Adolescent Development: Physical, Social, and Cognitive Growth

Introduction

There are multiple stages of development that all children go through. The depth and breadth of these developmental changes ebb and flow greatly as growing children move from one stage to the next. Overall, there are several major developmental stages in the life of a child: the toddler years, the prepubescent years, and the adolescent or teenage years. This brief literature review focuses on the last of those stages.

To be thorough, adolescence is not the end of human development; many scholars suggest that development extends into a person's twenties and thirties. Even so, the adolescent years of development are widely regarded as among the most pivotal, at least in certain respects. While reasonable debate exists on that point, it is clear that the teenage years rank among the most important in a person's overall growth and formation.

Interconnected Dimensions of Adolescent Development

Regardless of which developmental stage is in question, the changes that occur during the adolescent years are numerous and varied. They include physical, cognitive, emotional, social, and other forms of development. Environmental factors — including social situations, parentage, and peer relationships — also play a significant role. There is, in fact, both a nature and a nurture effect in play for every teenager as they develop. While biological changes are important, the ways in which a teenager's environment shapes and influences those changes matter equally.

One particularly interesting facet that scholars sometimes overlook is how different dimensions of development influence one another. For example, it may not seem intuitive that physical activity and physical development would influence mental or personality development — or vice versa — yet research suggests this connection is real. A 2016 study found that tennis training had a marked and definite effect on personality development in both younger children and adolescents. The specific effects depended on the manner and method of training, but the study clearly demonstrated that the physical and mental or social dimensions of development are interconnected in complex and far-reaching ways (Demir et al., 2016).

Individuality, Creativity, and the Limits of General Models

Another important consideration is that every child and adolescent develops in their own individual way. While it is useful to identify general trends and patterns, every teenager grows and matures differently. Moreover, two teenagers — even siblings raised in the same general environment — will not necessarily arrive at the same developmental outcomes. Their trajectories will likely share similarities, but meaningful differences will exist as well.

One area where this individual variation is especially evident is creativity. Researchers use terms such as "peaks," "slumps," and "bumps" to describe the hills, valleys, and challenges that adolescents encounter as they attempt to foster and grow their creativity. Some adolescents follow a relatively smooth path, while others face greater obstacles. The arc of a child's creative development depends on the individual, their personal developmental history, and their environment, and it may look quite different from that of their peers. The central lesson here is that a one-size-fits-all approach to assessing and supporting developing adolescents is often insufficient. A meaningful degree of customization and tailoring to the individual's needs and progress is necessary. That said, general developmental trends are real and should not be dismissed (Barbot, Lubart, & Besancon, 2016).

Conclusion

The medical, psychological, and psychiatric fields will surely continue to advance in the years and decades ahead. As that progress unfolds, what is optimal for a developing adolescent mind will become increasingly clear. In the meantime, the best available evidence-based practices should guide decisions about adolescent health, education, and social development. Allowing ideological bias or uninformed assumptions to cloud the process serves neither teenagers nor the adults who care for them.

References

Anderson, J. E. (2015). Brain development in adolescents: New research — implications for physicians and parents in regard to medical decision-making. Issues in Law & Medicine, 30(2), 193–196.

Ballonoff-Suleiman, A., Johnson, M., Shirtcliff, E. A., & Galvan, A. (2015). School-based sex education and neuroscience: What we know about sex, romance, marriage, and adolescent brain development. Journal of School Health, 85(8), 567–574.

Barbot, B., Lubart, T. I., & Besancon, M. (2016). "Peaks, slumps, and bumps": Individual differences in the development of creativity in children and adolescents. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, (151), 33–45.

Cyr, B., Berman, S. L., & Smith, M. L. (2015). The role of communication technology in adolescent relationships and identity development. Child & Youth Care Forum, 44(1), 79–92.

Demir, E., Sahin, G., Senturk, U., Aydin, H., & Altinkok, M. (2016). Effects of tennis training on personality development in children and early adolescents. Journal of Education and Training Studies, 4(6), 28–34.

Hamre, B. K., & Cappella, E. (2015). Measures of early adolescent development and school contexts: Narrowing the research to practice divide. Journal of Early Adolescence, 35(5–6), 586–596.

Nigg, J. T., & Nagel, B. J. (2016). Commentary: Risk taking, impulsivity, and externalizing problems in adolescent development — commentary on Crone et al. 2016. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines, 57(3), 369–370. doi:10.1111/jcpp.12539

Tagsold, J. T., & Decuir-Gunby, J. (2012). Film in the college classroom: Using "Twilight" to examine adolescent development. Journal of Effective Teaching, 12(3), 87–93.