Essay on Sex and Age Characteristics of Adolescents

During the early adolescent years, most youngsters experience a period of very rapid growth (the adolescent growth spurt) accompanied by the gradual development of the reproductive organs and the secondary sex characteristics (breast development in girls, beard growth in boys, and the appearance of public hair in both sexes).

These changes occur over a period of about two years and culminate in puberty, marked by menstruation in girls and by the appearance of live sperm cells in the urine of boys.

There is wide variation in the ages at which puberty is reached. Some girls may menstruate as early as 11 and or as late as 17, with the average age being 13, Boys show a similar range in the ages at which they reach sexual maturity, but on the average boys experience their growth sport and mature two years later than girls.

Boys and girls average the same height and weight until around eleven when the girls suddenly spurt ahead in both dimensions. Girls maintain this difference for about two years, at which point the boys forge ahead and remain there for the rest of their lives. This difference in rate of physical development is striking in seventh-or eight-grade classrooms where one can find quite mature young women seated alongside a group of immature boys.

Early and Late Matures

Although girls on the average mature earlier than boys, there are large individual differences. Some girls will mature later than some boys. Numerous studies have investigated whether there are personality differences between early-and late-maturing children. How does a late-maturing boy feel when he is short than most of his classmates? How does an early-maturing girl feel when she towers over most of the boys in her class?

Late-maturing boys face a particularly difficult adjustment because of the importance of strength and physical prowess in their peer activities. During the period when they are shorter and less sturdy than their classmates they may lose out on practice of game skills and may never catch up with the early matures who take the lead in physical activities.

Studies indicate that boys who mature late tend to be less popular than their classmates, have poorer self-concepts, and engage in more immature attention-seeking behavior.

They feel rejected and dominated by their peers. The early matures; on the other hand, tend to be more self-confident and independent. A few of these personality differences between early and late maturers persist into adulthood, long after the physical differences have disappeared (Mussen and Jones, 1958; Jones, 1957).

The effects of rate of maturation on personality are less striking for girls. Some early-maturing girls may be at a disadvantage because they are more grown-up than their peers in the late elementary grades, but by the junior high-schools years the early maturers tend to have more prestige among classmates and to take leadership in schools activities. At this stage, the late-maturing girls, like the boys, may have less adequate self-concepts and poorer relations with their parents and peers (Weatherly, 1964).

Adolescent Sexual Experience

Today’s adolescents tend to reject the “double standard,” whereby men are allowed more sexual freedom than women. In the study referred to in the Table given below, a majority of both boys and girls felt that what was moral for one sex was moral for the other. The majority of the adolescents in this study also felt that their sexual standards were quite different from their parents’ and that, although they had a close relationship with their parents in many respects, sex was the area in which they were less likely to communicate. Many of today’s parents seem willing to allow their offspring sexual freedom (as long as they are not directly confronted by the facts) but unwilling to discuss the topic with them.

1. The Mesomorph

(i) The mesomorph is built for athletics.

(ii) V-shape, wide shoulders, broad hips, muscular things.

(iii) Mesomorphs usually maintain “healthy” body fat levels learning more towards the lower end.

(iv) They easily add muscle and their bodies are far more forgiving of training mistakes and variances than their ectomorphic buddies.

(v) They are often natural athletes.

(vi) Their abdomen is large with low waist and has heavy buttocks with heavy fore-legs.

(vii) They appear to be more muscular and the distribution of their weight may be more evenly presented. However, they do tend to gather weight around their hips and thighs.

(viii) Their skin is rough with not so good complexion but is energetic and takes actions quickly.

2. The Ectomorph

(i) The ectomorph is long and lean.

(ii) Ectomorphs often fall into the category of what weightlifting aficionados call “hard gainers”, individuals who have a difficult time beefing up.

(iii) The stereotypical “98-pound weakling” would be representative of the ectomorphic body type.

(iv) Ectomorphs carry little fat and while they are typically not gifted with natural muscle, they have the advantage, with the proper training and eating, of putting on muscle without much worry about gaining fat.

(v) Ectomorphs appear, lean, long and lanky, and have small bone structure, with narrow hips and a small waist.

(vi) Their legs tend to be longer than their bodies.

(vii) They have a softer skin with more hairy growth.

(viii) The digestive system is weak with low energy out and poor vital capacity.

(ix) They have quick reflections but slow actions and are good at sports like basketball and volleyball.

3. The Endomorph

(i) Endomorphs tend to be rounder in appearance and have a softer body due to higher proportions of body fat. The “pear shape” would be a stereotypical endomorph as there is usually significant accumulation of fat around hips and midsection.

(ii) Endomorphs are predisposed to gaining weight, and tend to be on the overweight side.

(iii) They are typically more heavily boned, and carry more fat than muscle.

(iv) Generally their legs are shorter than their bodies.

(v) Fat stores will accumulate around their stomachs and their breasts may be larger than the “the norm.”

(vi) Fat around the abdomen is much deeper than fat on the hips or thighs, this directly affects the amount of fat stored around the body’s organs such as the heart, which can increase the incidence of heart disease and high blood pressure.

(vii) They find it harder to lose weight than the ectomorph and even the mesomoiph.

(viii) Their skin is thick and hairy.

(ix) They are very social and overestimate their abilities though always seem on control of situation and- relaxed in mood.