There are four styles of parenting that contribute to self-concept. With an authoritative style, there are reasonable demands and relatively consistent limits. With an authoritarian style, there is little warmth and great emphasis on obedience and conformity. This often leads to unhappy and anxious children. With permissive parenting, the parents let the kids do what they want and make few demands on the child, rarely using any type of punishment. These children lack selfdiscipline and often don t do as well in school, having an increased risk of risky behaviors. The uninvolved parenting style is linked to neglectfulness, usually because of severe depression. The child is at risk for being fearful and withdrawn, with poor school performance and a risk of substance abuse.
ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT Adolescence usually begins at puberty and ends when the teen emerges into adulthood. There is increased independence from one s family of origins and ongoing physical psychosocial, and cognitive development. Puberty is a time of great physical changes, with the development of secondary sexual characteristics, such as breast and facial hair development. Girls will have menarche or the onset of periods and boys will have spermarche or the ability to ejaculate at 13 to 14 years of age, usually. There is a rapid height increase in both boys and girls, based on nature and nurture issues. Girls who mature too early can have substance abuse, depression, and eating disorders. Children who mature too late will also have a risk of depression. There is blooming of the brain in the frontal lobe before puberty with increasing risktaking and emotionality in teens after puberty. Complex thinking happens during adolescence because of an increase in the efficiency of the brain. Abstract thinking develops with the onset of formal operational thought processes. They can think in terms of multiple viewpoints and hypotheticals. They develop cognitive empathy so they can understand the perspective of others. There is an increased emphasis on identity and on figuring out who they are and what they want to be. This causes them to pull away from their parents and toward peer 72
