Key Terms

abstinence – воздержание, умеренность, трезвенность, соблюдение поста, пост

condemn – обрекать

decision making – принятие решения

dropouts – человек, бросивший учебу (или работу)

growth spurt – резкий скачок в росте

indestructibility – целостность

juvenile delinquency – подростковая преступность, преступность среди несовершеннолетних

mixed blessing – событие, имеющее и преимущества и недостатки

prevention – профилактика

propositions – утверждения, суждения

psychological well-being – психологическое здоровье

sexual maturation – половое созревание, половое развитие

substance abuse – злоупотребление алкоголем или наркотиками

top dog phenomenon – феномен лидера, господствующей или победившей стороны, хозяина положения, начальника

Adolescence is marked by the onset of puberty in which sexual maturation and a growth spurt are the most prominent signs. The endocrine system contributes to growth and sexual maturation. The growth spurt begins for girls at about 10.5 years of age, and for boys at about 12.5 years. During the growth spurt, females gain about 3.5 inches per year, and males 4 inches per year. Individual differences in maturation characterize pubertal change.

Adolescents show a heightened interest in their body image. The timing of puberty can have consequences for the psychological well-being of the individual. Early-maturing boys perceive themselves more positively and are more successful in peer relations than later-maturing boys. For girls, early maturation is a mixed blessing.

Formal operational thought is the fourth and final stage of Piaget's theory of cognitive development. This stage, characteristic of adolescents and adults, entails abstraction, idealism, and hypothetical-deductive reasoning. Thought is no longer limited to the real and concrete, but can be applied to the possible and to abstract propositions.

During adolescence, egocentrism is reflected in two types of thinking: construction of the imaginary audience and the personal fable. The imaginary audience is the adolescent's belief that he or she will be the center of attention for everyone else, and the audience will be very critical. The personal fable refers to the adolescent's sense of personal uniqueness and indestructibility. The personal fable may be responsible in part for the high number of teenage pregnancies.

Adolescence entails increased decision making. Older adolescents are better than younger adolescents at making decisions, who in turn are more competent than children.

Schools play an important role in the social world of adolescents. The transition to middle school or junior high can be difficult because it occurs at the same time as physical changes of puberty, places more demands on students, and emphasizes achievement and performance. Students also move from the top position to the lowest position in status—the top dog phenomenon.

Successful schools for young adolescents take individual differences in development seriously, show concern for what is known about early adolescence, and emphasize social and emotional development as much as cognitive development.

School dropouts are a serious educational and social problem. Minority and low-income students are more at risk than others. Strengthening schools and improving the connection between work and school may help reduce the drop out rate.

Adolescent males are more involved in drug use than adolescent females. Alcohol is the most widely used of all drugs by adolescents. Parents, peers, and schools play important roles in adolescent drug use and prevention.

Juvenile delinquency refers to behaviors that range from socially unacceptable behavior to criminal acts. Predictors of delinquency include a negative identity, little self-control, early delinquency, being male, low expectations and commitment to education, limited resistance to peer pressure, inadequate parental monitoring, and residence in an urban, high-crime, mobile neighborhood. Successful programs focus on multiple components rather than on delinquency alone.

Teenage pregnancy can have a lasting impact on the educational level of the mother and may condemn her and her child to a life of poverty. Abstinence is another important consideration.

The overall rate of suicide has increased. The rate peaks at about age 15. Both proximal and distal factors are involved in instances of suicide.

Eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa (a refusal to eat) and bulimia (periods of heavy eating followed by self-induced vomiting) are much more frequent in adolescent females than in any other population, and are related to societal, psychological, and physiological variables.

Most adolescents successfully make the transition from childhood to adulthood. But many adolescents today lack adequate opportunities and support to become competent adults. Adolescents have multiple problems regarding delinquency, substance abuse, adolescent pregnancy, and school failures.