College and Education

Adolescence is a period in the biological, psychological, sexual and social immediately following the beginning with childhood and puberty. Their range of duration varies according to different sources and medical positions, scientific and psychological but generally falls between 11 or 12 years to 19 or 20.

For the World Health Organization, adolescence is the period between 10 and 19 and falls within the period of youth, between 10 and 24 years. Early puberty or adolescence is the first phase typically begins at age 10 in girls and 11 for boys and goes up to 14-15 years. The middle and late adolescence is extended to 19 years. A teenage youth remains full, from 20 to 24 years dren.

Some psychologists believe that adolescence covers up to 21 years and some authors have extended recent studies from adolescence to age 25

Definition The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that one in five people in the world is young, 85 percent of them live in poor or middle income, and about 1.7 million of them die annually. [5] The WHO defines adolescence as the period ranging between 10 or 11 years to 19 years, and considers two phases: early adolescence, the 10 or 11 to 14 or 15 years, and late adolescence, 15 to 19 years. [6] However, the condition of youth is not uniform and varies by social group to be eligible.
CaracterísticasLa Adolescence is characterized by physical growth and psychological development, and is the phase of human development situated between childhood and adulthood. This transition is both physical and psychological which should be considered a biological, cultural and social.

Many cultures differ on what is the age at which people become adults. In various regions, the transition from adolescence to adulthood is linked to ceremonies and / or parties, such as the Bnei Mitzvah, held at twelve. Although there is no consensus on the age at which adolescence ends, psychologists like Erik Erikson believe that adolescence ranges from twelve or thirteen to twenty or twenty years. [7] According to Erik Erikson, this time from 13 to 21 years is the search for identity, defines the individual for his entire adult life personality being fully consolidated as of 21. [8] However, can not be generalized, since the end of adolescence depends on the development Psychologically, the exact age is not homogeneous and ends depends on the individual.

In early adolescence, and for both sexes, there is great development manifest secondary sexual characters, but hormonal changes occur at the level of the pituitary gland, such as increased concentrations of gonadotropins (FSH) and sex steroids. Following are physical changes, especially changes observed in the mammary gland of the girls, genital changes in males and pubic hair in both sexes [9].

The first change women identifiable in most children is the appearance of breast buds. Adolescence in women begins at 10 or 12 years.

It is characterized by an enlargement in glandular tissue beneath the areola, the result of the action of estrogens produced by the ovary. The age of onset is after age 8, can be unilateral and remain so for a while, and almost always painful to the touch simple. Later in the teens, breast development, in addition to being quantitative, is qualitative: The areola becomes darker and bigger, and protrudes from the surrounding tissue, glandular tissue increases, the final shape is acquired, usually conical and develop canaliculi. There may be asymmetric growth of the breasts.

Pubic hair, under the action of adrenal and ovarian androgens, thin, sparse and is initially along the labia majora, and then expands. Pubic hair in some cases coincides with breast development and in others it may be the first sign of puberty. It usually begins to be felt at 9 or 10 years old. Over the years, the pubic hair becomes thicker and less straight, thick, curly and covers the outer surface of the lips, and extends to the Mount of Venus, and reaches an adult characteristic triangular shape after 3 to 5 years (approximately between 15 and 16 years old). Armpit hair and body hair appear later.

The genitals and gonads vary in appearance and configuration. The labia majora increase vascularization and increases the amount of hair follicles, there estrogenization initial vaginal mucosa, ovaries and the uterus body increases in size. The fallopian tubes after size increase, and increases the number of folds in the mucosa. The labia minora are developed, the labia become thin and then pigmented and grow to cover the introitus. The vagina reaches a depth of 8 cm and then from 10-11 cm. For estrogenic effects, the mucosa becomes thicker, the cells increase their glycogen content and vaginal pH changes from neutral to acid a year before the first menstrual period (known as menarche and menarche).

They develop Bartholin glands, increase vaginal secretions, microbial flora changes (see the bacillus Doderlein), vulva undergoes changes in thickness and color. Finally, women born with a hymen, it thickens and reaches 1 cm in diameter.

Menarche, or menarche, is the first menstruation is preceded by a flow clear, odorless, transparent and bacteriologically pure, seen under a microscope, looks like a fern. Menarche tends to occur at 11 or 12 years, but may occur in advanced puberty (8-10 years).