Unit 5

Observation #4
Background Information
Person’s age: Adolescent (Age 19)
Fictitious Name: Josh (The adolescent’s name has been changed for privacy purposes.)
Location: Phone Interview
Brief Description: Interview conducted over the phone with an adolescent male regarding details
about his lifestyle and thoughts.

Biological Development

Josh says that his sleep schedule changed drastically during his late high school years and has
only recently begun to return to “normal”. During his late high school years, he began to notice that he
had extreme difficulty falling asleep before 11:00 P.M.-12:00 A.M. He said that during this time it was
very hard for him to wake up at 6:00 A.M. and get to school on time. He would try to go to bed earlier
but was unable to fall asleep and found that he preferred to just accept that he would be tired the next
day. Josh is now in the later years of adolescence has noticed that he is now able to fall asleep around
10:00 P.M. and is finding that is easier to wake up around 6:00 A.M. The sleep schedule Josh described is
typical of most adolescents as their circadian rhythms begin to change. Many adolescents find that
during their teenage years, particularly during puberty, nighttime is particularly energizing (Berger, 2016,
p. 313-314). Josh has found that as his adolescent years are coming to end, his sleep cycle is beginning
to follow more of an adult pattern.

When asked about his height and growth spurts, Josh said that in 8 th grade he remembered
most of girls being taller than him but by about age 16 he remembers being taller than most of the girls
his age. Since about age 16 Josh does not feel that he has grown much, perhaps an inch or so. Josh
noticed that starting at about age 16 he began to lose extra weight and he slimmed down quite a bit.
Josh’s growth spurt is typical of adolescents as they go through puberty. Adolescents typically
experience a weight spurt which is then followed by a height spurt (Berger, 2016, p. 319).

Cognitive Development

Josh made the decision to pursue a career in teaching guitar instead of going to college. In high
school Josh was diligent about studying and got very good grades. Josh’s mother and father highly
encouraged Josh to go to college and were disappointed in his decision to enter directly into the job
market. Josh’s decision to not attend college is not all that unique. About one third of high school
graduates in the United States do not enter college (Berger, 2016, p. 343). Of those students that enter a
four-year college, almost half do not graduate (Berger, 2016, p. 343). Josh said he made the decision not
to go to college because he had role models in his life, outside of his parents, that did not go to college
and were still very successful. Statistics seems to agree with Josh’s assessment that college may not be
the only way for him develop a successful career.

During adolescent years, teens become capable of formal operational thought. This means that
they develop the “ability to consider abstractions, including assumptions that have no necessary relation
to reality” (Berger, 2016, p. 329). During my interview with Josh I questioned him about his goals and
how he envisions his future in five years. Josh is currently making near minimum wage, renting an
apartment, and has never had any serious romantic relationship. He is not currently interested in dating
and is not making efforts to save money toward buying a house. Despite these facts, Josh said that in
five years he imagines that he might perhaps be married and possibly own a house. Although it is not
impossible, this outcome currently seems unlikely. Josh has demonstrated that he is likely still in a stage
where is his assumptions are likely based on formal operational thoughts.

Psychosocial Development

During the adolescent years, the relationships among peers become very important. Teens rely
heavily on what their peers think of them and highly value their opinions. Although these peer
relationships increase in importance during this time, they do not replace the adolescents need for a
healthy relationship with their parents (Berger, 2016, p. 358). During the interview I questioned Josh
about who he turns to for advice and guidance and also who has the biggest influence on his decisions.
Unfortunately, Josh does not feel that he can turn to his parents for sound advice due to fact that they
make unwise decisions in their own lives. Josh does not live at home and has instead found role models
outside of his biological parents that he can turn to when looking for parental-type advice. Although he
is in his late adolescent years, Josh still craves the bond that he is missing with his parents. Josh feels
that he is now finding it easier to make decisions on his own that he feels good about. Josh is beginning
to rely less on the opinion of his peers as he enters the last stages of adolescence.

Josh attends a Christian church every Sunday either alone, or with his mom. Josh only recently
made the decision to start attending this church. Josh said that he made the decision to start going to
church because his family had attended church when he was younger and as he got older, he became
curious about religion. After deciding to start attending church again, Josh chose to attend the church
that his family had visited when he was a child. Josh’s experience with religion is fairly typical as most
adolescents “religious identity is similar to that of their parents” (Berger, 2016, p. 351).
.

*As noted above, the adolescent’s name has been changed, for privacy purposes.

Reference

Berger, K. S. (2019). Invitation to the life span (4th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.