Physical Changes During Puberty

Discuss about the Adolescence and Human Development for Psychoanalysis.

Adolescence refers to a transitional stage pertaining to physical along with psychological development which generally occurs from the period of puberty to that of legal adulthood. It is generally associated with teenage years but the psychological expression can begin at an earlier stage and end at a later period (Salk et al., 2016). This essay elaborates on the developmental period of adolescence and discusses the key events that are experienced during this time. It discusses the main theories in relation to adolescence and reflects on the personal responses in relation to adolescence.

Adolescence is a period when growth spurts take place accompanied by changes in puberty. Adolescent often grows several inches within several months that can be followed by a period in which the growth takes place in a slow manner. Changes pertaining to puberty can take place in a gradual manner or different signs can become visible at the same period of time (Eisenberg, Spinrad & Knafo?Noam, 2015). The adolescent acts as a time of disorientation along with discovery. The transitional period of adolescence brings up challenges in relation to independence along with self-identity. The adolescents have to face choices that are tough pertaining to schoolwork, social life and sexuality.

Sexual along with physical maturation takes place at the time of puberty owing to hormonal changes. The puberty in relation to boys is difficult to ascertain and the changes take place gradually in the boys. The pubertal changes that takes place at the time of adolescence is in relation to enlargement of testicles. Public hair appears when a boy is around 13.5 years old. The girls experience puberty owing to the sequence of the events but the pubertal changes are evident before the boys. Each girl can however be stated to be different and the progress through changes takes place in a different manner (Fuhrmann, Knoll & Blakemore, 2015). Puberty begins in the girls when they are around 8 years old and it lasts till 13 years. The first pubertal change that can be noticed in the girls is breast development and hair becomes visible under arms when they are of 12 years.

The adolescence brings about many changes not only in physical terms but also in the mental along with social level. The adolescents start thinking in an abstract manner at this point of time and they make plans with the help of which they can set goals in the long term. Each child makes progress at a rate which is different and they may have different perspective in relation to the world (Temple & Choi, 2015). The adolescent becomes concerned with politics, social issues along with philosophy at this particular stage of life. The adolescent starts struggling for independence from their parents and peer influence becomes crucial for them at this stage. Sexual relationships becomes crucial for the adolescent and the notion pertaining to acceptance becomes very important for them (Salk et al., 2016).

Psychological Changes During Puberty

According to Erik Erikson’s psychosocial stage theory, identity development is integral to adolescence. The child acquires ego-identity and identity crisis is an essential characteristics in relation to adolescence. For acquiring strong ego-identity it is essential that the achievements along with accomplishments of the child are recognized and applauded (Cherry, 2017). The individual wants to establish personal identity at this stage and it is important as said by Erikson that the child should avoid danger of identity confusion. An individual at the stage of adolescence should assess one’s own assets along with liabilities and the manner in which they would like to use them (Kilford, Garrett & Blakemore, 2016). The adolescents search for a sense of continuity and they want to answer questions regarding themselves. Identity is not provided to individual by the society but it should be acquired by an individual with the help of sustained individual effort. Being unwilling to work on the aspect of identity formation can result in danger pertaining to role diffusion and it can result into alienation for an individual (Curtis, 2015).

According to Sigmund Freud’s psychosexual theory the period of adolescence can be described as phylogenetic. The psychoanalytic theory of Freud lays stress on the fact that psychosexual development is determined genetically and it is independent of the environmental factors. Freud believed in the fact that adolescence was a phenomena that was universal and this was inclusive of the social along with the behavioural changes. Freud brought out the fact that physiological changes can be related to the emotional changes. During the period of adolescence, the individual exhibits negative emotions like anxiety, tension and loathing. Freud believed in the fact that the emotional upheavals that take place at the phallic stage is followed by aggressive drives at the time of adolescence which is termed as “latency” (Bremner, 2017). Latent period is indicative of a time when one wants to explore and the sexual energy is dormant at this stage. The energy at this period becomes sublimated in various areas like intellectual pursuit along with social interaction. This stage leads to the developing of communication skills along with self-confidence. The final stage is known as the genital stage when the adolescent feels rebirth of the aggressive strivings. The conflicts that are unresolved returns to plague the mind of the adolescent at the phallic stage.

