What Are the Signs of Adolescence?

Puberty refers to the first period of reproductive ability marked by the maturation of reproductive organs and the development of secondary sexual characteristics. In humans and higher primates, it is marked by the appearance of the first menstrual period of females; it refers to the age of adolescence.

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Puberty refers to

There is no uniform staging standard for the puberty stage, and some scholars have divided it into:

Early adolescence:

Normal girls usually enter puberty at the age of 12-18 years. The earliest sign of puberty is an enlargement of the ovaries (it is difficult to find in time without B ultrasound, so it is often marked by breast development), followed by an increase in estrogen and secondary sex. Signs and growth accelerate. The average puberty time of a girl is about 4.7 years, and the height increase is about 20-25cm. Among them, the early puberty is about 1 year, and this period is also a rapid growth period, with an annual growth rate of nearly 10cm. After menarche appeared, the growth rate decreased sharply, and continued to grow for a total of about 4 ~ 8cm. Girls have menarche for more than two years, and generally no longer grow tall. Some normal girls have no noticeable rapid growth period. Because the rapid growth period is often a period of rapid bone age growth, it is not necessarily a bad thing to not have a rapid growth period. If there is a rapid growth period, one year is 10cm high, and the bone age increases by two years, which is not 6cm taller than one year, and the bone age is only one year old.

Normal boys enter puberty at the age of 11-13. The earliest sign of puberty is an increase in testicles, followed by an increase in androgen, secondary sexual characteristics and accelerated growth. The average puberty time of the boy is 4.9 years, and the height increase is about 25 ~ 30cm, among which, the early adolescence is about 1.5 years, this period is a rapid growth period, the annual growth rate can exceed 10cm, and then the growth rate decreases sharply until it completely stops growing.

Physiological characteristics

With the improvement of the health and nutrition of the social population, global development trends have emerged in growth and development, and sexual maturity has significantly advanced. The age of marriage is generally delayed due to increased education and employment opportunities. And the unhealthy "sex liberation", "sexual freedom" flood of ideas and misinformation by some media have promoted adolescent sexual behavior worldwide. Adolescent sexuality is therefore a common problem.

1. Status of sexual behavior in developed countries and regions:

According to the National Young Women Survey (NSYW) of Zelnick and Kantner in the United States, in 1971, 28% of women aged 15-19 were non-virgin (23% white and 52% black), and non-virgins reached 46% after 8 years. The decrease was 42% (40% for whites and 53% for blacks). Data from the National Youth Longitudinal Survey (NLSY) show the percentage of non-virgin (male) 15-year-olds in the United States in 1983. White males were 2% and females were 4.7%; black males were 42% and females were 10%; Latin American males were 19% and females were 4.3% . In 1983, NLSY announced the first intercourse age: white males were 17.5 years old, blacks were 15.5 years old, and Latin America was 17.0 years old; female whites were 18.5 years old, blacks were 17.5 years old, and Latin Americans were 18.5 years old. The 1991 American Social Life and Health Survey (NHSLS) found that regardless of gender or race, the age of first sexual intercourse was significantly advanced.

The laws of developed countries, Britain, and the Netherlands are similar to those of the United States. Sweden's first sexual intercourse is one year younger than the United States, and Canada is one year older. Sexual frequency is similar in developed countries, but the teen pregnancy rate, childbirth, and miscarriage rates are higher in the United States than in other countries. In the United Kingdom in 1980, the number of pregnancies per 1,000 girls aged 13-15 was 7.2, which increased year by year, reaching 10.1 in 1990.

2. Sexuality in developing countries:

Early marriage is common in most developing countries. The legal marriage ages in Ecuador, Chile and Honduras are 13-14 years for men and 12-13 years for women. In Bangladesh, the average marriage age of women is 14.8 years, making it one of the lowest marriage ages for women in the world.

Since China's reform and opening up, it has inevitably been impacted by western sexual emancipation thoughts, and adolescents also have premature sexual behaviors and pre-marital pregnancies. Among the more than 1,000 unmarried abortions in Shanghai, the youngest is 10 years old. 67.7% of the first sexual intercourse was younger than 20 years old . According to survey data from Nanjing, 45% of premarital sexuality among adolescents, 3% of pregnancies, and 14% of artificial births. The Shanghai Sex Research Center conducted a nationwide sample survey of middle school students in 1989 and found that 9% of middle school students had had sexual intercourse. Beijing Medical University's Institute of Child and Adolescent Health surveyed 952 students in two middle schools in 1990 and found that 5% of boys and 1% of girls had sexual intercourse, 0.3% of girls had been pregnant and had an abortion. The first sexual activity of boys was 0.8% at the age of 15, 0.5% at the age of 16, and 2% at the age of 17-20. In addition, there are still problems of early marriage in some areas of our country. The early marriage rate of women in the 1980s reached 20% -30%. But in the 1990s it has fallen to 17.8%.

