Lifespan and Personality Development

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A Story by Dawn Jones: The Demon Slayer!

One of my more impressive papers

Adolescence

The teen years can seem like the most traumatic years of a person’s life until, of course, it’s time to grow out of them. A child suddenly becomes over aware of themselves during the onset of adolescence developing self-consciousness and beginning to second guess themselves during social situations along with all of the physical changes that come with puberty; both boys and girls undergo dramatic changes in appearance and physical capacity. The clearest and the most dramatic physical sign of puberty is the growth spurt, characterized by rapid increases in height, weight, and skeletal growth and by significant changes in reproductive structures and sexual characteristics (Wiley, 2007).

Development

Until puberty, boys and girls are well matched in physical strength and ability, but once hormones kick in, the average male has more muscle mass and greater upper body strength than the average female. There are a lot of factors that can affect the physical development of an adolescent: the nutrition (i.e. food and amount of) a teen takes in daily, the amount of sleep they get each night, the quality of the environment they live in. There are also hereditary and none hereditary diseases that can develop in early adolescence such as body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). Adolescence’s concerns with their appearance should not be dismissed lightly. The image obsession known as BDD typically begins in young people and left untreated may lead to impairment in functioning and even to suicide attempts. Though BDD is not a hereditary influence affecting the physical development of adolescence it is a significant factor in such disorders as bulimia-nervosa and anorexia-nervosa along with a number of social disabilities.

Cognitive development during adolescence is a tenuous process. Adolescents demonstrate a type of egocentrism different from that of a younger child. Although adolescents recognize that others have unique thoughts and perspectives, they often fail to differentiate between what they are thinking and what others are thinking. This adolescent egocentrism has two characteristics that may affect social interactions as well as problem solving:

Personal fable. Because of their unique form of egocentrism, adolescents may conclude that they alone are having insights or difficulties and that no one else understands or sympathizes with them. David Elkind described this as the formation of a personal fable, an intense investment in an adolescent's own thoughts and feelings and a belief that these thoughts are unique. Several forms of risk taking, such as engaging in sexual intercourse without contraception, driving dangerously, and experimenting with drugs, seem to arise from the personal fable. Adolescents have a sense of uniqueness, invulnerability, and immortality. They recognize the dangers of these activities but think the rules don't apply to them.

Imaginary audience. In early adolescence, people tend to believe that they are the center of others' thoughts and attentions, instead of considering that everyone is equally wrapped up in his or her own concerns and plans. In other words, adolescents feel that all eyes are focused on their behaviors.

Often these two characteristics can create either a feeling of isolation or the idea that they need to behave a certain way or achieve a certain level of popularity to fit in with their peers.

Social and moral development for an adolescent begins very early in life and is usually strongly influenced by their parents and close relatives. Social interaction is an extremely important factor in an infant’s development. Research has shown that children raised in impersonal surroundings or under abusive conditions suffer from a number of problems. They tend to form shallow or anxious relationships. Some appear forlorn, withdrawn, and uninterested in their caretakers, whereas others seem insatiable in their need for affection. An adolescent raised under these conditions could theoretically develop a pervasive instability in moods, interpersonal relationships, self-image, and behavior that could result in a number of psychological disorders that might become more prominent in adulthood.

“Developing a sense of right and wrong, or morality, is a part of psychological development.” It is believed that there are six stages of moral development. Stages three and four closely relate to adolescence. Moral reasoning advances from being self-centered to other-centered. The individual personality accepts conventional societal rules because they help ensure social order and judges morality in terms of compliance with these rules and values.

· Stage 3 (“good child” orientation). At stage 3, the primary moral concern is with being nice and gaining approval. People are also judged by their intentions and motives (“His heart was in the right place”).

· Stage 4 (law-and-order orientation). During this stage, the individual take into account a larger perspective-societal laws. Stage 4 individuals understand that if everyone violated laws, even with good intentions, there would be chaos. Thus, doing one’s duty and respecting law and order are highly valued.

Personality

During a period of serious questioning and intense soul-searching, adolescents develop a coherent sense of self and their role in society. Failure to resolve this identity crisis may be related to a lack of a stable identity, delinquency, and difficulty in maintaining close personal relationships in later life. Each adolescent struggles to develop an independent personality, usually going through stages of rebellion where they do things their parents or guardians would disapprove of (i.e. sexual promiscuity, drug experimentation, sneaking out and going to parties). Some people do not rebel during adolescence, feeling that they need to be the perfect child, the perfect student or the perfect friend. The stress of keeping up this appearance can damage the development of an adolescence personality, causing severe rebellion in their early adulthood which can cause damage to their stable relationships, jobs and futures. There are a multitude of other things that could hinder the development of personality in an adolescent including sexual molestation during childhood, a neglectful parent and even an overly demanding or protective parent.

Each developmental stage, from prenatal to adulthood, should not be taken for granted. A parent or guardian should pay close attention to their child as they age and develop, keeping a close bond with them through the adolescent years without overwhelming or smothering the teen’s need for independence.