Human Development Across Lifespan for Adolescents

This paper explores the developmental characteristics, including physical, cognitive and psychosocial, of the age group of adolescents. The age group being considered in the paper is 12 to 18 years of age. The paper successfully identifies the key developmental procedures that a teenager goes through during adolescence including physical, cognitive, and psychosocial development and their implications in their later life.

Running head: HUMAN DEVELOPMENT ACROSS LIFESPAN FOR ADOLESCENTS
Human development across lifespan for adolescents
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

1
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT ACROSS LIFESPAN FOR ADOLESCENTS
Executive summary:
The growth and development of the human body is dependent on the process of aging.
The human body grows and develops with age. As a result, the growth and developmental
statistics depends entirely on the developmental age. This paper will attempt to explore the
developmental characteristics, including physical, cognitive and psychosocial, of the age
group of adolescents. The age group being considered in the paper is 12 to 18 years of age.
Along with that, the choice of the adolescents as the developmental phase is due to the fact
that the children go through the most of the cognitive and physical develop in their childhood
and adolescence.

2
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT ACROSS LIFESPAN FOR ADOLESCENTS
Table of Contents
Introduction:...............................................................................................................................3
Physical development:...............................................................................................................3
Cognitive development:.............................................................................................................4
Psycho-social development:.......................................................................................................5
Conclusion:................................................................................................................................6
References:.................................................................................................................................7

3
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT ACROSS LIFESPAN FOR ADOLESCENTS
Introduction:
The adolescence is the age period which is associated with three stages of
development, and each stage represents different developmental milestones. As mentioned by
Schulz and Sisk, (2016), adolescence is the most rapid phase of human development. Even
though in this phase the biological maturity precedes the psychosocial maturity, the
development progress and characteristics are unique and imperative in this particular
developmental stage. Along with that, it has to be mentioned that this is the phase where the
development is influenced easily by the environmental characteristics. Hence, it is imperative
for the health policies and programs designed for the adolescents to focus on the unique
developmental process for the adolescents as well.
Physical development:
The adolescence can be recognized most optimally by the onset of puberty which also
marks the start of the period of adolescence. The body goes through a varied range of
hormonal and other physiological changes (Peng et al., 2018). First and foremost, height and
body weight are the most notable changes that the human body goes through during the
puberty and adolescence, which is generally termed as growth spurt. In this phase the
adolescents attain the best of their height gradually which for the women is 5.5” and for the
men is 5.10”. Along with the changes in height, the physical development at this phase also
encompasses changes in the body, especially in the arms and legs. The adolescence or the
onset of puberty marks the period for hormonal changes which leads to growth in the arms
and legs. The body also becomes proportional with specific male and female body parts
developing completely for male and female adolescents respectively. For the males
specifically, the body composition ratio changes as well with the ratio or lean muscles
increasing for the males. On the other hand, for the females the body fat ratios increase as a

4
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT ACROSS LIFESPAN FOR ADOLESCENTS
result of which the females develop a curvier body type (Holland-Hall & Burstein, 2016).
The start of the menstrual cycle is also a notable developmental change that females go
through in adolescence. Along with that it has to be mentioned that both primary sexual
characteristics and secondary sexual characteristics development is triggered in the
adolescence period which gives rise to significant physical changes for example development
of female and male genitalia and pubic hair growth. Lastly it has to be mentioned that
adolescence is also the period where the males and females start producing more female and
male hormones respectively especially in the adrenal, endocrine, and sexual glands.
Cognitive development:
Along with significant physical development, the adolescence also represents a varied
range of cognitive development. In this age the individuals developed growing capacity for
abstract thought which is mostly limited to the present with restricted interest in the future.
Due to the rapid cognitive development the intellectual interests of the children also expand
as they enter the adolescence as a result they develop deeper moral thinking abilities (Murty,
Calabro & Luna, 2016). It has to be mentioned that adolescence is the period when the
individuals develop a more advanced reasoning skills that provides thing with the ability to
explore the full range of possibilities in a situation and hypothetically, physiological thought
process to arrive at a decision for themselves. Along with that it has to be mentioned that this
is the age period which corresponds to the formal operational stage of Jean Piaget's theory of
cognitive and psychosocial development. This helps them developed thinking process along
abstracts providing in the ability to perceive or think about certain things that they have not
yet experienced (Jernigan, Brown & Dowling, 2018). This also provides the adolescents to
indulge in different emotions such as love and spirituality in along with that they also
developed the skin of problem solving and reasoning due to the abstract thinking abilities. In

