Cognitive and Physical Development of the Male Adolescent - Essay Example

You're 14 November 2006 Cognitive and Physical Development of the Male Adolescent Introduction Adolescence is considered as anormal part of the human life span, connecting middle childhood and young adulthood, this period consists of three separate phases: early, middle, and late adolescence. The adolescent years extend roughly from age 10 to age 22. It is common to mark the beginning of the teenage years as the entrance to adolescence; most people consider that the onset of puberty, or the beginning of sexual maturity, which normally characterizes an individual's passage from middle childhood to adolescence. This is of course from a scientific perspective and from researchers who have studied the phases of adolescence in young people. The main difference that has been documented with girls and boys is the fact that physically they both develop at a similar pace but cognitively males seem to be slower in developing certain emotionally skills and rationalization skills in comparison to females. While the physical changes of puberty are important indicators which signal adolescent development to researchers, it is the cognitive aspects of adolescence that is the most detrimental to developing into a normal adult human being. There are many other changes that take place during this time that are varied from just physical and some of these are related to areas that are fundamental to life. Some of these are cognitive, self-concept, social / moral reasoning, and the ability to think abstractly. Although this developmental period of life needn't be an uncommonly stressful time, adolescents do encounter stresses, especially male adolescents because they have so many goals they feel that they must meet and they want to fit in with the popular male groups so desperately. Nevertheless, despite the struggles that male adolescents go through, most of them are well adjusted individuals who are not depressed nor mixed up people, which is commonly thought. Rather than them lacking in self-control and confidence they seem to have a great deal of abilities in rationalizing their personal circumstances and they deal with them far better than many psychologists give credit. At the same time it must be recognized some adolescents exhibit signs of disturbance and can suffer severe life crisis. The male adolescent is not looked closely enough at and therefore their physical and cognitive development is not as questioned as heavily as it is with the female gender. Male adolescents have many obstacles to overcome in their young lives and though some cope and make it through just fine with perfectly normal developmental progress in these two areas, as was stated others do struggle just as any young person can regardless of their gender. Early Adolescence and Beyond Kolaric & Galambos (1995) state that between boys and girls in the early adolescence period there is not much of a difference in their body language, verbal communication, and common gestures between the two in a social atmosphere. Boys exhibit a carefree during this period, which is quite normal. They appear to adapt in specific situations during this time period seemingly easy, especially when they exhibit self confidence and obviously have high self esteem as well. Blos's research (1965) from a few decades back clearly illustrates how although a large percentage of time has past his points are still remarkably close to what young males in the early stage of adolescence do experience. Time seemingly does not change how human beings develop, or in this case how the male figure develops cognitively and physically as well. In 1965, Blos stated clearly that the individual characteristics and the immediate environment had the most pull in a young male developing correctly from a cognitive perspective and from the physical concept as well. Even today this type of analytic theorization is quite common place as many researchers have proven that a child is directly affected by their environment and who they associate with. In this case it is easy to label the stages of these two areas in a developmental context but it needs to be clear that no individual is ever going to be quite the same or progress at the same rate due to the concurrent facts which show that where they live, how they are taught to believe, the people they associate with, and other societal factors influence these developing stages quite fluidly. The initial period of change that marks the adolescent years is called early adolescence which has been stated. This stage extends roughly from age 10 to age 14. During these years, the individual is expected to make certain transitions. An early adolescent is expected to move from the security of his parents shadowing him and protecting him from adverse occurrences to attempting to confront and overcome them on his own so he can develop a strong and capable mind and be an independent being from his mother and father. Francois et al (1999) defines this type of adjustment behavior as being a form of training that is precedent in society, specifically within the male gender. One such aspect could be how young males have to tackle being bullied in this early stage of