What is puberty? What are the results of puberty and how do they differ from adolescence?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Adolescence is defined as the transition from childhood to adulthood. Clearly, the biological changes that denote puberty are a part of that transition. They are not, however, the complete picture. Adolescence involves physical, emotional, social, and cognitive changes. Puberty is more clearly designated by physical changes than the remainder of adolescence. These changes are ones that lead to sexual maturity and reproductive capacity. These changes include the development of primary sex characteristics (e.g., those directly involved in reproductive capacity, such as maturation of the ovaries and testes) and secondary sex characteristics, which visibly note impending adulthood, but are not directly related to reproductive capacity (such as the appearance of pubic and other bodily hair and the development of breasts). Many of these biological changes are directed by the production and cycling of hormones, such as estrogen and testosterone.