Adolescence Experience
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Institution Affiliation
Adolescence Experience
Introduction
Adolescence is the stage where a person undergoes a transition from childhood to adulthood. This period is often characterized by complex development processes, including cognitive, social, and sexual characteristics. The body undergoes psychological and physical growth in preparation for adulthood, and both males and females mature to become adults. During this period, the various developmental changes experienced contain similarities and differences across both genders.
Cognitive Experiences
Many neurocognitive changes occur during the adolescence stage, rendering the stage one of the significant developmental periods in a human’s life. Cognitive characteristics are consistent and prevalent during the adolescence stage, as witnessed in both males and females. These characteristics cover language, verbal proficiency, as well as spatial skills. In the adolescent stage, females display higher self-regulation levels- perceived self-regulation involving functions such as self-control and self-monitoring, planning, and initiative. At the age of 13-16 years, female adolescents witness greater attention than their male counterparts. A further report claims to have higher self-monitoring levels, and self-control ultimately portrays better academic achievement performance (Tetering et al., 2020).
Additionally, facial cognition abilities in females mature faster than males during the adolescence stage at 16 years (Fuhrmann et al., 2016). Further, both genders encounter the need to explore who they are and their gifts and abilities. However, at this stage, failure to close monitoring by parents or guardians can contribute to adolescents indulging in harmful activities such as alcoholism, use of drug substances, or smoking. The use of drugs and alcohol can adversely affect their education and relationships, leading to poor brain performance in the affected adolescent. Both male and female adolescents exercise their mature cognitive abilities in making decisions concerning their lives.
Social Experiences
Different social behaviors are witnessed during the adolescent stage. These include the exhibiting of prosocial behaviors at different age groups during the adolescent stage. According to research conducted by the Journal of youth and adolescence in 2017, 497 adolescent participants reported on their postsocial behaviors and empathic concerns. The findings portrayed that males exhibited a stable level of prosocial behavior until the age of 14; they increased until age 17 and dropped after that (Van der Graaff et al., 2018). For females, prosocial behavior levels increased until age 16 and decreased in the subsequent years (Van der Graaff et al., 2018). Likewise, the socialization and developmental process that adolescents undergo contributes to different relationships and social interactions. Recent studies have shown that females demonstrated an increased level of morality and competence, while males showed decreased competence and morality in their adolescence (Crocetti et al., 2019). Greater consistency in configuration of competence, sociability, and morality is witnessed in females than in males. Subthreshold depression is common among adolescents and affects more females than males (Crockett et al., 2020). Females often display higher rates of depressive moods and problems related to sleep, while adolescent males, on the other hand, exhibited decreased concentration problems.
Sexual Characteristics
During adolescence, the human body experiences a transition from childhood to adulthood. This transition is often characterized by the physical growth of reproductive organs in both males and females. This growth experience is similar in both genders, and the various parts responsible for reproduction develop in preparation for adulthood. Additionally, females mature one to two years earlier than males. Sexual orientations often grow more structured and organized at the adolescence stage. Distinctive characteristics witnessed under sexual orientations during the adolescent stage include the development of the romance. At this stage, the allure of involvement in a romantic relationship due to biological and psychological processes in the body is healthy. However, involvement in sexual activities during adolescence is attributed to high depressive behavior levels, especially in female adolescents (Vasilenko, 2017). Adolescents may suffer sexual harassment at homes during the adolescent stage, especially when the parents or guardians are uneducated or unemployed.
Additionally, female adolescents often experience sexual harassment at the adolescence stage more frequently than males. Harassments levels towards adolescents may vary with family backgrounds’ social, economic status (Kaltiala-Heino et al., 2016). During adolescence, both males and females will grow more careful and concerned about their sexuality and body orientations.
Conclusion
During the adolescence stage, the body and the mind undergo critical developmental transformations. While these transformations are essential in adolescents’ lives, they carry along experiences that define their adolescent journey and adulthood. The growth of cognitive, sexual, and social characteristics forms a vital part of childhood to adulthood transition journey. The adolescent stage is a challenging stage for children and often is filled with adventure and self-discovery. These experiences differ in forms and magnitudes in males and females but often display striking similarities across the two genders. Therefore, adolescents should be guided in terms of advice and good instructions by understanding parties to overcome the struggles and fears present in the adolescence stage.
References
Crocetti, E., Moscatelli, S., Kaniušonytė, G., Meeus, W., Žukauskienė, R., & Rubini, M. (2019). Developing morality, competence, and sociability in adolescence: a longitudinal study of gender differences. Journal of youth and adolescence, 48(5), 1009-1021.
Crockett, M. A., Martínez, V., & Jiménez-Molina, Á. (2020). Subthreshold depression in adolescence: Gender differences in prevalence, clinical features, and associated factors. Journal of Affective Disorders.
Fuhrmann, D., Knoll, L. J., Sakhardande, A. L., Speekenbrink, M., Kadosh, K. C., & Blakemore, S. J. (2016). Perception and recognition of faces in adolescence. Scientific reports, 6, 33497.
Kaltiala-Heino, R., Fröjd, S., & Marttunen, M. (2016). Sexual harassment victimization in adolescence: Associations with family background. Child Abuse & Neglect, 56, 11-19.
Sawyer, S. M., Azzopardi, P. S., Wickremarathne, D., & Patton, G. C. (2018). The age of adolescence. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, 2(3), 223-228.
Tetering, M. V., Laan, A. V. D., Kogel, C. D., Groot, R. D., & Jolles, J. (2020). Sex differences in self-regulation in early, middle, and late adolescence: A large-scale cross-sectional study: PLoS one, 15(1), e0227607.
Van der Graaff, J., Carlo, G., Crocetti, E., Koot, H. M., & Branje, S. (2018). Prosocial behavior in adolescence: gender differences in development and links with empathy. Journal of youth and adolescence, 47(5), 1086-1099.