-

lege students, and adults were asked

to play a video driving game. When

participants were alone, levels of risky

driving were the same for the teens,

college students, and adults. However,

when they played the game in front of

friends, risky driving doubled among

the adolescents and increased by 50

percent among the college students,

but remained unchanged among the

Empathy is the ability to identify with another person’s concerns and feelings.

Empathy is the foundation of tolerance, compassion, and the ability to dif-

ferentiate right from wrong. Empathy motivates teens and adults alike to care

for those who are hurt or troubled.

Ways you can help build empathy in an adolescent:

emonstrate tolerance and generosity in your thoughts, words, and actions.

Actively participate in religious or social organizations that ask you to focus

on issues larger than yourself.

Fine-tune your own empathetic behaviors and act on your concerns to

comfort others, so that teenagers can copy your actions.

Build a young person’s emotional vocabulary by using such “feelings” state-

ments as “Your friend seems really (anxious, mad, discouraged).” You can

also point out nonverbal feeling cues to a teenager.

Teach empathy and awareness of others, such as helping youth understand

on an emotional level the negative consequences of prejudice.

Talk with a young person about how his or her own suﬀering can lead to

compassion for other teens who experience suﬀering.

the teen Years explained

suggesting that, for teens, potentially

rewarding—and potentially risky—

behaviors become even more gratify-

ing in the presence of peers. By late

adolescence and early adulthood, the

cognitive control network matures,

so that even among friends in a high-

pressure situation, the urge to take

risks diminishes.

Because heightened vulnerability

to peer inﬂuence and risk-taking ap-

pears to be a natural and normal part

of neurobiological development, telling

adolescents not to give in to peer inﬂu-

ence may not be eﬀective, especially

during early adolescence. Instead,

teens may be best protected from

harm through limiting exposure to

risky situations. Harm-reducing tactics

include raising the price of cigarettes,

rigorously policing the sale of alcohol

to minors, placing restrictions on

“A good friend is

100% real with

you all the time.”

Boy, 16

teen driving, and making reproduc-

tive health services more accessible

to adolescents.

chapter 3 emotional & social development

WaYs to help teens make healthY social connections

Discuss the meaning of true friendship

People have plenty of acquaintances, but true friends can be rare gifts. Talk

with young people about what distinguishes true friends from situational

friends. True friends like you for yourself. ey try to help and encourage

you, and they stand by you when the other kids make fun of you or give

you a hard time. A true friend does not judge you by the clothes you wear

or how much expensive stuﬀ you have, pressure you to go along with the

crowd, make you do dangerous or illegal things, or leave you high and dry

when things get rough.

Help teens get involved in

things they care about

Young people can make friends at

school, but they can also form rela-

tionships through mutual interests.

Find out what adolescents are

interested in—computers, music,

dance, poetry slams, sports, science

ﬁction/fantasy—and help start a

club, or get teens involved in exist-

ing organizations.

Promote service to others

Getting youth involved with a service project in your community is a

way to strengthen friendships, both with people their own age and across

the generations, and to make social connections through the pursuit of

common goals. Community service also promotes the values of caring and

kindness, and it helps adolescents develop a sense of empathy. Let teens

decide what kind of service project they would like to do.

Talk about boundaries

Being a friend does not mean

being a doormat or being

joined at the hip 24/7. Friend-

ships need boundaries, just as

other relationships do. Stress the

importance of boundaries, es-

tablishing limits, and respecting

privacy and “alone time,” which

make friendships healthier and

stronger in the long run.

Teach about the relationship

between honesty and tact

Friends don’t tear each other

down—even in the name of hon-

esty. You can help sharpen a young

person’s decision-making skills by

talking about ways of handling

certain situations without being

hurtful. Possible scenarios include

what to say when someone asks,

“Do you like my new haircut?” or

what to say when a friend or relative

mentions, “I’ve never seen you wear

the sweater I gave you.”

Find role models for friendship

Examples of good friendships abound

in movies, books, and songs, and also

in your community. Friendship could

be the theme of a book club or a movie

series in a youth program. Expose

adolescents to real-life role models and

then discuss what good friendships have

in common. What attributes or values

do these people share?

THE TEEN YEARS EXPLAINED

ou may have caught yourself

thinking, “Teen stress? Wait

until they’re older—then they’ll

know stress.”

Yet teen stress is an important

health issue. e early teen years are

marked by rapid changes—physi-

cal, cognitive, and emotional. Young

people also face changing relationships

with peers, new demands at school,

family tensions, and safety issues in

their communities. e ways in which

teens cope with these stressors can

have signiﬁcant short- and long-term

consequences on their physical and

emotional health. Diﬃculties in han-

dling stress can lead to mental health

problems, such as depression and

anxiety disorders.

What is stress? It is the body’s

reaction to a challenge, which could

be anything from outright physical

danger to asking someone for a date or

trying out for a sports team. Good and

bad things create stress. Getting into

a ﬁght with a friend is stressful, but so

is a passionate kiss and contemplating

what might follow.

e human body responds to

stressors by activating the nervous sys-

tem and speciﬁc hormones. e hypo-

thalamus signals the adrenal glands to

produce more of the hormones adrena-

line and cortisol and release them into

the bloodstream. e hormones speed

releases stored glucose to increase the

body’s energy. is physical response

to stress kicks in much more quickly in

teens than in adults because the part of

the brain that can calmly assess danger

and call oﬀ the stress response, the pre-

frontal cortex, is not fully developed in

adolescence.

e stress response prepares a per-

son to react quickly and perform well

under pressure. It can help teens be on

their toes and ready to rise to

a challenge.

e stress response can cause

problems, however, when it overreacts

or goes on for too long. Long-term

stressful situations, like coping with

a parent’s divorce or being bullied at

school, can produce a lasting, low-level

stress that can wear out the body’s

reserves, weaken the immune system,

and make an adolescent feel depleted

or beleaguered.

e things that cause adolescents

stress are often diﬀerent from what

stresses adults. Adolescents will have

diﬀerent experiences from one another,

as well. A good example of this can be

seen by observing teens at a dance.

Some are hunched in the corner,

eyes downcast and hugging the wall.

ey can’t wait for the night to be over.

Others are out there dancing their feet

oﬀ, talking and laughing and hoping

the music never stops. In between, you

Teen Stress

Teens feel the pressure

School pressure and career decisions

After-school or summer jobs

Dating and friendships

Pressure to wear certain types of

clothing, jewelry, or hairstyles

ressure to experiment with drugs,

alcohol, or sex

ressure to be a particular size or

body shape. With girls, the focus

is often weight. With boys, it is

usually a certain muscular or

athletic physique.

Dealing with the physical and

cognitive changes of puberty

Family and peer conﬂicts

Being bullied or exposed to

violence or sexual harassment

Crammed schedules, juggling

school, sports, after-school

activities, social life,

and family obligations

things that can

caus e y o u th

s t r e s s

up heart rate, breathing rate, blood

pressure, and metabolism. Blood

vessels open wider to let more blood

ﬂow to large muscle groups, pupils

dilate to improve vision, and the liver

“I think stress is a problem for teenagers like

me…because when you get a certain age, you start

worrying about certain things, like, when your puberty

comes, your body starts to develop more, and then

you get to worry about school, your families, and what

most people think about you.”

Girl, 14

chapter 3 emotional and social development

may ﬁnd a few kids pretending to be

bored, hanging out with their friends,

and maybe venturing onto the ﬂoor

for a dance or two. So, is the dance

uniformly stressful?

Several strategies can help teens

with their stress. It is best, whenever

possible, to help teens address stressful

situations immediately. Listen to them,

be open, and realize that you can be

supportive even if you cannot relate to

what they are feeling. Tune in to your

own levels of stress, since your over-

whelmed feelings can be contagious.

For chronic stress, parents or caring

adults can help teens understand the

cause of the stress and then identify

and practice positive ways to manage

the situation.

signs an adolescent is

overloaded

stress managementskills

for young people—& adults

Increased complaints of headache, stomachache, muscle pain, tiredness

Shutting down and withdrawing from people and activities

Increased anger or irritability; i.e., lashing out at people and situations

Crying more often and appearing teary-eyed

Feelings of hopelessness

Chronic anxiety and nervousness

Changes in sleeping and eating habits, i.e., insomnia or being “too

busy” to eat

Diﬃculty concentrating

Talk about problems with others

Take deep breaths, accompanied by thinking or saying aloud, “I can

handle this”

Perform progressive muscle relaxation, which involves repeatedly

tensing and relaxing large muscles of the body

Set small goals and break tasks into smaller, manageable chunks

Exercise and eat regular meals

Get proper sleep

Break the habit of relying on caﬀeine or energy drinks to get through

the day

Focus on what you can control (your reactions, your actions) and let

go of what you cannot (other people’s opinions and expectations)

Visualize and practice feared situations

Work through worst-case scenarios until they seem amusing or absurd

Lower unrealistic expectations

Schedule breaks and enjoyable activities

Accept yourself as you are; identify your unique strengths and build

on them

Give up on the idea of perfection, both in yourself and in others

SOURCE: Dyl, J. Helping teens cope with stress. Lifespan. Retrieved from www.lifespan.org/services/

childhealth/parenting/teen-stress.htm

THE TEEN YEARS EXPLAINED

ost adults can remember

being teased or bullied when

they were younger. It may be

regarded as a regular—albeit nasty—

part of growing up, but research has

shown that bullying has far-reaching

negative eﬀects on adolescents. is

all-too-common experience can lead

to serious problems for young people

at a critical time in their development,

including poor mental health and

dropping out of school.

Estimates from a 2002 CDC

survey reveal that approximately 30

percent of teens in the United States,

or over 5.7 million teens, have been

involved in bullying as a victim,

spectator, or perpetrator. In a 2001

national survey of students in grades

six to 10, 13 percent reported bullying

others, 11 percent reported being the

target of school bullies, and another

6 percent said they bullied others and

were bullied themselves. Teen bullying

appears to be much more common

among younger teens than older teens.

As teens grow older, they are less likely

to bully others and to be the targets of

bullies.

Bullying involves a person or

a group repeatedly trying to harm

someone they see as weaker or more

vulnerable. Appearance and social

status are the main reasons for bully-

ing, but young people can be singled

out because of their sexual orientation,

their race or religion, or because they

may be shy and introverted.

Bullying can involve direct at-

tacks—hitting, threatening or in-

timidating, maliciously teasing and

taunting, name-calling, making sexual

remarks, sexual assault, and stealing

or damaging belongings. Bullying can

also involve the subtler, indirect at-

tacks of rumor-mongering or encour-

aging others to snub someone. New

technology, such as text messaging,

instant messaging, social networking

websites, and the easy ﬁlming and

online posting of videos, has intro-

duced a new form of intimidation—

cyberbullying—which is widespread

on the Internet.

Debunking the myth of

the bully

e typical portrait of a young bully is

someone who is insecure and seething

with self-loathing. e latest research

indicates the opposite is often true,

that teen bullies—both boys and

girls—tend to be conﬁdent, with high

self-esteem and elevated social status

among their peers.

Despite bullies’ social status, their

classmates would rather not spend a

lot of time with them. Nonetheless,

bullies’ stature means that other teens

tolerate bullying behavior. is can

Bullying

Damaged or missing clothing

and belongings

Unexplained cuts, bruises, or

torn clothes

Lack of friends

Frequent claims of having lost

pocket money, possessions,

packed lunches, or snacks

Fear of school or of leaving

the house

Avoidance of places, friends,

family members, or activities

teens once enjoyed

Unusual routes to and from

school or the bus stop

Poor appetite, headaches,

stomachaches

Mood swings

Trouble sleeping

Lack of interest in schoolwork

Talk about suicide

Uncharacteristic aggression

toward younger siblings or

family members

SOURCE: The Youth Connection, January/February

2005, Institute for Youth Development, www.

youthdevelopment.org

wa r n i n g

signs

Teen bullying: A part of growing up?

CHAPTER 3 EMOTIONAL/SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Bullying should not be shrugged off as a normal rite of passage in adolescence.

It is abusive behavior that is likely to create emotional and social problems during the

teen years and later in life for both the victim and the aggressor. Here is how adults

can help:

SPEAK UP after a teen tells you about being bullied at school or elsewhere. Take his or her concerns seriously. Go to

the school and talk to the teachers, coaches, and principal. Speak to the parents or adults in charge if a teen is being

harassed by a peer or social clique.

OBSERVE your own behavior. Adolescents look to adults for cues as to how to act, so practice being caring and

empathetic, and controlling your aggressions. Avoid engaging in physical violence, harsh criticism, vendettas, and

vicious emotional outbursts.

ADVOCATE for policies and programs concerning bullying in the schools and the community. Anti-bullying policies

have been adopted by state boards of education in North Carolina, Oregon, California, New York, Florida, and

Louisiana.

One successful program used throughout the country has been developed by Dan Olweus, a Norwegian psychologist

and bullying expert. e program focuses on creating a “caring community” as opposed to eliminating bad behavior.

