CHAPTER 1 BIOLOGICAL TRANSITIONS

Here are some study questions to guide you through your reading. While studying the chapter, they can help in pointing you to the important points, and clarify for you what you need to understand better.

1. What are the five major physical changes occuring at puberty?

2. Hormones play two important rolesthey ORGANIZE behavior, and they ACTIVATE changes in behavior. WHEN and HOW do these processes happen?

3. Our endocrine system functions according to a FEEDBACK LOOP. Describe what it is. What are the body parts/organs involved? How does the "loop" change at puberty?

4. What are some of the changes that occur during the adolescent GROWTH SPURT? What are some of the differences between boys and girls in terms of physical development at puberty?

5. What are some factors accounting for individual differences in pubertal TIMING? What about the differences between different groups of adolescents?

6. What is the SECULAR TREND? What are its likely causes?

7. Describe three ways by which puberty can affect the adolescent's behavior (see Fig.1.9).

8. What are some ways by which HORMONES are related to adolescents' MOODS? Give at least three.

9. What are some positive effects associated with EARLY MATURATION in BOYS? What are some negative effects? What are the positive effects associated with LATE MATURATION in boys? What are the negative effects?

10. What are the negative effects associated with EARLY MATURATION in GIRLS? Do these negative effects depend on environmental/contextual factors? Like what?

11. What are some hypotheses for why PUBERTAL TIMING affects boys and girls differently (i.e., girls are worse-off if early maturing, but boys are worse-off if late maturing)? (See the box in p.48).

12. Describe the eating disorders ANOREXIA NERVOSA and BULIMIA. What are some of the environmental/contextual factors that lead to these disorders?

13. What is the "new morbidity and mortality" of adolescence? What are some strategies for promoting healthy behaviors in adolescents? Are these strategies (e.g. school-based health programs) successful or not? In what ways are they successful or not successful?