Developmental Stage: Adolescence Physical

Psychosocial

Cognitive

Moral

Hormonal changes trigger puberty, and it often affects behavior and moods.

Puberty lasts for about four years, girls experience it earlier as compared to boys, and stops when an individual can reproduce. A global trend with regards to early attainment of sexual maturity and height in adulthood started more than 100 years ago, possibly due to the improvements recorded in standard of living.

During puberty, a growth spurt in adolescents is experienced by both boys and girls. Major sex behaviors emerge and the reproductive organs get bigger and fully mature accompanied by the appearance of the secondary sex organs. The major signs of sexual maturity for males is sperm production, while that of females is menstruation. Sperm-ache takes place at the age of 13 while Menarche takes place between the ages of 12 & 13 in the U.S.

The psychological impacts of late or early maturity mainly depends on the way adolescents and the others give interpretation to the changes that accompany the process of maturity.

During the adolescence years, establishing an identity is the main goal of most of the teens.

Identity: Means a reliable definition of an individual defining himself/herself as a unique entity, regarding roles, beliefs, attitudes and aspirations.

Establishing...

Identity Confusion: The Erickson's fifth developmental stage where the individual tries to answer Who am I, but experiences confusion with regards to which of the several roles to choose.
All through adolescence, more than a single identity status may be experienced by a teen:

Identity Achievement:

The terms used by Erikson for the attainment of the identity which is established ideally by reconsidering the values and goals set by the culture and parents, then choosing which ones to accept and which ones to reject. Four major areas / aspects of identity achievement follow: Sexual, Religious, Political, Gender, Ethnic, Vocational

(Carr, 127).

Negative Identity:

When adolescents choose an identity that opposes what their society expects from them. This mostly happens when these adolescents see the roles the society and their parents expect them to play are either unappealing or infeasible, it is hard for them to come up with any viable alternative that can be truly called their own.

The adolescent period is the period…