Chapters 11-12 of “An Advanced Lifespan Odyssey…” by Erford & Tucker

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Table of Contents

Chapter 11 Summary
Chapter 12 Summary
References

Chapter 11 Summary

The chapter includes a detailed discussion on adolescent development, explaining the stage in detail to help the reader understand more about the teenage period. The adolescent development discussion defines adolescence by giving a brief history of the concept. The chapter encourages one to reflect on their teenage life to gain more insights into the phase (Erford & Tucker, 2016). The author describes the adolescent period as troubling for young adults while transitioning from childhood to adulthood, involving biological, physical, and social transitions.

Physical Development in Adolescents

The first section of this chapter discusses physical development amongst adolescents, including the various changes that are noticeable during the puberty stage, like the change in hormones. The section focuses on the development of female and male adolescents with a detailed description of the changes females and males undergo while at puberty (Erford & Tucker, 2016). In this part, the authors still give complete insight into adolescents’ health, including their eating patterns and appetite. They acknowledge the increase of appetite amongst adolescents, thus, encouraging them to be advised on taking balanced diets and engaging in physical activities to avoid obesity.

Cognitive Development in Adolescents

In the eleventh chapter, the authors introduce cognitive development as the second section that offers a lengthy discussion on the brain development of young adults at puberty. In this section, the learner can understand that cognitive development or growth occurs at two distinctive periods: in early adolescence of 12-13 years old and during mid-adolescence (Erford & Tucker, 2016). As adolescents go through physical development, their brains undergo a structural change. Piaget’s theory of the formal operation stage is discussed in detail, and its validity or application is evaluated.

Moral development amongst teenagers occurs at varying intensity, thus, creating a platform for them to freely discuss ethical issues and choices. It is a great step in ensuring they develop morally at the teenage stage. Correspondingly, other approaches like Erikson’s and Marcia’s theories are brought to the reader’s attention to help explain identity development and gender and ethnic considerations relative to the general development of teenagers.

Chapter 12 Summary

The chapter discusses the emotional development of identity in the adolescent years. It provides a general discussion on how hormonal changes tend to influence emotions. The chapter offers detailed info about anxiety and depression as the common emotional problems that affect most adolescents. The text further describes the signs and symptoms of adolescents having depression and those most vulnerable to depression. A detailed discussion on the connection between depression and suicide in adolescents is detailed (Erford & Tucker, 2016). Erikson’s and Marcia’s theories are brought to the reader’s attention to help explain identity development and gender and ethnic considerations relative to identity development.

In the social development section, the influence of family and peers on the development of adolescents is well articulated. In the discussion about how family influences the development of adolescents, the authors bring up the concept of parenting style as a crucial element in influencing the development of an adolescent. The authors identified four parenting styles identified by the writers, which include the authoritarian, authoritative, ignoring, and permissive parenting styles, which have a significant role in the development of an adolescent’s social life.

In the social development section, the authors further describe Seltzer’s social identity theory and discuss the various relationships adolescents engage in, like romantic and peer relationships, and how these relationships affect the development of adolescents. In this section, topics such as drug and substance abuse, delinquent behaviors, violence and gang engagement, adolescent sexuality, career development, and various stages of vocational decision-making are addressed by the authors.

Parenting Styles

The authoritarian parents are demanding and rigid, using harsh punishment and angered by the slightest change of behavior. Strict parents believe they are always right, and their adolescent children should follow their instructions without question. With this type of parenting, the parent-child relationship is tense, and adolescents tend to shy away from opening their problems to their parents or elders (Erford & Tucker, 2016). Adolescents raised in this form of parenting have low self-esteem, are rebellious, and are greatly affected by peer pressure.

Authoritative parenting involves considerable control, rules, vivid expectations from the parents, and consequences are developed in a mutual agreement. Parents using this form of parenting are caring and raise adolescents with high self-esteem and are less likely to be rebellious and engage in destructive behaviors. Adolescents raised under authoritative parenting are self-reliant, responsible, confident, and competent. In the permissive parenting style, parents cannot stand conflict and give in quickly, and parents are less involved in their adolescent children’s lives (Erford & Tucker, 2016). Adolescents raised under permissive parenting are anxious since the consequences and rules are unclear. On the other hand, adolescents raised with ignoring parents are typically left to decide and plan life for themselves. These adolescents lack self-esteem and are not competent since they are likely to engage in destructive behavior to gain their parents’ attention.

Seltzer’s Adolescent Social Identity

Seltzer develops a model that explains how the changes during puberty result in a state of anxiety and instability. The model is described as frameworklessness since adolescents are caught in between familiarity of childhood and unfamiliarity of adulthood. Seltzer’s theory states that adolescents’ peers are essential during the puberty stage because they share the frameworklessness sense (Erford & Tucker, 2016). After all, the peers are the same age, have similar feelings, and associate themselves with individuals who share the commonalities.

