Human Development

Adolescence

13 – 17 years

Physical Growth Growth spurt

Girls 9-10; slow down at 15 Boys 12-17

Boys—voice deepens; adds muscle with a decline of body fat. Motor performance increases dramatically

Girls adds more body fat than muscle; motor performance decreases

Onset of puberty Early/late bloomers Early maturation

Changes in Brain Structure

Trimming of the pre-frontal lobe of the brain

Mood swings Unreasonable and unpredictable

behavior Rising depression among youth Increase of teenage suicide Youth need greater demonstration of

love, yet they are often unlovable

Changes in Brain Structure

The “ring of fire”

At-risk Youth

Mental Growth

Formal operational reasoning Long-term knowledge base continues to expand Develops more complex rules for problem solving Becomes less self-conscious and self-focused Becomes better at planning and decision making

Emotional Growth

Develops self-concept & self-esteem Starts dating Searches for an identity Experiences mood swings Overall exhibits better self-control if

properly disciplined in the earlier years

The Adolescent13-19

Developmental Tasks Search for identity Gaining emotional independence from

parents and other adults Achieving assurance of economic

independence

Factors that complicate growth

Home influences mixed with many others Explosion of information (internet) Varied career options Rapidly changing environment and the need for

continuous learning Expectations of marriage and parenthood

revised (divorce & remarriage) Delay in economic and emotional independence

when youth are physically and sexually mature

The increased moratorium between childhood and adult responsibility resulting in delayed independence is one of the chief sources of youth-parent conflicts.

—William Rogers

Relationship betweenadolescent rebelliousness & search for identity

Lack of emotional maturity; dependence on parents for financial support; therefore, unable to set up own home or enter into a career, youth seeks to make a statement of independence by rejecting parents’ values.

Issues Peer pressure & influence

Drugs, smoking, alcohol Premarital sex Teen pregnancies

500,000 births per year in the U.S.400,000 teenage pregnancies end in abortionU.S. girls younger than 15 are 5 times more likely

to give birth than are girls from any other developed country

Between 1973 and 1987, pregnancy among teens between 10 and 14 increased 23%

Teen Pregnancy

Physical, psychological and financial costs are high

Millions of adolescents are sexually active but ignorant about the consequences.

Moral development

Likely to have a conventional moral orientation

Youth either find meaning in church or apostasize

Adolescent heresy “We have noted that in

certain instances of parent-youth conflict, displaced aggression toward the parent may be directed against the church, resulting in a characteristic type of adolescent heresy.”--Ausubel

Rejection of Parental Values

A time when critical faculties are developed; they begin to think for themselves.

Notice the flaws in the adult value system.

Adults talk their values, but fail to do them.

Therefore, results in the adolescent withdrawal from religion and church.

Adolescent Heresy

“It is because so many parents and teachers profess to believe the Word of God while their lives deny its power, that the teaching of Scripture has no greater effect upon the youth.” Ed 259

Reasons from Teenson Leaving the Church

NOT because of doctrine but confusion over the walk and the talk

Cold churches and unfriendly Irrelevance (boring) Intolerance Convenience Rejected because of premarital pregnancy

or other “sins” Interpersonal conflicts

PREVENTION & HEALINGfor Adolescent Heresy

Listen and understand Facilitate gradual independence Give responsibility and hold them responsible Guide in value formation Teach decision making from principles Allow unwise decisions—learn from mistakes Don’t battle your teens; show unconditional love Model attractive & satisfying religion.

Roger Dudley, Why Adventist Youth Leave the Church, pp 219-221