Developmental Characteristics During Adolescence

Psychosocial

• Friendships form and social interactions increase, which have the potential for boosting self-esteem and reducing anxiety
• Distinct gender differences occur in socialization patterns (e.g., females tend to have smaller numbers of close friends and males tend to have larger "social networks")
• Allegiance and affiliation shifts from parents and teachers to friends and peers
• Social tasks and situations are handled without adult supervision and advice
• Self-esteem changes due to adolescents' home and school lives
• Preoccupations with the self lead to critical self-examination and, subsequently to the formation of self-perceptions
• Argumentative and aggressive behaviors become evident and often disturb parents and teachers

Cognitive

• Higher levels of cognitive functioning (e.g., reasoning and higher-level thought processes) develop
• Moral and ethical choices are now possible and often guide behavior
• Developmental diversity leads to varying abilities to think and reason
• Cognitive ability is often affected by overall socialization
• Perspectives about past, present, and future develop that allow enhanced perspectives of time
• Language and overall verbalization skills increase, allowing improved communication in both school and home situations