Puberty

We explain what puberty is, its stages and the changes it produces in the body. Also, differences with adolescence.

What is puberty?

Puberty or early adolescence the initial phase of the period of human development known as adolescence which mediates between childhood and adulthood. Puberty is a relatively brief period (usually between 10 and 15 years of age), in which a series of profound physiological changes are unleashed in the individual, through which the body prepares for sexual maturity, that is, , acquires its reproductive capacity.

Puberty is one of the most important and susceptible periods of human development. In it, children change definitively, quickly approaching what they will be as adults through a set of more or less radical changes on the physical level and, to a lesser extent, on the psychological and emotional level, since the latter will occur gradually throughout adolescence.

Despite being a period of transition, puberty and adolescence usually leave important marks on personal history, since are usually accompanied by many vulnerabilities and insecurities in addition to the risks inherent to sexual awakening, such as teenage pregnancy. Therefore, the ideal is that they are accompanied by important doses of information, affection and communication from parents or other authority figures.

Puberty changes

The changes suffered by the human body during puberty are, for the most part, linked to the development of secondary sexual characteristics, that is, with the obvious physical differentiation between the two biological sexes, male and female, due to the action of a torrent of hormones. produced by the sexual glands. These changes can be summarized in:

Changes in the male body.

• Sudden increase in height and weight as well as muscle development: widening of the backs and chest, thickening of the arms and legs.
• Body hair growth on legs, armpits, arms and markedly on the face (facial hair).
• Thickening of the voice usually after a period of instability in the timbre of the voice.
• Penis lengthening and thickening growth of the testicles and the beginning of semen production, manifested in the appearance of nocturnal pollution (emissions).
• Appearance of pubic hair in testicles, penis and genital and perianal area.
• Increased libido.

Changes in the female body produced by the action of estrogens, particularly estradiol:

• Height increase and acceleration of growth, initially in the legs and feet, as well as redistribution and increase in body fat and adipose tissue in the breasts, arms, hips and thighs.
• Body hair growth in legs, armpits and other regions of the body.
• Appearance of pubic hair initially around the labia majora of the vulva, and then in the rest of the genital and perianal region.
• Internal changes in the nature of the vagina, uterus and ovaries manifested through a change in the color of the mucosa and eventual secretion of a whitish discharge.
• Onset of menstruation with the first menstrual bleeding known as menarche, which during the early stages may be irregular.
• Changes in body odor and in the oily secretion of the skin, the latter being able to trigger acne episodes.
• Increased libido.

Stages of puberty

In general, puberty includes the following stages, the age range of which usually varies greatly between each individual.

• Phase one or prepubertal stage. There are no obvious changes, and the body continues to be that of a child.
• Phase two. Changes in body odor. Pubic hair and incipient breasts begin to appear on the girls' bodies and a sudden increase in size occurs. Children, on the other hand, take a little longer. His testicles, however, will noticeably increase in size, and body hair will slowly begin to appear.
• Phase three. Awakening of libido. In girls, the size of the breasts increases and the pubic hair darkens and becomes curlier. Vaginal discharge begins prior to menstruation. In boys, on the other hand, pubic hair appears, the size of the penis increases and nocturnal seminal emissions begin. Facial hair begins to emerge.
• Phase four. Full puberty. Girls begin their menstruation and observe changes in the areola of their nipples as their breasts reach adult size. Boys, on the other hand, present a sudden growth spurt, witness changes in the color of their testicles and scrotal sac, darken pubic and body hair, and increase the size of the penis until it reaches its final proportions.
• Phase five. End of puberty. The increase in height and weight slows down, until it stops. Pubic hair spreads along the inner side of the thighs. At the end of this stage, we will be in the presence of a sexually mature individual.

Puberty and adolescence

Puberty and adolescence should not be confused, since the first is just a stage of intensification of physical changes, specifically inscribed in the second. Thus, while puberty lasts between 10 and 14 years old, adolescence lasts until around 20 years old.

Adolescence comprises a series of much deeper psychological and emotional changes and difficult to pinpoint, as the mentality and social performance of the individual passes from its childhood stages to its first adult stages.

Adolescence, in fact, is a complex and often painful period, in which the changes produced have an intense impact on personality and in the affectivity of each person. Among them is, of course, the awakening of sexuality, and everything that this implies, which is much vaster and more complex than simply the sexual maturation of the organism.

Gender identity, sexual preferences, erotic-affective dynamics, are just a part of the psychological aspects that develop throughout this crucial stage, which with puberty has just begun.

When does puberty end?

The final moment of puberty occurs when all the physical and physiological changes necessary to reach sexual maturity have occurred. This happens usually around 14 or 15 years of age but it can start and/or end earlier or later depending on each person, given that no organism is the same as another.

Continue with: Life cycle

References

• “Puberty” on Wikipedia.
• “Puberty” in MedlinePlus.
• “What is puberty?” in the Argentine Society of Pediatrics.
• “Puberty” at Planned Parenthood.
• “Stages of puberty: what happens to boys and girls” in NHS (United States).
• “Puberty (physiology)” in The Encyclopaedia Britannica.