Adolescent Development in the Church
Thesis Adolescent’s are in a stage of extreme physical, mental, social, cognitive, and spiritual development and need relational guidance in developing a healthy identity in Christ.
The Stages of Development There are four developmental aspects that need to be covered in adolescent development. The first developmental theory in the adolescent stage is Jean Piaget’s theory of the formal operational stage. In this developmental stage the person is developing the capacity for abstract, systematic, and scientific thinking.[1] Within this developmental stage, adolescents are capable of hypothetico-deductive reasoning, in which a child is able to come up with hypothetical situations and then deduce logical outcomes. They also form propositional thoughts, which is the ability to evaluate the logic of propositions without referring to real-world circumstances. In addition to this, metacognition is central to the development of their cognition. In metacognition, the awareness of thought is expanding, leading to new insights into effective strategies for acquiring information and solving problems[2]. An interesting aspect of this developmental stage is that there is a concept called the imaginary audience in which adolescents believe that they are the focus of everyone else’s attention and concern.[3] This is a consequence of the cognitive development that is taking place, which explains the self-consciousness that many adolescents face. Along with the imaginary audience, there is personal fable, which also affects self-esteem and peer acceptance. Personal fable is the adolescent’s development of a self-inflated opinion of their own importance.[4] With all of these cognitive developmental changes, the physical growth also plays a huge factor in the life of an adolescent. This is the physical stage where children transition into adulthood. Puberty is reached in the adolescent stage, which includes a massive change in their bodies. This is the stage of
The Stages of Development There are four developmental aspects that need to be covered in adolescent development. The first developmental theory in the adolescent stage is Jean Piaget’s theory of the formal operational stage. In this developmental stage the person is developing the capacity for abstract, systematic, and scientific thinking.[1] Within this developmental stage, adolescents are capable of hypothetico-deductive reasoning, in which a child is able to come up with hypothetical situations and then deduce logical outcomes. They also form propositional thoughts, which is the ability to evaluate the logic of propositions without referring to real-world circumstances. In addition to this, metacognition is central to the development of their cognition. In metacognition, the awareness of thought is expanding, leading to new insights into effective strategies for acquiring information and solving problems[2]. An interesting aspect of this developmental stage is that there is a concept called the imaginary audience in which adolescents believe that they are the focus of everyone else’s attention and concern.[3] This is a consequence of the cognitive development that is taking place, which explains the self-consciousness that many adolescents face. Along with the imaginary audience, there is personal fable, which also affects self-esteem and peer acceptance. Personal fable is the adolescent’s development of a self-inflated opinion of their own importance.[4] With all of these cognitive developmental changes, the physical growth also plays a huge factor in the life of an adolescent. This is the physical stage where children transition into adulthood. Puberty is reached in the adolescent stage, which includes a massive change in their bodies. This is the stage of
Bibliography: Arzola, Fernando, and Jr. Toward a Prophetic Youth Ministry: Theory and Praxis in Urban Context. Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP Academic, 2008. Berk, Laura E. Exploring Lifespan Development. [first Edition]. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon, 2008. Folmsbee, Chris. A New Kind of Youth Ministry. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan/Youth Specialties, 2006. Jacober, Amy E. The Adolescent Journey: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Practical Youth Ministry. Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP Books, 2011. Jacober, Amy. The Pastor 's Guide to Youth Ministry. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2006. [2] Laura E. Berk, Exploring Lifespan Development. [First Edition] (Boston, Ma: Allyn & Bacon, 2008), page 302. [3] Laura E. Berk, Exploring Lifespan Development. [First Edition] (Boston, Ma: Allyn & Bacon, 2008), page 303. [4] Laura E. Berk, Exploring Lifespan Development. [First Edition] (Boston, Ma: Allyn & Bacon, 2008), page 304. [5] Laura E. Berk, Exploring Lifespan Development. [First Edition] (Boston, Ma: Allyn & Bacon, 2008), page 284. [6] Fernando Arzola and Jr, Toward a Prophetic Youth Ministry: Theory and Praxis in Urban Context (Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP Academic, 2008), page 123. [7] Fernando Arzola and Jr, Toward a Prophetic Youth Ministry: Theory and Praxis in Urban Context (Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP Academic, 2008), page 125. [8] Amy E. Jacober, The Adolescent Journey: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Practical Youth Ministry (Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP Books, 2011). [9] Laura E. Berk, Exploring Lifespan Development. [First Edition] (Boston, Ma: Allyn & Bacon, 2008), page 314. [10] Laura E. Berk, Exploring Lifespan Development. [First Edition] (Boston, Ma: Allyn & Bacon, 2008), page 316. [11] Laura E. Berk, Exploring Lifespan Development. [First Edition] (Boston, Ma: Allyn & Bacon, 2008), page 322. [12] Amy E. Jacober, The Adolescent Journey: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Practical Youth Ministry (Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP Books, 2011). [13] Laura E. Berk, Exploring Lifespan Development. [First Edition] (Boston, Ma: Allyn & Bacon, 2008), page 314. [14] Chris Folmsbee, A New Kind of Youth Ministry (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan/Youth Specialties, 2006), page 28 [15] Chris Folmsbee, A New Kind of Youth Ministry (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan/Youth Specialties, 2006), page 30-31 [16] Chris Folmsbee, A New Kind of Youth Ministry (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan/Youth Specialties, 2006), page 41 [17] Laura E [18] Andrea Solarz, Healthy Adolescents Project: Adolescent Development Project (Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association, 2002), p. 4. [19] Amy Jacober, The Pastor 's Guide to Youth Ministry (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2006), page 66. [20] Amy Jacober, The Pastor 's Guide to Youth Ministry (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2006), page 73. [21] Fernando Arzola and Jr, Toward a Prophetic Youth Ministry: Theory and Praxis in Urban Context (Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP Academic, 2008), page 103.