For more information on the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, go to http://www.clemson.edu/olweus/.

pose challenges for those addressing

bullying problems.

Bullies also tend to be physically

aggressive, impulsive, and quick to

anger, which ﬁts in with the proﬁle

of a classic intimidator. Most often,

adolescent bullies are mirroring be-

havior they have seen in their home or

observed in adults.

School bullying

School bullying occurs more frequently

among boys than among girls. Teen-

age boys are more likely both to bully

others and to be the targets of bullies.

While both boys and girls say oth-

ers bully them by making fun of the

way they look or talk, boys are more

likely to report being hit, shoved, or

punched. Girls are more often the tar-

gets of rumors and sexual comments,

but ﬁghting does occur.

While teenage boys target both

boys and girls, teenage girls most often

bully other girls, using sly and more

indirect forms of aggression than boys,

such as spreading gossip or urging oth-

ers to reject or exclude another girl.

taking the

bark out of bullies

Harassment hurts

Bullying can make teens feel stressed,

anxious, and afraid. Adolescent victims

of bullying may not be able to concen-

trate in school, a problem that can lead

to avoiding classes, sports, and social

situations. If the bullying continues

for long periods of time, feelings of

self-worth suﬀer. Bullied teens can

become isolated and withdrawn. In

rare cases, adolescents may take drastic

measures, such as carrying weapons

for protection.

One of the most common psy-

chiatric disorders found in adolescents

who are bullied is depression, an illness

which, if left untreated, can interfere

with their ability to function. Accord-

ing to a 2007 study linking bullying

and suicidal behavior, adolescents who

were frequently bullied in school were

ﬁve times as likely to have serious sui-

cidal thoughts and four times as likely

to attempt suicide as students who had

not been victims.

Even after the bullying has

stopped, its eﬀects can linger. Re-

searchers have found that years later,

adults who were bullied as teens have

higher levels of depression and poorer

self-esteem than other adults.

Bullies also fare less well in adult-

hood. Being a teen bully can be a

warning sign of future troubles. Teens,

particularly boys, who bully are more

likely to engage in other delinquent

behaviors in early adulthood, such as

vandalism, shoplifting, truancy, and

drug use. ey are four times more

likely than non-bullies to be con-

victed of crimes by age 24, with 60

percent of bullies having at least one

criminal conviction.

THE TEEN YEARS EXPLAINED

Text messaging, social networking sites, blogs, email, instant messaging—all these

are ways teens stay connected to each other and express who they are to the world.

However, this new technology can

make young people vulnerable to

the age-old problem of bullying.

Unmonitored social networking sites

and chat rooms can be a forum for

messages that are sexually provoca-

tive, demeaning, violence-based,

or racist.

Cyberbullies send harassing or

obscene messages, post private infor-

mation on a public site, intention-

ally exclude someone from a chat

room, or pretend to be someone

else to try to embarrass a person (for

example, by pretending to be a boy

or girl who is romantically interested

in the person).

Cyberbullying can spiral into a

“ﬂame war”—an escalation of online

attacks sent back and forth, either

privately through text and instant

messaging or on a public site. On

public sites ﬂaming is meant to

humiliate the person attacked and

drive him or her away from the web

site or forum.

Often, the information used for cy-

berbullying at ﬁrst appears innocent

or inconsequential. A teen could

post or text what he or she thinks is

run-of-the-mill news about a friend,

teacher, or family member, but oth-

ers could use it for harassment or

bullying purposes.

Although there is still very little

research on cyberbullying, it appears

SOURCES: Gengler, C. (2009). Teens and the internet. Teen Talk: A Survival Guide for Parents of Teenagers. Regents of the University of Minnesota. Available at http://www.

extension.umn.edu/distribution/familydevelopment/00145.pdf.

Gengler, C. (2009). Teens and social networking websites. Teen Talk: A Survival Guide for Parents of Teenagers. Available at http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/

familydevelopment/00144.pdf.

cyber

bullies

to occur at about the same rate as

traditional bullying. A 2007 study of

middle schools in the Southeast found

can be spread quickly. It also can be

anonymous. In the same 2007 study

of middle school students, almost

half of the victims of cyberbullying

did not know who had bullied them.

Cyberbullying is much more com-

mon than online sexual solicitation,

another serious concern. Most online

sex crimes involve adult men solicit-

ing teens between the ages of 12 and

17 into meeting them to have sex.

e common media portrayal of teen

victims as naïve is largely false. e

vast majority of teens who are victims

of online sexual predators know they

are communicating with adults,

communicate online about sex, and

expect to have a romantic or sexual

experience if and when they meet.

About three-quarters of teens who

meet the oﬀender meet them more

than once. To help teens avoid be-

coming victims of online sex crimes,

it is important to have accurate and

candid discussions about how it is

wrong for adults to take advantage of

normal sexual feelings among teens.

Teens are more vulnerable to sexual

solicitations online if they send (not

just post) private information to

someone unknown, visit chat rooms,

access pornography, or make sexual

remarks online themselves.

ere is no evidence that use of social

networking sites such as Facebook

or MySpace increases a teen’s risk of

aggressive sexual solicitation.

that boys and girls are equally likely to

engage in cyberbullying, but girls are

more likely to be victims. Twenty-ﬁve

percent of girls and 17 percent of boys

reported having been victims of cyber-

bullying in the past couple of months.

Over one-third of victims of electron-

ic bullying in this study also reported

bullying behaviors. Instant messag-

ing is the most common method for

cyberbullying.

Cyberbullying diﬀers from traditional

bullying in that it can be harder to

escape. It can occur at any time of the

day or night, and it can be much more

public, since rude and obscene messages

CHAPTER 3 EMOTIONAL/SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Stress to teens what is not safe to put on the web or

give out to people they don’t know: their full name,

address, cell phone number, speciﬁc places they

hang out, ﬁnancial information, ethnic background,

school, or anything else that would help someone

locate them. Although it is important to protect

young people’s privacy, it may be necessary to review

a teen’s social networking site to make sure they do

not reveal too much personal information.

Emphasize that in cyberspace, there’s no such thing

as an “erase” button—messages, photos, rants, and

musings can and do hang around forever. Informa-

tion that may seem harmless now to a teen can be

used against them at any time—maybe in the future

when applying to college or looking for a job. Pho-

tos posted on the sites should not reveal too much

personal information about teens.

Shut down a personal website or blog when the

adolescent is subjected to bullying or ﬂaming. If

necessary, it is possible get a new email address and

instant-messaging (IM) identity.

Make clear to young people what kinds of mes-

sages are harmful and inappropriate. Enforce clearly

spelled-out consequences if young people engage in

those behaviors.

Encourage teens not to respond to cyberbullying.

e decision whether to erase messages is diﬃcult.

It is not good for teens to revisit them, but they

may need to be saved as evidence if the bullying

becomes persistent.

Keep computers out of teens’ bedrooms so that

computer activity can be monitored better.

SOURCES: Kowalski, R.M. & Limber, S.P. (2007). Electronic bullying among middle school students. Journal of Adolescent Health, 41, S22–S30.

Wolak, J., Finkelhor, D., Mitchell, K.J., & Ybarra, M.L. (2008). Online “predators” and their victims: myths, realities, and implications for prevention and treatment.

American Psychologist, 63(2): 111–128.

w a y s a d u l t s c a n

p r o t e c t t e e n s

from cyberbullies and predators

the teen years explained

chapter 4 forming an identity

forming an identity

“Part of your

identity is

knowing who you

are, what you

want, and when

to do the right

thing.” Girl, 15

Building a sense of self

dolescence is the ﬁrst time in

life when a person intensely

contemplates the question,

“Who am I?” e answer to that ques-

tion—which will continue to evolve

over a person’s lifetime—forms the

basis of personal identity, or one’s sense

of self. Changes in the adolescent brain

give teenagers the tools to start build-

ing a personal identity.

Identity is one’s sense of self. Two

key aspects of identity are self-concept

and self-esteem.

Self-concept—or what a person

believes about him or herself—is deter-

mined by a person’s perceptions about

his or her talents, qualities, goals, and

life experiences. Self-concept can also

include religious or political beliefs.

For example, a teen’s self-concept may

be based on her belief that she is smart,

artistic, politically conservative, and

interested in becoming a doctor. A

teen’s self-concept is also likely to be

inﬂuenced by identiﬁcation with an

ethnic group and the experiences he or

she has as a result of that connection.

Self-esteem, on the other hand,

refers to how people feel about their

self-concept—that is, do they have

high regard for who they are? Self-

esteem is aﬀected by approval from

parents and other adults, the level of

support received from friends and

CHAPTER 4

the teen years explained

family, and personal success. Ups and

downs in self-esteem are normal during

adolescence, particularly in the early

teenage years (around middle school).

Self-esteem becomes more stable as

teens grow older.

During the second decade of life

young people are ﬁguring out their

self-concept and self-esteem, in part,

through ﬁve developmental tasks:

• becoming independent

• achieving mastery or a sense

of competence

• establishing social status

• experiencing intimacy

• determining sexual identity

By trying on diﬀerent ways of

being, adolescents see what ﬁts in

each of these areas. ey experiment

with what it feels like to hold diﬀerent

ideas, dress diﬀerent ways, hang out

with diﬀerent kinds of friends, and try

new things.

Adolescents will approach this

exploration in their own way, and at

their own pace. is is a healthy aspect

of growing up and should be no cause

for alarm.

Because their frontal lobes, which

control reasoning, planning, emo-

tions, and problem-solving, are not

fully developed, experimentation is

not always balanced by the capacity to

make sound judgments or to see into

the not-so-distant future. Consequent-

ly, adolescents may take part in risky

and daring behaviors while trying on

new identities and ways of thinking.

Cognitive changes in the brain often

promote the adrenaline rush of thrill-

seeking and testing of boundaries.

Becoming independent: I can

do things on my own and think

for myself!

From birth, children start develop-

ing autonomy, or the ability to think

and act independently. During the

teen years, achieving autonomy means

becoming a self-governing person.

As they develop autonomy, or in-

dependence, adolescents exercise their

increasing ability to make and follow

through on their own decisions and to

formulate their own principles of right

and wrong. Healthy identity is derived

in part from young people’s learning to

trust their capacity to make appropri-

ate choices for themselves.

ere are two kinds of auton-

omy—physical and psychological.

Physical autonomy is the capacity to

do things on one’s own, beyond the

family. As teens gain physical au-

tonomy, they take more responsibility

for themselves. Tasks like making sure

they have everything ready for school

the next day are done independently

from parents.

Psychological autonomy is the

capacity to independently exercise

judgment and to work out one’s own

principles of right and wrong. As teens

gain psychological autonomy they

begin to assert their own opinions and

point out when the adults in their lives

make mistakes.

Developing autonomy often

means trying out diﬀerent ways of be-

having, thinking, and believing. While

it may not be easy for adults to deal

with the “Who am I this time?” aspects

of adolescence, achieving autonomy

is necessary if a teen is to become

self-suﬃcient in later years. As teens

develop autonomy, they have more

Recent studies have indicated that as

adolescents’ abstract reasoning skills

increase, so do their levels of social

anxiety. Abstract reasoning means

being able to see yourself from the

perspective of an observer, and also to

think about other people’s thoughts and

feelings. The emergence of abstract

reasoning may make adolescents more

vulnerable to social anxiety because

they simultaneously become more self-

aware and worry more about what other

people are thinking about them.

SOURCE: Rosso, IM, Young, A.D., Femia, L.A., &

Yurgelun-Todd, D.A. (2004). Cognitive and emotional

components of frontal lobe functioning in adulthood

and adolescence. Annals of the New York Academy

of Sciences, 1021, 355-362.

How self-esteem impacts teens

While fostering high self-esteem is certainly important in a child’s healthy

development, feeling good about oneself does not necessarily protect

against risky behavior, as was once thought. For example, high self-esteem

does not prevent adolescent childbearing, gang involvement, or violence.

Brain BOX

chapter 4 forming an identity

“Independence

to me means

that you are free

to do what you

want, but you

also know the

boundaries and

how far you

can go.”

Girl, 15

skills. Safe boundaries include clearly

set and enforced expectations for re-

sponsible behavior. Expectations tend

to be successfully enforced when they

are explicit, practical, age-appropriate,

and agreed upon by both the adults

and adolescents involved. Both sides

should be ﬂexible, and adults especially

may want to stress what to do in a

given situation, rather than focus-

ing on what not to do or employing

scare tactics.

Setting limits does not mean tell-

ing an adolescent how to think or feel.

Telling an adolescent—or a person of

any age, for that matter—how that

person should feel about something,

or shaming a person by saying their

thinking on a subject is wrong or

“bad,” prevents his or her healthy

development. Adolescents who report

that their parents do not grant them

the autonomy to think their own

thoughts and to feel their own emo-

tions are more likely to be depressed

and to act out by getting drunk, skip-

ping school, or ﬁghting.

