How Biosocial Changes of Adolescence Affect the Cognitive & Psychosocial Development Of Adolescent

Glab 1

Marilyn Glab

Professor Reider

Life Span Development

December 20 , 2006

Describe how the biosocial changes of adolescence affect the cognitive and psychosocial development of adolescents

Adolescence has been described as a period of stress and storm . In the American culture , adolescence is dreaded by most parents and this can be the most difficult part of any child 's life . With it come the biological changes that occur as part of the maturation process of our bodies as well as the different societal pressures that they have to

deal with Biological changes have been found to affect the behavior of most people and this is especially true for teenagers who are still children in all its frailties and complexities (Steinberg Morris , 2001

Specific changes occur in the body which transforms the child to an adult . The pituitary gland signals the brain to produce the growth hormone and a series of physical changes occur in a short span of time The physiological changes are actually geared at the maturation of the sexual organs and this is manifested by the menarche for the girls and nocturnal emissions for the boys . Then depending on the progression of the physical changes , secondary sexual characteristics then develop girls start to develop breasts , the hips become rounder , pubic hair starts to grow and menstruation becomes regular . Boys then start to grow taller , their voices change , their arms and legs develop muscles and they grow facial hair and pubic hairs . They have to deal with pimples acne , body odor , weight issues and even attractiveness . With a culture that values beauty and have it defined by thinness and sex appeal and which shapes teenagers idea of attractiveness which sets them up for failure . Adolescents also have to deal with their academic requirements in school which is getting more difficult everyday . It is obvious that adolescents goes through a lot in this period of their life and this puts them in a situation that

Glab 2

makes it difficult to understand themselves . Moreover , parents expect more from older children and burden them with responsibilities that often are too much for them to handle . Then , they also face identity crisis and have to painfully sort it out by themselves with all of the things that 's going in on their body and their environment

Hormonal fluctuations during the period of physical development can come with physical discomforts like headaches , sleepiness and even a general feeling of lethargy (Dahl , 2003 . These physical manifestations can significantly affect their cognitive and psychosocial development in terms of their concentration to their academics and the quality of their relationships with their family , peers and cliques

Adolescents ' bodies are growing rapidly and with the many things that they are involved in , they often are zapped out of energy and which is why they often feel sleepy and tired . This is often called as laziness by their parents and teachers which strains their relationship and often makes the adolescent feel that they are misunderstood . In some...