Abstract
Adolescence is a stage that occurs between eleven and eighteen years. It is a critical time during the development of young boys and girls (Santrock, 2005). The stage marks the onset of a period when the youths start to undergo changes in their physical body. Menstrual cycles begin in females while the males develop a strong physique and coerce voice (Malina, 2004). The physical changes that occur among adolescents force them to behave maturely to reflect their progression towards adulthood. The dietary choice made by the youth during this stage of development plays a key role in determining their health.
Piaget’s Development Theory
According to Piaget’s theory on intelligence, individuals’ easiness in gaining formal and logical knowledge marks the beginning of adolescence (Ginsburg & Opper, 1988). During this period, adolescences are likely to grasp mathematical formulas and linguistic vocabularies with easiness. This is due to the growth in intellectual capacity coupled with improvement in understanding (Ginsburg & Opper, 1988). The youths improve significantly in making rational decisions. Logical decisions include things like doing their homework under minimal supervision, and activities like washing their own clothes. Observing the neatness of the adolescent in writing and their behavior also shows considerable improvement. The adolescents develop reliable relationships with their fellow age mates. Arguments between adolescents are subjective in nature compared to those of young children that are marked by fighting if disagreements arise (Ginsburg & Opper, 1988). A girl in her adolescent stage struggles to find her identity. The girl trying to decide what she ought to be in life characterizes the discovery of her identity, for instance, being a doctor, lawyer, or nurse are common career choices.
Culture, class, ethnicity, and gender contexts
Culture plays a key role in determining what a teenager views to be morally upright or wrong. This segment analyses a girl named Aisha undergoing adolescence. The youngster was raised in a neighborhood where the people practiced a culture that dictated once a girl attained the age adolescence, she was not supposed to interact freely with members of the opposite sex. Mixing with males would portray the girl as a person brought up unethically and this would embarrass her parents. The youth in Aisha’s neighborhood avoided early sex; however, this was not the norm for other children growing up in rich neighborhoods. Aisha’s parents were poor and relied on the state’s welfare. The low social status could not allow them afford to regularly prepare three balanced diet meals in a day for their daughter. The lack of consuming nutritious food led to slow growth and development of Aisha’s body, below the rate witnessed in girls from wealthy families. The neighborhood she lived in was characterized by rampant drug abuse and violence.
The youngster having been exposed to first hand violence in her neighborhood became offensive towards teachers and other children. Upon turning the age of fourteen, she refused to follow orders from her parents and elder members of the community. This aggressive trait can be explained as an urge that develops when a person grows and feels the community needs to notice and respect his/her existence (Santrock, 2005). A notable significant difference could be observed between Aisha and other children who grew up in rich neighborhoods. The latter showed politeness adapted from the behaviors of their parents and other children living in affluent neighborhoods.
Biological and genetic issues
Aisha started developing breasts. The physical body changes were more evident at the age of sixteen when pimples also started appearing on her face. Early during the developments, Aisha felt embarrassed about the pimples that made her facial looks ugly. She tried using scrubbing oils to get rid of the pimples on her face. With time, she accepted the changes in her body after interacting with fellow her fellow age mates undergoing the same physical transformation who made her feel comfortable. She also adjusted her dressing style to match that of the fashion industry. The style adopted by Aisha was largely copied from celebrities. Aisha grew in stature quickly than other girls from the white race. The quick development of bones is a development trait common among members of the African-American race.
Aisha started getting regular menstrual cycle at the age of fifteen. The breasts and menstrual cycles symbolized she was entering adulthood and that she could readily give birth (Rathus, 2011). Aisha gained weight and her body size increased dramatically. She developed curvy hips. The shift in Aisha’s body structure can be explained by the pituitary glands that are responsible for growth in the body. The pituitary glands influence the release of estrogen that causes ovulation leading to menstruation (Santrock, 2005). The increase in Aisha’s body weight led her to gain own self-realization. The self-discovery was in identifying the opposite sex partner. Hormones cause the appeal to members of the opposite sex. Aisha started growing hair around her genitals and below her armpits. The growth was associated with an increase in perspiration, which was not observed before the adolescent stage. Perspiration is a way the body uses to eliminate excess salts and water that result from increased metabolic activities inside the body. Aisha increased her food intake significantly. The necessity of increased food intake is to provide the body with the required nutrients for growth. It is scientifically proven that young women develop curvaceous figures during their puberty period and growth slows down as their age increases (Malina, 2004). Concisely, the case we have analyzed about Aisha highlights the various development stages that females undergo from adolescence to puberty.
Present day adolescents
The present day teens are growing under the influence of television and the internet. These two popular forms of media influence their behavior. The youths are exposed to graphic sexual content before they attain the age of eighteen, which might influence them to engage in early sex. The youth life style is no longer influenced by the surrounding communities, but by social websites like Facebook and YouTube. The World Wide Web has made the present day youth too informed about sexuality compared to the older generation who are less informed technologically. Young girls celebrate upon getting their menarche, that is their first menstruation, and demand to be treated like adults by their parents. They are taught about menstruation and its significance in schools early enough to make sure they are prepared. The present day teenager is likely to experiment with drugs early in their life. The reason is that TV portrays drugs as stress relievers. In addition, chances are high the adolescents are growing up in a setting where family members and friends use drugs recreationally leading them to indulge in drug abuse.
In comparison, females belonging to the generation X born during the 60s were brought up in a conservative setting and had few chances of engaging in early sex before marriage (Santrock, 2005). The traditional society did not allow mixing of boys and girls during the puberty stage. The learning institutions have become lenient with generation Y individuals born in the mid-eighties and later. Most of them allow mixing of girls and boys in the same classroom allowing the opposite sexes to spend more time together. The free interaction between members of the opposite sex has created a lot of trust among present day teenagers. The confidence leads to early relationship, which may lead them to engage in sexual activities. The probability of the present day teenager contracting unwanted pregnancy is high even with the introduction of contraceptives to stem unwanted pregnancies. Early pregnancies are a result of engaging in early sex in life without use of contraceptives.
Conclusion
In a recap, the present day teenager has a higher chance of receiving menstruation early in life (Rathus, 2011). One of the reasons is because of change in diet consumed in the modern world that is rich in all nutrients leading them to become strong. The healthy diet makes the present day youth to have curvaceous bodies, which may lead the opposite sex to mistake them for being fully sexually grown. The girls face countless sexual approaches from members of the opposite sex, which causes some of them psychological problems. They also experience eating problems such as anorexia in their attempt to reduce food intake during adolescence in a bid to maintain a small body posture, which is fashionable in the modern society. The environment and neighborhood where teenagers are raised is a major contributor to changes in life style and the development of adolescents.
Reference List
Malina, R. (2004). Growth, maturation, and physical activity. Champaign, Ill: Human Kinetics.
Ginsburg, H., & Opper, S. (1988). Piaget's theory of intellectual development (3rd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.
Rathus, S. (2011). Childhood and adolescence: voyages in development. Belmont, Calif: Wadsworth.
Santrock, J. W. (2005). Adolescence: John W. Santrock. (10. Ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill.