On the basis of the theory of Erik Erikson, it can be stated that the adolescent want to explore independence and develop identity at this stage. The adolescents becomes conscious about their self and this is inculcated with the help of social interaction. The new experiences help in changing one’s concept pertaining to self (McAdams & Zapata-Gietl, 2015). Identity versus confusion stage develops around developing of a personal identity. On the successful completion of this stage, one develops a strong sense in relation to self that remains with an individual throughout his life.

Main Theories Related to Adolescence

According to Freud, the Oedipus stage was followed by latency in which the sexual urge was non-existent. The Genital stage of Sigmund Freud pertains to psychological detachment along with independence from that of the parents. This stage helps the adolescent in resolving the psychosexual childhood conflict. This stage of the adolescence focuses on genitilia and sexuality at this stage is consensual. Freud thinks that ego starts establishing at the time of adolescent and the adolescent wants to satisfy the desire by taking recourse to friendship and love (Fonagy, 2018).  The last stage of psychosexual theory of Freud pertains to sexual experimentation and the sexual instinct becomes directed at this stage to that of heterosexual pleasure. Freud thinks that outlet pertaining of sexual instinct can be with the help of heterosexual intercourse. The child attains sexual maturity at the stage of adolescence and the children explores with sexuality at the adolescent stage (Heard, 2018). 

Conclusion:

The adolescent undergoes changes in terms of physical maturation and the changes pertaining to puberty occurs in a gradual manner in the boys. The adolescence goes through changes in physical, mental and the social level that leads them to develop new perspective about things in life. The manner of thinking becomes abstract for the adolescent and they try to create long term plans at this stage. The psychosocial theory of Erik Erikson focuses on the facet of identity development. Identity crisis is an integral characteristics pertaining to adolescence. The psychosexual theory of Freud highlights the fact that development is not dependent on the environmental factors. The adolescent want to act in an independent manner at this stage and they start becoming conscious about themselves.

At the time of my adolescence, I was greatly influenced by my personal experiences and the people who surrounded me. I had experienced psychosocial reaction and I underwent identity crisis at the time of my adolescence. I wanted to carry out various kinds of experiments during my adolescent days. At the time of my adolescence, I was not feminine like the other girls. I felt that I should start acting in a more feminine manner so that I was accepted by the society. I thought that I should change the manner of my behaviour. I had grown extremely self-conscious at this stage and brought about changes in the manner of my talking and wearing. I had started wearing feminine clothes that I thought would be able to captivate the attention of the opposite gender. I had started understanding abstract concepts at this stage and developing the moral philosophies. The developing of the secondary sexual characteristics made me self-conscious and I had grown shy at this stage. During this stage, I used to talk in a manner that can make me look more matured and create a positive image in front of the other people. I used to make painful comparison with the peers when I was an adolescent. I grew sensitive about my body changes and I used to feel anxious at this stage. I started maintaining distance from my parents at this stage and I used to think that friends were my sole companion who can help me in removing my problems. 

References:

Bremner, J. G. (2017). An introduction to developmental psychology. John Wiley & Sons.

Cherry, K. (2017). Erik Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development. Psychology. Psychosocial Theories. Päivitetty, 14, 2017.

Curtis, A. C. (2015). Defining adolescence. Journal of Adolescent and Family Health, 7(2), 2.

Eisenberg, N., Spinrad, T. L., & Knafo?Noam, A. (2015). Prosocial development. Handbook of child psychology and developmental science, 1-47.

Fonagy, P. (2018). Attachment theory and psychoanalysis. Routledge.

Fuhrmann, D., Knoll, L. J., & Blakemore, S. J. (2015). Adolescence as a sensitive period of brain development. Trends in cognitive sciences, 19(10), 558-566.

Heard, D. (2018). Attachment therapy with adolescents and adults: Theory and practice post Bowlby. Routledge.

Kilford, E. J., Garrett, E., & Blakemore, S. J. (2016). The development of social cognition in adolescence: An integrated perspective. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 70, 106-120.

McAdams, D. P., & Zapata-Gietl, C. (2015). Three strands of identity development across the human life course: Reading Erik Erikson in full. The Oxford handbook of identity development, 81-94.

Salk, R. H., Petersen, J. L., Abramson, L. Y., & Hyde, J. S. (2016). The contemporary face of gender differences and similarities in depression throughout adolescence: development and chronicity. Journal of affective disorders, 205, 28-35.

Temple, J., & Choi, H. J. (2015). 18 Development of psychological abuse through adolescence.