Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach

Adolescence and
Emerging Adulthood: A
Cultural Approach
Chapter 2
Biological Foundations
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Chapter Overview
 Hormonal Changes
 Physical Changes
 Primary Sex Characteristics
 Secondary Sex Characteristics
 Cultural, Social, Psychological
Responses to Puberty
Puberty
 derived from the Latin
word ‘pubescere’ which
means to “grow hairy”
 The body undergoes a

biological revolution that
dramatically changes
the adolescent’s
anatomy, physiology,
and physical appearance
The Endocrine System
Hormonal changes
begin here
Gradually increases production of

gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH)
Recent evidence indicates
that this occurs once a threshold
level of body fat is reached
Fat cells produce leptin

that provides the signal
to the hypothalamus
Pituitary Gland and Gonadotropins
Pituitary gland
Increase in GnRH affects
releases gonadotropins
the pituitary gland
Gonadotropins stimulate Gonadotropins influence

development of gametes production of sex hormones
Sex Hormones
Compare the differences in hormone production
between boys and girls during puberty
Testosterone
Estradiol
Endocrine System Feedback Loop
Monitor levels of androgens and
estrogens in the bloodstream
Responds to the reduction in

GnRH by reducing production
of FSH, LH and ACTH
Respond to lower levels of FSH

and LH by reducing the amount
of sex hormones produced
“SET POINT” – when sex hormones

reach an optimal level and the
hypothalamus reduces GnRH to begin
this process
Physical Growth during Puberty
Notice the differential timing in Notice when the difference
when growth spurts begin in final height is achieved
Growth Spurts
 Not all parts of the
body grow at the
same pace
 Asynchronicity in
Extremities are growth explains the
the first to hit the
growth spurt
“gangly look” in early
adolescence
Muscle Mass and Body Fat
During puberty body
Notice prior to puberty fat increases more for
boys and girls are very girls than for boys
similar in muscle mass
Cultural Expectations
 In many cultures gender differences exist for
physical activity
 Girls are sometimes discouraged from

participating in sports (not confirming to
“feminine” stereotypes)
 Boys are more likely to exercise in

adolescence
 This gender difference contributes to

differences in athletic performance between
adolescent boys and girls
Is This True?
Grip Strength in men

Reaction time is peak in emerging
slower in emerging adulthood
adulthood. Is this true?
Is this true? Yes … and followed by

a steady decline
Reaction time is
actually faster in the
early twenties than at
any other time of life Cardiac output peaks at
18 years of age
Is this true?
Cardiac output, the quantity of
blood flow from the heart, peaks
at age 25
Physical Functioning in
Emerging Adulthood
 Emerging adulthood is the period of

the life span with the least
susceptibility to physical illness
… but that’s not the whole

story
Physical Functioning in
Emerging Adulthood
 Lifestyles of many emerging adults often include a
variety of factors that undermine health such as
• Poor nutrition
• Lack of sleep
• Stress of juggling school/work/multiple jobs
 Automobile accidents are the leading cause of

death among emerging adults in the United States
 Homicide is another common cause of death in the
U.S. during emerging adulthood
 Rates of contracting sexually transmitted diseases,
including HIV are highest in the early twenties
Sex Characteristics
Primary Sex Secondary Sex
Characteristics Characteristics
Boys Production of Hair growth in pubic areas, underneath
sperm arms, chests, face, shoulders and back
Development of
 Skin becomes rougher
sex organs
 Sweat glands increase production
Girls Production of Hair growth in public areas, underneath

eggs arms and a slight amount of facial hair
Development of
 Skin becomes rougher
sex organs
 Sweat glands increase production
Slight enlargement of breasts known as

breast buds
… the facts about females
 Women are born with about 400,000
immature eggs (follicles) in each ovary
 Once a girl reaches her first menstrual

period (menarche) one follicle develops
into a mature egg (ovum) about every 28
days
 Females release about 400 eggs over the

course of their reproductive lives
… the truth about men
 Males have no sperm in their testes when
they are born and do not produce any until
they reach puberty
 The average age that sperm production
begins (spermarche) is approximately 12
years old
 Boys produce sperm in astonishing quantities

– there are between 30 and 500 million
sperm in the typical male ejaculation, which
means they produce millions of sperm
everyday
The Order of Pubertal Events
Growth of
GIRLS sexual and
Secretion of
increased
reproductive skin oil and
Growth
organs sweat
Downy spurt
pubic hair Development
Appearance of Menarche of underarm
breast buds hair
Increased Secretion of
growth of increased
Growth of Growth skin oil and
penis
testes spurt sweat
Development
Appearance of Deepening of
BOYS pubic hair the voice
of facial hair
Pubertal Caveat
 Virtually all the studies considered in the
order of pubertal development have been
conducted with White adolescents in the
West
 Three studies demonstrate the variations

that may exist in other groups
• Worthman, 1987
• Lee, Chang, and Chan, 1963
• Herman-Giddens et al., 1997; 2001
Kikuyu culture in Kenya
(Worthman, 1987)
 Boys show the first physical changes of

puberty before their female peer
 a reversal of the Western pattern
African American Girls

