ENG302 BLOG4
PUBERTY AND ADOLESCENT TURMOIL
Puberty is a stressful time for adolescents. There are mental changes that are happening
and the more obvious physical changes.
Boy’s voices, sexual parts and growth patterns change. Girls experience breast development,
menstruation and an increased awareness of their appearance. Both boys and girls suffer from acne when
they are the most self conscious. Added
to this, are the changes that occur in the brain as they transition from
childhood into adulthood. Neural
connections change drastically from the configuration of the learning
requirements of children (much breadth with little depth) to those of adults
(increased depth to specialize).
Where do we go from here?
It has been long been known that children who enter
puberty at an early age (8 or 9 versus 10 or 11), have social and psychological
problems. These include difficulty in
getting along with others and disorders such as depression. It was thought that early puberty was the
main correlation for these behavior problems.
The results of a recent study of a group of Australian children show
that this may not be the case. These
children who began puberty early experienced problems. However, these same children showed
indication of problems when they were 4-5 years old. This was published in a paper in the Journal
of adolescent health. This study
challenges the assumption that puberty is the cause of these behavior problems.
Further studies should be undertaken to examine what
might be the source of these problems. Is
it the genetic luck of the draw that some children are predetermined to suffer
from this situation in the same way some people are asthmatic or have a
predisposition to diabetes. Could this
be a social or environmental phenomenon?
Is our expectation of earlier academic performance combined with high
tech gadgets skewing natural child development? Are there real consequences to issues such as
clean air, pure water or atmospheric heating?
I think I saw something in the news about kids hitting puberty early and I think it is a very interesting topic. I remember the news saying this could be happening because of the foods we are allowing children to eat and the weight that is being gained at such an early age.
ReplyDeleteI just had a debate on sex education in elementary schools and find this blog interesting. In the debate we talked about puberty and how girls are now having their period early and early. We need to educate these girls and boys about puberty and why it happens because we don't want them not knowing whats happening to them at this young of an age. And when girls are starting to have their puberty earlier they are starting to have sexual intercourse sooner forcing us to educate them as soon as possible and I believe elementary school is the key.
ReplyDeleteI hit puberty at an older age than normal, 16. I think a lot of it has to do with your activity level. I was the most athletic and active kid I knew by far. I've also noticed that since I am still highly athletic and have higher testosterone levels than many girls, I get my period much less frequent than normal. Maybe the less active, and early gained weight has something to do with hitting puberty early.
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