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Pubertal Development and Menarche
Published in Jane M. Ussher, Joan C. Chrisler, Janette Perz, Routledge International Handbook of Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health, 2019
Adolescents, of course, do not always use more advanced thinking just because they can. Concerns about personal identity and socializing may take precedence, related in part to the development of feelings of sexual desire, explorations of sexual activity, and, for some, sexual orientation or gender identity. One’s peer group is very important in adolescence, as they may feel a need to conform to peer group values and behaviors and to minimize appearances of being different. Self-consciousness as a means of appraising one’s relationship to one’s peers is also characteristic of adolescents. Cognitive limitations, such as egocentrism, may also influence peer relationship appraisals and play a part in relationships with their parents and other adults. For example, adolescents may think that they are the center of attention of an imaginary audience, such that everyone else can see what they perceive as their flaws. Or they may present two kinds of personal fable: on the one hand, they may believe that they are unique and no one understands them, or, on the other hand, that they are invincible and nothing dangerous will happen to them.
Adolescence and young adult mental health
Published in Mary Steen, Michael Thomas, Mental Health Across the Lifespan, 2015
The concept that adolescence is one of increased conflict and inner turmoil is as old as Ancient Greek thinking (Coleman, 2011). Leading theories of adolescent development over the past century also reflect this idea. Granville Stanley Hall proposed that the period of adolescence is one of “storm and stress” (Hall, 1904 as cited in Arnett, 1999). Arnett (2006) discusses how Hall’s view of adolescence was generally one of increased behavioural and emotional turmoil brought about by dramatic and unpredictable growth spurts. Erikson’s (1968) Theory of Psychosocial Development describes a crisis in identity at this stage due to a young person’s emerging identity being at odds and in conflict with the role expectations of others. Likewise, Anna Freud describes an imbalance of the id and ego during adolescent development (Muss, 1988). One final theory worthy of note is David Elkind’s (1967) Egocentrism in Adolescence. Elkind characterised adolescence by a number of cognitive distortions that develop from the newfound ability to formulate a hypothetical perspective. He argued that an adolescent can be made to feel as though they are under constant scrutiny due to perceiving themselves as being on a kind of ‘social stage’ with an ‘imaginary audience’. They may also experience feelings of isolation, believing their abilities and experiences to be unique to everyone else’s, a concept which Elkind coined ‘personal fable’.
Perinatal Social Work with Childbearing Adolescents
Published in Regina Furlong Lind, Debra Honig Bachman, Fundamentals of Perinatal Social Work, 2012
As concern about adolescent childbearing increases, and as prevention of adolescent pregnancy slowly moves to the forefront of this nation’s agenda, many professionals have postulated possible explanations for the high pregnancy and birth rate. Focus has been on the ineffective, inconsistent or lack of contraceptive use among many adolescents and the myriad of variables that contribute to this. Barriers to effective contraceptive use include: lack of knowledge or misconceptions about reproduction and contraception; fear or embarrassment that their sexual activity will be discovered; unexpected and unplanned intercourse; and difficulty negotiating various systems needed to obtain birth control. Another variable in the contraceptive equation (especially among younger adolescents) is the adolescent’s cognitive level. Adolescents are just beginning the transition from concrete operational thought to formal operational thought and may be less able to think abstractly (Piaget: 1972, Jorgenson: 1983). In addition, much of the adolescent’s behavior may be driven by what Elkind (1988) describes as the “personal fable,” an adolescent’s belief in his or her invulnerability.
Covariates of risky health behaviors in pediatric cancer survivors during adolescence
Published in Journal of Psychosocial Oncology, 2021
Rachel S. Werk, Jennifer S. Ford
Based on our study, higher positive attitude toward alcohol use and lower knowledge of the risk of binge drinking were significantly associated with alcohol use. Older age, lower knowledge of the risk of smoking, and greater perception that smoking is desirable to others were associated with cigarette use. Our findings invite further studies into moderating variables such as adolescent egocentrism and personal fable when examining risky behaviors within this population as these constructs have been correlated with risk taking behaviors among the general adolescent population.42 Based on our results, effective interventions, programs, and follow-up care should help survivors adopt health promoting behaviors and eliminate these health risk behaviors in order to mitigate the risk for secondary health problems associated with cancer and its treatment. Interventions could focus on increasing adolescents’ knowledge of the risk of smoking and alcohol use since it was significantly associated with both of these behaviors and there remains a gap in adolescent cancer survivors’ knowledge of these risks. As physician recommendations were not significantly correlated with decreased alcohol and smoking use, proposed interventions could train physicians and psychosocial providers in motivational interviewing techniques to effectively deliver messages.
Subjective Life Expectancy Among College Students
Published in Behavioral Medicine, 2018
Alyssa E. Rodemann, Danielle Arigo
Several theoretical models suggest that the persistence of unhealthy behaviors may be due, in part, to students' erroneous beliefs about their ability to control outcomes. For example, support for Mirowsky's horizon hypothesis shows that younger (vs. older) individuals have a greater sense of perceived control over their successes (i.e., goal attainment).11 Elkind's (1967) personal fable (i.e., belief that one is immune to the harmful outcomes of certain behaviors that occur to others), as well as optimistic bias (i.e., belief that one's chance of experiencing harmful outcomes is less than that of their peers), also are stronger in adolescents and young adults than in middle-aged or older adults.12,13 Smokers demonstrate significantly stronger optimistic bias with respect to the risks of smoking than their non-smoking peers, and this bias is stronger among adolescent smokers (aged 12––17 years) than among adult smokers (aged 30––50 years).14