Puberty Analysis

Puberty is described as a state of bodily changes and social changes. For instance, “breast development and menstruation in girls; voice changes in boys; increase in height, weight, and muscle mass; and sebaceous skin changes” (Mendle 2). Oftentimes it’s looked as purely physical development as opposed to both social and cognitive development. The importance of fully understanding this aspect of adolescent development is that it is “one of the most important transitions of the human life span” according to Jane Mendle’s “Beyond Pubertal Timing” article. This period of “dramatic physical and emotional changes” (Mendle 1) helps us understand why such a process is emphasized and how it “requires adequate attention to multiple domains of developmental

These multiple domains of development can vary from “particularly the genetic and environmental influences” (Mendle 1) to how it “can vary across children, time, and culture” (Mendle 1). Pubertal development yet also consists of many factors such as its “household composition, coordination, gender differences, and religious symbolism” according to Dr. Crosnoe. He suggests that the key to understanding puberty depends on both its biological process and social meaning.
If we were to strictly focus on puberty through a biological lens, it would obscure full understanding of this aspect of adolescent development. Biologically, the process of puberty composes of “reactivation of HPG axis (Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Gonadal), hormonal stimulation of pituitary gland, release of gonadotropin & follicle stimulation hormone, ovaries-estradiol/testes-testosterone, and development of secondary sex characteristics” (Crosnoe). Although it is vital to recognize its biological process, acknowledging its social impacts helps one to better grasp puberty. Likewise,

By way of illustration, “both individual and social responses to maturation might differ to the extent that various bodily changes occur in conjunction with each other” (Mendle 2). Certainly, this asserts that an integration of both biological and social perspectives will assist in understanding adolescent development. Furthermore, recent collections of data have noticed that the “secular declines in the timing of pubertal onset have ironically coincided with later ages of social maturity, including the new developmental stage of “emerging adulthood”’ (Mendle 3). The present divide “between biological and social maturation may present both individual and societal costs” (Mendle 3). Concrete studies have displayed that “not only do children contend with puberty at younger ages” (Mendle 3). But more so “disparities between social and biological maturity are believed to facilitate risk-taking behaviors that contribute to adolescent delinquency, mortality, and injury” (Mendle 3). Hence the bodies of our youth and their social worlds tend to change “and evolve throughout puberty and adolescence” (Mendle 3). In terms of health and well-being we must understand the complex variation in puberty. The domains such as social and biological aspects help us to recognize that “these domains are, to some degree, intertwined—particularly in data collected at a single point” (Mendle