COURSE STRUCTURE AND CONTENT

Adolescent Psychology is a 100 hour course, available to start at any time. The course consists of 10 lessons:

Lesson 1. Introduction

• Theories of Human Development
• What is adolescence?
• Piaget’s theory of Cognitive Development
• The stages of Piaget’s theories
• Moral development
• Erikson’s psychosocial development theory, stages

Lesson 2. Life Crises

• Life crisis
• Problems
• Puberty
• Attachment theory
• Internalised and externalized problems
• Types of problems experienced by adolescents

Lesson 3. Physical Development 

• Puberty in females
• Puberty in males
• Hormones
• Physical activity
• Obesity

Lesson 4. Intellectual Development

• Piaget’s formal operations stage
• School problems

Lesson 5. Emotional Development

• Freud’s theories
• Emotional problems
• Teenagers and grief
• Eating problems
• Depression
• Emotional problems
• Typical childhood responses to grief
• Supporting a grieving child

Lesson 6. Sexuality

• Acquisition of gender identity and social role identity
• Vicarious learning and sexual identity
• Gender dysphoria
• Curiosity
• Sex
• Sexual behaviour
• Masturbation
• Sexuality and nudity
• Answering questions

Lesson 7. Social Development

• Family influence
• Types of parenting
• Denigration of parents

Lesson 8. Moral Development

• Piaget’s theory of moral development
• Kohlberg’s theory of moral reasoning

Lesson 9. Delinquency and Crime

• Juvenile delinquency
• Pathways to delinquency
• Gangs
• Crimes more likely in adolescence
• Behaviour problems
• Drugs, solvents and alcohol
• Child abuse
• Triggers of abuse
• Stranger abuse
• How to deal with deviance

Lesson 10. Adolescents and the Transition to Adulthood

• Erikson’s later stages
• The transition to adulthood

Each lesson is completed with an assignment for the student to complete and submit to the school for marking. Your tutor will make the assignment and return it to you with suggestions and comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

LESSON AIMS

Students studying Adolescent Psychology will undertake a variety of tasks in each lesson, and benefit from the learning aims for each of the lessons:

• Develop an understanding of the theories of child development in relation to adolescents.
• Develop an understanding of life crises in relation to adolescents.
• Develop an understanding of the physical changes that occur in puberty.
• Develop an understanding of the intellectual changes that occur in adolescence.
• Develop an understanding of the emotional development that occurs during adolescence.
• Develop an understanding of sexuality during adolescence
• Develop an understanding of the social development that occurs in adolescence.
• Develop an understanding of the theories of moral development in relation to teenagers.
• Consider the links between adolescence and delinquent activity such as crime.
• Develop an understanding of the changes that occur moving from adolescence to adulthood.

During the course, you will learn more about how adolescence is a period of change -

As children mature their peers become more influential in their lives and their relationships with them evolve. Adolescents have to learn to deal with feelings of sexual attraction as their bodies become stimulated by hormones. They may be involved in teenage romances.  They also learn to become more independent from their parents and this means changing social roles as they begin to work out who they are. 

According to the famous psychoanalyst, Erikson, we pass through eight different stages of development from infancy to late adulthood and each presents us with a psychosocial conflict we must resolve in order to move forward successfully with our lives. During adolescence the conflict is between developing our identity and role confusion. In the pursuit of self-identity, adolescents test out different roles. In order to distinguish themselves from their parents, they may behave in opposite ways to their parents. For instance, if their parents prefer safe activities they may choose more risky ones. Failure during this stage can lead to confusion about one's identity or negative identity such as that of a juvenile delinquent.

As adolescents shift from emotional support of parents to peers, they also have more freedom, and it can become a stressful time for some. Although adolescence is often painted as a time of 'storm and stress' the literature would seem to suggest that it is only stressful for a minority. This minority may experience conflict and stress in their relationships with their parents and adults generally.

Given that during this transition to adulthood adolescents identify with their peers, they become more influenced by their friends. If their friends engage in risky type behaviours or the peers, they want to be accepted by do, they are more likely to act in the same way. Of course, overall adolescents are not all purveyors of bad behaviour. It is actually more likely that their friends will try to stop them from behaving poorly. Usually adolescents just develop ways of behaving that demarcate them from younger generations and adults. The interact using their own slang terms and dress in ways that define their groups. 

What Are the Advantages of Studying Psychology With ACS Distance Education?

• You can start at any time to suit you.
• They are self-paced.
• You can study when and where suits you. They are flexible to fit in around you and your lifestyle.
• It is not just a course, it is a package of learning that includes – course notes, tutor feedback, self-assessment tests, research tasks and assignments.
• Our tutors are all experts in their field, with years of experience in psychology and counselling.
• They are also keen and enthusiastic about their subject and enjoy working with students to improve their knowledge and skills.
• Courses are also updated regularly to meet the demands of the changing needs for knowledge and to keep our courses up to date.

What Next?

You may work with adolescents and want to increase your specialist knowledge or study for professional development.

You may want to work with adolescents and study this course as a way to demonstrate your enthusiasm for this work.

You may live with young people and want to increase your understanding of the changes they are experiencing.

Studying  Adolescent Psychology will provide you with a rich foundation of knowledge that you can apply in real-life situations.

You can enrol today by clicking the “Enrol Now” button above.

Or

Click here to Contact a Psychology Tutor.

Or Request a Prospectus Here.