Achieving a sense of mastery:

Am I competent? What do

I enjoy doing, and what am

I good at?

It is essential to realize teens are

trying to gain a sense of compe-

tence, which centers on being good

at something or achieving goals.

Competence is the capacity to master

something that others value. Adoles-

cents strive to prove they are com-

petent in school, sports, and work

settings, as well as in the social realm,

with relationships with peers and fam-

ily members.

A wide-ranging body of research

indicates that adolescents who score

high on measures of perceived com-

petence are less susceptible to negative

feelings and depression. Adolescents

who have a sense of competence

generally cope better when they are

under stress.

Adolescents need to assess what

their competency and personal goals

are—what they currently do well, and

How to support healthy identity formation

Accept the adolescent for who she or he is.

Respect the diﬀerences between the two of you.

Negotiate with teenagers, especially when establishing limits, and explain

your reasoning.

Practice consistency in enforcing rules.

Encourage a young person’s self-expression.

Take the teen’s point of view into account when reasoning with him or her.

SOURCE: Steinberg, L. and Levine, A. (1997). You and your adolescent, New York: Harper Perennial,

(pp. 191–193).

contact with the outside world and,

at the same time, may require more

privacy and time alone.

It is important to remember that

young people are taking steps toward

independence, but they are not skilled

at autonomy. e parts of the brain

which control reasoning, planning,

and problem-solving are not fully

developed in adolescents. us

teens are unable to accurately assess

risk in a situation. ey both need

and want limit-setting to function

and grow.

To be of the most beneﬁt to ado-

lescents, an adult needs to be a consis-

tent ﬁgure who provides and maintains

safe boundaries in which the young

person can practice their independence

the teen years explained

Peer pressure and gangs

Young people are involved in gangs in many diﬀerent ways. Some teenagers

may be hangers-on and not immersed in gang goings-on, while others may

have friends in the gang and occasionally get involved. e next levels are

regulars who hang out with members most of the time and hard-core mem-

bers with an all-encompassing involvement in gang activities and recruiting

new people.

Gangs diﬀer from groups and cliques in that they can provide a feeling of

identity and belonging far beyond just ﬁtting in. Gangs oﬀer a sense of family,

respect, and personal security. is familial bond is often stronger than those

between teenagers and their natural families since gang members are willing

to die and kill for each other and to protect their turf. e utter loyalty to one

another is often an airtight bond hard to break and even harder to resist for

adolescents who lack this support and constancy in their home lives.

Teenagers join gangs because they want the feelings of safety, companionship,

economic opportunity, and excitement. ere is often intense pressure to

join a gang, and often that pressure can come from older brothers and sisters.

However, the feeling of safety in a gang is frequently an illusion, and any

economic opportunity is very short-term. e risky or illegal behavior exploits

teenagers and will not allow them long-term success or happiness.

Being in a gang is associated with delinquency and disconnection from school

and family, as well as an increased risk of death, injury, drug and alcohol

abuse, sexually transmitted infections, and teenage parenthood.

A major concern with respect to the inﬂuence of peer pressure

is gang involvement.

do well, and in which areas they are

willing to strive for success. ose with

teenage children or who work with

adolescents can encourage them to test

their interests. Parents can help them

to ﬁnd at least one skill that they are

good at and can master, or encourage

involvement in multiple groups or ac-

tivities within school, religious settings,

and the community.

Adolescents may frequently

change their minds about what they

want to do, which can be frustrating,

but adults can still react positively by

suggesting they stick with something

long enough to establish some skills

before moving on to the next pursuit

or activity.

is is a time when adults can

move beyond the standard role of

authority ﬁgures. Instead of solving

adolescents’ problems or telling them

what to do, adults can guide teens

through the often emotional decision-

“What I like most

about my best

friend is that she is

comfortable in her

own skin.”

Girl, 12

making process of ﬁguring out where

and when to shine.

Establishing status: Where do

I ﬁt in?

One of the many fascinating contradic-

tions in adolescence is that teens desire

independence, and at the same time

have a deep need to ﬁt in and belong.

On one hand, young people may cry,

“Leave me alone,” but on the other

hand they gravitate toward particular

groups with which they feel an aﬃn-

ity—the geeks, the jocks, the brains,

the hip-hoppers, the Goths, or the

A-list. is seemingly contradictory

behavior is a predictable part of the

identity-formation process.

e impulse to join a group is

thought to stem in part from changes

in the teen brain. Social acceptance

by peers triggers stronger positive

emotions (a bigger “reward response”)

during the teen years than it does in

chapter 4 forming an identity

adulthood. Being part of a group of-

fers teens opportunities to learn and

practice the new roles they will take on

as adult members of society.

In addition, most teens ﬁnd it

supportive to be part of a group going

through the same transitions. Teens

often feel unsure about what grown-up

life will be like and wonder whether

they will succeed or fail when it is

their time to contribute. is am-

biguity is easier to bear when shared

with young people going through the

same experiences.

e motivation for belonging

inﬂuences how readily adolescents will

give in to peer pressure and how much

inﬂuence the group will have in their

lives. In general, the more important it

is to a teen to belong, the more suscep-

tible he or she is to peer inﬂuence.

Interestingly, we now know that

popular teens may be more suscep-

tible to peer inﬂuence than previously

thought because they work very hard

to maintain their position at the top

of the social pyramid. Part of this hard

work may involve engaging in behav-

iors they think are expected of them,

including smoking, drinking, or sexual

activity.

A sense of self also is connected to

identiﬁcation with a particular group,

like female, black, Jewish, Hispanic,

gay or lesbian, etc. A few studies have

found that a solid sense of belonging

to one’s ethnic group and its tradi-

tions—referred to as ethnic identity—

is associated with many beneﬁts, such

as high self-esteem and high academic

performance. Studies also ﬁnd that

a positive racial identity protects

Peer group plusses

Peer groups help adolescents:

Learn how to interact with others

VaLue trust, loyalty, and self-

disclosure

Shape their identity, interests,

abilities, and personalites

eStabLiSh autonomy without the

control of adults and parents

Gain emotional support

ObSerVe how others cope with

similar problems and judge the

eﬀectiveness of these approaches

buiLd friendships

SOURCE: Atwater, L.E. (1988). The relative importance

of situational and individual variables in predicting

leader behavior: The surprising impact of subordinate

trust. Group & Organization Studies 13, 290–310.

the teen years explained

African-American teenagers against the

psychological or emotional harm of

racial discrimination.

For racial and ethnic minority

adolescents, positive experiences with

their culture have to compete with

negative media messages and experi-

ences of discrimination. Even small

talk can undermine positive ethnic

and racial identity. For example, when

asked where they are from, the answer

“Maryland” or “California” is accepted

from white and African-American

teens. But Latino, Asian-American,

and even Native-American teens may

be asked a follow-up question—“No,

where are you really from?”—causing

them to feel like outsiders.

Parents and caring adults of the

same racial or ethnic group can help

promote positive racial and ethnic

identity. Messages that emphasize

ethnic pride, history, and traditions

help promote positive identity. So, too,

does exposing adolescents to books,

music, movies, and stories related to

their race, cultural heritage, and expe-

rience. Adoptive parents of children

of another race or ethnicity may need

to get outside support in helping their

children develop a positive racial or

ethnic identity.

Discussing discrimination openly

with minority adolescents may be the

best method for dealing with prejudice.

When parents and caring adults speak

forthrightly about discrimination, young

people use more eﬀective ways to cope

with incidents of racial or ethnic bias,

such as seeking outside support and

direct problem-solving. Minority ado-

lescents are more likely to use ineﬀec-

tive strategies—for example, engaging

in verbal exchanges with the perpetra-

tor—when parents do not talk openly

with them about discrimination.

Parents report struggling to ﬁnd

a balance in preparing their children

for discrimination: they want their

children to learn how to protect them-

Dealing with teen peer pressure

Stand up and be heard

If adolescents are treated as responsible by the important adults in their

lives, they will more often than not behave responsibly with their peers.

Listen to their ideas, allow them to make decisions, and develop a

healthy appreciation for their perspective.

peer preSSure iS LifeLOnG

Teenagers are not the only ones inﬂuenced by peer pressure; we all face

it in the workplace, with our friends and family, and even in our com-

munities. Use your experiences to help teens see that making decisions

usually means juggling competing pressures and demands.

the pOwer Of pLanninG ahead

Adolescents often decide what to do in the heat of the moment because

their future-thinking skills are not yet fully developed. Discuss possible

situations and risky scenarios in advance and encourage teenagers to

consider strategies for dealing with them.

SOURCE: Steinberg, L. and Levine, A. (1997). You and your adolescent, New York: Harper Perennial, pp. 191–193.

Show teens what

makes a good friend

Good friends:

Listen to each other

Do not put each other down

Do not intentionally hurt each

other’s feelings

Can disagree without damaging

each other

Are dependable and trustworthy

Express mutual respect

Give each other room to change

and grow

chapter 4 forming an identity

SEXUAL ORIENTATION A person’s emotional and sexual

attraction to other people based on the gender of the

other person. A person may identify their sexual orienta-

tion as heterosexual, lesbian, gay, bisexual, or queer.

GENDER IDENTITY A person’s internal, deeply felt sense

of being male, female, other, or in between. Everyone

has a gender identity.

GENDER EXPRESSION OR GENDER PRESENTATION

An individual’s characteristics and behaviors that are

perceived as masculine or feminine, such as appear-

ance, dress, mannerisms, speech patterns, and social

interactions.

HETEROSEXUAL OR STRAIGHT A person whose sexual

and emotional feelings are mostly for people of the op-

posite sex.

HOMOSEXUAL OR GAY A person whose sexual and emo-

tional feelings are mostly for people of the same sex.

LESBIAN A homosexual woman.

BISEXUAL A person whose sexual and emotional feel-

ings are for males and females.

TRANSGENDER An umbrella term used to describe

people whose gender identity, characteristics, or expres-

sion does not conform to the identity, characteris-

tics, or expression traditionally associated with their

biological sex.

LGBTQ An umbrella term that stands for “lesbian, gay,

bisexual, transgender, and questioning.” e category

“questioning” is included to incorporate those who

are not yet certain of their sexual orientation and/or

gender identity.

QUEER Historically, a negative term used against people

perceived to be LGBTQ, but more recently reclaimed

by some people as a positive term describing all those

who do not conform to traditional norms of gender

and sexuality.

GENDER NON-CONFORMING A term used to describe a

person who is or is perceived to have gender character-

istics or behaviors that do not conform to traditional or

societal expectations. Gender non-conforming people

may or may not identify as LGBTQ.

Glossary of sexual identity terms

SOURCE: California Safe Schools Coalition. Glossary of terms. Retrieved from http://

www.casafeschools.org/resourceguide/glossary.html.

“I think trust plays

a big part in

friendship. If you

can’t trust your

friends, how do

you know that they

aren’t telling your

secrets behind

your back?”

Girl, 12

the teen years explained

selves, without developing a general

mistrust of people of other races. Im-

migrant parents who did not experi-

ence the United States as adolescents

can ﬁnd it particularly thorny to help

their children deal with discrimination.

Examining intimacy:

Am I lovable and loving?

Like anyone else, adolescents

need to know they are loved by parents

and other adults. ey also need to

be reassured that they are capable of

giving and receiving aﬀection in inti-

mate friendships.

Many people, including teens,

equate intimacy with sex. Intimacy and

sex are not the same. Intimacy refers

to close relationships in which people

are open, honest, caring, and trusting.

Intimacy usually is learned ﬁrst with

parents and within same-sex friend-

ships, and that knowledge is later ap-

plied to romantic relationships. Young

people who were raised in families

where closeness is absent or where in-

terpersonal relationships are distorted

may have considerable diﬃculty learn-

ing and becoming comfortable with

self-disclosure and self-expression, two

building blocks of intimacy.

Friendships are the primary

settings in which youth practice the

intimacy skills involved in initiating,

maintaining, and ending relation-

ships. Within friendships, adolescents

learn what it means to be trustworthy,

honest, caring, and thoughtful with

same-age peers, as well as how to avoid

the ways of behaving that cause their

friends to feel excluded or embarrassed.

As teens “try on” new identities, friends

provide valuable feedback.

During adolescence, parents

often feel a loss of intimacy with their

children. roughout the teen years,

intimacy with friends and romantic

partners increases and eventually

exceeds intimacy with parents. Adult

caregivers should not interpret this

natural transition to mean they are no

longer central in their teenagers’ lives.

On the contrary, emotional support

and guidance from adults remains

crucial throughout adolescence.

Examining sexual identity:

Who am I sexually?

e teen years mark the ﬁrst time

young people experience sexual feelings

and are cognitively mature enough

to think about their sexuality. Conse-

quently, adolescence is prime time for

developing a sexual identity, the forma-

tion of which actually begins earlier

in childhood.

All humans are sexual beings

and develop a sexual identity. Sexual

identity is one’s identiﬁcation with a

gender and with a sexual orientation.

