Читать книгу Counseling the Contemporary Woman - Suzanne Degges-White - Страница 56

Due to hormonal changes that occur during puberty, emotional stability can be challenged and this can yield notable behavioral changes, as well. Increased levels of androgens and estrogens are produced, as these spur the development of primary and secondary sexual characteristics, and changes in the levels of serotonin and dopamine also occur, which yield heightened sensitivity to stress during adolescence (Walker, 2002). Moodiness, or extreme and rapid shifts in emotions, seem to be more characteristic of adolescence than any other developmental period. Hormonal changes are more likely to affect a young woman’s mood if they are combined with negative life circumstances (e.g., parental separation, academic problems). Moreover, moodiness seems to be associated with peer relationships, parental expectations, and an adolescent’s self-concept. Gutman, Peck, Malanchuk, Sameroff, and Eccles (2017) found that self-esteem levels tend to vary more for females than males during the adolescent years. Gutman et al. also found ethnicity was a key factor for self-esteems; African American adolescent females are less likely to show the decline that is typical of this period for European Americans. They also found that self-esteem tended to increase in early adolescence, from ages 12 to 15, but began dropping at age 16 and continued its decline until age 20 was reached. A combination of factors likely affect adolescent females’ self-esteem levels including gender-based discrimination, body image issues, lower expectations for success, not feeling supported by others, and an early onset of puberty. As adolescent females face these and other stressors, there is a greater risk for experiencing depressive symptoms during this period, as well. Hormonal changes may play a role in depressive symptomology, but studies have suggested that exposure to social media and screen time engagement may also account for the rise in depressive symptoms that are seen in contemporary adolescents (Twenge, Joiner, Rogers, & Martin, 2018). Girls might experience more depressive symptoms not only due to the number of stressors faced but also because of their tendency to adopt a co-ruminating coping style. Rumination is the practice of focusing attention internally toward negative thoughts and feelings, which increases in frequency throughout adolescence (Mazzer, Boersma, & Linton, 2019), and co-rumination is the practice of focusing on negative feelings and distressing events in conversations with friends. Adolescence is a period in which social status and social connections play a significant role in a young woman’s identity; building alliances based on mutual empathy and support can be efficacious, but when co-rumination is the primary focus of engagement, the end result may be compromised, not fortified, psychological well-being (Mazzer et al., 2019). While puberty alone does not necessarily cause a rise in depressive symptoms, the interactions between physiological changes and the role of social acceptance and fear of social rejection may cause the rise in depressive symptoms for older adolescent females (McGuire, McCormick, Koch, & Mendle, 2019).

One benefit of the changes going on in the adolescent brain is the increased cognitive potential through acquisition and integration of new information. This allows adolescents to gradually reach the formal operations stage, Piaget’s last stage of cognitive development (Piaget, 1965). The gradual improvement in abstract reasoning skills is evident in adolescents’ advanced information processing skills, which yield greater processing speed and extended capacity of their working memory. The capacity for abstract thought in adolescent years can influence many aspects of teenage life, such as perspectives they take on sociopolitical climate, religion, relationships with parents and peers, and, finally, self-evaluation and self-identity.