1. Adolescent Development
Aim: In what ways are adolescents physically and psychologically different than both children and adults?
Do Now:
How old are we when our brains stop developing?
What are some of the sterotypes about teenagers, from the viewpoint of adults?
Which of these do you think are true? Not true?
This will be a brief presentation on adolescent development. The focus will be on examining key developmental challenges along with some recent research findings and behavior trends.
The purpose of this presentation is to remind us who the young people are we are talking about. What distinguishes them from children and adults? What are the main challenges and influences? The goal is to give us a common framework for discussing positive youth development which focuses on the social infrastructure young people need to thrive.

2. Adolescents are: Age: 10-19 40.7 million in the United States
What are some cultural “Rites of Passage” that signify a child has become an adolescent, or young adult (think culturally in the U.S.)?
There is no consensus about the age range that defines adolescence. A fairly common one is young people ages I am using this one just because the 2000 census used this categorization.
According to that 2000 census there are approximately 40.7 million adolescents in the US. The exact number is

3. Adolescence Characteristics:
Adolescent egocentrism:
Imaginary audience – everyone is watching
Personal fable – belief that s/he is unique
Pseudostupidity – use of oversimplified logic
Social development:
Time of drifting or breaking away from family (Why?)

4. Emotional development:
G. Stanley Hall – time of “Storm and Stress”
Areas of problems
Parent-child conflicts
Mood changes - self-conscious, awkward, lonely

5. Cognitive Development
Think abstractly
Analyze situations logically
To think realistically about the future, goal setting
Moral reasoning
Entertain hypothetical situations, use of metaphors
Cognitive processes and skills continue to grow over the years (10-19).
Increasingly adolescents fine tune their abilities (review the abilities listed).
And progress from concrete to more abstract skill levels.
Recent research in adolescent brain development has demonstrated that the brain is still developing. Neural connections are still being formed until the mid 20’s. It confirms what parents probably have known all along
-- adolescents do not process and think the same way adults do.

6. Risk-Taking Discussion:
What are some specific risk-taking behaviors of teens?
WHY do you think teens disproportionately engage in these actions?
Why do MALE teens engage more (in general) then teen FEMALES?
We think of the thrill of risk as a bad thing – in what ways can the qualities of teens be a good thing?

7. Aim: For what reasons do adolescents have a high incidence of eating disorders?
Do Now:
How would you define an eating disorder (in general)
At what point does dieting and being conscious of weight become an eating disorder (in your opinion)?

8. “Thin” – Full Documentary

9. Discussion Questions:
Why do people develop eating disorders?
Why are eating disorders so much more prevalent among females than males (10X)
Why are these even more prevalent in adolescent girls?
Why are they more prevalent in certain cultures/ethnicities/races?
How do you think you can treat a person with an eating disorder?

10. Model Retouch Website:

13. DSM-IV-TR Diagnostic Criteria for Body Dysmorphic Disorder
Preoccupation with an imagined or slight defect in appearance (skin, hair, weight, nose, etc.)
Causes significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. Difference between ‘ideal’ self and ‘real’ self
The first part of the diagnostic criteria. Both the nature of the defect, as well as the degree of distress is somewhat ambiguous. It is considered a somatoform disorder, although it is most often compared to obsessive-compulsive disorder, an anxiety disorder.

14. Western culture tends to place more emphasis on a thin body image in comparison to other cultures.

15. Obesity:
A disorder characterized by being excessively overweight. Obesity increases the risk for health issues like cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, and back problems.

16. Dieting:
63% of women feel that body weight determines their mood.
Americans spend 33 billion dollars on dieting and diet-related products
The average female starts dieting at age 9yrs

17. Risk Factors for Eating Disorders:
Ethnic and socioeconomic status
Cultural influence
Low self-esteem/perfectionism
Difficulties with communication, separation and conflict resolution w/ family
Anxiety or depressive disorder
Family history
A drive to excel in sports
Early puberty
Winter
Identical Twins

18. Bulimia-Nervosa:
Minimum of 2 binge-eating episodes weekly for 3 months/recurrent binge eating
A feeling of lack of control over binge-eating behavior
Regular use of self-induced vomiting, laxatives, diuretics, strict dieting, fasting, or vigorous exercise to prevent weight gain

19. Anorexia-Nervosa:
Refusal or inability to maintain body weight over a minimum normal weight
Intense fear of gaining weight despite being underweight
Disturbance in perception of body shape
Absence of 3 consecutive menstrual cycles

20. Common Male Groups with Eating Disorders:

21. Taboo: Eating Disorder