Gender identity (masculine/feminine)

may diﬀer from a person’s biological

sex (male/female). Sexual orientation

(heterosexual/bisexual/lesbian/gay)

is based on an awareness of being

attracted to the same or opposite sex.

Sexual identity is not simply which of

these categories a young person might

ﬁnd to be the best ﬁt, but also how he

or she identiﬁes as a member of a social

group. ere is considerable diversity

in combinations of gender identity and

sexual orientation among humans.

As with all other areas of develop-

ment, the process of forming a sexual

identity can be uneven, out of sync,

and therefore possibly confusing. How

teens are educated about and exposed

to sexuality inﬂuences how they feel

about their sexual identity.

Adults can help by providing

honest and accurate answers to young

people about sex and sexual identity.

chapter 4 forming an identity

Adults must also take care not to

label emerging sexual thoughts and

behaviors as “perverted” or immoral.

Adolescents may consider a wide range

of sexual orientations or behaviors

before establishing the sexual identity

that will deﬁne them, and which they

are comfortable expressing.

Experimentation and role-playing

are common ways that adolescents

will assume diﬀerent sexual identities

to see which ﬁts. Romantic friend-

ships, dating, and experimentation

(including same-sex experimentation)

are some ways adolescents determine

their sexual identities and learn to

express and receive sexual advances

in ways that are in keeping with their

values. Mid-to-late adolescence is a

time when teens begin to become at

ease with their changing bodies and

sexual feelings.

The many facets of identity

formation

During adolescence, young people

grapple with how others see them and

how they ﬁt into the world. Identity

formation is an iterative process, mean-

ing that adolescents repeatedly try

out diﬀerent answers to the question,

“Who am I?” At some points in the

process they are ﬁrm in their resolve,

and at other points they feel uncertain.

In forming an identity, adoles-

cents may question their passions,

values, and spiritual beliefs and also

examine their relationships with family

members, friends, romantic interests,

and adults. ey may think about

their intrinsic gifts and talents and

form a personal deﬁnition of success

in school, at work, and in society at

large. In addition to ﬁguring out their

place in the world, young people look

inward at this time and often develop

self-deﬁnitions based on body type,

personality, gender, and culture.

Adolescent identity formation dif-

fers across contexts, because teenagers

often see themselves one way when

they are with parents and teachers and

another way when they are with their

peers. ey can also see themselves

and act diﬀerently within various peer

groups. No matter what the context,

adults can ease the process of self-deﬁ-

nition by providing a safe and secure

base from which young people can

explore their identity.

THE TEEN YEARS EXPLAINED

motions can bring discomfort

for everyone, but this is especial-

ly true for adolescents, who are

still learning to identify and manage

their emotional responses. Emotional

extremes are common during the teen

years and may be reﬂected in mood

swings, emotional outbursts, sadness,

or behaviors intended to distract from

uncomfortable feelings (such as sleep-

ing or listening to loud music).

Teens, like all people, have some

periods that are more challenging than

others. For some, though, feelings of

anxiety, sadness, anger, or stress may

linger and become severe enough to in-

terfere with their ability to function. It

is estimated that at some point before

age 20, one in 10 young people experi-

ences a serious emotional disturbance

that disrupts their ability to function at

home, in school, or in the community.

e good news is that most emotional

disturbances are treatable.

Signs of emotional disturbance

What is considered normal and

healthy behavior depends to some

degree on culture. Serious disorders in

one culture may not appear in another

culture. e same is true across gen-

erations. One contemporary example

is intentional self-injury (known as

“cutting”), which is incomprehensible

to many adults who are familiar with

Emotional disturbance follows

no single pattern. Some adolescents

suﬀer a single, prolonged episode in

their teen years and enjoy good mental

health in adulthood. Others experience

emotional disturbances episodically,

with bouts of suﬀering recurring in

their later teen years and adulthood.

Only a small percentage of adoles-

other types of emotional disturbances,

such as depression or substance abuse.

A signpost of trouble to watch

for is whether a teen’s capacity to

function in school, at home, and in re-

lationships is being negatively aﬀected

by emotions or behaviors. Family and

friends are usually the ﬁrst people

to notice.

Mental Health

The process of managing emotions

Frequent sadness, tearfulness, crying

Decreased interest in activities or

inability to enjoy formerly favorite

activities

Hopelessness

Persistent boredom, low energy

Social isolation, poor

communication

Extreme sensitivity to rejection or

failure

Increased irritability, anger, or

hostility

Diﬃculty with relationships

Frequent complaints of physical

illness such as headaches or

stomachaches

Frequent absences from school or

poor performance in school

Poor concentration

Feeling overwhelmed easily or often

A major change in eating and/or

sleeping patterns

Talk of or eﬀorts to run away

from home

oughts or expressions of suicide

or self-destructive behavior

signs of

depression

SOURCE: American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. (2008). The depressed child. Facts

for Families. Retrieved from www.aacap.org/cs/root/facts_for_families/the_depressed_child.

CHAPTER 4 FORMING AN IDENTITY

cents who experience an episode of

emotional disturbance will go on to

have a lifelong disorder that seriously

impairs their functioning as an adult.

e most common mental health

disorders in adolescence are depression,

characterized by prolonged periods of

feeling hopeless and sad; anxiety disor-

ders, which include extreme feelings of

anxiety and fear; and alcohol and other

drug abuse, including use of prescrip-

tion drugs like Vicodin or Ritalin for

non-medical reasons.

e underlying causes of emotion-

al disturbances are varied and cannot

always be identiﬁed. Many factors go

into the mix, including genetic pre-

disposition, environmental conditions

such as exposure to lead or living in a

chaotic household, and trauma such as

abuse or witnessing a homicide.

Prolonged stress makes teens more

vulnerable to emotional disturbances.

A normal coping reaction to a diﬃcult

experience can impair someone’s well-

being if it goes on for too long. For ex-

ample, if a teen is teased at school, it

is normal—even if not desirable—for

him or her to feel humiliated and anx-

ious and to avoid the pain by skipping

school, playing video games, or even

experimenting with substances. ese

coping strategies can become harmful

if chronic symptoms of anxiety or de-

pression develop, or if behaviors such

as overeating, self-injury (“cutting”),

alcohol or other drug use—originally

started to distract from uncomfort-

able emotions—become compulsive

or habitual.

Getting help

Most mental health disorders are treat-

able. Treatment often includes—and

often works best—when multiple

approaches are used. ese can include

cognitive-behavioral therapy, family

therapy, medication, and supportive

education for parents and other caring

adults in how to provide stability

and hope as the family navigates

its way through the episode of emo-

tional disturbance.

Parents of teens with Atten-

tion Deﬁcit Hyperactivity Disorder

(ADHD), however, have often expe-

rienced years of the frustration and

If a young person says he or she wants to kill him or her-

self, always take the statement seriously and immediately

get help. If you think someone is suicidal, do not leave

that person alone.

e suicide rate increases during the teen years and peaks

in early adulthood (ages 20-24). ere is a second peak in

the suicide rate after age 65, and old age is when people

are at highest risk. It is nearly impossible to predict who

might attempt suicide, but some risk factors have been

identiﬁed. ese include depression or other mental

disorders, a family history of suicide, family violence, and

exposure to suicidal behavior of others, including media

personalities. Opportunity also plays a role. Having a

ﬁrearm in the home increases the risk.

e American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychia-

try recommends asking a young person whether she is

depressed or thinking about suicide. ey advise, “Rather

than putting thoughts in the child’s head, such a question

will provide assurance that somebody cares and will give

the young person the chance to talk about problems.”

suicide

SOURCES: American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. (2008). Teen suicide. Facts for Families. Retrieved June 4, 2009, from www.aacap.org/cs/root/facts_for_families/

teen_suicide.

National Institute of Mental Health. (2009). Suicide in the U.S.: Statistics and prevention. Retrieved June 4, 2009, from www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/suicide-in-the-us-

statistics-and-prevention/index.shtml.

THE TEEN YEARS EXPLAINED

exasperation that comes from trying to

establish limits and discipline for chil-

dren who seem consistently unable or

unwilling to listen. Because all adoles-

cents naturally strive toward assuming

more responsibility and independence,

the frustration of parenting a teen with

ADHD may well intensify during this

period of development.

A cycle of negative interaction,

stress, and failure can also occur in the

classroom between teachers and teens

with ADHD. Teenagers who are dis-

ruptive, ﬁdgety and impulsive can be

singled out by the teacher, and labeled

as disciplinary problems. Academic

settings with multiple periods, large

classes, teachers who have diﬀering

styles, and complex schedules present

additional problems for the teenager

with ADHD.

Professional help, especially help

that is aﬀordable, can be hard to ﬁnd,

as there is a shortage of trained mental

health providers with expertise in

adolescence. e sidebar in this section

provides some resources where caring

adults and teens can look for help.

e power of prevention

It is important to get involved early

to teach positive coping skills and

address environmental situations that

may trigger emotional disturbances.

e supports that bolster good mental

health are the very same ones that pro-

mote healthy development in general.

Especially valuable are opportunities

for young people to practice identify-

ing and naming emotions, to ﬁgure

out coping skills that help them dis-

sipate the energy of negative emotions,

and to have the repeated, encouraging

experience of being heard, understood,

respected, and accepted.

American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry: Facts for Families

Extensive series of briefs on a wide variety of behaviors and issues aﬀecting families. http://www.aacap.org/cs/root/

facts_for_families/facts_for_families

The Center for Mental Health in Schools: School Mental Health Project

Clearinghouse for resources on mental health in schools, including systemic, programmatic, and psychosocial/mental

health concerns. http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/

Surgeon General’s Report on Mental Health

Includes a chapter on children and mental health. http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/mentalhealth/home.html

Technical Assistance Partnership for Child and Family Mental Health: Youth Involvement in Systems of Care. A Guide to

Empowerment

Blueprints for local systems of care that are seeking to increase youth involvement. http://www.tapartnership.org/

docs/Youth_Involvement.pdf

SOURCE: Whitlock, J., and Schantz, K. (2009). Mental illness and mental health in adolescence. Research Facts and Findings. ACT for Youth Center of Excellence. Retrieved

June 3, 2009 from http://www.actforyouth.net/documents/MentalHealth_Dec08.pdf

resources

CHAPTER 4 FORMING AN IDENTITY

THE TEEN YEARS EXPLAINED

CHAPTER 5 SEXUALITY

“If someone wants

to accept the

consequences

of sex, then it is

their choice.”

Girl, 15

Understanding sexual development

eveloping sexually is an expect-

ed and natural part of growing

into adulthood. Most people

have considered or experienced some

form of sexual activity by the time they

get out of their teens.

Research on adolescent sexuality

concentrates on two areas—under-

standing healthy sexual development

and investigating the risks associated

with too-early or unsafe sexual activity.

Healthy sexual development

involves more than sexual behavior. It

is the combination of physical sexual

maturation known as puberty, age-ap-

propriate sexual behaviors, and the

formation of a positive sexual identity

and a sense of sexual well-being. Dur-

ing adolescence, teens strive to become

comfortable with their changing bodies

and to make healthy and safe decisions

about what sexual activities, if any,

they wish to engage in.

Expressions of sexual behavior

diﬀer among youth, and whether they

engage in sexual activity depends on

personal readiness, family standards,

exposure to sexual abuse, peer pressure,

religious values, internalized moral

guidelines, and opportunity.

Motivations may include biologi-

cal and hormonal urges, curiosity, and

a desire for social acceptance. ere

is an added pressure today, especially

SEXUALITY

CHAPTER 5

THE TEEN YEARS EXPLAINED

with girls, to appear sexy in all contexts

throughout their lives—school, leisure

time, the workplace, with friends, in

the community, and even while partici-

pating in sports or exercise.

Decisions to engage in, or limit,

sexual activity in ways that are consis-

tent with personal principles and pro-

tective of health reﬂect an adolescent’s

maturity and self-acceptance.

Healthy sexuality for everyone

Research shows that providing accurate,

objective information to adolescents

supports healthy sexual development.

All young people need to learn

to be comfortable with their sexuality.

is task may be especially challenging

for teens who are gay, lesbian, bisexual,

or transgender. ese young people

often feel worlds apart from their

heterosexual peers, family, or members

of their community, and they need

support from adults more than ever.

Parents and other caregivers may have

diﬃculty providing straightforward

information and advice to youth

whose sexual orientations or practices

diverge from those of the majority of

the surrounding society.

Adults may ﬁnd it helpful to keep

in mind that sexual and other stages

of development may be diﬀerent for

sexual-minority teens.

Regardless of how young people

come to be gay, lesbian or bisexual, it is

essential that these youth be loved and

cared for during this time of exploring

their sexual identity. Perhaps because

of the stigma they face, sexual-minor-

ity youth are at higher risk than their

heterosexual peers for substance abuse,

early onset of intercourse, unintended

that come with puberty. Young people

who live with physical, mental, or

emotional disabilities will experience

sexual development and must struggle

with the same changes and choices of

puberty that impact all human beings.

is fact might be uncomfortable to

some people, who may ﬁnd it easier

to view people with disabilities as

“eternal children.” In fact, youth with

disabilities may need more guidance

from adults, not less, because they may

frequently feel isolated and quite dif-

ferent from their same-age peers.