5
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT ACROSS LIFESPAN FOR ADOLESCENTS
regards to the Jean piaget theory this is also the stage where the adolescents are able of
hypothetical deductive reasoning skills which also add to the problem solving and logical
thinking abilities of the individuals preparing them with the need for independence and a
sense of responsibility (Piaget, 2015).
Psycho-social development:
Lastly, a very important developmental milestones for the adolescence is the
psychosocial development that these individuals go through during and after the puberty. It
can be mentioned that the psychosocial development or changes accumulated effect of the
physical and cognitive development of changes that the adolescents go through in this period.
First and foremost, the physical and cognitive changes of and gives rise to an identity crisis
for the adolescents in this period (Zucker et al., 2018). There is mounting evidence that
indicates that the abstract thinking and cognitive reasoning skills that the children develop in
their adolescence couples with the bodily changes and growth then often lead to a state of
uncertainty and confusion regarding their own identity. Although, identity development is a
classic milestone of the psychosocial development that the adolescents go through and they
discover themselves and their purpose to some extent in this period. According to the theory
by Erik erikson of psychosocial development the teenagers develop four different methods to
identity achievement which corresponds to four stages which are identity crisis, followed by
foreclosure, which is followed by moratorium, and lastly the identity achievement (Dunkel &
Harbke, 2017). Elaborating further, the first stage is the identity confusion which
corresponds to the early adolescence, where the lack of identity often leads to social
withdrawal which in turn leads to foreclosure. In this second stage the teenagers just adapt to
the social norms and values of another to find comfort in the commitment and avoid any
confusion. These stages lead to moratorium and identity achievement where the teenagers
are more developed and have deeper connection with the environment which helps them

6
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT ACROSS LIFESPAN FOR ADOLESCENTS
attain a verdict regarding their identity and position in the society. although the adolescence
period is a struggle for the teenagers to find their identity and accustom themselves to add
this period also marks a few psychosocial development milestones such as developing our
moral reasoning, sense of responsibility, and accountability which helps them shape their
character (Meeus, 2016).
Conclusion:
On a concluding note adolescence is a very important and influential time period for a
teenager and it is very important for each of the development of milestones to be achieved
and addressed by each teenager so that they can develop into mentally and emotionally strong
individuals with robust principles and moral reasoning. This paper successfully identified the
key development of procedures that a teenager goes through during the adolescence including
physical, cognitive, and psychosocial development and their implications in their later life.

7
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT ACROSS LIFESPAN FOR ADOLESCENTS
References:
Dunkel, C. S., & Harbke, C. (2017). A review of measures of Erikson’s stages of
psychosocial development: Evidence for a general factor. Journal of Adult
Development, 24(1), 58-76.
Holland-Hall, C., & Burstein, G. R. (2016). Adolescent physical and social
development. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 20th ed. Philadelphia: Elsevier, 926-31.
Jernigan, T. L., Brown, S. A., & Dowling, G. J. (2018). The Adolescent Brain Cognitive
Development Study. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 28(1), 154-156.
Meeus, W. (2016). Adolescent psychosocial development: A review of longitudinal models
and research. Developmental psychology, 52(12), 1969.
Murty, V. P., Calabro, F., & Luna, B. (2016). The role of experience in adolescent cognitive
development: Integration of executive, memory, and mesolimbic
systems. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 70, 46-58.
Peng, Y., Yang, M., Yang, L., Wei, C., & Chang, J. (2018). Development and Volidation of
the Chinese Assessment of Adolescent Physical Literacy: 2177 Board# 13 June 1
9. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 50(5S), 528.
Piaget, J. (2015). The Grasp of Consciousness (Psychology Revivals): Action and Concept in
the Young Child. Psychology Press.
Schulz, K. M., & Sisk, C. L. (2016). The organizing actions of adolescent gonadal steroid
hormones on brain and behavioral development. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral
Reviews, 70, 148-158.
Zucker, R. A., Gonzalez, R., Ewing, S. W. F., Paulus, M. P., Arroyo, J., Fuligini, A., ... &
Wills, T. (2018). Assessment of culture and environment in the adolescent brain and

8
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT ACROSS LIFESPAN FOR ADOLESCENTS
cognitive development study: Rationale, description of measures, and early
data. Developmental cognitive neuroscience.