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. 2005 Feb 5;330(7486):301–304. doi: 10.1136/bmj.330.7486.301

Table 2.

Developmental tasks of adolescence

Biological Psychological Social
Early adolescence
Early puberty (girls: breast bud and pubic hair development, start of growth spurt; boys: testicular enlargement, start of genital growth)
Concrete thinking but early moral concepts; progression of sexual identity development (sexual orientation); possible homosexual peer interest; reassessment of body image
Emotional separation from parents; start of strong peer identification; early exploratory behaviours (smoking, violence)
Mid-adolescence
Girls: mid-late puberty and end of growth spurt; menarche; development of female body shape with fat deposition Boys: mid-puberty, spermarche and nocturnal emissions; voice breaks; start of growth spurt
Abstract thinking, but self still seen as “bullet proof”; growing verbal abilities; identification of law with morality; start of fervent ideology (religious, political)
Emotional separation from parents; strong peer identification; increased health risk (smoking, alcohol, etc); heterosexual peer interest; early vocational plans
Late adolescence Boys: end of puberty; continued increase in muscle bulk and body hair Complex abstract thinking; identification of difference between law and morality; increased impulse control; further development of personal identify; further development or rejection of religious and political ideology Development of social autonomy; intimate relationships; development of vocational capability and financial independence
*

Adapted from McIntosh N, Helms, P, Smyth R, eds. Forfar and Arneil's textbook of paediatrics. 6th ed. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone, 2003: 1757-68.

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