Adolescents with disabilities may

have some unique needs related to sex

education. For example, children with

developmental disabilities may learn

at a slower rate than do their non-dis-

abled peers; yet their physical matura-

tion usually occurs at the same rate. As

a result of the combination of normal

physical maturation and slowed emo-

tional and cognitive development, they

may need sexual health information

that helps build skills for appropriate

language and behavior in public.

Common folklore has often as-

sumed that the “raging hormones” of

adolescence are responsible for risky

behaviors, including unsafe sex. The

research, however, shows only small,

direct effects of pubertal hormones (an-

drogens and estrogens) on adolescent

behavior. Rather, adolescent risk-taking

appears to be due to a complex mix of

genes, hormones, brain changes, and

the environment. Hormones interact

with changes occurring in the ado-

lescent brain and in the adolescent’s

social world to affect adolescent behav-

ior. In fact, psychological and social ex-

periences have been shown to impact

brain development and hormone levels,

as well as the other way around.

SOURCE: Spear, L.P. (2008). The Psychobiology

of Adolescence. In K.K. Kline (Ed.), Authoritative

Communities: The Scientiﬁc Case for Nurturing the

Whole Child (263–279). The Search Institute Series

on Developmentally Attentive Community and Society

(Vol. 5). New York: Springer.

More media, earlier ﬁrst sexual activity

In a 2004 longitudinal study funded by the National Institutes of Health,

early adolescents who had heavier sexual media diets of movies, music, televi-

sion, and magazines were twice as likely as those with lighter sexual media

diets to have initiated sexual intercourse by the time they were 16.

SOURCE: The Media as Powerful Teen Sex Educators, Jane D. Brown, University of North Carolina, March 2007

“I believe it is better

to have sex while

you are young.”

Boy, 15

pregnancy, HIV and other STIs, verbal

and physical violence, and suicide.

Parents and caregivers of adoles-

cents with disabilities, too, may not

know how to respond to their child’s

sexual maturation and the changes

Sexual development through

the teen years

e experience of adolescence is a

dynamic mixture of physical and

cognitive change coupled with social

BRAIN BOX

CHAPTER 5 SEXUALITY

TEENS

ASK

WHAT

MIGHT

Will having sex

make me

popular?

How

will I know

I’m in

love?

How do

I deal with

pressure

to have sex?

How do I

know I am

ready for

sex?

THE TEEN YEARS EXPLAINED

expectations, all of which impact

sexual development. Hormone levels

stimulate physical interest in sexual

matters, and peer relationships shift

toward more adult-style interactions.

is section outlines the stages of

sexual development.

Pre-adolescence (ages 6-10)

Sexual development begins well before

adolescence. Hormonal changes—an

elevation of androgens, estradiol,

thyrotropin, and cortisol in the adrenal

glands—start to emerge between the

ages of 6 and 8.

e visible signs of puberty begin

to show up between the ages of 9 and

12 for most children. Girls may grow

breast buds and pubic and underarm

hair as early as 8 or 9. In boys the

growth of the penis and testicles usually

begins between ages 10 and 11 but can

start to occur at the age of 9.

Before age 10, children usually are

not sexually active or preoccupied with

sexual thoughts, but they are curious

and may start to collect information

and myths about sex from friends,

schoolmates, and family members. Part

of their interaction with peers may

involve jokes and sex talk.

At this age, children become more

self-conscious about their emerging

sexual feelings and their bodies, and

they are often reluctant to undress in

front of others, even a parent of the

same gender. Boys and girls tend to

play with friends of the same gender

and may explore sexuality with them,

perhaps through touching. is does

not necessarily relate to a child’s sexual

identity and is more about inquisitive-

ness than sexual preference.

Early adolescence (ages 11-13)

e passage into adolescence typically

begins with the onset of menarche

(menstruation) in girls and semenarche

(ejaculation) in boys, both of which

occur, on average, around age 12 or 13.

For girls, menstruation starts approxi-

mately two years after breast buds—the

ﬁrst visible sign of puberty—develop,

although it can happen anytime be-

tween ages 9 and 16.

Hormonal changes generated by

the adrenals and testes in boys and the

adrenals and ovaries in girls aﬀect brain

development. e impact of hormones

on brain chemistry results in a larger

amygdala in boys (the part of the brain

governing emotions and instincts)

and a larger hippocampal area in girls

(the section of the brain dealing with

memory and spatial navigation). e

adrenals can also pump some testoster-

one into girls and estrogen into boys,

with 80 percent of boys experiencing

temporary breast development during

early adolescence.

As physical maturation continues,

early adolescents may become alter-

nately fascinated with and chagrined

by their changing bodies, and often

compare themselves to the develop-

ment they notice in their peers. Sexual

fantasy and masturbation episodes

increase between the ages of 10 and 13.

As far as social interactions go, many

tend to be nonsexual—text messaging,

phone calls, email—but by the age of

12 or 13, some young people may pair

oﬀ and begin dating and experiment-

ing with kissing, touching, and other

physical contact, such as oral sex.

e vast majority of young ado-

lescents are not prepared emotionally

or physically for oral sex and sexual

intercourse. If adolescents this young

do have sex, they are highly vulnerable

for sexual and emotional abuse, STIs,

HIV, and early pregnancy.

Sexual identity versus gender identity

A person’s SEXUAL IDENTITY is derived from emotional and sexual at-

traction to other people based on the other’s gender. People may deﬁne

their sexual identity as heterosexual, homosexual, gay, lesbian, or bisexual.

GENDER IDENTITY describes a person’s internal, deeply felt sense of being

male, female, other, or in between. Everyone has a gender identity.

Sexual identity develops across a person’s life span—diﬀerent people might

realize at diﬀerent points in their lives that they are heterosexual, gay,

lesbian, or bisexual. Adolescence is a period in which young people may

still be uncertain of their sexual identity. Sexual behavior is not necessar-

ily synonymous with sexual identity. Many adolescents—as well as many

adults—may identify themselves as homosexual or bisexual without hav-

ing had any sexual experience. Other people may have had sexual experi-

ences with a person of the same sex but do not consider themselves to be

gay, lesbian, or bisexual. is is particularly relevant during adolescence, a

developmental stage marked by experimentation.

chapter 5 sexuality

Masturbation

Masturbation is sexual self-stimula-

tion, usually achieved by touching,

stroking, or massaging the male or

female genitals until this triggers

an orgasm. Masturbation is very

ordinary—even young children

have been known to engage in this

behavior. As the bodies of children

mature, powerful sexual feelings

begin to develop, and masturba-

tion helps release sexual tension.

For adolescents, masturbation is a

common way to explore their erotic

potential, and this behavior can

continue throughout adult life.

Middle adolescence (ages 14-16)

Testosterone in boys surges between

the ages of 14 and 16, increasing

muscle mass and setting oﬀ a growth

spurt. Testosterone levels in boys are

usually eight times greater than in

girls, and this hormone is the strongest

predictor of sexual drive, frequency of

sexual thoughts, and behavior.

Middle adolescents exhibit an in-

creased interest in romantic and sexual

relationships. e sexual behavior

during this time tends to be explor-

ing, with strong erotic interest. Sexual

activity at this age varies widely and

includes the choice not to have sex.

At this age, both genders experi-

ence a high level of sexual energy,

although boys may have a stronger sex

drive due to higher testosterone levels.

Sex drive, commonly known as libido,

refers to sexual desire or an interest in

engaging in sex with a partner.

On an abstract level, adolescents

ages 14 to 16 understand the conse-

quences of unprotected sex and teen

parenthood, if properly taught, but

cognitively they may lack the skills to

integrate this knowledge into everyday

situations or consistently to act respon-

sibly in the heat of the moment.

Before the age of 17, many adoles-

cents have willingly experienced sexual

intercourse. Teens who have early

sexual intercourse report strong peer

pressure as a reason behind their deci-

sion. Some adolescents are just curious

about sex and want to experience it.

No matter what the motivation,

many teens say they regret having had

sex as early as they did, even if the

activity was consensual. Research

published in the journal Pediatrics

noted that up to one-half of the

sexually experienced teenagers in

the 2007 study said they felt “used,”

guilty, or regretful after having sex.

e ﬁndings indicated that girls were

twice as likely as boys to respond that

they “felt bad about themselves” after

having sex, and three times more likely

to say they felt “used.”

Median age at ﬁrst

marriage, 2005

SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau (2006). Table:

Estimated median age at ﬁrst marriage, by sex,

1890 to the present, from Current Population

Survey, March and Annual Social and Economic

Supplements, 2005 and earlier. http://www.census.

gov/population/socdemo/hh-fam/ms2.pdf

Males: 27

Females: 25

High school students who have had sexual intercourse

1991 1995 2001 2007

SOURCE: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2008). Youth risk behavior surveillance--United States 2007.

Surveillance Summaries, May 9, 2008. Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report, http:apps.nccd.cdc.gov/yrbss

SOURCE: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2007). Youth risk behavior surveillance—United States, 2007.

Retrieved October 1, 2009 from http://apps.nccd.gov/yrbss

% ever had sexual intercourse by grade level, 2007

Males

Females

9th grade 10th grade 11th grade 12th grade

38.1% 45.6% 57.3% 62.8%

27.4% 41.9% 53.6% 66.2%

Males

Females

57% 54% 48% 50%

51% 52% 43% 46%

THE TEEN YEARS EXPLAINED

Sexual fantasies

Sexual fantasies are usually associated with masturbation, but the two can

occur independently. Sexual daydreams and fantasies are common—most

people have them, not just teenagers and not just boys.

Fantasies often diﬀer between the sexes. Sexual aggression and dominance are

recurring themes in young male fantasies and usually contain very speciﬁc

and graphic sexual behaviors but little emotional involvement. For adolescent

females, sexual fantasies often involve relating to others, and they are more

likely to involve sexual activities with which the girl is already familiar. A

teenage girl’s fantasies also are typically about someone they know—a boy-

friend, TV or music stars, friends, casual acquaintances.

e important thing to tell teenagers about sexual fantasies is that thoughts,

in and of themselves, are not sick, weird, or wrong. ey are just that:

thoughts. Making a teenager feel guilty or ashamed or suggesting that their

dreams reveal psychological problems can lead to their feeling at odds with

their sexuality. It can also make them more vulnerable to becoming obsessed

about a particular sexual fantasy.

Late adolescence (ages 17-19)

By the time an adolescent is 17, sexual

maturation is typically complete, al-

though late bloomers are not uncom-

mon. Sexual behavior during this time

may be more expressive, since cogni-

tive development in older adolescents

has progressed to the point where they

have somewhat greater impulse control

and are capable of intimate and sharing

relationships.

Intimate relationships usually

involve more than sexual interest.

“I hear my friends

talking about

their sex lives,

but I don’t really

care because I

am not having

sex, so getting

information

about sex

doesn’t matter

to me.”

Girl, 14

Romantic versus sexual

relationships

Libido is distinct from romantic inter-

est, which may or may not be sexual

in nature. Romantic interest usually

emphasizes emotions—love, intimacy,

compassion, appreciation—rather than

the pursuit of physical pleasure driven

by libido.

We may see romance as a feminine

tendency, but recent studies indicate

that teenage boys are as romantic as

girls—a ﬁnding that runs counter to

the stereotype of adolescent males as

“players.” Peggy Giordano, a sociology

professor at Bowling Green University,

conducted interviews with a random

sample of 1,316 boys and girls drawn

from the seventh, ninth, and 11th

grades and found that boys were at

least as emotionally invested in their

romantic relationships as their

partners were.

Both boys and girls in the study

agreed, however, that girls in hetero-

sexual romantic relationships hold the

power in the decision of when to have

sexual intercourse.

Emotionally, falling in love is powerful

and all-consuming, and it involves a

greater portion of the adolescent brain.

Brain scientists at University

College London scanned the brains of

young lovers while they were thinking

about their boyfriends and girlfriends

and discovered that four separate areas

of the brain became very active. is

aﬃrms the notion that falling in love

is an all-encompassing emotion that

engages nearly every part of the mind

and body.

CHAPTER 5 SEXUALITY

What works at what age

EARLY TEEN YEARS (AGES 11-14)

Young teens tend to be concrete and short-term in their thinking, and often

do not consider long-term consequences when making decisions. is is a

good time to talk about delaying sexual activity but a bad time to hammer

home long-term beneﬁts or consequences.

MIDDLE TEEN YEARS (15-17)

Risk peaks during these years, and teens of this age question limits and au-

thority. Scare tactics do not work at this age; rather, emphasize the inﬂuence

of peers. Talking about how to handle peer pressure and changing social

circles (about being associated with certain cliques or groups, and about

how hanging around with older and younger teens aﬀects sexual behavior

and risk-taking) works best at this age.