The negative consequences of adolescent sexual behavior lead to many reproductive health problems, such as genital inflammation, infertility, etc., causing a series of negative social impacts. ^[3]

age	girl	boy
4-6	Height jump started	First breeding ability
7-10	Breasts begin to develop, height increases suddenly, and pubic hair appears	Height surge begins, penis and testicles begin to grow
11-14	Breasts continue to grow	Height spikes suddenly, voices change, and throat knots appear
15-17	Menarche appears with axillary hair	Pubic hair appears, penis and testicles continue to grow
18-19	Significantly enlarged breasts	Voice changes, armpit hairs appear
20-29	Increased fat accumulation, fullness and rounded hips	First nocturnal emission with beard
30-32	Menstrual rules	Penis and testicles have reached human size
33-35	Bone heals and growth stops	Body hair is close to adult level
Over 36 years old	Increase female prevalence	Bone heals and growth stops

First, the conflict between good wishes and psychological preparation

Almost every middle school student has a beautiful wish, full of longing and longing for the future. They fantasize about being a learned and respected writer, engineer, doctor, entrepreneur, leader, etc. In fact, some of them do not study very hard. They spend a day counted as a day, although their wishes are beautiful , But they are all pursuing all the honors and enjoyments after the realization of the ideal, and the realization of the ideal requires starting now and requiring hard work, but not too much thinking, not enough, forming a beautiful wish and psychology Be prepared for disjointed contradictions. An effective way to resolve this contradiction is to educate students to handle the relationship between ideals and reality, so that they understand that a beautiful ideal requires hard work to achieve.

Second, the contradiction between a strong sense of enjoyment and a weak labor concept

With the continuous development of the market economy and the continuous improvement of people's living standards, some middle school students pay more and more attention to "practical", and some parents (microblogging) spoil their children and spend a lot of money on their children, making the consumption desire of middle school students increasing. . According to our sample survey, the vast majority of students buy snacks every day, and their classmates celebrate birthdays. In addition to gifts and gifts, they also have wine banquets. Many of the "smokers" and "little alcoholics" among boys are: girls pay attention to dressing everywhere, and some girls also carry high-end cosmetics and constantly change fashionable clothes. However, quite a few of these students have a weak concept of labor. They despise labor, and even think that labor is unnecessary. Even the general cleaning organized by schools is annoying. It can be said that the idea of adopting a negative attitude towards labor and aversion to labor is among some middle school students. Is quite common. Therefore, teachers should educate students to understand that loving labor is the virtue of human beings, and that the enjoyment obtained through labor is just and glorious. It is a shameful behavior to obtain nothing without labor.

Third, the contradiction between psychological confinement and the desire for understanding

Due to the development of self-awareness, middle school students began to focus on their inner world, so they realized their own thoughts, emotions and many other psychological characteristics different from others. At the same time, due to the gradual enrichment of their social life experience, they began to realize that there is a difference between intimacy and psychological incompatibility between people. They are willing to pour out their inner secrets to "confidant friends", look down on those who talk to them with a mentor-like tone, and do not want to communicate with such people and reveal their inner world. They are also reluctant to reveal their hearts with their elders and practice self-closure. The investigation found that a considerable number of middle school students "said to themselves" or "said to the diary" and concealed secrets from classmates and teachers. Because they hide their inner feelings, they often feel lonely. Such students often express distress and loneliness by keeping a diary, drawing and writing. They need to be understood by others, and the survey found that a considerable number of middle school students think that teachers "do not understand themselves" and "do not understand themselves". Solving this contradiction requires teachers and students to make friends, to understand their behavior, and to help them solve their problems and relieve them from depression and loneliness.

Fourth, the contradiction between independence and dependence

With the increase of age, the mentality of middle school students is becoming more and more mature, and they feel more and more that they are "adults" and have begun to transition from "obedient morality" to "equal morality". Preaching and over-care will cause resentment. Individual students will collide with teachers and even have resistance to schools and society. It can be said that their independent intention and subjective consciousness are very strong, but at the same time they lack the necessary knowledge and ability. This is because school education does not pay enough attention to cultivating students' independent abilities, and secondly, because parents in traditional family relationships generally do not encourage their children to become prematurely independent. The survey shows that a considerable number of parents require their children to "don't care about anything as long as they can go to college." This has caused actual dependence among middle school students. This dependence is not only reflected in the economy, but also in life. There are abnormal phenomena such as "coming to open your mouth and reaching for your clothes" and "just study, no matter what". Therefore, teachers and parents should consciously cultivate students' self-reliance, let them do their own tasks, and gradually eliminate their dependence.

