Puberty

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A major change of season.

Puberty is the last of big physical changes in development, at least until things start going down hill. It’s when sexual attraction and hormones kick in. Adolescents are becoming more independent but they overestimate their abilities. They are not-quite adults.

Here’s what is included in this lesson:

• Changes in boys
• Changes in girls
• Menarche
• Attraction

Mind Map

Notes

• Puberty
  • Changing from child to adult
  • Enabling of sexual reproduction
  • Initiated by hormones
  • Changes in gonads
    • Ovaries in girls
    • Testes in boys
  • Onset (varies greatly)
    • Girls 10-11
    • Boys 11-12
  • Completed by (varies greatly)
    • Girls 15-17
    • Boys 16-17
  • Precocious puberty
    • Start earlier than usual
    • Delayed puberty
    • Start later than usual
• Boys & Girls Both
  • Skin & hair become more oily
  • Height & weight increase
  • Underarm hair
  • Pubic hair
  • Pimples
  • “Filling in” & “Filling out”
  • Growth spurt
  • Body odor: more fatty acid in sweat
  • Secondary sex characteristics: look more male or female
• Adolescent Egocentrism
  • Two types:
  • 1. Imaginary audience
    • Feel being watched-judged
    • What you wear, what do
  • 2. Personal fable
    • Perceive self as special-unique
    • No one understands me
    • My thoughts are unique
    • Invulnerable
• Boys
  • Physically
  • Still developing
  • 1st physical sign of puberty
    • Gonadarche
    • Testicles get larger
    • 6 years to reach adult size
  • 2nd (1 year later) penis shaft
    • Length & breadth increase
    • Foreskin retracts
    • Glans penis (distal end)
    • Equivalent of clitoral glans
  • Foreskin retraction
    • Childhood: foreskin covers glans
    • Bonded with membrane
  • Puberty:
    • Membrane disintegrates
    • Progressively able to retract foreskin without pain
  • Balls drop
    • At birth, testicles descend into scrotum
    • At puberty, scrotum hangs lower
    • Scrotum
      • gets larger
      • hang below body
    • Regulated temperature
      • Keep sperm alive
  • Testes produce:
    • Hormones (testosterone)
    • Sperm
  • Morning wood
    • Nocturnal penile tumescence
    • Erection during sleep
    • Erection when wake-up
  • Random erections
    • Spontaneous & involuntary
    • Bulge, package, hump
    • Normal (even before birth)
  • Breasts become tender
    • Get “lumps”
  • Pubic hair
    • After genitalia begin to grow
    • Starts at dorsal (abdomen)
    • Gradually fill public triangle
    • Then toward thighs & navel
  • Hair (in order)
    • Underarm
    • Around anus
    • Upper lip
    • Sideburns
    • Around nipples
    • Beard
    • Chest (may take 10 years, if at all)
  • Voice change
    • Larynx grows in both sexes
    • More in boys
      • longer & thicker vocal folds
      • voice deepens one octave
    • Precedes facial hair
  • Heavier bones
  • Double in muscle mass
    • Adult males compared to females
    • 150% of lean body mass
    • 50% of the body fat
  • First ejaculation
    • Usually occurs while asleep
    • Isn’t socially celebrated
    • Carries no sperm
• Girls
  • Physically
    • Still developing
  • First menstrual period
  • Increase in body fat
  • Breasts enlarge
  • Hips widen
  • Menarche
    • Beginning of menstruation
    • Is socially celebrated
    • Carries no egg
  • 1st sign of puberty (age 11) = tender lump in breasts
    • One or both
    • Firm but softens as grows
    • Flat prepubertal breast
    • Mature size, then nipples
  • 2nd noticeable change
    • Pubic hair
      • Along labia
      • Pubic triangle
      • Thighs
      • Navel
  • As estrogen increases
    • Mucosal surface of vagina
      • Thicker
      • Dull pink (instead of bright red)
    • Increase in size of uterus, ovaries & follicles
  • First menstrual bleeding
    • Periods not regular
      • Settle in about two years
    • Ovulation not occur
    • Chance result of:
      • thickening of endometrium
      • rising but fluctuating estrogen
    • Happens when:
      • 17% body fat
      • Hypothalamus releases GnRH
        • pulse generator
      • Tells pituitary to release
        • FSH (follicle stim. hormone)
        • LH (luteinizing hormone)
      • Ovaries release estrogen
        • But not ovulation
  • 1st Menarche
    • Usually brighter red
    • Small amount & brief
      • Spotting
    • Abdominal cramps
    • Social discussion
    • Indicates
      • Uterus responds to estrogen
      • Uterus-endometrium-cervix-vagina connections open
      • Endometrium (inner most layer of uterus)
  • Ovulation usually not included
    • 1 year 80% anovulatory
    • 3 year 50% anovulatory
    • 5 year 10% anovulatory
  • For consist ovulation
    • Need 22+% body fat
  • Can ovulate before menarche
    • Theoretically possible to be pregnant before menarche
  • Menstruum = flow
    • Blood (fresh & clotted)
    • Endometrial tissue
  • Other Characteristics
    • Thickening of lips & oral mucosa
    • More smooth muscle in vagina
    • Increase in fat tissue
    • Clitoris gets larger (testosterone)
    • Darkening of areola
    • Hips & pelvis widen
    • Red lips
• Attraction
  • Women
    • Periovulatory period
      • Mid-point of menstrual cycle
      • Sexual interest increases
    • High estrogen levels
      • Prefer men look-act masculine
  • Body Image
    • Facial symmetry
    • Very difficult to find
    • Takes billons of cells
    • In same places on each side
  • Men should have:
    • relatively longer lower face
    • prominent chin & brow
    • defined cheekbones
    • broad forehead
    • chiseled jaw
  • Women should have:
    • Baby face
    • Large eyes
    • Small nose
    • Narrow jaw
    • High cheekbones
    • Fatter than they think should be
  • Ratios
    • Between eyes
      • 46% of total width
    • Between eyes & mouth
      • 36% of total height
• Overestimation
  • Men overvalue of muscles
  • Women overvalue of thinness

