Life Cycle: Adolescence into Adulthood

1. Life Cycle: Adolescence into Adulthood Lesson 35

2. Objectives • Identify the physical changes that occur during adolescence • Identify the mental, emotional and social changes that occur during adolescence • Describe the physical, mental/emotional and social transitions that occur during middle and later adulthood • Identify and analyze lifestyle behaviors that promote health and prevent disease throughout the life span • Explain how dating, marriage and parenthood affect the family and society as well as the individual

3. Adolescence • Period from childhood to adulthood • Time of many exciting changes • Physical growth • Voice changes • Bodies filling out • Fastest period of growth after infancy • Changes in mental/emotional and social life

4. Puberty • Time when a person begins to develop certain traits of adults of his or her own gender • Marks the beginning of adolescence • Generally occurs between ages of 12-18 • Hormones responsible for changes • Testosterone in males • Extrogen and progesterone in females

5. Physical Changes • Growth • Sex characteristics • Traits related to a person’s gender • Primary sex characteristics • Related directly to the production of reproductive cells • Sperm in males • Eggs “ova” in females • Secondary sex characteristics • Other changes that occur during puberty Figure 20.1 page 515

6. Mental Changes • Development of the brain • By the time a person is 6, his/her brain is 95% of its adult size • The cerebrum—the thinking part of the brain—continues to develop in adolescence • Increases memory • Increases cognition • That ability to reason and think out abstract solutions • Increased cognition allows you to anticipate consequences, think logically and understand different points of view

7. Figure 20.2 pg 516 • Responsible for planning, strategizing and judgment • Area undergoes a growth spurt when a child is 11-12 years old, followed by a growth period when new nerve connections from • Connects the two sides of the brain • Though to be involved in creativity and problem solving • Grows and changes significantly during adolescence • Associated with emotion • Teens use this part of the brain rather than the more analytical frontal cortex that adults use in emotional responses • Coordinates muscles and physical movement • Involved in the coordination of thinking processes • Undergoes dramatic growth and change during adolescence

8. Emotional Changes • Bursts of energy • Waves of strong emotions • Mood swings • Intense feelings • Support from friends and family can give you a sense of security when you need it, helping you become more confident

9. Social Changes • Need to make friends and be accepted into a peer group • Close friends • Peer pressure • Peers may challenge what you stand for, your beliefs and values • Close friends will never ask you to go against your values

10. Developmental Tasks • Establish emotional and psychological independence • May move back and forth between desire for independence and the security of family support • Ongoing communication with parents can help teens learn the advantages of seeking advice and feedback • Develop a sense of identity • Develop confidence • Continue to develop identity, which began when you were a child and saw your parents as role models • Adopt a person value system • Begin to assess your own values when they differ from those of your peers and others • Establish adult vocational goals • Identify your skills and what you would like to do when you ‘grow up’ • Develop control over behavior • Make decisions regarding participation in risk behaviors • Consider values • Set short and long term goals to help you make good decisions

11. Moving into Adulthood

12. Successful Marriages • Good communication • Share feelings • Express needs and concerns • Emotional Maturity • Ability to understand their spouse’s needs • Consider what is best for the relationship, not always what is best for the individual • Similar values and interests • Share attitudes about importance of health, religion, culture, family and friendships • Interests allowing them to spend time together can strengthen a marriage

13. Resolving Conflicts • Common issues • Differences in spending and saving habits • Conflicting loyalties involving friends and family • Lack of communication • Lack of intimacy • Jealously, infidelity or lack of attention • Decisions about having children and arranging child care • Abuse tendencies or attitudes • Good communication can help to solve conflicts • Counseling may be necessary

14. Teen Marriages • Maturity is one of the most important factors in a successful marriage • Teens are still struggling to figure out their own identity • 60% in teen marriages end in divorces • Most end in the first few years • Marriage may interfere with personal freedom, educational and career goals • Lack of life experience • Financial pressures strain the relationship

15. Parenthood • After marriage many people decide to start a family • Have a child • Adoption • Foster children • Raising a child is challenging and rewarding • Serious responsibility • Provide protection, food, clothing, shelter, education and medical care • Provide guidance, instill values, set limits, give unconditional love

16. Middle Adulthood • Physical, mental, emotional and social changes don’t stop when adolescence ends • Continues throughout a life span

17. Physical Changes • Skin loses elasticity • Functioning of body’s organs slows • Body’s immune system become less effective • Females experience menopause • Age 45-55 • Stopping of ovulation and menstruation • Female can no longer become pregnant • Healthful behaviors, including weight management, nutritious eating, and physical activity makes these changes less severe • Strength training increases muscle mass, preserves bone density and protects major joints from injury

18. Figure 20.4 pg 530

19. Mental Transition • Mental activities strengthen the brain • Solving puzzles, reading and playing board games provide mental stimulation • Continue learning

20. Emotional Transitions • Most people have experienced many of life’s greatest joys by this point • Children • Personal accomplishment • Some disappointments • “midlife crisis” • Questions and concerns about whether they have met goals, feel loved and made a positive difference in others’ lives • Keeping the health triangle in balance will help people avoid these concerns

21. Social Transitions • Focus on family • Adults faced with the death of a parent and their children growing up and leaving home • Empty-nest syndrome • Feelings of sadness or loneliness that accompany children’s leaving home and entering into adulthood • Maintaining healthy relationships with family and friends makes it less difficult to adjust to these changes • Time to apply talents and life experience to community and social programs

22. Late Adulthood • Goal is to look back at life with satisfaction and a sense of fulfillment • Living life with integrity increases satisfaction • Making decisions with adherence to a moral code • Retirement • Ability to pursue new interests • Volunteering • Remaining mentally and physically active will allow older adults to enjoy their later years more than those who don’t challenge themselves • Social security and Medicare are government programs created to benefit older adults (over 65)