Fifth, the contradiction between emotion and reason

Middle school students tend to be emotional, but also emotional. On the one hand, they are full of enthusiasm and passion. The survey shows that the vast majority of middle school students are "full of confidence" and "more confident" about the future of the country. On the other hand, their emotions are extremely susceptible to external influences, prone to impulses and fluctuations, sometimes ecstatic over the success of a trivial matter, and discouraged by a small failure, sometimes Will fight for little things. Their emotions and emotions are always swinging at the poles, and they cannot calmly control their emotions: when they are excited, they are flying in the wind like a balloon filled with hydrogen; when they are discouraged, they are downcast like a defeated cock. They are very enthusiastic about what they love, and keep away from things that they are not interested in. All this shows that the emotions and feelings of middle school students are often in a state of extreme ups and downs, and they are rising and falling, and it is difficult to control them in a timely manner with reason. To resolve this contradiction, teachers must educate students to learn to control their feelings rationally, and to deal with matters calmly and calmly when they are in a hurry.

Sixth, the contradiction between strong aggressiveness and weak self-control

Middle school students have a positive and enterprising spirit, which is inseparable from their strong curiosity, self-esteem and competitiveness. However, because they are not careful in thinking about problems, they often look at people and things around them with a strong emotional color. Therefore, they sometimes insist on one-sided views, and ask teachers or collectives to do what they want, and what they do nt want. Reject or blindly blindly, can not control yourself, act on impulse, and regret it afterwards. All this shows that the development of their will and quality is immature, and their self-control and control are still not strong, forming a contradiction between aggressiveness and weak self-control. To resolve this contradiction, the teacher must affirm the initiative of the students on the one hand, and exercise the willpower of the students on the other, so that they can handle the relationship between the two.

Seventh, the contradiction between the expansion of the information horizon and the insufficient identification ability

With the advancement of the times, the development of science and technology, and the improvement of material living conditions, information exchange has become increasingly frequent, and audiovisual tools such as radio, film, television, and video have been widely used. In such an environment, students have heard, witnessed, learned, broadened their horizons, and greatly expanded their understanding of space. From astronomy and geography, visitors from the sky, worlds, computers, and market trends to clothing, hairstyles, and popular songs, they They are very enthusiastic and curious, and actively explore, but because their worldview and outlook on life have not yet fully formed, their discrimination and discrimination of true, good, beautiful, false, evil, and ugly are not strong. In addition, they are complicated by objective reality, so they know things. It often appears narrow, easily confused by surface phenomena, and confusion of understanding. In this case, some unhealthy ideologies can easily enter their hearts and affect their healthy growth. The key to solving this contradiction is to improve students' ability to select information and distinguish right from wrong through analysis and comparison.

Eighth, the contradiction between being helpful and having a low moral standard

Today, many middle school students can actively do good deeds for society, schools, and classes, and they can also do good deeds for their classmates: when classmates encounter difficulties, they can actively offer a helping hand; when fellow scholars have misfortunes, they can Donate consciously, donate things. However, some students' moral standards are not high enough. They rely on theft to make donations, fight for the weak young students through fights, and use cheating on exams to help poor students improve their scores. This naturally formed a contradiction between helping behavior and low moral standards. To this contradiction, the teacher should be skillful in guiding, first affirming its good points, and then pointing out its shortcomings so that it understands what is really helping people.

Ninth, the contradiction between broad interest and lack of interest centers

Modern middle school students are interested in a lot of things: they not only care about in-class learning, but also about extra-curricular learning; they not only like literature and art readings, but also science and technology readings; But it is also not to be overlooked that many students' interest in the external form of things greatly exceeds their interest in the content of things themselves, and lacks a central interest in a wide range of interests. Moreover, their interests are unstable, susceptible to external influences, and situational. To resolve this contradiction requires teachers to be good at enlightenment and induce students to gradually form a stable central interest from many interests.

Tenth, the contradiction between the desire for talent and the weariness

Middle school students are full of wonderful dreams for the future, hoping that they will become famous and capable in the future. And most middle school students hope that they have excellent academic performance and live up to the expectations of teachers, parents, relatives and friends. However, in the process of learning, they felt that the learning burden was too heavy, the study was too hard and too tiring to persevere, and the tiredness of learning increased sharply, forming a psychological contradiction between wanting to learn and being tired of learning. To resolve this contradiction, the teacher must tell the students that they must have knowledge and ability to become successful, otherwise nothing will be achieved. Learning is a chore, but as long as you have the determination and perseverance, you will surely be bitterly sweet. ^[5]