Introduction
The teenage development stage is a period during which many changes take place. These changes may be physical, emotional, social, or even mental. There is a change in hormones at the onset of puberty. The milestone chosen regarding the teen developmental stage is going to speak on puberty. It is going to look at how puberty physically, mentally and spiritually affects this group of people. It is also going to look at two health promotion strategies that ensure there is healthy transitioning through this milestone is met.
Physical effects of puberty on individuals
The holistic physical aspects of nursing during puberty refer to those features the teenager develops that enable the individual to develop sexually and can reproduce. This brings in the change in behavior of these individuals and they may turn out to act in an unusual manner to the point of seeing themselves as mature people. At this point, they need to be given guidance for them not to engage in destructive behaviors.
The physical changes in boys during puberty involve the boy changing into a man. The boy turns out to be stronger and taller. The penis and testicles begin to grow. The voice turns out to be deeper and there is the growth of hair in areas such as the face, pubic area, chest and the armpits. These changes are external. Those changes that develop internally involve the development of tools that are required for reproduction. The testicles begin to carry out the production of semen
Among the girls, there is growth of the breasts and growth of hair in the pubic region, and under the arms. The hips broaden. Internally, there is the development of features that are responsible for carrying out reproduction. They begin to experience the menstrual cycles. The girls are now in a position to get pregnant. In general, in both boys and girls, these changes may bring worries among them regarding the way other people look at them.
Mental effects of puberty on individuals
This is a stage where there will be a setting in of peer pressure to use such harmful substances as alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs and to engage in sex. The young people are faced with the task of coming up with their own decisions in regard to the kind of friends they need to have, regarding school, and sports among other areas. These young people turn out to be independent with their own personality and interest.
The instability in emotions, the outbursts, and the absence of judgment are the behaviors that are commonly seen in teenagers or associated with the teen years. The concept of significance here is that the brain of the teenager is still undergoing development and is yet to be mature completely.
Since some brain’s parts tend to undergo development at an earlier time in comparison to other parts, it is of great significance to realize that what appears to be like teenage unpredictable behavior may be brought about by the disengagement that comes about when the brain parts undergo development in ways that don’t match up with one another. This act of not matching may explain the emotionality and impulsivity of teenagers.
However, being aware by society including the parents of this disconnect in the course of the teenage developmental stage can assist, especially the parents, to work to offer prevention to this group of people from coming up with unsound decisions. Being aware that these people may find themselves in situations where the parts of the brain that are less mature may take control of them implies that the parents can make the efforts to assist their children who are teenagers to be able to evade such situations in the first place.
Spiritual effects of puberty on individuals
Spiritual development here involves the teenager developing a sense of identity of oneself and personality. A description was given to the development of the identity of the self and personality through consecutive stages that open out naturally all through the lifetime by Erik Erickson using his theory known as the theory of psychosocial development (Edelman and Mandle, 2005). This theory is based on the need of each and every individual to develop a sense of self-trust as well as a sense of trusting in other people and also a sense of self-worth.
According to Pyle (2007), discovering to answer a question about what kind of people one wants to be around him or her is very critical to offering the answer to the question about whom one is. In answering this question a teenager has to see himself in a relationship with peers. And because of this, many teens push away from their families and come up with a family of friends that is a substitute family. This leads to the parents having particular concerns regarding their adolescents. Among them, there are those parents who get involved in over-controlling this group of people while another group of parents may decide to give these young people excess freedom that they may not be even capable of handling since these parents have a belief that the youths no longer have the need of their control and guidance. However, either of the two extremes brings up the level of difficulty a teen will have in carrying out the negotiation of adolescence in a safe way and realizing self-discovery.
Health Promotional Strategies
These strategies are concerned with ensuring that there is a meeting of healthy transitioning through puberty. Several strategies can be used in this case which includes; school-based health education, family intervention, school organization and management, community mobilization, parent training, and recreation among other strategies. However, here we look at only two.
The first strategy to be looked at is the school-based health education. This is a strategy that is cost-effective that can be used to bring down the level of problems associated with the use of substances such as alcohol, drugs and smoking. This strategy can also be used to deal with the problem of engaging in sexual activities among these young people among other anti-social behavior. Giving out the relevant information to the youths as well as carrying out evaluation is recommended so as to offer encouragement to health education that is based on evidence which is incorporated as a universal constituent in the schools. Encouraging innovation may stretch the use of this strategy into the promotion of mental health.
The second strategy is community mobilization. Mobilizing the community can play a very big role in ensuring a healthy transition through puberty. The implementation of this strategy accompanied by evaluation is recommended to help in the prevention of the use of such substances by teenagers as alcohol, drugs, tobacco and engaging in risky sexual behaviors. Carrying out the funding of the countywide “demonstration sites” and the teams that are based in various geographical sites may play a major role in carrying out the coordination of activities in the local communities. Engaging in the funding of innovation accompanied with evaluation may stretch the use of the strategy to prevent crime as well as the application to mental health strategies.
Gordon’s functional health patterns
Conclusion
This developmental stage involves several changes that have various effects on the lives of these individuals. Therefore, there is a great need for offering help to these groups of people in order to go through the stage in most healthy way.
Reference List
Edelman, C. L., and Mandle, C. L. (2005). Health Promotion throughout the Life Span. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Pyle, L. (2007). Guiding your teens through adolescence. Web.