Depression in Adolescents

Depression is described as a collection of unique symptoms associated with impairment. However, depression is best characterized as a medical condition that manifests symptoms through an individual’s functionality and mood. Depression between adults and adolescents has similar clinical and diagnostic features. It is a common mental health problem amongst the youths at puberty across the globe but usually goes unrecognized and is given little to no attention (Thapar et al., 2012). Depression has proven to be a critical and severe condition for the individual, especially when left unattended since its consequences are magnificent. The incidence of depression in the youths at puberty is notably highest among girls. Depression amongst adolescents in the middle- and low-income nations bear the highest burden since the depression rates amongst these adolescents are most elevated (Thapar et al., 2012). Adolescents suffering from depression might be feeling sad from time to time, hopeless, or anxious. However, there is a scale of diagnosis for depression and the extent of depression.

Causes for Depression in Adolescence

Usually, depression is a process that has a reasoning behind it (Thapar et al., 2012). Depression amongst the young adults at the puberty stage comes in hand with several causes that one cannot imagine, and depression happens or is triggered by various reasons. This work aims to discuss and enlighten the reader. Some of the significant causes of depression amongst adolescents are discussed below.

An adolescent’s personality is the leading cause of depression. Adolescents with low self-esteem tend to hold more worries than adolescents with higher self-esteem. It is influenced by the parenting style their parents have adopted during their nurturing period. Authoritarian and ignoring parenting styles produce adolescents who have a higher rate of depression. The youth raised with an authoritarian parenting style are easily sensitive to criticism and tend to break down (Cohen et al., 2020). Therefore, an adolescent’s personality, which is significantly contributed by the parenting style, is the leading cause of depression amongst youths at puberty.

Substance and drug abuse are another cause of depression amongst adolescents. Medications of various drugs have a significant reaction on the user, especially when the prescription is misunderstood (Martsenkovskyi et al., 2020). However, it is advised when an individual feels depressed after medication; they should seek the advice of the doctor or research its side effects before taking further actions. Likewise, alcohol use and recreational drugs are other causes of depression, with an increasing number of adolescents consuming alcohol in large amounts.

The family structure citing the family history variable is a concept we have to look at as a cause of depression amongst adolescents. However, there is no specific gene that we can look to enable us to trace depression in a family’s roots (“Study identifies genes potentially linked to depression”, 2018). When a family member has depression issues, an adolescent is likely to face the wrath of depression. Most adolescents tend to be attracted to the opposite gender and develop romantic relations. If the relationship is not stable, an adolescent tends to experience significant depression. Similarly, abusive families and being victims of bullying in learning institutions is a cause that leads to depression. Other adolescents have difficulty transitioning into adulthood, offering unnecessary pressure and succumbing to depression. Some adolescents take complex subjects that take them a considerable amount of time to comprehend, together with pressure from their guardians and parents to excel in academics, making them victims of depression.

Lack of or insufficient chemicals in the brain is another cause of depression in adolescence. The chemistry of the brain is a complex and developing field in the medical profession, and much is being researched about the functionality of the brain. However, depression is not certainly caused by the lack of specific chemicals in the brain but by the unique process of the functionality of nerve cells that contributes to depression.

Effective Treatment Strategies

Every adolescent has a range of depression levels that require various strategies to adopt or use. Most of the treatment strategies recommended for depression focus on the brain functionality and nerve cells responsible for regulating moods. However, practical methods for treating depression involve a change of lifestyle to an accommodative one that has less pressure, changing social life, undertaking therapy, and regular medications prescribed by a physician or doctor. Starting a therapy or counselling session with a physician or mental health service provider is the first step to treating and combating depression.

Stimulation of the brain helps treat depression amongst adolescents with severe depression cases. Changing lifestyle is a simple but effective guide to treating depression that an adolescent can practice. Changing lifestyles like sleeping cycles and how they spend their time would do a lot in treating depression. However, there are various treatment forms for depression, but the above discussed are the most effective and applicable to any adolescent.

References

Cohen, O., Shahar, G., & Brunstein Klomek, A. (2020). Peer victimization, coping strategies, depression, and suicidal ideation among young adolescents. Crisis, 41(3), 156-162.

Erford, B., & Tucker, I. B. (2016). An advanced lifespan odyssey for counselling professionals.

Martsenkovskyi, D., Napryeyenko, O., & Martsenkovsky, I. (2020). Depression in adolescents exposed to war trauma risk factors for developing depression in adolescents exposed to war trauma: Does PTSD matter? Global Psychiatry, 3(12), 4-8.

Study identifies genes potentially linked to depression. (2018), 10(6), 2-6.

Thapar, A., Collishaw, S., Pine, D., & Thapar, A. (2012). Depression in adolescence. The Lancet, 379(9820), 1056-1067.

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