LATE TEEN YEARS (17 AND OLDER)

Older adolescents are entering new social situations such as work and col-

lege, so talking about sexual behavior in the context of wider relationships

can be helpful. For example, one might talk about how sexual behavior

helps form a personal identity or deﬁne young people, both in how they

may see themselves and how they are viewed within an intimate relation-

ship, in their community, or in various peer groups.

Ways teens protect their

sexual health

Delaying sexual intercourse is associ-

ated with many positive outcomes:

less regret about the timing of one’s

ﬁrst sexual experience, fewer sexual

partners, and a decreased likelihood

of being involved in coercive sexual

relationships.

Waiting to have sex until one is

in a respectful, loving relationship

protects a young person’s emotional

well-being, too. Today’s teenagers are

postponing their ﬁrst sexual activity, as

compared to young people from prior

decades. e proportion of teenagers

who reported having sexual intercourse

rose steadily through the 1970s and

’80s, fueling a sharp rise in teen preg-

nancy. e trend reversed around 1991

as a result of AIDS, changing sexual

mores, and other factors. In 2007

nearly half (48 percent) of high school

students ages 15 to 19 reported to the

CDC they had had sexual intercourse.

is was a minor increase since 2005,

but the good news is that teens are

initiating sex at older ages today than

their counterparts in the 1990s. ey

also are reporting having fewer sexual

partners than high school students in

1991 had.

Sex with multiple partners is not

widespread among teenagers. Only 15

percent of adolescents have had sexual

intercourse with four or more people

during their lives. Teenagers with

multiple sex partners are more likely to

contract an STI, compared with teen-

agers who have only one sex partner.

Among those who are sexually

active, the majority use contraception.

e preferred method of contraception

is condoms, although condom use in

teens showed a slight drop between

2005 and 2007, from 63 percent to 61

percent who reported having used a

condom the last time they had sex.

e younger a teen is at ﬁrst sex,

the less likely is the use of a condom

or another form of contraception.

Condoms protect teens from sexually

transmitted infections and pregnan-

cies when they are used correctly and

consistently. Other hormonal forms

of contraception for girls like the oral

contraceptive pills, the patch, the

THE TEEN YEARS EXPLAINED

injection (Depo-Provera) or the vaginal

ring provide higher levels of protection

from unintended pregnancies but no

protection from sexually transmitted

infections (an excellent chart compar-

ing contraceptive methods can be

found at www.seasonique.com). When

teens become sexually active, ideally,

the male partner would use a condom

and the female would use a hormonal

method of contraception to get double

protection. Fewer than one quarter of

teens, however, currently do this.

When unprotected sex has already

happened, emergency contracep-

tion can be used by girls to prevent

pregnancy, especially if it is obtained

within 72 hours of having sex. Known

as Plan B, this concentrated dose of

the hormone found in birth control

pills is available over the counter in

pharmacies for young women ages 17

or older. It is available for younger girls

by prescription.

Risky consequences

Early and unsafe sexual activity can

result in unintended teenage pregnan-

cy and sexually transmitted infec-

tions (STIs).

Research shows that giving birth

before age 18 limits the future for

both the girl and her baby. Girls who

become mothers early are less likely

to complete high school and more

likely to face poverty as an adult than

other teens. Teenage girls who are

pregnant often do not get suﬃcient

prenatal care, and are more prone to

high blood pressure and preeclampsia,

a dangerous medical condition, than

pregnant women in their 20s and

30s. Teens also are at greater risk for

postpartum depression and having

low–birth-weight babies (under ﬁve

pounds). Low–birth- weight babies

can have many medical problems,

such as breathing diﬃculties, as well

as developmental or growth delays.

In addition, children of teen mothers

can experience other health problems

and higher rates of abuse or neglect;

they are also likely to live in poverty

and to receive inadequate health care

Talking to teens about sex

For parents and teens both, talking about sex can be uncomfort-

able. Teens do not want to see their parents in a sexual light, and

parents often do not want to see their children that way, either.

That said, teens still report that their parents are the greatest

inﬂuences on their sexual behavior, and research backs them

up. Guidelines for successful teen-parent conversation about sex

include the following:

Engage children in open, honest discussions regarding appropriate

dating behavior, emotional and sexual intimacy, sexual identity, and

emotional commitment.

iscuss responsibilities regarding commitment and intimacy in roman-

tic relationships.

Discuss responsibilities regarding avoiding pregnancy, STIs, and HIV.

Teach teens not to exploit other people socially, emotionally, or sexu-

ally. This is impossible to teach if it is not also modeled. Similarly, teach

teens how to recognize abusive and exploitive relationships.

Set appropriate limits regarding dating, such as the age at which dating

will be allowed, curfews, and the age of person your child may date.

Since teens may be embarrassed to talk with their parents about sex

and relationships, try to provide access to other trusted adults (church

members, counselors, relatives, etc.)

Be open to questions and values expressed by the teen.

SOURCE: Beeler, N., Patrick, B., Pedon, S. Normal child sexual development and promoting healthy sexual

development. The Institute for Human Services for the Pennsylvania Child Welfare Training Program 203: Sexuality

of Children: Healthy Sexual Behaviors and Behaviors Which Cause Concern. Handout 3-1. Available at: http://www.

pacwcbt.pitt.edu/Curriculum/203%20Sexuality%20of%20Children%20Healthy%20Sexual%20Behaviors%20and/

Handouts/HO%203-1.pdf

“It’s all right for a person to have sex when

they are ready mentally, physically, and

emotionally. It is not all right for someone

younger than me to have sex.”

Girl, 15

CHAPTER 5 SEXUALITY

compared to children born to mothers

aged 18 and over.

For more than a decade, rates of

teen pregnancy and birth in the U.S.

were down from an all-time peak of

61.8 births per thousand in 1991.

is decline has leveled oﬀ, and the

teen birth rate rose slightly between

2005 and 2007. is translates to

about 20,000 more births to teenagers

in 2006 compared to the year be-

fore. Births have risen slightly among

women between the ages of 20 and 24

as well.

Sexually transmitted infections

are also a major concern. Sex without

condoms puts young people at risk for

STIs, including HIV infection. Adoles-

cent cases account for half of all STIs.

e latest Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention (CDC) statistics tell us

that more than 3 million teenage girls

in America have an STI. In a national

study in 2003, teens aged 14 to 19

were tested for four infections: Human

Papillomavirus (HPV), chlamydia,

trichomoniasis, and herpes simplex

virus. While one-quarter of the girls

overall had at least one of these infec-

tions, nearly half of the African-Ameri-

can girls were infected.

e most common STI found in

teen girls ages 14 to 19 is HPV, which

can cause genital warts in women and

men and is usually not a serious condi-

tion. Some HPV viruses can lead to

cervical cancer later in life. Fortunately,

a vaccine targeting HPV recently

became available, and national health

organizations recommend the vac-

cine for 11- and 12-year-old girls, and

catch-up shots for females ages 13 to

Keeping a cool head on a hot topic

Get your zen on

When young people bring up sex, try to be calm and reasonable, no mat-

ter what the situation. Anger, surprise, and embarrassment are not proper

responses, even if your teen is trying to provoke you.

Tone is everything

Teens may have fears that their sexual thoughts and urges are unnatural

or make them freaks. Reassure teens that sexual thoughts and expressions

are normal, and it is OK to have these feelings without acting on them.

Papa, don’t preach

Phrases like “But you’re only 16!” are not helpful. Teens are looking for

someone to listen and to give accurate information about sex, not deliver

sermons or make them feel guilty or ashamed.

26. Vaccines for boys are being readied

but they are not yet recommended.

Chlamydia, another very com-

mon infection, can cause pelvic

inﬂammatory disease and infertility.

is infection is caused by bacte-

ria and can be easily treated if it is

detected. However, many youth with

the infection do not have any symp-

toms and are unaware that they have

it. In pregnancy, chlamydia and HIV

can infect the growing baby. If these

infections are transmitted to babies,

they can cause low birth weight, eye

“I get my information

about sex from

my friends and

magazines.”

Girl, 16

THE TEEN YEARS EXPLAINED

infection, pneumonia, blood infection,

brain damage, lack of coordination in

body movements, blindness, deaf-

ness, acute hepatitis, meningitis, liver

disease, cirrhosis, or stillbirth.

What adults can do

Young people care about what their

parents and other important adults in

their lives think. When teens—both

boys and girls—believe their parents

want them to delay having sex, they

are more likely to defer ﬁrst inter-

course. When there is a warm relation-

ship, adolescents are even more apt

to behave the way their parents wish

them to, which often means postpon-

ing sexual activity.

Parents and caring adults can

foster closeness with their teens and

increase the odds of their avoiding

risky sexual behavior by establishing an

environment in which young people

can feel comfortable and respected

talking or asking about sexual mat-

ters. Clear rules about dating, curfews,

and whether adolescents may be alone

together in the teen’s bedroom are also

important but should be negotiated

so that they are perceived as fair by

the teen.

Parents and those who work with

adolescents need to educate themselves

about the various factors aﬀecting

sexual development. Physical changes

make teens appear ready for sexual

activities they might not be prepared

for emotionally and cognitively. Poor

communication about sex, limited or

inaccurate information, media inﬂu-

ences, and negative attitudes also can

impact a young person’s sexual health

and identity.

An essential way an adult can

inﬂuence sexual behavior is by being a

source of accurate information. Teens

need straight talk about how to refuse

to have sex if they do not want to

have it. ey also need to be shown

the right way to use condoms. Adult

involvement in this regard is more im-

portant than ever: 47 percent of teens

say their parents are the most impor-

tant inﬂuence in their decisions about

sex, and younger teens view parents as

even more important. If teenagers can-

not get information from their parents

or caring adults, they typically will rely

on friends and the media, especially

the Internet, to answer questions about

sexual health.

Sometimes adults wonder how

much information is too much.

Researchers have found no evidence

that either talking about contraception

or making contraception available to

teens hastens the onset of ﬁrst sex.

Sex education and social

inﬂuences

According to the 2002 National Survey

of Family Growth (NSFG), only 2 per-

cent of adolescents say they are getting

essential information about contracep-

tion, sexual safety, and other matters.

Research actually suggests that young

people who are knowledgeable about

sexuality and reproductive health are

less likely to engage in early sexual

activity or unprotected sex.

Schools do not necessarily provide

complete or accurate information to

educate adolescents about sexual health

and sexuality. Abstinence-only sex

education curricula and programs have

been widespread in American schools.

A recent evaluation of several absti-

nence-only sex education curricula,

which teach young people to postpone

sexual intercourse until marriage and

include no information about contra-

ception, has shown them to be ineﬀec-

tive. e researchers from Mathemati-

ca, Inc. who conducted the evaluation

found that the children who took part

in sexual-abstinence education classes

engaged in sexual intercourse for the

ﬁrst time at the same age as children

who did not receive these classes.

e participating students also did

not gain more awareness of the dangers

of unprotected sex than did their non-

participating counterparts.

Adults can expand on what is

taught in the classroom by welcom-

ing discussions about sexual behavior

and risks, relationships, emotions, and

sexual urges. is kind of respectful,

in-depth communication can posi-

tively aﬀect a young person’s sexual

development.

Sexuality is a vital part of

growing up

During adolescence, teens learn how

to deal with sexual feelings, experience

sexual fantasies, and perhaps enjoy ro-

mantic relationships. ey may choose

to delay sexual activity, or not have sex

at all, which falls within the spectrum

of normal adolescent behavior.

ese choices are all part of sexu-

ality. Healthy sexual development is

not simply a matter of sex but involves

a young person’s ability to manage

intimate and reproductive behavior

responsibly and without guilt, fear,

or shame.

American teenagers grow up in a

culture in which sex informs every-

thing from the type of clothes they

wear and the music they listen to, to

the images and messages they continu-

ally absorb through the media.

Helping adolescents separate truth

from hype and recognize all aspects of

sexual development encourages them

to make informed and healthy deci-

sions about sexual matters.

CHAPTER 5 SEXUALITY

TEENS

can

ways

express

LOVE

without

SEX

Write a

poem

or a

love letter

Bake a

heart-shaped

dessert

Go through

the car wash

together

Program their

I-Pod or make a CD

with songs that are

special to both

Make a

handmade

gift

Rent a

romantic

movie

Contribute or

volunteer for

a cause he

or she

cares

about

Read to

each other

Offer

to do a

chore

Send a

loving

text message

the teen years explained

CHAPTER 6 SPIRITUALITY & RELIGION

SPIRITUALITY

& RELIGION

“The best thing

about my religion

is that everyone

in the community is

nice and accepts

your ﬂaws.”

Girl, 12

Faith is a factor in exploring identity

uring adolescence, young

people begin to ponder larger

life questions, such as why

there is good and evil and what it

means to be human. e answers to

these questions lie within the realm

of spirituality.

