a) During adolescence, the reactivity of the HPA axis shifts significantly, which results in the heightened stress-induced response of the hormones. The HPA axis is stimulated to increase production as well as the secretion of hormones by the increase in body weight and accumulation of leptin protein ( Romeo, 2013) .
b) Sexual differences in hormones occur with the level of estrogen increases in both the girls and boy, though it is dramatic in girls. These hormones lead to breast development. The level of testosterone hormone also increases, causing the deepening of voice for the boys and girls with the change being more noticeable in boys. The reproductive organs also mature and grow larger.
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c) The first sign of adolescent is the growth spur, which is the gain in height and weight rapidly, which starts as early as ten years for girls and 12 years for boys. The sex differences in the shape of the body emerge with the development of muscles and increase in density of bones being evident. The timing of adolescence is related to the physical characteristics, which include the height, weight, and body mass index. Along with the biological influences, earlier timing is associated with a physical size that is great and increased physical growth. For girls at the age of 14, there are developed hips and breasts while for those with late timing at the same age, they still have childlike bodies (Kuther, 2019). The same case happens for boys who have facial hair and broad shoulders at this age.
d) The deviations in timing are associated with risks of emotional problems. For the boys, later development leads to depression while early development is associated with protective factors against risky behaviour. In girls, early timing is considered a risk factor. Girls with body mass index that is great mature earlier and changes in weigh affect the timing as well but are less in boys as compared to girls ( Marceau et al., 2011) .
e) Over the years, the puberty changes have been associated with the secular trend. in the 18 th century, adolescence began at the age of 17 with the age at which adolescence is reached nowadays being as young as ten years. The trend continues as the standard of living and the body mass index increases with the stopping time being unclear.
a) Synaptogenesis: Before adolescence, in the brain of the children, there is the formation of synapses and neural connections (Spear, 2013). During adolescence, the synapses decline in number, which is the reason why the efficiency of the brain increase.
b) Myelination: It begins in life earlier, and it continues as one becomes an adult. Its production, however, increases during adolescence, notably helping in the configuration of the brain connectivity into adult life.
c) Pruning: It is the hallmark of the transformations of the brain during adolescence. Pruning is more pronounced and specific during this period, with loss of the connectivity in synapses being evidenced to help the rewire the connectivity of the brain into adulthood (Spear, 2013).
d) During adolescence, changes occur in the limbic system, which impacts decision making. During this stage, people make decisions based on their emotions, making it more challenging to determine what people in this stage consider to be logical decisions. Adolescents often make the wrong decisions due to emotions (Arain et al., 2013).
e) According to Piaget, adolescents move from the concrete state of operation to the formal operational stage of thought at 12 years of age. The two stages bring the ability of the individual to engage in abstract thought in which the thought helps the adolescent to comprehend and handle concepts as well as solve problems hypothetically and hold thought in their mind without using objects (Kuther, 2019).
f) As an individual progresses from childhood to adolescence, the speed of processing, even for those time tasks which are of simple reaction that look at the processing of information while controlling the reaction time of the motor increases. The capacity of processing is higher during adolescence such as memory, speed, base, and knowledge.
g) The newfound abilities in adolescents for abstract reasoning helps them approach problems differently (Kuther, 2019). They tend to consider different perspectives, and they delight in the thinking process. As adolescence progresses the understanding of morality increase with their behaviour being aligned with the beliefs and values they have.
3). a) Self-concept: as an individual transition to adolescence their self-concept grows since they are able to evaluate their abilities and efforts and they understand how other people view their skills ( Sebastian, Burnett, & Blakemore, 2008) .
b) 1) Identity achievement involves being committed to a specific identity after possibilities exploration. Individuals in this status solve problems well, and they view their activities positively. Identity moratorium involves exploring alternatives and one is not committed to any identity. Adolescents in this status tend to experiment a lot and are open to new experiences. Identity foreclosure involves being committed to an identity without exploring making the adolescents inflexible and not open to new experiences (Kuther, 2019). Identity diffusion involves not being committed or explorative. Adolescents in this status experience great difficulties in solving problems.
2) Ethnic identity changes and develops over time in adolescents since they tend to be committed to an ethnic group once they have a sense of belonging. Adolescents explore, make choices and gain experience, which assists in rejecting views that are negative about their culture.
c) 1) Family: At the beginning of the adolescent years, the relationship in the family is complicated with many ups and downs. The understanding of the parents and their support make the relationship stronger.
2) Peers: The relationship with peers is strong since they feel that their peers understand them better than their parents. This friendship involves similar values, activities, and attitudes (Kuther, 2019).
References
Arain, M., Haque, M., Johal, L., Mathur, P., Nel, W., Rais, A., ... & Sharma, S. (2013). Maturation of the adolescent brain. Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment , 9 , 449.
Kuther, T. (2019).Lifespan Development: Lives in Context. (2nd. ed.). Sage
Marceau, K., Ram, N., Houts, R. M., Grimm, K. J., & Susman, E. J. (2011). Individual differences in boys' and girls' timing and tempo of puberty: Modeling development with nonlinear growth models. Developmental psychology , 47 (5), 1389.
Romeo, R. D. (2013). The teenage brain: The stress response and the adolescent brain. Current directions in psychological science , 22 (2), 140-145.
Sebastian, C., Burnett, S., & Blakemore, S. J. (2008). Development of the self-concept during adolescence. Trends in cognitive sciences , 12 (11), 441-446.
Spear, L. P. (2013). Adolescent neurodevelopment. Journal of adolescent health , 52 (2), S7-S13.
