1 Mark Questions
Question 1 : Explain ‘growth spurt’ .
Answer : Sudden increase in height, weight and body proportions is termed as growth spurt. Age of growth spurt is difference in each child. This growth is also a result of release of growth hormones, thyroid hormones and androgens.
Question 2 : It is said that identity is multi-dimensional. Justify.
Answer : The concept of self and society forms the identity of every individual. Various domains of developments like physical, social, intellectual and language development affects the formation of identity. That’s why identity is called multi- dimensional.
Question 3 : What is the meaning of bulimia?
Answer : Bulimia is a psychological disorder which causes bouts (periods) of overeating followed by self-induced vomiting or extended fasting.
Question 4 : What aspects of an adolescent’s life can get affected by depression?
Answer : Depression can affect the personal life, the school life, social life and family life of an adolescent.
Question 5 : What are two effects of drug abuse?
Answer : Some common negative effects of drug abuse are emotional and behavioural problems like fighting and stealing, indulging in risky sex (which may cause STDs and AIDS), learning problems, brain damage, etc.
2 Marks Questions
Question 6: What are four deviant behaviours of adolescents with regard to sex?
Answer : Four deviant behaviours of adolescents with regard to sex are:
(i) Preoccupation/ anxiety regarding sex
(ii) Interest in pornography
(iii) Promiscuity/ polygamist behaviour/ indiscriminate contact
(iv) Mouthing obscenities
Question 7 : In what two ways is identity of adolescents influenced by their physical changes?
Answer : Identity of adolescents is influenced by their physical changes by making them feel:
(i) Awkward
(ii) Shy
Question 8 : During adolescence, friends often pressurise each other to get involved in anti-social activities. In what four ways an adolescent can be trained to resist this pressure?
Answer : An adolescent can be trained to resist the pressure of peers to get involved in anti-social activities by:
(i) Keeping away from such friends and joining another group with positive social values.
(ii) Learning to refuse such friends firmly.
(iii) Counselling the adolescent about the negative consequences of getting involved in anti-social activities.
(iv) Equipping the adolescent with being able to decide the differences between ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ behaviour.
Question 9: In what two ways is identity of adolescent boys influenced by their cognitive changes?
Answer : Identity of adolescent boys is influenced by their cognitive changes by making them feel:
(i) Over-confident
(ii) A willingness to take risks.
Question 10: Suggest four ways of helping your friend who is suffering from depression.
Answer : Four ways of helping a friend who is suffering from depression are:
(i) Counselling the friend.
(ii) Sensitising the family to help him.
(iii) Proving support to the friend.
(iv) Keeping the friend occupied constructively.
Question 11: In what two ways is the identity of adolescents influenced by the media?
Answer : Identity of adolescents is influenced by the media in the following two ways:
(i) As they are regularly exposed to the media in the form of TV channels, Internet, newspapers films and social websites, they construct their own ‘world’ about what life is like based on these influences.
(ii) They change their identities by identifying with the film heroes and heroines and copying their behaviour, appearances, etc.
Question 12: Your friend is stressed due to personal reasons. In what four ways you can help her get rid of this stress?
Answer : Ways of helping a friend to get rid of this stress are:
(i) Provide counselling and support to the friend so that she tells you the reason of the stress.
(ii) Ask her family to support her after she comes out with the reason for stress.
(iii) Encourage her to concentrate on her studies so that the stress goes into the background.
(iv) Ask her to take her hobbies seriously to divert her from the cause of the stress.
3 Marks Question
Question 13 : Sixteen year old Garima’s friend Gunish wants to get physically intimate with her against her wishes. If you were Garima, in what four ways would you have refused him? Give two reasons for your refusal.
Answer : The four ways in which Garima would have refused Gunish’s request can be:
(i) She would have said ‘no’ politely.
(ii) She would have involved her parents.
(iii) She would have shown her ‘angry outburst’ at Gunish for such a demand.
(iv) She would have stopped talking to Gunish completely, breaking their friendship.
Two reasons for my refusal are:
(i) This is completely unethical according to the values of Indian society.
(ii) It is not the proper time for such intimacy as both of us are not adult.
Question 14 : What are three differences between early maturing and late maturing adolescents?
