Physical and Social Development

1. Physical and Social Development Jeremy Jenkins

2. Physical • Early adolescents are in particularly difficult state of development. • Youth ages between 10 and 15 move through there puberty cycle at different times and speed • Physical development occurs and varies individualy • Changes in height weight and body chemistry take place • Frequent fatigue • Difficult time coping with changes in their body

3. Physical Cont’d • Reflect a wide range of individual differences boys tend to lag behind girls. There are marked individual differences in physical development for boys and girls. The greatest variability in physiological development and size occurs at about age thirteen • Experience biological development five years sooner than adolescents of the last century; the average age of menarche has dropped from seventeen to twelve years of age; • Are often disturbed by body changes: • Girls are anxious about physical changes that accompany sexual maturation; • Boys are anxious about receding chins, cowlicks, dimples, and changes in their voices; • Are physically at-risk; major causes of death are homicide, suicide, accident, and leukemia

4. Physical Cont’d • Changes that make them feel awkward • Girls tend to mature faster than boys usually one year faster • Have increased energy and need physical activity • Develop sexual awareness • Changes in nose size protruding ears long arms and awkward posture • Prefer to eat junk food • Lack physical fitness with poor endurance and get bad health habits • Physically vulnerable: start to experiment with drugs/ alcohol and sex

5. Social Development • Have a strong need to belong with a group • Need peer and adult approval • Model their behavior after non parent adults • Exhibit immature behavior because social skills lag behind mental and physical maturity • Experiment with new slang and behaviors “ new identities” • Must adjust to quickly maturing girls and athletic maturing boys

6. Social Development Cont’d • Are dependent of parental beliefs but seek to make their own decisions • Are often freighted by first middle school experience because of number of students and size of school • Desire recognition for accomplishments • Like fads especially ones shunned by adults • Often overact when ridiculed or rejected • Are socially vulnerable since their beliefs come from the media and negative experiences with adults and peers. This may shape their ideas and values.

7. Social Development Cont’d • Act out unusual or drastic behavior at times; may be aggressive, daring, boisterous, argumentative • Are fiercely loyal to peer group values; sometimes cruel or insensitive to those outside the peer group; • Strive to define sex role characteristics; search to establish positive social relationships with members of the same and opposite sex • Challenge authority figures; test limits of acceptable behavior; • Try to fit in with cliques or groups by playing sports or being in clubs of interest.

8. Resources • Online Resources • 1- California department of Education • 2- Characteristics of young adolescents • "Characteristics of Middle School Students." etsd. etsd, n.d. Web. 11 Feb 2011. <www.etsd.org/ems/endorsement/characteristics.htm>. • "Characteristics of Middle Grade Students,” Caught in the Middle (1989). Sacramento: California Department of Education, pages 144-148.