(Herman-Giddens et al., 1997; 2001)
 Many Black girls were found to begin

developing breast buds and pubic hair
considerably earlier than White girls
Chinese Girls
(Lee, Chang, and Chan, 1963)
 Pubic hair began to develop in most girls about 2 years after the
development of breast buds and only a few months before menarche
 In sharp contrast to the Western studies that found pubic hair and
breast buds developed together about 2 years before menarche
These three studies show the importance of

investigating ethnic differences in the rates, timing,
and order of pubertal events
Culture and Pubertal Timing
The secular trend

downward in the age of
menarche has occurred in
every Western country for
which records exist
Discussion Stop
Why is the secular trend
for the age of menarche
going down in Western
countries?
How do your answers
compare to the
following slide?
Downward Secular Trend of Menarche
 Puberty begins earlier in cultures where

good nutrition and medical care are widely
available
 Illness and thinness tend to inhibit the

development of body fat resulting in
delayed puberty
 Advances in food production have

enhanced nutrition and therefore puberty
has come sooner
Cultural Responses to Puberty: Rituals
Traditional Cultures
 68% of cultures had • 79% of cultures had
puberty rituals for boys puberty rituals for girls
• Menarche is the pubertal

 Typically rituals require the event that is most often
young man to display marked by ritual
courage, strength and
endurance • Cultural views are mixed
as to whether menstrual
 The rituals are often blood is an omen or a
violent, requiring boys to positive sign of fertility
submit to and sometimes
engage in bloodletting of
various kinds NOTE: Globalization has been
credited with the decline in
frequency of these rituals
How do parent-adolescent relations
change at puberty?
 Conflict increases
 Closeness decreases
 Parents and adolescents seem less
comfortable in each other’s presence
 Distancing hypothesis: it may be

adaptive for young people to move
away from closeness to their parents
once they reach sexual maturity so
that they mate and reproduce with
persons outside the family, thus
avoiding the genetic problems that
often result from incest
Frequency of Adolescent-Mother
Touching and Talking
Research based on 122
pairs of mother and
children aged 6 to 16
Mothers and early

adolescents talked more
than mothers and
younger children,
suggesting that parent-
child communication
styles shift toward
talking and away from
touching when puberty
is reached
Early Maturation - Girls
• The effects of early maturation are
especially negative for girls
• Early maturing girls are at risk for a

variety of problems:
 Depressed mood
 Negative body image
 Eating disorders
 Substance use
 Delinquency
 School problems
 Conflicts with parents
Late Maturation - Girls
• Late maturing girls have few of the problems
that early-maturing girls have
• Although they can suffer from:
 Teasing
 Negative body image (during the years when
other girls have begun to develop)
• However, by their late teens they tend to
have a more favourable body image than
other girls
• They are more likely to end up with the lean
body build that tends to be regarded as
attractive in Western majority cultures.
Early Maturation - Boys
• The effects of early maturation tend to
be positive for boys
• Early maturing boys have:

 More favorable body image
 Higher popularity
• Although not everything is favorable.

They tend to be involved in:
 Substance use
 Delinquency
 Sex
Late Maturation - Boys
• Late maturing boys show evidence of
problems
• Compared with boys who mature “on

time” late maturing boys have higher
rates of:
 Alcohol use
 Delinquency
 Lower grades in school
Genotype-Environment Interactions
 Genotype
• A person’s inherited genes
 According to the theory

• Both genotype and environment make
essential contributions to human development
 Genotype-environment interactions take

three forms:
• Passive
• Evocative
• Active
Genotype-Environment Interactions
Interaction Description
Occur in biological families when parents
Passive provide both genes and environment
Occur when a person’s inherited

Evocative characteristics evoke responses from
others in their environment
Occur when people seek out

Active environments that correspond to their
genotypic characteristics
Unravelling genotype-environment
interactions
 Adoption studies
• These studies avoid the problem of

passive genotype-environment effects
because one set of parents provided the
adolescent’s genes but a different set of
parent provided the environment

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Adolescence and

 The body undergoes a

Gradually increases production of

Fat cells produce leptin

Gonadotropins stimulate Gonadotropins influence

Responds to the reduction in

Respond to lower levels of FSH

“SET POINT” – when sex hormones

 Girls are sometimes discouraged from

 Boys are more likely to exercise in

 This gender difference contributes to

Grip Strength in men

Is this true? Yes … and followed by

 Emerging adulthood is the period of

… but that’s not the whole

 Automobile accidents are the leading cause of

Girls Production of Hair growth in public areas, underneath

Slight enlargement of breasts known as

 Once a girl reaches her first menstrual

 Females release about 400 eggs over the

 Boys produce sperm in astonishing quantities

 Three studies demonstrate the variations

 Boys show the first physical changes of

African American Girls

 Many Black girls were found to begin

These three studies show the importance of

The secular trend

 Puberty begins earlier in cultures where

 Illness and thinness tend to inhibit the

 Advances in food production have

• Menarche is the pubertal

 Distancing hypothesis: it may be

Mothers and early

• Early maturing girls are at risk for a

• Early maturing boys have:

• Although not everything is favorable.

• Compared with boys who mature “on

 According to the theory

 Genotype-environment interactions take

Occur when a person’s inherited

Occur when people seek out

• These studies avoid the problem of

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