1. The Breakfast Club

2. The transition period from childhood to adulthood
Adolescence
The transition period from childhood to adulthood

3. Lasts from puberty to independence
Physical, cognitive, moral, and social changes experienced during this time

4. Cognitive changes Develop adult thinking and reasoning
Don’t just think more than children, think differently
Capable of idealistic thinking and quickly recognizing the hypocrisy of adults and the world around you

5. Willing to work hard for causes you believe in (recycling, animal shelters, etc.)
Examine your own and other’s religious and political beliefs on a much deeper level than your childhood understanding allowed

6. Focus on the Self
Imagine that one’s own feelings are unique and more intense than others
For example, falling in love for the first time often leads to the feeling that this experience is unlike anything anyone else has ever felt
First breakups so intense it is nearly impossible to believe that others have had similar experiences

7. Focus on the self leads some to impulsive behavior and risk taking
Not just drinking, smoking, and driving fast, but playing video games for several hours instead of finishing a school paper
Somewhat biological – brains frontal lobes which are responsible for long term planning and impulse control are not yet fully developed

8. Morality A sense of right and wrong
Your way of thinking about moral situations changes with your level of development
Go from doing what is right because you know you’ll get in trouble if you don’t or because it pleases authority figures (like your parents or teachers) to doing what is the “right thing to do” or what is fair for all

9. Social Development How our interactions with others change as we age
Friendships, romances, decisions about conformity and nonconformity, and concerns about popularity and separation from family all relate to social development
Our primary task during adolescence is to develop an identity (a strong consistent sense of who you are)
This is done by testing and integrating various roles

10. Several characteristics of Adolescence
Experimentation
Different school opportunities (sports, clubs, etc.)
Different friends – what type of group, if any, do I fit into? – allows for trying out different ways of acting
Different looks – hair, dress, music, etc.
Sometimes drugs, smoking, or sexual activity

11. Rebellion Establishing independence from parents
Keep core values of the family, but test limits of parents and adopt styles or behaviors that they don’t always understand
- May involve criminal or self-destructive behavior

12. Independence from the family
Move from primary attachment to parents to a primary attachment with your peers
Those who don’t find a group or clique to “belong” to are prone to depression and loneliness and may lash out violently

13. In the end… Some teens emerge with a strong sense of identity
Others struggle and may remain confused throughout their lives
Those who don’t “find themselves” have difficulty forming close loving, and open relationships with others