development, specifically in an educational environment from other males who might be developing far more rapidly than others (Mental Help.Net 2006). Obviously, there are numerous amounts of environmental factors that have to be taken into consideration and not only this, there is also the possibility of a developmental disorder that can change how the young male accelerates in his cognitive development as well. There are of course other issues that need to be questioned and looked at as well. Time has been mentioned more than once in this literature already. However, time of development is not the only worry in the pubescent period for boys and even for girls. "Fitting in" is also a concern during adolescence. During this time, adolescents are likely to identify with those around them, their peers. Identifying with peers can help adolescents along by giving them the opportunity to see how others deal with problems similar to their own and by offering their own advice to those who need it. Early adolescence is the beginning of such cognitive thinking patterns and occurrences where young males can have the opportunity to relate to one another in a different type of manner. Along with all of these mentioned, adolescents are liable to worry about their body image, and may want to conform to those who have achieved the "desired" image. This definitively shows that young males and again young females alike are undoubtedly met with all types of challenges that they must overcome during this period in order to develop certain cognitive abilities. The physical changes that they go through are less controversial and more flexible when seeking an explanation. Physically, between the ages of 9-15, (with 9-13 falling into the earlier phase of development) young males undergo a rapid series of physiological changes, known as the adolescent growth spurts which do deviate between males and females (Whitehouse et al 1976, pg. 109). These hormonal changes include acceleration in the body's growth rate, the development of pubic hair, and the appearance of auxiliary, or armpit, hair about two years later. There are changes in the structure and functioning of the reproductive organs; such as with development of the sweat glands in males, which often leads to an outbreak of acne (Smith et al 2005, pg. 1). In both sexes, these physiological changes occur at different times; causing life to be very stressful for a pre-teen for during this stage of life appearance is very important. However, the time at which a girl goes through this stage and a male goes through it are different. Boys typically begin their rapid increase in growth when they reach about twelve and one-half years of age and even voice changes become noticeable as well (Harries et al 1997, pg. 445). Boys may get assertive and show off or become withdrawn and depressed. They reach their peak slightly after 14, and slow down by age 16. This period is marked by the enlargement of the testes, scrotum, and penis, the development of the prostate gland, and darkening of the scrotal skin (Elliot & Feldman 1995, pg. 87). The growth of pubic hair and pigmented hair on the legs, arms, and chest takes place during this period. The enlargement of the larynx, containing the vocal cords, which leads to a deepening of the voice, causes much stress for a pubescent boy. Although some of these physical changes take place more into the middle phase of physical development of male adolescence, some go through it earlier than others and in fact begin in the early phase of adolescence, so it is difficult to categorize these phases separately on all accounts of physical variations in the male gender. Research findings have uncovered the facts however that earlier maturation of boys might help them in aspects of social and emotional functioning in society. These boys that develop faster in this cognitive area are defined by Mei-Fang (1996) as, "boys who are viewed as relaxed, independent, self-confident, and physically attractive." While for boys who develop later in this phase are coined by Mei-Fang's research as being, "anxious, overly talkative, and have attention seeking behaviors." Based on these findings it makes it hard to decipher how some young males will develop and at what rate they will develop and also, what they will have to contend with while they are going through these developmental areas in their lives. What is clearly and accurately known is that biological as well as social interactions play a major role in the early phases of cognitive development for young males. Even though early adolescents that mature faster have some positives they have some negativity as well such as having to deal with being categorized as being below average in popularity, appearing withdrawn and even having lower self confidence. At the same time, those who mature slower are more popular and have higher self confidence. So, not everything for young males is cut and dry, because there is far more to their developmental stages than what ordinary people perceive as this research is fully showing. Personality Development and Sexual Identity Besides the idea of finding ones' identity and fitting in, there is getting along with your parents. As stated above, adolescence is defined as a crucial