Answer : Three differences between early maturing and late maturing adolescents are:
| Early Maturing | Late Maturing |
| Adolescents look bigger than the adolescents of the same age and gender | Adolescents look smaller than the adolescents of the same age and gender |
| Physical growth is regular | Physical growth is irregular |
| They are independent and confident | They lack confidence |
| They are popular among the adolescents of the same age | They are not popular among the adolescents of the same age |
Question 15: Namita is an adolescent girl who tries to vomit every time after eating her meals. What do you think is the reason for this? If she continues like this what could be the possible health hazards? Suggest to her two ways to come out of this condition. Also mention the role of family dealing with the problem of eating disorder.
or
Your friend eats a lot and then vomits it out. What do you think is the problem with her? What are the two consequences if this continues for a long time? Present three suggestions to get her out of the problem.
Answer : The reason for Namita trying to vomit after meals is that she is suffering from bulimia. If she continues like this, possible health hazards of this could be:
(i) Dehydration
(ii) Irritation and rupture of her gastrointestinal tract.
Ways for her to come out of this condition will be:
(i) Exercising regularly
(ii) Eating home-made food
The role of family in dealing with the problem can be to keep a close watch on her dietary habits and provide her health education, guidance and counselling.
Question 16: Namita is an adolescent girl, who suffers from convulsions. Her arms have many needle prick marks. What do you think she is suffering from? What could be its possible health hazards if this condition continues for long time? In what three ways can she be helped to come out of this condition?
Answer : The reason for Namita suffering from convulsions and her arms having many needle pricks is that she is addicted to drugs or substance abuse. If she continues like this for a long time, possible health hazards pf this could be:
(i) AIDS (Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome)
(ii) Liver damage
She can be helped to come out of this condition by:
(i) Admiting her in a drug rehabilitation centre.
(ii) After she is cured, keeping her busy in various activities and encouraging her to spend more time with the family.
(iii) Counselling her to avoid other drug addicts in future.
Question 17: Sunita is an adolescent girl who avoids eating her meals when hungry. What do you think could be her problem? If she continues like this, what could be its two ill effects on her health? In what three ways can she be helped to come out of this condition?
or
Your friend does not eat much food as she thinks she is very fat. What do you think is the problem with her? What are the two consequences if she continues for too long? Present three suggestions to get her out of this problem.
Answer : Her problem is that she is suffering from anorexia nervosa.
If she continues like this, the ill effects(consequences) on her health can be:
(i) Irregular menstruation
(ii) Stunted growth
She can be helped to come out of this condition in the following ways:
(i) Educate her on consequences of and misconceptions about anorexia.
(ii) Provide counselling to improve her self-esteem.
(iii) Keep a check on her eating habits.
Question 18 : Your friend has become a victim of substance abuse. What could be its two consequences? Support four ways she can be helped to get rid of the problem.
Answer : The two consequences of substance abuse could be:
(i) AIDS
(ii) Liver damage
Ways to help her get rid of the problem are:
(i) Admitting her in a drug rehabilitation centre.
(ii) After she is cured, keeping her busy in various activities.
(iii) Encouraging her to spend more time with the family.
(iv) Counselling her to avoid company of other drug addicts in future.
4 Marks Questions
Question 19 : Explain four ways in which emotions influence identity formation of an adolescent.
Answer : The ways in which emotions influence identity formation of an adolescent are:
Commitment Adolescents explore, test limits, become autonomous and commit to an identity, or sense of self. They are self-aware and are able to think about abstract concepts, future possibilities, and identities at once.
Sensitivity Adolescents are more emotional and more sensitive to stress than before due to changes in the levels of certain neurotransmitters (such as dopamine and serotonin) which influence the way in which adolescents experience emotions.
Resolution of Identity Issues When adolescents are able to achieve advanced cognitive development and maturity, they tend to resolve identity issues more easily than peers who are less cognitively developed.
Changes in Relationships Adolescents pull away from their parents, and the peer group become very important; despite this, relationships with parents still play a significant role in the identity formation.
Question 20 : What four cognitive changes during adolescence are important for proper development of the adolescent?
Answer : The cognitive changes during adolescence which are important for proper development of the adolescent are:
Changes in Thoughts The adolescent’s thoughts start becoming more abstract and egocentric thoughts decrease. This allows the adolescent to think and reason with a wider perspective.
Improved Thinking Abilities Their basic thinking abilities improve in the areas of attention, memory, processing speed, organisation, and meta-cognition.
Develop Distrust Adolescents are more likely to question others’ assertions and less like to accept facts as absolute truth due to distrust in others.
Increased Wisdom Wisdom, meaning the capacity for insight and judgement that is developed through experience, increases during adolescence; however, the tendency towards risk-taking also increases during adolescence.