Spirituality centers on the con-

nection to a reality greater than oneself

and can include the sacred experience

of religious awe and reverence. Spiritu-

ality involves deep feelings and beliefs,

including a person’s sense of purpose,

connection to others, and understand-

ing of the meaning of life.

Religion, on the other hand, is a

set of common beliefs and practices

shared by a group of people. It can

encompass cultural or ancestral tradi-

tions, writings, history, and mythology,

as well as personal faith and mystical

experience.

Spiritual development is shaped

both within and outside of religious

traditions, beliefs, and practices. Ado-

lescents distinguish between religion

and spirituality. In a nationally repre-

sentative survey conducted as a part

of the National Study of Youth and

Religion (NSYR) in 2002 and 2003,

55 percent of adolescents ages 13 to 17

said that the description “spiritual but

not religious” was somewhat true or

very true of them.

CHAPTER 6

THE TEEN YEARS EXPLAINED

BRAIN BOX

Most adolescents say they believe

in God. e NSYR found that 84

percent of adolescents ages 13 to 17

reported believing in God, and 65

percent reported praying at least once

a week.

In the same study, 85 percent of

teens reported being aﬃliated with a

religious denomination or tradition,

and 42 percent reported attending

religious service at least once a week.

irty-nine percent reported partici-

pating in a youth group. Just over half

(52 percent) said their religious faith

was very or extremely important in

shaping their daily life.

Developing a spiritual outlook

eology professor James W. Fowler

describes adolescence as the stage

during which young people begin to

form their own spiritual identity and

outlook. Typically, children in early

adolescence do not yet have a suﬃ-

ciently developed sense of reason upon

which to construct independent views

about religion and spirituality. ey are

still guided by their parents

or other adults as well as inﬂuenced

by peers.

As they grow older, teens develop

an understanding of the unknown and

unknowable. Adolescence can be a

time of intense religious and spiritual

questioning for many young people.

is might be because the develop-

ment of more complex cognitive

abilities promotes thinking on the

existential level as well as the formation

of a broader world view.

In the U.S., where personal

religious freedom is allowed, adoles-

cents might struggle with whether or

not to hold on to the religion of their

Prayer and meditation appear to stimu-

late those parts of the brain responsible

for mental focus and higher thinking

and reasoning skills. A 2003 study us-

ing positron emission tomography (PET)

and functional magnetic resonance

imaging (fMRI) found that when nuns

performed a meditative prayer for

almost an hour, during which time they

focused on a phrase from the Bible or

prayer, there was increased blood ﬂow

to the areas of the brain that together

regulate and focus attention.

SOURCE: Newberg, A., Pourdehnad, M., Alavi,

A., and D’Aquili, E.G. (2003). Cerebral blood ﬂow

during meditative prayer: Preliminary ﬁndings and

methodological issues. Perceptual and Motor Skills,

97, 625–630.

“I practice the same

religion I did when

I was a child,

because that’s

what I was raised

on. When I got

older, I understood

the real reasons

behind the beliefs.”

Boy, 15

YOUNGER TEENS In 2006, 42 percent of eighth graders said they attended

religious services at least once a week. As teens got older, fewer attended every

week (36 percent of 10th graders and 32 percent of 12th graders). Interest-

ingly, older adolescents as a group do not consider themselves to have become

less religious, which suggests that for older adolescents, religiosity extends well

beyond attendance at religious services.

AFRICAN-AMERICAN TEENS In 12th grade, 44 percent of African-American

students attended religious services at least once a week, compared to 31 per-

cent of white students.

WEALTHIER TEENS In 12th grade, students whose parents had graduated from

college (an indicator of higher income) were more likely to attend religious

services than students whose parents’ education ended with high school (38

percent vs. 28 percent).

SOURCE: Child Trends analysis of Monitoring the Future Survey data, 1976 to 2006. www.childtrendsdatabank.

org/pdf/32_PDF.pdf

Who attends religious services more often?

chapter 6 Spirituality & religion

childhood. Some adolescents may

want to explore other faiths or spiritual

disciplines in a quest to ﬁnd one that is

personally meaningful to them. In the

U.S., adolescence is the most common

time for a switch in religious aﬃliation.

However, for many cultural

groups, religion is intricately inter-

twined with ethnic and national

identity. Adolescents in these cultures

typically do not change religions, with

no detriment to their development.

Young people can become more

religious than their parents, and

young people who hold deeper reli-

gious beliefs than their parents report

more positive family relations. e

opposite tends to be true when parents

are more religious than their adoles-

cent children.

Faith participation can shield

teens from risky behaviors

ere has been surprisingly little scien-

tiﬁc research on the impact of religion

and spirituality on young people, but

the research that does exist suggests

that faith-based organizations can pro-

vide young people with role models,

moral direction, spiritual experiences,

positive social and organizational ties,

and community and leadership skills.

Attendance at religious services

and ceremonies, public prayer, and

participation in group religious

activities, including youth groups, is

associated with less cigarette, alcohol,

and marijuana use; higher self-esteem;

and more positive family relationships.

Attending religious services may also

aﬀect performance in school. Strong

religious communities emphasize and

reward socially acceptable behavior

and encourage young people to keep

up their studies.

Is religious participation on the decline?

Between 2002 and 2006, the percentage of adolescents who attended

religious services at least once a week declined, from 35 percent to 32

percent for 12th graders, from 42 percent to 36 percent for 10th grad-

ers, and from 47 percent to 42 percent among eighth graders. is de-

cline reverses a trend of increased religious attendance observed between

1991 and 2002.

SOURCE: Child Trends analysis of Monitoring the Future Survey data, 1976 to 2006. www.childtrendsdata-

bank.org/pdf/32_PDF.pdf

“My faith pushes

me to be the

best I can be.”

Girl, 12

THE TEEN YEARS EXPLAINED

Ways to promote spiritual development

SUPPORT young people’s commitment to social

justice. By reaching out to others and trying to right

wrongs, a young person can experience a deepening

of personal faith.

WORK with religious-based youth groups to provide

supervised activities geared to teens’ interests and

needs. ese could be drop-in centers, musical

programs and dances, or late-night programs.

ALLOW youth to express their religious faith and spiri-

tuality and facilitate their search for better under-

standing of the tradition in which they were raised or

of other religions or spiritual practices.

POLL the youth in your place of worship on their

issues and concerns and set up discussion groups

between teens and adults.

BUILD relationships between adults and teens through

intergenerational programs, religious services, retreats,

and social activities at your place of worship. ese

opportunities provide positive role models for

adolescents and also help dispel adults’ myths and

fears about young people.

ENCOURAGE exposure to, and creative expressions in,

art, music, literature, dance, and theater.

VISIT local art museums with youth to view religious

paintings and sculptures. Many churches and places

of worship also oﬀer tours and talks about distinc-

tive artwork and the spiritual meanings of

architectural features.

chapter 6 Spirituality & religion

“I questioned my faith sometimes because

when I would go to church people would

shout and get the Holy Ghost, and I never

got it. I thought it was because I didn’t

believe enough.” Girl, 14

therapy. Some religious groups also

become involved in political advocacy

to ensure that laws and public policies

regarding sexual orientation are consis-

tent with their religious doctrine.

Religious-based intolerance can

limit the ability of sexual-minority

youth to receive the full beneﬁt of

religious connection and can also cause

deep psychological and emotional an-

guish. Religious adults and faith-based

organizations can help by focusing on

and building a relationship with the

adolescent as a whole person.

Adolescence: A time of

questioning and belonging

Spiritual development and religion can

oﬀer a positive environment for youth,

giving them a sense of belonging and

beneﬁcial relationships with peers and

adults, as well as providing a sense of

meaning and purpose.

Spiritual development is shaped

both within and outside of religious

traditions, beliefs, and practices. is

development leads to searching, which

results in some young people enrich-

ing their faith and others diverging

from the religious traditions they grew

up with.

“I spent some time away from my religion

and realized it was important to me.”

Boy, 18

Being involved in a religious or

spiritual community aﬀords a young

person access to positive adult role

models and social support systems

of fellow worshipers. Nearly half (48

percent) of adolescent respondents to

the 2002 NSYR survey believed that

their religious congregation was a very

good place to go for help with serious

problems, and 26 percent said it was a

fairly good place to go for help.

e private practice of religion—

deﬁned as personal prayer, individual

study of religious texts, and per-

sonal importance of religion in one’s

life—does not protect against habitual

or regular involvement in risky behav-

iors to the same degree as does social

participation in a religious community.

is may be especially true for smok-

ing, which is highly addictive.

We still have much to learn about

how young people’s personal religious

commitment and the private practice

of their faith aﬀect other aspects of

adolescents’ well-being.

Religion is not always

a sanctuary

While organized religion fosters a

sense of belonging for the majority

of young people, it can also lead to

a painful rejection of those who are

perceived not to belong, such as gay,

lesbian, and other sexual-minority

youth.

Some major religious groups

maintain that same-sex attraction is

against sacred teachings and that prac-

ticing anything other than a hetero-

sexual lifestyle is sinful or unnatural.

Some religious groups close

their doors to homosexuals or try to

persuade sexual-minority youth to

change their sexual orientation though

THE TEEN YEARS EXPLAINED

Children at this age have no inner struc-

tures for sorting and understanding their

experiences. eir lives are a seamless

world of fantasy, stories, experiences, and

imagery. ese images include the real

events of daily life and the imaginary life

of the child. Children’s faith is inﬂu-

enced by the examples, stories, and ac-

tions of others, especially of adults with

authority. Fowler claims the strength of

this stage of faith lies in the birth of the

imagination and the ability to hold the

intuitive understandings and feelings in

powerful images and stories. e pitfalls

of this stage of faith lie in the potential

for the child to be overwhelmed by

images of terror and destructiveness.

e transition to the next spiritual stage

involves the child’s growing concern to

clarify what is real and what only seems

that way.

James W. Fowler, professor emeritus of

theology and human development at

Emory University, has written extensively

about spiritual development across the

lifespan. He describes the cognitive, emo-

tional, and behavioral dimensions of faith

development at different life stages.

Intuitive-protective

faith ages 3 to 7

JAMES FOWLER’S

STAGES

FAITH

To move to this second stage, children will necessarily have

progressed to the developmental level of concrete operational

thinking. e world has now become linear, orderly, and predict-

able; faith at this stage becomes a matter of reliance on the stories,

rules, and implicit values of the family’s faith community.

During this spiritual stage, the child begins to accept the stories

and beliefs that symbolize belonging to his or her community.

e child typically makes strong associations with “people like us”

and tends to look critically at those who are “diﬀerent.” Stories

are taken as literal in their meaning.

Mythic-literal faith

elementary school age

e term “synthetic” here means that the adolescent attempts

to draw together the disparate elements of his or her life into

an integrated identity. e term “conventional” indicates that

the spiritual values and beliefs the adolescent holds are derived

from other people who play signiﬁcant roles in his or her life

and, for the most part, are accepted at face value.

Young people at this stage do not have a sure enough grasp of

their own identity and faith, nor suﬃciently developed judg-

ment to construct an independent perspective. Also, they are

acutely attuned to the expectations and judgments of others.

As a result, a young person at this stage may hold deep spiri-

tual convictions, yet has not examined them critically.

Synthetic-conventional faith

adolescence

1 2

CHAPTER 6 SPIRITUALITY & RELIGION

During this stage the individual emerges from the encircl-

ing inﬂuence of signiﬁcant others. Young people begin to

hold themselves, and others, more accountable for their own

“authenticity, congruence, and consistency.” ey are eager to

take responsibility for their beliefs, actions, and decisions and

will no longer tolerate just following the crowd.

Young people at this stage do not sit easily with a leadership

structure that requires them to be dependent upon it. ey

want leadership that acknowledges and respects their personal

positions and allows room for them to contribute to the deci-

sion-making of the group.

e experience of reaching midlife can lead to a new stage of

faith development. is transition coincides with a realiza-

tion of the power and reality of death; feelings of growing and

looking older; one’s children’s reaching teenage or adult years;

and the awareness that there are aspects of one’s own identity

and circumstances that cannot be changed. Fowler sums up

the life experience needed to begin to transition into this stage

as “having learnt by having our noses rubbed in our ﬁnitude.”

Conjunctive faith accepts paradox and the apparent contradic-

tions of perspectives on truth as intrinsic to that truth. People

at this stage will “resist reductionist interpretations and are

generally prepared to live with ambiguity, mystery, wonder, and

apparent irrationalities.”

Only rarely do people reach this stage

of faith development. Fowler’s examples

include Mother Teresa and Mahatma Gan-

dhi, who are characterized as selﬂess. ey

have given up ego for the greater good of

the community.

Universalizing

midlife and beyond

SOURCE: Fowler, J. (1995) Stages of Faith: The Psychology

of Human Development. New York: Harper One, 352 pp.

