Essay On Adolescence And Puberty

1277 Words6 Pages

Yaroslav Shahanov 52498

Define adolescence and puberty. What is the endpoint of adolescence? Discuss why adolescence seems to be starting earlier and ending later than in the past.

Etymologically, the word ‘adolescence’ derives from Latin ‘adolescere’, which means ‘to grow up’. At its root meaning, it implies a period of physical and psychological development that begins at puberty and ends at young adulthood, transition from the innocence and freedom of childhood to adulthood and its concomitant responsibility, however the time when it starts and ends depends on an individual’s society. Puberty is the process during which an individual matures and becomes capable of sexual reproduction. The main transformations which usually occur during adolescence are physical, cognitive, moral, social, and emotional. The most noticeable changes which occur during adolescence are the physical changes. They prepare an individual for taking on adult roles. Sexual maturity and brain development are the most noticeable transformations that occur in this period. A starting point of puberty is associated with a cascade of hormone release which peaks in the growth of sexual organs and the development of secondary sex characteristics. In males it is marked by muscular development, maturity of external genitalia, a growth of facial hair and changing of voice. Females go through breast growth, maturity of external genitalia, maturity of the uterus and the …show more content…

The endpoint of this process is not fully determined and, to significant extent, depends on an individual’s society.
Some of the reasons, which explain why it starts earlier and ends later now comparing to the past, may be intensive technological progress and modernization of judicial systems. Those factors increase an amount of time that we need to become

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