stage, during which various changes occur from puberty to maturity. Many of which, do not correlate with the parental views. Moreover, adolescents begin to view others and events that occur within the society, based on their own perspectives. This takes place more in the median phase of adolescent development in cognitive as well as physical growth among young males. These various changes can often lead to parental conflict and more social conflicting problems for the young male (Roberts 1993, pg. 44). These events can definitely have a major influence on adolescents' behaviors. Adolescence has been viewed as a period of increasing independence from the family, in which the pressure on adolescents increases extensively. This is a concept that many child psychologists and researchers of child development all seem to be focusing on, and their arguments seem to connect. Regardless, the question that is still unanswered is the role of parents during adolescent conflicts. Clearly, we all know that lack of parental direction is the cause of adolescents' contradictory personality. After all, parents can help out in a conflict, by reasonable fostering, but there is nothing they can do if adolescents are not willing to affiliate. Altogether, the topic of parent-adolescent conflict is a sweeping area of research, and more intensive research has to be done to figure out the primary reason of conflict between parents and adolescents. Many of the conflicts lead to inappropriate behavior such as sneaking out, drinking, pre-marital sex, and the worst one of all, pregnancy. Theories of Adolescence In addressing the various theories of adolescence, Erickson considered adolescence to be one of the most fundamental stages of development in young males. Marcia (1997) identified four adolescent identity formations. These formations are related to an individual's exploration of available options plus choices he or she makes concerning commitment to a chosen option. Successful completion of this level requires an individual to explore and commit to one option. Individuals who choose to explore and not commit during adolescence, exhibit a moratorium from commitment. The proverbial question, "What are you going to do with your life" is relevant within the context of identify formation. Many young males develop questions about their lives during their identity formation. Some become confused and overwhelmed while others seem to figure out how they want their lives to be in the future very quickly. It is a cognitive process that is questioning and differs from one young male adolescent to the next so there are no concrete reasoning's or explanations for a certainty, only theories. However, many theorists who follow Erickson's philosophy and others like Piagets perceive that young male children who do not explore and do not commit seem to float along with no direction. Individuals who do not explore their options and commit also have problems achieving an identity. School provides the opportunity for many adolescents and young adults to seek and explore without commitment. Young adults, who after a period of exploration choose a lifestyle that is best for them, achieve identity, of course if the concept by Erickson is followed (Marcia 1997). This in fact could be considered a developmental uniqueness since as it is focused on individuality. Because of this, counselors attempt to assist in environmental changes to facilitate individual change, and realize that change is self-regulated within appropriate time frames. Their main goal is to help young males find their place in society and identify with themselves and with others more appropriately to decrease inequality and other adverse triggers that could promote disagreements (Crain 1992). Ivey (1997) used Piaget's theory to construct a model of Developmental Counseling and Therapy. Ivey uses Piaget's ideas of assimilation and accommodation to help young male adolescents understand their problems, and he uses Piaget's stages of cognitive development metaphorically to describe how young males in particular function in their environments. Ivey identifies four cognitive-developmental orientations: sensor motor/ elemental, concrete/situational, formal/reflective, and dialectic/systemic. Ivey describes how both the counselor and counselee function within these cognitive-developmental orientations. Successful identification of the orientation used by the young adolescent that would be coming for counseling enables the counselor to see how the individual makes meaning of the world. Ivey developed a complete model of counseling which includes matching theory and technique with the appropriate orientation. Ivey's approach draws its origins from Piagetian theory, with the counselor co-constructing a counseling relationship by using a variety of techniques based on the counselee's cognitive-developmental orientation. Sometimes this helps a young male better understand his social situations and helps him to adapt and understand himself as well. All in all, with the theorizations, scientific studies, and a fluent amount of other research having been carried out adolescence, it is a very special and difficult time for young boys who are moving into becoming teenagers. Along with