Selected Topics in Adolescence Assignment | Adolescence
This option requires you to write about a topic about adolescence that you find particularly interesting. It is based on Chapter 13 of the textbook but is not limited to this discussion. Write an essay of 1,600–2,000 words, approximately eight to ten double-spaced, word-processed pages. The essay should deal with the prevention, causes, and treatment of a problem, although not all three aspects need to be equally emphasized.
Besides your Steinberg text, you need to use at least two research journal articles (written within the last five years) relating to an area of adolescent development that you are intrigued by or wish to learn more about. A book, or books, containing research information on the topic, written within the last five years is acceptable to use in addition to the two required journal research articles. If you use a book as a reference, select one that is not another general textbook on adolescence. You can use TRU Library for research purposes and request a book or other material. In addition, you might also use community resources, such as brochures on relevant local programs for adolescents, or you might interview someone who works with adolescents. Here are some topics to consider:
Drugs and alcohol (you can deal only with alcohol, or only with drugs, or you can deal with the general problem)
Juvenile delinquency (you can discuss a specific type of delinquency or the general problem)
Depression and suicide
Adolescent pregnancy
Religious cults
Eating disorders
Online learning
Technology and learning
Schoolyard bullying
Cyberbullying
In trying to understand the origins of an adolescent problem, and to outline possible preventive and treatment options, you may want to review aspects of adolescent development such as puberty, cognition, the identity search, relations with peers and families, or other issues that have come up earlier in the course. You can bring in your own opinions and personal experiences in your essay, providing that they are “informed”; that is, they are knowledgeable and integrated with research on the topic.
