Question on Psychology

1. In the 21^st century, the onset of puberty has come at an earlier phase than in the prior periods. This apparently relates to a higher standard of living in the countries. Improved nutrition, high Base mass index (BMI) and exposure to endocrine disruptors cause earlier puberty.
2. Adolescence is a sign of puberty. Adolescence describes the age between 13 and 19. It is a transitional stage from childhood to adulthood. However, psychological and physical changes during adolescence can manifest early.
3. The preliminary source of the hormonal variations that cause sexual maturity is from the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland secretes hormones into the blood stream to initiate the changes.
4. Several studies suggest that family conflict associates with early menarche. Increased stress in girls can lead to early menarche.
5. At puberty, brain changes include major changes in gray matter in the frontal lobes. The gray matter growth prior to puberty predominates in the frontal lobe.
6. The group with the highest rate of suicide levels is the Native American males. Suicide rates were higher among American Indian/Alaska natives than other groups.
7. Unhealthy habits of many adolescents place them at risk of high fat and low nutrient eating. It leads to deficiencies in iron and calcium and iron especially in teenage girls. It also causes overweight and chronic diseases such as heart attacks and diabetes.
8. Identity includes a coherent conception of the self. It also includes values and beliefs a person dear. Identity can be defined as a set of goals to which one solidly commits.
9. Sabrina is in a state of identity achievement. Identity achievement is a situation where the individual under consideration go through a period of contemplation of possible alternatives and commit to one.
10. According to Marcia Ashley is in a foreclosure identity status. Ashley has not given deep thought to the issue of abortion but accepted it as wrong due to influence of parents, friends, and church. Foreclosure definition is the state when an individual has made a commitment without taking self-consideration.
11. In order to achieve sexual identity, adolescents need to see themselves as a sexual being, come to terms with sexual stirrings and recognize their sexual orientation. Adolescents do not need to have a successful sexual encounter in order to achieve a sexual identity.
12. Most pregnant teenagers are likely to have improved outcomes than any other age cohort, with decent medical attention.
13. If I could choose the parents of my children's friends, I would want them to be located nearby. This would ensure increased cop-ordination to carry out parental duties.
14. Self-efficacy educational system and parental values influence a teenager's aspirations. In the process of formulation of individual goals and ambitions teenagers get influenced by the environment and modeling of behavior through the learning process.
15. The statement that although gender-typing in occupational choice has declined considerably, some counselors still steer boys and girls to gender-typed careers is correct. Through career education, sensitivity on careers choices has considerably reduced gender discrimination, although some bias still persists.

Part b

1. A non-normative life event is an event is one that manifests in an individual's life unexpectedly. The events are unpredictable, therefore, cannot be placed on a definite time scale. The events can either be positive or negative. Examples of non-normative events include; natural disasters, and unexpected events such as loss of family members. On the other hand, normative events include those that are usual to an individual's life. These are events that individuals anticipate and expect them to occur. A normative event taken to play an integral part of the specification under consideration. Normative events occur to a large group of persons. An example of a normative event within the life of an individual is attending school.
2. The 3 ways in which diversity can affect development research include the listed below factors. Bronfenbrenner model proposes the relationship between the interaction of the human gene and the environment. Diversity could arise into a variation of outcomes. Diversity leads to natural selection for better adaptation to environment, resistance to diseases and better survival rates of species.
3. A critical period in an individual's life is a phase in which he/she is sensitive to environmental stimuli. This is to enable development of a vital skill in life. A sensitive era, on the other hand, is a stretched era of time when an individual is sensitive to environmental stimuli. It is usually due to the nervous system being sensitive to environmental stimuli. It results in a predisposition of an individual to learning.
4. The first theory he could use is the rational choice model. It suggests that perceived risks is obtained from information from informal peer groups as well as experiences from interaction with the legal system. Another theory is the routine activities model which explains on the increased risks involved in offending behavior and victimization. The third theory is the psychological resilience that studies individuals' capabilities to cope with stress.
5. During adolescence development stage, education is significant to determine to prepare an individual for the world in general. Self-efficacy, academic motivation and parental care and values, influence the academic performance of an individual. Self-efficacy, which is an, individual's belief in his capabilities can considerably improve educational growth. Academic motivation directly relates to educational growth. Academic motivation is the capability of an education system to harness learning and understanding in students. The environmental factors affecting academic performance include; social factors, socio-physical and physical factors.
   
   
   1. The three circumstances relate in such a way that they are a result of heightened risk taking habit of adolescence stage. Various parenting skills influence the outcomes in the youths. The youths usually hails from broken families. The adolescents are further likely to emanate from underprivileged families than others. The adolescents are likely to exhibit emotional and behavioral problems. Authoritarian parenting would not change the outcomes since the adolescents tend to be rebellious. Authoritative parenting helps to guide the adolescents to avert the negative outcomes. Permissive parenting can be beneficial since family warmth and understanding are what the adolescents' lack.

Adolescents form an identity through interactions with the environment and as a consequence of other aspects such as individual genes. A variety of factors impact on individual identity. An identity crisis is the process of exploring various identities to commit to one. Critical issues include issues of adjustment to environmental stimuli. As a result heightened emotions in adolescents critical issues tend to be more critical than in other phases.