Effects of Physical Development on Adolescents

Effects of Physical Development on Adolescents

Introduction

Adolescent is basically the transition from childhood to adulthood, when a person develops physically as well as cognitively. It lasts from the age of 11 or 12, until the late teens or early twenties. During this period, bodies of individuals mature sexually and their minds start engaging in increasingly complex thinking, which includes metacognition, intense introspection, and speculative thoughts. The adolescents have to many challenges and opportunities as well, when they face these changes during transitioning from childhood to adulthood (Barbour, 2011).

As compared to boys, girls enter major physical changes then boys. These physical changes have great impact on adolescent's psychological and social development. According to the Department of HHS, adolescents feel awkward and sometimes get embarrass because of their disproportionate body parts. Further, they should realize and make sense of their sexuality development, relate it with their identity and start engaging in intimate relationship (Barbour, 2011).

Discussion

I have chosen an 'African American Female' for presenting a study of effects of physical development on adolescents.

An African American girl faces many challenges due to physical changes during her transition from childhood to adulthood. As the identity establishment becomes the task faced by all the adolescents, the African American adolescents have to integrate identity development, ethnic identity development, and self-concept as well to develop into an adult who is socially as well as emotionally healthy. An African American girl faces the challenge of establishing racial identity, exhibits high self-concept, and successful display of skin color satisfaction. African American girl's individuality and their standing in the society remains an ongoing endeavor for them, which gets complex due to racial discrimination and skin color consciousness (Shantel, 2006).

African American girls live in the society where their heritage, language, rituals, religious artifacts, and even their skin tone is devalued; which has social, physical, as well as emotional effects on the well being of these females. Facing the difficulty of being accepted and validated by American society, these females have to struggle constantly to develop their right place in the society. Positive racial identity establishment helps females of colors not only offset cultural discrimination, but it can also enhance their self-concept (Shantel, 2006).

In our society an African American female may get negative remarks regarding their physical attractiveness and beauty when developing physically. Most of them get devalued within their ethnic group for their ...