Adolescence begins with puberty and extends into adulthood.
The stage that comes after childhood and spans from puberty to the complete development of the organism is known as adolescence . The term comes from the Latin word adolescentĭa .
Adolescence is, in other words, the transformation of the child before reaching adulthood . It is a change of body and mind, but it does not only happen in the adolescent himself, but also in his environment.
Adolescence and puberty
It should be noted that adolescence is not the same as puberty , which begins at a specific age due to hormonal changes. The duration of adolescence varies from person to person. There are also differences in the age at which each culture considers an individual to be an adult .
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) , statistics show that one in five individuals worldwide goes through adolescence. Of this total, 85% live in low-income or middle-income countries . On the other hand, about 1.7 million adolescents die every year.
Differences according to sex
When we talk about the stage of adolescence, we are talking about a fundamental series of changes, both psychological and physical. In this last aspect, it should be noted that the most obvious are growth in height, weight and body fat gain, the evolution of teeth and muscle growth.
However, it is true that although these changes occur in both boys and girls, each gender also has its own physical developments. Thus, for example, male individuals see the appearance of hair in areas such as the genitals, moustache or armpits and they also witness the growth of their sexual organs.
Teenage girls, on the other hand, in addition to experiencing the growth of hair on their bodies, suffer what is known as menarche, which is the first menstruation. This last event is especially significant and will undoubtedly mark a new stage in their lives.
During adolescence, people go through multiple physical and psychological changes.
Psychology in adolescence
Among the main changes that a person experiences in adolescence are the development of abstract and formal thinking , the establishment of sexual identity and the solidification of friendships with probable group experimentation with alcoholic beverages, cigarettes and even drugs.
According to psychology , adolescents struggle to identify themselves and to structure their existence based on that identity . It is a process of self-affirmation , which is often surrounded by conflicts and resistance, in which the subject seeks to achieve independence.
In this sense, the aforementioned psychology carries out a classification of the main problems that occur during adolescence. Thus, it determines that there are problems of a sexual, emotional, academic, behavioral, eating, drug or even abuse nature.
And all of them are largely due to the set of physical changes and mental development that young people experience. Situations to which they have to adapt but which they find difficult to assimilate at first, which is why they find themselves in a difficult situation with themselves.