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Adolescent Years

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Adolescent Years
Adolescent Years Paper Adolescence is the developmental stage between childhood and adulthood; it generally refers to a period ranging from age 11 and 19. Adolescence has many psychological and social stages, as well as biological. The beginning of adolescence is usually marked with the beginning of puberty. Adolescence can be prolonged, brief, or practically nonexistent, depending on the type of culture in which it occurs. Adolescence is somewhere between childhood and adulthood. It is filled with constant change, uncertainty, but it can be wonderful and full of expectation. Everything a child learned to believe is suddenly challenged. One day you are a cute child that everybody seemed to adore, and the next day your skin and body are changing. While the physical changes of puberty are an important indicator of adolescent development, many other kinds of changes also occur during the adolescent years; cognitive, self-concept, social / moral reasoning and the ability to think abstractly.

Adolescence Development Adolescents enter the cognitive stage known as formal operations, and are able to think more abstractly and hypothetically. They can define right from wrong, in terms of cop = good and robber = bad. According to Erikson, adolescence is a time of "identity crisis", or a critical period in the life long process of forming one's identity, a conflict stage which he labeled identity versus role confusion. During this stage, adolescents try to define themselves in terms of career, religion, and sexual identity. They try to figure out where they are heading in life, and how they fit into society. Often times adolescents in Adolescent Years 3 this stage change their minds and experiment with new looks, majors, and new experiences (Cheathouse, Feb., 2004). The influence that these factor's have effect the forming of one's identity and independence. An adolescent's self-image is



References: Adolescent Peer Pressure. (2004, September 2); Adolescence and the Factors That Help Lead Us Through It . (2006, March 6); Adolescence according to Erikson. (2004, February 17). In CheatHouse. Retrieved August 4, 2007, from http://www.CheatHouse.com/essay/essay_view. Botta, Renee A. "Television Images and Adolescent Girls ' Body Image Disturbance." Journal of Communication 49 (Spring 1999): ISSN 00219916. Online. ProQuest. 16 Nov. 1999. Bruin, Kathy. "What it is to be an adolescent. ". Retrieved August 4, 2007 from http://www.wikipedia.com. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism. Retrieved from http://www.niaaa.nih.gov Roberts, Donald F. Adolescence throughout the 1990s: Risk and Opportunity. Ed. Ruby Takanishi. Teachers College Press: NY, 1993. Signorielli, N. (1997, April). Reflections of girls in the media: A two-part study on gender and media. Kaiser Family foundation and Children NOW. Wetzstein, Cheryl; (2005, July). Medias effect on teen sex not known. The Washington Times. Retrieved August 4, 2007 from http://washingtontimes.com/national/20050705-110513-3596r.htm.

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