Sexual expressions and social expectations
Posted on 20/04/2009 | 1 Comments
Dr. Perri Klass writes eloquently about boys and girls and sex, and the importance of values, manners and gender equality. As a child and youth psychiatrist I find much of what she recounts not only reasonable but reasoned. There is however a developmental neurobiological reality that can help us put these sex and youth issues into a wider perspective. Simply put, neurodevelopment prior to puberty has as its major goal the survival of the individual to the time of puberty so that species reproduction can take place. As a result, the adolescent brain normatively develops its drive for sex and the associated dopamine driven nigro-striatal-cortical systems associated with craving (yes – the same system that allows for addictions to begin). So there we have the phylogeny of the species. So what now?
Every society develops social structures that serve to channel and direct sexual activities in youth. And, because the brains of young people can be modified by the environment that they are in, by and large these social structures do modulate these behaviors, although sub-group and sub-cultural frameworks may not always conform to wider social norms and expectations.
So to be simple about it – young people will generally channel their sexual expressions within social expectations created by their environments. Environment can be helpful or un-helpful in this regard. However, while we may not be able to control the relentless process of pre-programmed neurodevelopment, we can provide behaviorally optimizing and socially enhancing environments for young people. These begin within the family and include all aspects of values and behavioral expectations. They extend outside the family and are taken up by our institutions and collective organizations. They should extend to the media and the advertising industry. The most interesting question for me is why they do not seem to.
~ Dr. Stan Kutcher
you can read the original New York Times article here.
Blog Tag Cloud
adhd anxiety disorders attention award awards behaviour bipolar blog brain & neurology bullying canada care carter center conference confidentiality control coping criminal justice system cruelty cutting depression discrimination doctor driving eating disordersRecent Comment
This is a great set of comments and rings very true.
I totally agree that scientists (just like everyone else) have their biases and foibles. After all, scientists are human beings too! But science is different than scientists.
The scientific method is the most objective frame that we have by which to evaluate and predict. Science is not about finding truth. It is only about being less wrong most of the time. The scientific method (experimental design and mathematics) gives us the ability to test what we believe. The scientific method is not used to prove something is correct, on the contrary, the scientific method is designed to prove that something is not correct! It is designed to test what is called the “null hypothesis”. It takes ideas that come out of left field (or wherever else they come from) and puts those ideas to an independent test.
t does not drive our beliefs. It does however challenge our beliefs. In that way it is self-correcting. Of course scientific inquiry and understanding lives within a wider social context. That is one of the great features of science.
But gravity is gravity, social context notwithstanding. And thus it is nasty, brutish and long. As Brecht said, (something like this) - the purpose of science is to save us from everlasting error.
By Christina Carew on May 11th
You can find us here too!
We would like to say thanks...
Without their help this initiative would not be possible. Thanks for you help.
What people are saying?
winstrol said...
I’m impressed!!! Really informative blog post on teenmentalhealth.org my friend. I just wanted to comment & say keep up the quality work.
Comment made on December 02nd, 2011
What do you think?