Development in adolescence

Development In Adolescence Student’s Name Institution of Affiliation Course Name and Code Instructor’s Name Date Development In Adolescence Adolescence is the transitional period between childhood and adulthood, which signifies its importance in a person’s life. Specifically, this period is characterized by an individual experiencing various body and brain changes. The specific changes are usually psychological, intellectual, physical, and social. The changes are so rapid that individuals in this group are easily affected by biological, psychological, and social factors. In relation to this, the paper identifies divorce as one of the biopsychosocial issues that have significant effects on an adolescent’s growth. A closer look at divorce shows that it is a prevalent issue that can occur as a result of various factors. Regardless of what causes divorce, its ramifications on adolescents are quite pronounced, considering it may result in stressful situations that change the hormone levels in the body, can cause grief, depression, and anxiety, which contribute to communication problems and possible conflicts, and may also cause changes in social support networks and financial implications, which may influence an adolescent’s ability to cope with problems. With this in mind, the paper will explore the characteristics of development in adolescence, conduct an interview with individuals specialized in this area, particularly two professionals and an adolescent who has experienced divorced parents, and lastly, examine the nature and impact of divorce on adolescents. The Characteristics of The Life Course Phase Physical Developmental Characteristics The term physical development describes the biochemical alterations that result in growth and maturation in the human body. Physical development is irrefutable during adolescence, especially during the first phase, because growth is fast. According to Coleman (2011), growth spurts, puberty, and brain changes are the main physical development features of early adolescence. These observable physical changes cause young adolescents to become more self-aware. Researchers claim that early adolescent development, particularly physical development, is influenced by social and institutional influences. Growth spurts are characterized by substantial increases in skeletal and muscular systems, internal organ size, weight, and height. Additionally, skeletal changes are rampant because they precede muscular development, resulting in possible coordination. Many young people also go through phases of restlessness and exhaustion due to fluctuations in basal metabolism. They are also physiologically vulnerable to development-related issues, such as early sexual activity, poor nutrition, physical inactivity, and health practices. Early adolescence marks the start of puberty, a period of physiological change brought on by the release of hormones. The release of these hormones signals the development of primary sex traits (genitalia) and secondary sex traits, such as facial hair in males and breasts in females. The physical changes in boys and girls are different since females reach adolescence one to two years ahead of males (Whitcomb, 2022). The gender disparity in physical development between males and females in this stage is because growth hormones are responsible for inducing physical growth, such as an increase in height and development of secondary sexual traits, which are more prevalent in females than males. This lot does not always welcome physical alterations in the body and the varying speeds of adulthood as they may result in uneasiness regarding variations in their physical growth. Furthermore, rather than putting their own cultures first, young adolescents who are more conscious of their appearance may end up comparing themselves to popular beauty standards. Such an approach to pubertal changes is also seen as a recipe for some teenagers identifying as transgender people and becoming non-conforming youths. Cognitive Developmental Characteristics Cognitive growth is the process by which individuals become more able to think and understand. Though equally intense, intellectual development in young adolescents is less obvious than physical development. The intersections between a person's identity and prior experiences significantly influence their cognitive development, as is the case with all developmental traits (Napolitano et al., 2021). When schools adopt a biological perspective on cognitive development, they contribute to the myth of meritocracy. For educators, this approach poses challenging queries regarding which pupils' schools habitually believe are incapable of performing sophisticated cognitive activities because of institutionalized hurdles about language, class, race, and culture. One instance is the disproportionate number of young people from varied cultural and linguistic backgrounds in special education. To address cognitive development in a culturally sensitive way, educators must consider the experiences and histories of young adolescents, realizing that every young adult deserves to be challenged and engaged in meaningful ways by their educators. Early adolescence is characterized by a wide spectrum of individual cognitive development in adolescents, including independent reasoning and metacognition. They often exhibit a broad range of interests and are naturally curious. Young adolescents are generally willing to learn about subjects that they find engaging and helpful, particularly those that pertain to them personally, and reflect the intersections of their identities, such as ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation, and class. Many also prefer peer interactions during educational events and active learning over passive learning experiences. Additionally, while the progression to higher levels of cognitive function varies greatly throughout individuals, youths in this time also acquire the ability to think abstractly. The abilities of young teenagers to conceive and test hypotheses, analyze and synthesize facts, wrestle with difficult concepts, and think reflectively usually follow concrete logical procedures. They are also improving at debating adult commands, thinking critically about ideological issues, and putting arguments forward. They also possess a greater capacity for planning, self-awareness, and goal setting. Social-Emotional Developmental Characteristics Social-emotional development defines an individual’s capability to engage with others and the control over one's own emotions. In the course of cognitive and physical development, early adolescent social-emotional development typically interacts with other developmental domains. For example, studies describe how have shown that adolescents' emotions are associated with their physical characteristics, leading to high or low self-esteem depending on how they see themselves in comparison to their peers. Early adolescents' strong desire to fit in is associated with their tight relationships with their peers, as seen by the growing importance of peer approval and the waning influence of parent approval (Rapee et al., 2019). As they grow socially and emotionally, young teens may have conflicting loyalties to their families and peer groups. While they may struggle against them, young adolescents do depend on their parents and other adu...