Individuative-reﬂective faith

late adolescence and young adulthood

Conjunctive faith

adulthood and midlife

the teen years explained

chapter 7 profiles of development

profiles of

development

Out of sync is completely normal

dolescent growth and develop-

ment do not move along on a

seamless, never-wavering path.

Cognitive development can spurt

ahead of physical changes, and vice-

versa. Similarly, cognitive and physical

development may be in sync, but social

development might be delayed.

e following proﬁles show how

teenagers’ unique patterns of physical

growth and cognitive development can

have emotional and social signiﬁcance.

You will no doubt recognize some

of these young people; you might have

ﬁt one of these descriptions yourself

when you were an adolescent. Having

teenagers read the proﬁles may help them

see that their nonlinear development is

completely normal and to be expected.

ey may even gain some insights on

how to handle certain situations.

How to handle the unique

patterns of teen growth

Physical, cognitive, and social

development typically are not in sync

all the way through adolescence. Early

and late bloomers in the physical sense

are acutely aware of being out of sync

with their peers, and reassurance that

they will catch up—or that other teens

will catch up with them—can be ex-

tremely helpful. Also helpful is playing

the “mean mom” or “mean dad” role

and limiting their exposure to situa-

tions they are not ready to handle.

When delays are cognitive or

social, it is easier to blame the ado-

lescent and expect him or her to ﬁx

it—whether that means improving in

social graces, being more organized

and on time, or being more thoughtful

about others’ feelings.

It is important for adults to follow

the same strategies they use for physi-

cal development that is out of sync:

reassure both themselves and their

teen that it is normal, and put in place

strategies to help social and cognitive

skills develop. ese strategies include

allowing an extra 15 minutes in the

morning to get organized, spend-

ing extra time practicing “what if”

scenarios, and putting in place systems

of accountability. Of course, if any

delays seem extreme, professional help

should be sought.

CHAPTER 7

the teen years explained

SARA AND MICHAEL illustrate some of the challenges of early bloomers. ey are physically quite mature,

to the point where people are not recognizing them for who they are—still children. Even though they have the

bodies of adults, they are nowhere near emotionally ready to be sexually active. Michael’s physical maturity has

resulted in his hanging out with an older age group, which has led to experimenting with sex, drugs, and alcohol

and other risk-taking behaviors he is not emotionally prepared to handle. Sara has responded to her early physi-

cal development by withdrawing socially. Her mother, or a caring adult, could assist Sara by not allowing her to

sara

Ever since she can remember,

people have been telling Sara she

could be a movie star. She is ex-

tremely pretty, exuding innocence

and simplicity. At the age of 11 she

began her menstrual periods, and

by her 13th birthday she had the

fully developed breasts and rounded

hips of a much older teenager. Sara

was at ﬁrst delighted by all the at-

tention, since seemingly overnight

she had become the envy of many

girls her age, not to mention popu-

lar with older boys, who previously

thought of her as just a kid. She

begged her mother to let her date

high school boys, but then became

petriﬁed and overwhelmed when

they tried to kiss her and touch her

body. If the attention from the guys

at school wasn’t confusing enough,

older men—guys practically as old

as her uncles, eeeuuuu!—are always

making remarks about her looks, as

if all of a sudden she had become

public property. She has become

so embarrassed about her body

that she has stopped hanging out

with her girlfriends, preferring to

hide out in her room. When Sara

goes out in public, she wears baggy

sweatshirts and jeans and hunches

her shoulders in an eﬀort to hide

her shape. She never makes eye

contact—

“

What’s the point,” she

thinks, “No one looks at me above

chest-level, anyway.”

chapter 7 profiles of development

More than six feet tall, hand-

some, and with six-pack abs, 15-

year-old Michael looks like the next

teen idol. He excels at athletics and

everybody wants him on their team.

He is popular and well-liked, which

makes his parents happy. Playing

sports means hanging out with ju-

niors and seniors, who invite him to

parties where there is drinking and

where sometimes drugs are passed

around. Older girls—jeez, some of

them you could call women!—pay

attention to him too, and seem

much more interested in his body

than in anything he has to say. But

inside, Michael feels anything but

mature and conﬁdent. Even though

it is exciting to be included in these

parties, he doesn’t feel ready to

experiment with drugs and alcohol.

Yet, he can’t ﬁgure out how to stand

up for himself and say, “No thanks.”

Sex is the same way—Michael is

ﬂattered being hit on by older girls,

which is every guy’s dream, right?

Yet, he also feels weirded out by the

pressure to be sexual, and worried

the girls will laugh at his reluctance.

Michael doesn’t know how to put

his feelings into words, so he usually

goes along with it but feels confused

afterward. Sometimes, Michael

wishes people could see the kid he

is inside, rather than just the man

standing before them.

date older boys, even though this might make Sara unhappy in the moment. Similarly, Michael’s parents could

take some of the pressure oﬀ their son by not allowing him to attend lots of parties with older team members and

their friends. ey can also discuss ways in which Michael can say no and gracefully sidestep uncomfortable or

dangerous situations. Sara and Michael could also beneﬁt by being encouraged to be friends with more boys and

girls their own age, and to get involved in activities that do not put undue emphasis on physical appearance.

michael

the teen years explained

Physically, TOMAS AND LESLIE are late bloomers. Even though it is diﬃcult not to be as tall and muscular as

the other boys, Tomas is clearly on track in other areas and is emotionally ready for more mature relationships. He

may be socially reticent at times, but he has the ability to be liked by his peers. Adults can support him by aﬃrming

that his physical development is normal and that he will catch up soon enough. Also, cheering on his eﬀorts to shine

academically will help to sustain his optimism.

tomas

Tomas was the undisputed

king of middle school—smart,

outgoing, the kind of guy both

girls and boys felt comfortable

around. Everything changed in

high school. Most of the other

guys his age seem stronger, more

muscular, and more attractive—

they are 16 going on manly. Big

and athletic, they knock him over

during football practice and run

right by him on the basketball

court as if he were invisible. He

still has some buddies from mid-

dle school, but even they cannot

help with the feelings of physical

inadequacy he experiences on

and oﬀ the ﬁeld. While Tomas

continues to get good grades, he

sometimes feels reluctant to raise

his hand or participate much

in class because he doesn’t want

to draw attention to his small

stature. After practice and in class,

the other boys talk easily to the

girls, but Tomas doesn’t feel like

he has a chance. e girls seem

intimidating, too—tall and as

conﬁdent as supermodels. When

he looks in the mirror, a little boy

stares back at him.

chapter 7 profiles of development

At 15, Leslie is small and

wiry, with a boyish frame and a

childlike face. Looking at Leslie,

people might mistake her for a

12-year-old, but then she opens

her mouth and all bets are oﬀ.

Leslie is bright and studious,

a complex thinker who tosses

around ideas and concepts as

if they are hacky sacks. Leslie

doesn’t think about her body

size much, preferring the life of

the mind. She has expanded her

world view beyond the bathroom

mirror and is involved in a variety

of causes near and dear to her

heart, like the environment and

animal rescue. In middle school,

Leslie was intimidated by being

short and petite and hid her

light under a bushel. But in high

school her perspective shifts and

centers on learning and getting

into a good college so she can

pursue her dream of becoming

a veterinarian.

leSlie is a good example of someone who is extremely mature in the academic and emotional realms. Her

future-thinking and planning skills are perhaps better developed than many of her peers’. Cognitively, she is way

ahead, but physically Leslie is behind. Unlike Tomas, Leslie is not letting her physical stature aﬀect her feelings of

self-esteem and has expanded her circle to reﬂect her burgeoning interests and goals. Parents and other adults can

keep Leslie engaged by supporting her love of learning and her work with various causes, and also by making sure

her social development moves apace so she does not become someone who is “all work and no play.”

leslie

the teen years explained

maria

MARIA is socially high-functioning, someone who is way ahead in social and interactive skills. She is also

endowed with a strong sense of who she is and how she can make her personal strengths work for her. However, her

glibness can mask the fact that her complex thinking skills and logic may not be developing at the same pace. Teach-

ers and other adults need to be aware of young people like Maria—those who can talk rings around most people,

but whose cognitive functions might be immature. Maria’s decision-making and planning skills can be helped along

by giving her projects with written or visual content that promote accountability.

Outgoing and verbally

expressive, 17-year-old Maria is

at home with all kinds of people.

Her social skills are unbeatable,

and she has a knack for seeming

to hang on every word someone

says. People gravitate toward Ma-

ria because of her natural warmth

and gift of gab. Her parents are

proud of her popularity and her

social ease, which they believe

will open many doors for her in

college and future life—so they

don’t push her so much to get

better grades. And, truth be told,

she can usually talk her way out

of most situations, especially with

teachers and authority ﬁgures. For

all her verbal dexterity, though,

Maria can also be scattered

organizationally and can rarely

see anything to completion. She

has problems thinking through

all the steps in making a plan and

gets distracted easily. She makes

decisions impulsively, without

thinking about their implications.

chapter 7 profiles of development

Tall and with a lifeguard’s

build, 16-year-old Tyler excels

at sports and in the classroom.

He likes to exercise his brain and

especially enjoys memorizing

and dealing with facts. Absolutes

make the most sense to him,

as Tyler prefers the neatness of

black-and-white thinking. What

makes Tyler a little uncomfort-

able is hypothetical situations and

“what ifs”—if you can’t see it or

prove it, in Tyler’s mind, then it

doesn’t exist. is kind of think-

ing serves him well in sports and

doing what the coach says, but

he has more trouble when asked

to anticipate what the other team

members are going to do. Some-

times, with his friends, it is the

same way—he thinks things out

to a rational conclusion but has

diﬃculty when things stray from

what should logically be happen-

ing. He also has trouble putting

himself in other people’s shoes

and empathizing with

their situations.

tyler

TYLER is physically and academically developed, but cognitively he has not moved beyond the level of a con-

crete thinker, which usually begins around 7 and ends at age 12. Concrete thinkers think logically and are well-or-

ganized, but cannot juggle abstract concepts or multilevel thinking. His cognitive development has slowed his social

development as well, since he does not think beyond his self-orientation (his values, passions, and needs) to take oth-

er people’s thoughts and feelings into consideration. Involvement in service learning—which often includes activities

that help teens reﬂect on their service—could help Tyler develop empathy. Adults can also help build Tyler’s capacity

to recognize and empathize with the perspectives of others by using such “feelings” statements as, “Your friend seems

really (worried, upset, discouraged).”

the teen years explained

conclusion

e invite people of all ages to

appreciate the marvel of what

it is to be an adolescent. At

no other time in life do human beings

develop so rapidly, in so many diﬀerent

ways. e teen years are when children

grow to full adult size, become capable

of reproducing, develop thinking skills

that allow them to philosophize about

life and plan complex events, and

develop the emotional capacity to em-

pathize with and make great sacriﬁces

for others.

e Guide has presented several

key ideas supported by research. First

and most fundamentally, the rapid

changes of adolescence are normal.

Most adolescents and their families

successfully navigate and enjoy these

years. e swiftness of the changes,

though, can be confusing and make

both teens and adults uncertain of

what to do. Knowing what adoles-

cents typically experience emotion-

ally and physically can help resolve

worries about whether a teen is on

track and whether his or her behavior

is reasonable.

e second key idea is that regu-

lar, healthy development is uneven.

Healthy development happens

ever young people spend time—in

their homes, at school, in after-school

programs, at work, with friends, and

while spending time on the Internet or

watching TV. Development does not

stop at the doorway of the institutions

speciﬁcally designed to promote it,

namely schools and places of worship.

Parents know this well and often

worry about ﬁghting a tide of cultural

inﬂuences over which they have

no control.

Yet, as the Guide has described,

parents and caring adults often un-

derestimate their capacity to promote

young people’s development. Because

of their developmental stage, young

people stop letting adults know that

they are important in the young

people’s worlds, or, for that matter,

that the adults even matter. But teens

consistently report, and research con-

ﬁrms, that adults remain essential as

caregivers, role models, educators, and

mentors. It is our hope that through

better understanding of adolescent

development, adults will feel con-

fident and inspired to continue their

indispensable work of fostering the

next generation.

Physical, emotional, and cognitive

development are not always in sync.

e Guide has described how it is

completely normal for one area of

development to be ahead of others.

Because development happens un-

evenly, growth in one domain can place

teens in situations they are not ready

to handle until they catch up in other

areas. Teens need reassurance that they

will, indeed, catch up to their peers—

or that their peers will catch up to them.

Teens also need support and limit-set-

ting from adults to keep them safe.

ird, young people develop posi-

tive attributes through learning and ex-

perience. Although physical and sexual

development happens automatically

given adequate nutrition, social and

cognitive development does not. ese

must be nurtured. ere is tremendous

variation across cultures regarding what

is expected socially of young people,

but all cultures need to provide the op-

portunities for young people to experi-

ence, learn, and practice competence,

connection, character, conﬁdence,

and caring.

e ﬁnal key idea in the Guide

is that development happens wher-

conclusion

CHAPTER 8

the teen years explained

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