5 Marks Questions
Question 21 : Identify any five emotional changes happening in adolescent girls. How do these changes influence their personality?
Answer : Adolescence is a period of great and rapid physical changes. Adolescent girls experience great emotional changes due to hormonal changes. Some important emotional changes are:
Mood Swings Adolescent girls often experience extreme changes i their moods like sometimes they feel very confident and happy but sometimes it changes into feeling of irritation and depression. Shifting levels of hormones cause such mood swings.
Becoming Self-Conscious The onset of puberty can vary from one individual to another. During adolescence, the child start craving slowly to have his own separate identity. The adolescent wants to be recognised by other people in society.
Stage of Sexual development During this stage, sex hormones start secreting and the secondary sexual characters start developing in boys and girls. This is the stage of heterosexuality. The adolescent girls feels both nervous and envious to know more about ‘sex ‘. It is normal for a girl to be attracted to a male friend. But it is the duty of her parents (specially mother) to talk with her and educate her about the sexual desire and its limitation.
Feeling of Inferiority Sometime in social gathering, teenagers may appear dependent, very reserved, even uncomfortable. During childhood, they are quite social in their peer group. But in adolescence they start recognising society’s role in their life and their own role. They are worried about social adjustment issue and about their own look and dressing. Often these anxieties may lead to develop feelings of inferiority in them.
Stage of Idealism The adolescence is the stage when girls form their own ideals and try to follow them. What ever they see and observe around them, they understand them and on the basis of these experiences, they form their own ideals.
Question 22 : Explain any five biological and physical changes during adolescence which influence identity formation.
Answer : The biological and physical changes during adolescence which influence identity formation are:
Timing of Puberty Biological changes are controlled by the neuroendocrine system of the body, which consists of glands within the body that produce hormones and structures within the central nervous system that regulates their activity and controls the timing of puberty.
Biological Events The adrenarche begins at 6 to 8 years of age (i.e. before puberty) and involves increased production of adrenal androgens that contribute to a number of pubertal changes like skeletal growth. At the actual time of puberty, gonadarche occurs and involves increased production of hormones governing physical and sexual maturation.
Changes in Girls The appearance of pubic hair is one of the first visible signs of pubertal changes in girls. Breasts begin to develop at about the same time, alongwith the uterus, vagina and ovaries. Menarche, the onset of menstrual periods, occurs midway through puberty.
Changes in Boys In boys puberty begins and reach its peak growth rate later than girls. First the scrotum enlarges, followed by the appearance of pubic hair. The penis starts to grow a year later. The height spurt precedes a changes in voice and the appearance of facial and underarm hair. Boys grow for a longer period of time than girls.
Early and Late Maturers Differences in the timing of pubertal change make adolescents either early or late maturers. Early maturing boys get an initial social advantage but also face more adjustment problems than late maturers. This is not so in the case of girls.
Question 23 : Mention any five issues and concerns during adolescence and suggest a method in each case to treat them successfully.
Answer : Issues and concerns during adolescence and methods to treat each of them are:
Eating disorders like Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia There is no specific treatment for either of these, but the adolescent has to first agree about having an eating disorder. Then,in the case of anorexia nervosa, they must be involved in reaching their normal healthy body weight by making them eat more food and feel good about themselves and their bodies. In the case of bulimia, the adolescent should stay away from people, places and activities that trigger the temptation to binge or purge and seek professional help to break the binge and purge cycle.
Depression There is no single treatment to help adolescent who has depression. Various classes of medications are designed to alleviate the symptoms of depression. However, before trying any of these medications, the adolescent should be referred to a psychotherapist and should follow health tips like taking regular exercise or participating in sports and games, having enough sleep in regular routine, taking a balanced diet, avoiding excess caffeine and abstaining from alcohol.
Substance Abuse Prompt treatment is required to avoid long-lasting consequences. Any of various drug rehabilitation programmes with 24 x 7 supervision and care, detoxification, dual diagnosis treatment may be tried based on individual needs of the adolescent.
Related to Sex To avoid problems related to sex and for proper sexual development of adolescents, more social contact should be allowed between boys and girls, freedom with proper guidance must be provided to adolescents to make friends with persons of the opposite sex and proper sex education as well as information about HIV and other STDs on a scientific basis should be provided by the schools.
Handling Stress and Peer Pressure Adolescents can handle peer pressure by having confidence in themselves. They should develop a strong personality and not run away from situations. Parents can help them by spending more quality time with them. They should encourage their adolescent child to share his thoughts and feelings with them, and build trust in them.