many social changes, physical changes also are very distinguishable. Puberty is a leading example of the physical changes they encounter which was previously mentioned in this literature. Some perceive that young boys and teenagers develop at the same rate but as was mentioned this is not the case. The fact is that all people develop their cognitive abilities such as moral standings, and physical developments such as body hair and height at different ages and times in their lives. However, male adolescents develop a conscious identity when they are able to think and reason about abstract ideas. They have reached the formal operational stage which is when they use hypothetical thinking. You could also say that "moral values are learned" (Baizerman 1996, pg. 157). So in this circumstance, with this type of reasoning, basically all adolescences develop this type of mentality at the same given time, maybe with just a little bit of differentiation in time. However, just because a young male might have already developed a high moral reasoning does not mean that he will act morally, other factors, such as the likely hood of being caught; also affect his behavior and attitude as he is still developing physically and cognitively. Conclusion Adolescence is often looked upon as a period of stormy and stressful transition, especially for young boys who want to fit in and want to be in that in crowd. Anthropologists have noted that in less developed cultures the adolescent years do not always have to exhibit such characteristics, when children can participate fully in the activities of their community. As life in industrialized societies grows more complex, however, male adolescents are increasingly cut off from the activities of their elders, leaving most young boys with education as their sole occupation. Inevitably, this has isolated many of them from the adult world and has prolonged their adolescence. Furthermore, from a physiological type of perspective, the effects of physical change, the development of sexual impulses, increased intellectual capacity, and social pressure to achieve independence are all contributors to the molding of a new self. The components of identity formation are connected to the adolescent's self-image. This means adolescents are greatly affected by the opinions of people who are important in their lives and interact with them. Gradually, the emotional dependency of childhood transforms into an emotional commitment to meet the expectations of others. An adolescent seeks to please parents, peers, teachers, employers and so on. If adolescents fail to meet the goals set for them by the important people in their lives, they usually feel like they have to reevaluate their motives, attitudes, or activities. The approval that seems necessary at this stage can help determine both their later commitment to responsible behavior and their sense of social competence throughout life. There is a common language amongst adolescents, whether it is clothing, music, or gossip; these forms of expression allow them to display their identity. This new form of association helps to ease the anxiety of leaving their past behind and allows for them to be able to grow and develop into hopefully responsible and intellectual adult men for tomorrow's future. . Works Cited Baizerman, Michael. "Youth Work on the Street: Community's Moral Compact with its Young People." Journal of Childhood 3 (1996): 157-165. Blos, Peter. "The Initial Stage of Male Adolescence." Psychoanalytic Study of the Child 20 (1965): 145-164. Crain, W. Theories of Development: Concepts and Applications. New Jersey, Prentice Hall Publishing, 1992. Elliot, Glenn & Feldman, Shirley. At the Threshold: The Developing Adolescent. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1995. Francois, Poulin & Dishion, Thomas & Haas, Eric. "Peer Influence Paradox: Friendship Quality, and Deviancy Training within Male Adolescents Friendships." Merrill Palmer Quarterly 12 (1999): 12. Harries, M. L. & Walker, J. M. & Williams, D. M. & Hawkins, S. & Hughes, I. A. "Changes in the Male Voice at Puberty." Arch Dis. Child 77 (1997): 445-447. Ivey, A. Counseling and Psychotherapy: A Multicultural Perspective. Massachusetts, Allyn & Bacon Publishing Group, 1997). Kolaric, Giselle & Galambos, Nancy. "Face-to-Face Interactions in Unacquainted Female/Male Adolescence Dyads." The Journal of Early Adolescence 15 (1995): 363-382. Marcia, J. "Ego Identity Status: Relationships to Change Self-Esteem." Journal of Personality 38 (1967): 118-133. Mei-Fang, Cheng. "The ABC's of the Hormones and Behavior." Journal of Bioscience 46 (1996): 214-215. MentalHelp.Net. "Child & Adolescent Development." 24 Jul. 2006. Centersite. 14 Nov. 2006 http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.phptype=doc&id=10118 Roberts, Donald. Adolescence Throughout the 1990's: Risk and Opportunity. New York, Teachers College Press, 1993). Smith, Laureen & Guthrie, Barbara & Oakley, Deborah. "Studying Adolescent Male Sexuality: Where are We" Journal of Youth and Adolescence 34 (2005): 1. Whitehouse, R. H. & Tanner, J. M. & Marubini, E. & Resele, E. F. "The Adolescent Growth Spurt of Boys and Girls of the Harpenden Growth Study." Annals of Human Biology 3 (1976): 109-126. Read More