In the developmental stage of adolescence, changes occur

physically, emotionally and internally known as puberty. In this prelude of

adulthood, the body changes and matures for the nature of reproduction.
During puberty, young people attain an adult-sized body and become
capable of producing offspring. Accompanying rapid body growth are
changes in physical features related to sexual functioning (Berk, 2013, pg.
203). Although each childs body is different, a typical physical milestone
for a girl during adolescence is menstruation. A females first menstruation
cycle often occurs on average at 12 years old. While male penis and
testes growth is completed on average 14 1/2. These examples are just
two of the many changes that occur during the developmental stage of
adolescence.

Language development in adolescence has expanded in vocabulary, syntax and phonologically
due to comprehension and social experiences. Like gains in vocabulary, appreciation of these subtle
grammatical distinctions in middle childhood and adolescence is supported by an improved capacity to
analyze and reflect on language and to attend to multiple linguistic and situation cues (Berk, 2013, pg.
388). Typically, Adolescences have an improved pragmatic ability to communicate clearly and in accord
with social expectations in diverse situations and the semantics to comprehend over 40,000 words,
including many abstract terms. These strives in language development support adult communication
and construction later on in adulthood.
Cognitive developmental milestones for the stage of adolescence is processing and retrieving
material effectively to apply information to various strategies. For instance, typical development in this
stage, is the working memory capacity and processing speed steadily increase, but at a slower pace.
Adolescences semantic memory will also expand further and become more intricately organized and
controlled. Children within the adolescence stage are able to input and output information effectively
towards problem solving, self-regulation and critical thinking skills.
Two moral reasoning milestones that can be
characterized in this stage are ideal reciprocity and
awareness of moral implications. Using ideal
reciprocity, adolescences start to make moral
decisions based more on how they would like others
to treat them if the tables were turned, than based
on what they can gain for themselves. As
understanding in moral implications increase, teens
regard personal rights and obligations more intently.

Two typical social/emotional milestones for adolescence is increased self-differentiation and
identity development. In early adolescence teenagers exhibit self-differentiation skills by distinguishing
their traits in generalizations that evolve around their social context such as kind, cooperative and
friendly. These descriptive generalizations further into middle to late adolescence to which teens then
begin to form more cohesive thoughts of self-awareness which contributes to their self-identity
development. As adolescents revise their views of themselves to include enduring beliefs and plans,
they more toward the kind of unity of self that is central to identity development (Berk, 2013, pg. 458).
Children define themselves in terms of their abilities, relationships and attributes, which all play a role
into their personal self-awareness and self-concept schema.
Signs that may signal atypical development during adolescence is if the child is becoming
severely withdrawn and his/her physical appearance drastically change. As stated by Berk (2013),
Severe dieting is the strongest predictor of an eating disorder in adolescence (pg. 210). Eating
disorders often occur around the time of puberty, because of the increased peer approval along with
the drastic body changes.
A social factor that influences the stage of
adolescence is the development of civic
responsibility. Adolescents whose parents engage
in community service and stress compassion tend
to hold socially responsible values (Berk, 2013, pg.
508). When children are involved in civic
educational practices and are encouraged to form
opinions on political issues, they are more likely to
develop a strong sense of community and moral
maturity. A cultural factor that can influence
adolescent development is ethnic identity. As
teens develop and become more sensitive to
feedback from their peers and social environment,
there can become a conflict with their personal identity. Teens can often feel wedged between their
cultural origin traditions and ideals of society.
Adolescence can be a difficult time for preteen and teenagers, because of the emotional and
physical changes that are occurring to the body. Parent child relationships may suffer due to the
emotional stress that a child is feeling. Adolescents are on the brink of adulthood and often feel they
should be treated as such. Two strategies for parents to utilize is respecting their childs wants and
displaying effective communication. When parents show their child that they are listening and respect
them, they are providing an atmosphere of open communication for the child to express themselves. It
is very important as young adults that adolescents be guided and given tools that will increase and
support their maturity and development.