Terms

• abdominal cramps
• adolescence = ages 13-19, transition from child to adult, puberty
• adolescent egocentrism
• anorexia nervosa = eating disorder, self-starvation, intense fear of weight gain, loss of control
• anovulatory
• attraction
• baby face
• balls drop
• body fat
• body image
• body odor: more fatty acid in sweat
• bulimia nervosa = eating disorder, counters overeating with radical exercising or purging
• cervix
• clitoral glans
• clitoris
• darkening of areola
• delayed puberty
• egg
• endometrial tissue
• endometrium = inner most layer of uterus
• erection
• estrogen
• facial symmetry
• filling in & filling out
• foreskin
• foreskin retraction
• formal operational stage= Piaget’s stage, abstract and symbolic thinking
• FSH (follicle stimulating hormone)
• glans penis (distal end)
• GnRH
• gonadarche
• gonads
• growth spurt
• hips & pelvis widen
• hormones
• hypothalamus
• hypothetico-deductive reasoning = Piaget’s stage, think like a scientist, generate a general theory
• imaginary audience
• invulnerable
• irregular periods
• labia
• larynx
• lean body mass
• LH (luteinizing hormone)
• menarche
• menstrual bleeding
• menstrual cycle
• menstrual period
• menstruum = flow
• morning wood
• nocturnal penile tumescence
• ovaries
• overestimation
• ovulation
• periovulatory period
• personal fable
• pimples
• precocious puberty
• prepubertal breast
• primary sexual characteristics = sex organs (ovaries or testes)
• propositional thought = Piaget’s stage, mastered in adolescence, logical abstract thought
• puberty
• pubic hair
• pubic triangle
• pulse generator
• random erections
• scrotum
• secondary sex characteristics = look more male or female
• secular trend = average age of puberty is decreasing
• sexual reproduction
• sperm
• spermarche = development of sperm in boys
• spotting
• testicles
• testosterone
• uterus
• vagina

Quiz

• 1. Teens perceiving themselves as special-unique is a:
  • a.           formal operations task
  • b.           executive function
  • c.           personal fable
  • d.           episodic trait
• 2. As a girl goes through puberty her vagina turns _____ and her lips ______.
  • a.           stiff, soften
  • b.           pink, red
  • c.           red, pink
  • d.           red, red
• 3. Rising but fluctuating estrogen levels help cause:
  • a.           follicle depletion
  • b.           FSH depletion
  • c.           menarche
  • d.           ovulation
• 4. In general, boys overemphasize the value of their:
  • a.           narrow foreheads
  • b.           friendliness
  • c.           muscles
  • d.           height
• 5. What’s the 1^st sign of puberty in girls:
  • a.           tender lump in breasts
  • b.           deeper voice
  • c.           wider hips
  • d.           red lips

Answers

• 1. Teens perceiving themselves as special-unique is a:
  • a.           formal operations task
  • b.           executive function
  • c.           personal fable
  • d.           episodic trait
• 2. As a girl goes through puberty her vagina turns _____ and her lips ______.
  • a.           stiff, soften
  • b.           pink, red
  • c.           red, pink
  • d.           red, red
• 3. Rising but fluctuating estrogen levels help cause:
  • a.           follicle depletion
  • b.           FSH depletion
  • c.           menarche
  • d.           ovulation
• 4. In general, boys overemphasize the value of their:
  • a.           narrow foreheads
  • b.           friendliness
  • c.           muscles
  • d.           height
• 5. What’s the 1^st sign of puberty in girls:
  • a.           tender lump in breasts
  • b.           deeper voice
  • c.           wider hips
  • d.           red lips

Summary

Bonus

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