Chapter One: Intro/Methods Learning Objectives & Essay ...



Unit V Essay Questions

Note: I expect all essays in this class to be at LEAST 1 page long typed, double spaced (12 pt TNR font) or equivalent. For some questions you may need significantly more space.

Question One

1. One important marker of the transition from childhood to adulthood in our culture is puberty. Puberty carries with it many physical and social changes. The text discusses the physical, cognitive and social implications of being an early or a late developer. In this essay, first discuss the typical implications for being early AND late for someone of your gender. Make sure to specifically mention physical cognitive and social consequences. In the second part of the essay, discuss whether you were "early" "late" or on time compared to your peers, and how you believe this may have effected your physical cognitive and social development.

Note: If you do not feel like sharing this information necessary to do part 2 of the essay you may choose instead to discuss what the text says about early and late developers of the other gender.

Note: Physical effects of puberty include the development of primary and secondary sex characteristics, as well as changes to hormone levels. There are also effects of the timing of puberty on a person's height, weight and athletic potential. Cognitive effects include effects to self-concept and body image. Social effects include behaviors like dating, sexual behavior, responses from peer groups and society at large etc.



Falling Age at Puberty

Boys and girls now experience puberty at younger ages than previous generations. In general, girls enter puberty between ages 8 and 13 and reach menarche (first menstruation) several years later, while boys enter puberty between ages 9 and 14 (436, 529). The reasons for earlier menarche in girls are not well understood. Most of the change is attributed to better health and nutrition (160, 185, 529). In North America age at menarche decreased by three to four months each decade after 1850; in 1988 the median age at menarche was 12.5 years among US girls (160, 529). In some developing countries age at menarche appears to be decreasing even faster. For example, in Kenya average age at menarche fell from 14.4 in the late 1970s to 12.9 in the 1980s (185).

During puberty boys and girls go through some of the greatest physical changes of their lives. Their bodies grow faster than during any other period of life except infancy (66, 201, 471, 537). Secondary sex characteristics develop during a hormonally driven growth spurt. These dramatic physical changes generally occur over a 5-year period but may take as little as 18 months or as long as six years (35, 66, 201, 281). A group of 14-year-olds may include boys and girls who still look like children as well as some whose bodies are those of adult men or women (114).

Like biological development, emotional maturity and cognitive development vary greatly among young people of the same age. Although they are beginning to develop the ability to think abstractly and to plan for the future, most young adults reach sexual maturity before they attain emotional or social maturity or economic independence. Many decision-making models have tried to explain young adults' sexual activity and decision-making. None, however, has succeeded in explaining definitively how to influence behavior (258, 290). The fields of sociology and psychology conventionally have viewed adolescent sexuality within the framework of deviant behavior (290). Thus there has been little focus on what is normal, healthy sexual development and behavior for young people. Recent work points out the need to take into account the context of young adults' sexual activity, as well as the social pressures and psychological costs associated with abstaining from sex or engaging in it, and with using or not using contraceptives if sexually active (51, 59, 402, 416).

Clearly, as they enter puberty, boys' and girls' interest in sex increases. At the same time, they experience strong, often conflicting emotions and social pressures as they move away from childhood dependence toward more independent adulthood. Most are unprepared for the situations they face. Nonetheless, because of the health risks of sexual activity, young people's decisions and experiences during their transition to adulthood can affect the rest of their lives.

Question Two (2 parter)

a) Extracurriculars: What does the text indicate are the results of engaging in extracurricular activities during secondary education? After summarizing this data, discuss whether or not you participated in extra-curricular activities. If you did, do you feel they increased your motivation and engagement in school or not? If you didn't do you think you would have been more engaged in school if you had participated? What factors encouraged you to participate or kept you from participating?

b) Employment: What does the text indicate are the results of typical teenage employment in the US? After summarizing this data, discuss whether or not you were employed during high school. If you were, do you feel your job added to or took away from your ability to succeed in school / in life. If you weren't do you think you would have been more or less successful in school or today if you had had a job? What factors encouraged you to get a job or not get a job in high school?

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