Study Adolescent Psychology from Home and learn to better understand and support teenagers.

This is a great course for anyone dealing with teenagers; from parents to youth workers, and teachers to counsellors.

• Learn about developmental theories.
• Understand mental and emotional problems faced by teenagers.
• Develop your knowledge of social, moral, and sexual development.
• Understand how to provide guidance and support for teenagers.

Sooner or later after puberty, a person will be expected to take on adult responsibilities. The time that this occurs will depend on the culture in which he/she lives. Adolescence is a universally recognised phase often marked by instruction and ceremony throughout the world. Formal ceremonies tend to be rarer today, but they still occur. For example, certificates for leaving school.

In Western society, pre-adolescent children expected to be cared for by their parents or caregivers, whilst post-adolescent children are expected to be more responsible for their own physical, emotional, intellectual health and their own legal responsibilities. Adolescence and the idea of teenagers is a relatively new concept. Prior to education for all, people were adults or children. However, since the 1950s, the idea of a teenager has developed. Adolescence is a time of great transition, physically, mentally and emotionally for a child, as they move from childhood to adulthood. It places great demands on the individual and those around them; by studying to learn more about adolescent development you will gain a greater understanding of how to provide understanding and support.

Course Structure

This 100 hour course is studied by distance learning and is available for you 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

Lesson Aims

• 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.

Physical Activity for Teens is Important

Physical activity during adolescence can contribute to the development of a healthy adult life style. Physical activity is an important component of our daily expenditure of energy. This can include walking, housework, leisure time and so on. The UK Department of Health recommends at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise five or more days a week. In England, for example, rates of physical activity are low across virtually all sections of the adult population, amongst some groups of children and notably teenage girls. The British Nutrition Foundation advises that there are concerns about the activity levels of children in England. Children tend to be more active than adults, but many are not taking part in enough exercise to be good for their health. Research from The Health Survey for England found –

• 70% of boys aged 2 – 15 years achieved at least 60 minutes activity on all 7 days.
• Only 61% of girls in the same age group achieved this level.
• As girls reach 15, this level tends to fall.
• 17% of boys and 22% of girls are inactive and achieve less than 30 minutes activity a day.

This has possibly lead to the increased prevalence in obesity in children.

Children and young people are recommended to exercise in at least 60 minutes of moderate intensity activity every day. This can increase their muscle strength and flexibility and improve bone strength.
There is strong scientific evidence that physical activity benefits well being and is important for good health. This can help reduce the incidence of chronic diseases. Physical activity can have long term benefits in terms of breast cancer and bone health. It can also remove the habit of sedentary behaviours. Self-esteem can also be positively affected by physical activity during adolescence. This has been found irrespective of age, gender, socio-economic status and stage of life. So physical activity has been found to have beneficial effects on –

• Disease prevention.
• Cardiovascular disease.
• Type 2 Diabetes.
• Breast cancer.
• Bone health.
• Promotes strength.
• Promotes coordination and balance.
• Obesity.

Lack of physical activity is an important factor in the increasing prevalence of obesity. Any movement expends energy, so contributes to the energy balance. Maintaining activity during your life prevents obesity.

How this course might benefit you

• Studying this course will give you a greater depth of knowledge and understanding of the different issues faced by teenagers.
• By understanding the causes of different behaviour, you are able to respond and interact with teenagers in a more effective and supportive manner.
• Knowledge gained through this course will enable you to identify sooner potential problems that may occur so that you can be proactive in helping or finding help in resolving and aiding with them.
• This course will provide extensive and relevant knowledge for carers, teachers, youth workers, youth counsellors, sports coaches, and parents alike.

Do you want to know more?

You can enrol on this course right now, but if you have any questions or if you want to know if this is the right course for you, get in touch with one of our expert Psychology tutors - they will be happy to answer your questions and tell you more about studying with ACS.

Enrol Now!

Fee Information (S3) Prices in Australian Dollars Plan Aust. Price Overseas Price A 1 x $834.96  1 x $759.05 B 2 x $451.44  2 x $410.40 Note: Australian prices include GST.

Select a payment plan: A B

Courses can be started anytime from anywhere in the world! All orders processed in Australian dollars.