AS Health & Social Care

Growth-

The physical changes in height, size & weight that occur in a person. e.g. growing taller or heavier.

Development-

An increase in skills or abilites, this includes all the other changes that occur in a person. There are four types of development: Physical, Intellectual, Emotional & Social.

Nature- Genes inherited from parents

• Facial Features
• Height
• Race
• Eye & Hair Colour
• Inherited Diseases

Nurture- Experience from birth, we can control some aspects of this.

• Hobbies
• Culture
• Habits
• Lifestyle

Puberty begins in the adolescent life stage.

 Puberty is the period when secondary characteristics develop and individuals are capable of sexual reproducation.

Puberty is triggered by hormones- testosterone in boys, and oestrogen in girls.

Male sexual charateristics

Primary                                Secondary

• Penis                         Pubic hair
• Testicles                    Voice breaks
• Scrotum                     Facial Hair
•                                   Shoulders broaden
• Female sexual characteristics

Primary                           Secondary

• Vagina                 Pubic hair
• Uterus                 Breasts develop
• ********                 Pelvis widens
• Ovaries                Armpit hair

Maturation-

A process of physical development; it is like a "body clock" which tells your body when to go through certain stages.  Bee and bjorkland found three characterisics of maturation; universal, sequential & biological.

Universal- it happens to all people e.g. menestration happens to women all over the world, regardless of where or how they live

Sequential- It happens in an expected and understandable pattern e.g. a child will learn to crawls before he learns to walk.

Biological- It does not rely on anything in the environment to make it happen e.g. a man will get hairy armpits whether or not he has been educated in school.

Play is a vital part of children's development, as it helps them to:

• become sociable
• develop memory
• learn new skills
• take responsibility
• develop empathy

Peer pressure can be a very strong force, and adolescents may feel pushed into doing things which they are unsure about such as; smoking, having sex & taking drugs.

A teenages self-concept can be very fragile, and adolescents like to feel accepted by their peers. They may feel self-consicous about their apperance or physical development, and there is increasing pressure for adolescents to enter into sexual relationships.

During old age (later adulthood) you can often get a severe mental decline; this could be down to dementia or Alzheimer's disease.

These can have the effect of a severe mental illness, with patients becoming;

• confused
• distressed
• forgetful
• violent

Some older people may need special care by either moving into residential care, or a nursing home or moving in with their children.

What are norms?

Norms are the average milestones which are expected of all people at a certain age; these can be growth or development norms.

Norms progress in an expected pattern, each skill building on the last e.g. an infant will walk before he runs. Norms are fairly universal around the world but even if someone doesn't reach a norm, this doesn't mean they are "abnormal".

Social class generally refers to someone's wealth, education, social economic status or job.

Been born poor, into a working class family might mean;

• you do less well in school
• you have to take a poorly paid job
• you are less likely to eat well, leading to obesity
• you have little chance of moving out of poverty
• you suffer social exclusion
• you have worse housing
• you find it difficult to go on to further education due to costs

Socialisation is the act of learning how to mix with other people and how to behave.

Primary- takes place first, within the family. Children learn how to act, moral and values within the family.

Secondary- Takes place after primary, within schools & playgroups. Children learn how to act in public with strangers.

Proper socialisation is vital for effective social & emotional development.

Races- refers to colour of skin & physical (usually facial) features.

Ethnicity- includes races but also religion, culture & way of life

+ More likely to be bilingual or multilingual

+ Asian children often do better at school

+ Most people aren't racist

- Suffer racism

- May be a language barrier when talking with other people

- More likely to suffer social exclusion (not feeling part of mainstream society)

- More likely to be victims of crime