Question

Choose a topic to write a research paper on. Your topic must be related to any aspect of childhood development.

Some example topics include (but are not limited to):

The social, emotional, and cognitive aspects development and growth in _______________ age group

The reproductive system

The advantages or disadvantages of Preschool

The role of genetics in conception

Sexual Behavior in adolescence and emerging adults

Step 2: Write your research paper. Include:

Your research paper should be 4-5 pages in length

Your paper should be in APA format, include a title page, and reference page with properly cited sources

Include a minimum of 5 scholarly sources

Opinions and credible sources to help support validity

Answer 1

The social, emotional and cognitive aspects of growth and development in adolescents

Adolescence is a period of transition from childhood to adulthood and is characterized by rapid physical, biological and hormonal changes resulting in to psychosocial, behavioral and sexual maturation between the age of 10-19 years. The experience of adolescents during teen years would vary considerably according to the cultural and social values of the network of social identities they grow in. Physical and biological changes are universal and take place due to maturation but the psychosocial and behavioral manifestations are determined by the meaning given to these changes within a cultural system. It is a period of immense sociocultural significance for any society, culture or country. The developmental goals comprise of self identity and capacity for intimacy. Erickson (1975) a well-known psychologist, viewed adolescence as a natural period of up rootedness in human life. Drawing a parallel between an adolescent and trapeze artist, he conceptualizes the young person as being in vigorous motion between two landings one representing childhood and the other adulthood, ‘who must let go his safe hold on childhood and reach out for a firm grasp on adulthood’. This is a delicate balance and it leads to a lot of effective parenting to reach such a level whereby the adolescents are safe to let go and to hold on to their future stage of life. It is thereby marked by a lot of turbulence.

Adolescence is described by Erikson as the period during which the individual must establish a sense of personal identity and avoid the dangers of role diffusion and identity confusion (Erikson, 1950). Adolescents must answer questions for themselves about where they came from, who they are, and what they will become. The search for an identity involves the production of a meaningful self-concept in which past, present, and future is linked together. Consequently, the task is more difficult in a historical period in which the past has lost the anchorage of family and community tradition, the present is characterized by social change, and the future has become less predictable. According to Erikson, in a period of rapid social change, the older generation is no longer able to provide adequate role models for the younger generation. Even if the older generation can provide adequate role models, adolescents may reject them as inappropriate for their situation. Therefore, Erikson believes that the importance of the peer group cannot be overemphasized. Peers help adolescents find answers to the question "Who Am I?" as they depend on social feedback as to what others feel and how they react to the individual.

• The brain research has always pointed that the different parts of the cortex mature at different rates. Areas involved in more basic functions mature first: those involved, for example, in the processing of information from the senses, and in controlling movement. The parts of the brain responsible for more "top-down" control, controlling impulses, and planning ahead—the hallmarks of adult behavior—are among the last to mature. Several lines of evidence suggest that the brain circuitry involved in emotional responses is changing during the teen years. Functional brain imaging studies, for example, suggest that the responses of teens to emotionally loaded images and situations are heightened relative to younger children and adults. Due to the increase in brain matter, the teen brain becomes more interconnected and gains processing power. Adolescents start to have the computational and decision-making skills of an adult –if given time and access to information. But in the heat of the moment, their decision-making can be overly influenced by emotions, because their brains rely more on the limbic system (the emotional seat of the brain) than the more rational prefrontal cortex. This duality of adolescent competence can be very confusing for parents, meaning that sometimes teens do things, like punch a wall or drive too fast, when, if asked, they clearly know better. The intense emotions experienced are a result of puberty changes in the adolescents. Puberty is the beginning of major changes in the limbic system, that not only helps regulate heart rate and blood sugar levels, but also is critical to the formation of memories and emotions. Part of the limbic system, the amygdala is thought to connect sensory information to emotional responses. Its development, along with hormonal changes, may give rise to newly intense experiences of rage, fear, aggression (including toward oneself), excitement and sexual attraction. Over the course of adolescence, the limbic system comes under greater control of the prefrontal cortex, the area just behind the forehead, which is associated with planning, impulse control and higher order thought. As teens become better at thinking abstractly, their social anxiety increases, Abstract reasoning makes it possible to consider oneself from the eyes of another. Teens may use this new skill to ruminate about what others are thinking of them. In particular, peer approval has been shown to be highly rewarding to the teen brain, which may be why teens are more likely to take risks when other teens are around. Friends also provide teens with opportunities to learn skills such as negotiating, compromise and group planning. "They are practicing adult social skills in a safe setting and they are really not good at it at first. So even if all they do is sit around with their friends, teens are hard at work acquiring important life skills. Peer group dynamics and interpersonal relationships with them are a huge component of the socio-emotional development. Puberty is the biological event that marks the end of childhood. It marks the sexual maturation and the end of childhood and the point where reproduction is first possible. Hormones dictate different growth patterns in boys and girls. Rate of growth varies so widely that it is hard to apply norms or standards to puberty. Girls can begin puberty as early as age 8 but on average between 8 and 10 years of age. Boys on the other hand begin at age 9 or 10 and on average between 9 and 16 years of age. Just before puberty boys and girls experience a growth spurt. Growth spurts peak at age 12 for girls and just after age 14 for boys. Boys gain about 4-6 inches a year, whereas girls gain 3-5 inches. Growth spurts usually last about 2 years. Shortly after the growth spurt, individuals reach sexual maturation Puberty can be an awkward time, because of asynchrony (the condition during adolescence in which growth or maturation of body parts is uneven, unbalanced). Adolescents may be self conscious and this can affect personality and behavior. This is a turbulent period of time for them and therefore an efficient support system and creation of safety nets in the environment at different levels is essential for the overall well-being. These are the various challenges that adolescents undergo at this turbulent transitional phase of life.