Mental/Emotional/Social Changes Through Puberty

Tuesday August 15 2017
 
                       

The physical changes that occur during puberty give rise to a variety of social and emotional changes as well. First, the ongoing physical maturation process directly affects body and brain to alter children's needs, interests, and moods. Then, as children start to look and act differently, an array of social influences further accelerate the social and emotional changes children experience.

As children observe that their bodies are changing, they may experience a new and unfamiliar set of social experiences. Reinforced by their first enjoyable experiences of sexual arousal, and by their peers and culture, they become interested in forming what can become intense, romantic, and sometimes sexualized relationships with others. Also, as these bodily changes become visible to others, children may begin to experience being treated differently by others. For example, more rapidly maturing youth may experience an increase in their popularity, while their more slowly maturing peers may experience a decline in popularity. Youth may also notice that other people are suddenly paying a great deal more attention to how they look than they are accustomed.

The physical changes associated with puberty become the basis for new emotional experiences. For example, it is common for parents to note their children become more moody and irritable during this period of their lives. This moodiness is commonly attributed to the sudden and fluctuating hormonal levels, or "raging hormones". It is certainly true that sex hormones are powerful chemical agents that can affect mood. During puberty, the body is adjusting to these fluctuating hormone levels and this fluctuation does create mood swings. However, there are several other physical causes accounting for increased moodiness apart from fluctuating hormones.