Adolescent Developmental Process

Introduction

Adolescence refers to the process of development where children develop into adults. These changes take place at both intellectual, physical, social and hormonal levels. In this period of growth, rapid changes occur within a person. The environment plays a significant role in the genetic action of an individual (Rutter, 2002). Therefore, this paper examines the interplay between nature/nurture as well as continuous/continuous development, early/late experiences into the developmental cycle of adolescents.

Nature/Nurture Interplay

Nature and nurture unveil the hidden facts about the complexity and relationship existing between biological correlations and influences from the environment on the human development cycle (Rutter, 2002). It is worth noting that the human mind and the development cycle is not fixed to a particular direction and turn out of events. However, the development cycle is rather unpredictable since the environment has an influence on the neurobiological processes leading to unique interpretation by different persons. The process is progressive throughout the life cycle of an individual balancing between the gene outplay and environmental contribution. It is, therefore, right to note that it's hard to separate nature and nurture in the adolescent development cycle of an individual since the environment directly influences the behavioral patterns. Various genes are responsible for the color of the eye, facial appearance, and the stature of a person. Most of the human physical features become evident through the maturation process. Influence from the environment such as food, care for others, safe environments free of toxins, greatly influences maturation process. Therefore, nature cannot work independently. Nature is nurture’s twin having a direct influence in the development cycle (Rutter, 2002).

Early and Late Adolescent Experiences

Early adolescence is experienced between the ages of ten and fourteen years (Steinberg & Morris, 2001). During this stage, the changes in the physique of a person begin by a rapid development and then development of either male or female sex organ depending on the gender and later on some secondary sexual characteristics. The changes are predominant and obvious with the likelihood of causing anxiety in the individual. Some internal changes also take place in this stage.it is during this stage that the brain develops rapidly by doubling the number of the brain cells in a period of less than a year. Girl’s exhibit more staged development in the sexual and physical aspects in a period of 12-18 months as compared to the males. The lobe of the brain responsible for making decisions and reasoning starts to develop at this stage. Boys’ cerebellum development tends to be slower than in girls hence they think uncritically for considerable time lengths compared to girls. In the early experiences, the boys and girls tend to be more aware of their gender as compared to previous years. Late adolescence occurs between fifteen to nineteen years, and by this time, the major changes in the physical appearance will have already taken place; however, the body is still undergoing developments. Moreover, there are continuous development and reorganization of the brain with increased ability to thin analytically. Taking risks associated with early adolescents diminishes at this stage of development. At the initial stages of late adolescence, influence from the peers still holds ground, but this weakens within time as the stage progresses (Steinberg & Morris, 2001).

Continuous/Discontinuous Development

Different theorists postulate how children develop. Some argue that children develop in stages while others say that children develop continuously. In continuous development, the adolescent develops constantly adding new lessons and skills in their lives. They assume that adolescents grow continuously their bodies making new cells while learning new skills as they continuously interact with each other (Steinberg & Morris, 2001). On the other hand, discontinuous development involves stage-wise development processes as they gain abilities and skills intermittently. However, both continuous development, as well as discontinuous development, are right since they occur at some stages in the development cycle that occur at some point in life though the process seems continuous.

Conclusion

Nature and nurture are twins, and together they influence the development adolescent development cycle. They interplay and are inseparable. The environment has a huge impact in the unfolding of hormonal influence in the growth process. There also exists late and early developmental changes and in general, these changes may either be continuous or discontinuous.

References

Rutter, M. (2002). The interplay of nature, nurture, and developmental influences: the challenge ahead for mental health. Archives of General Psychiatry, 59(11), 996-1000. Steinberg, L., & Morris, A. S. (2001). Adolescent development. Annual review of psychology,    52(1), 83-110.