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Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 2(3), 2009her mother to avenge her father’s death. Freud also thought that much of women’s behaviour is driven by penisenvy the wish to have male sex organ.The unsuccessful resolution of the phallic stage can lead to a number of psychological problems in children. Ifchildren do not fully identify with their same-sex parent, they may not develop “appropriate” gender roles or aheterosexual orientation. They may not develop a healthy superego and thus be either too self-aggrandizing or tooself-deprecating (Nolen –Hoesksema, 2004). If children’s sexual attraction to their parents is not responded to withgentle but firm discouragement, they may become overly seductive or sexualized and have a number of problems inromantic relationships.PHYSICAL AND SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT AT ADOLESCENCE AND ITS ASSOCIATEDPROBLEMSAdolescence begins at puberty, a period of rapid maturation in which the person becomes capable of sexualreproduction. The brain’s hypothalamus signals the pituitary gland to increase its hormonal secretions. Thisstimulates other glands and physical growth through out the body, speeding up maturation of the primary sexcharacteristics (the sex organs involves in reproduction) (Passer & Smith 2001). Hormones are powerful chemicalsubstances secreted by the endocrine glands and carried throughout the body in the bloodstream. The concentrationsof certain hormones increase dramatically during puberty (Don & Chrousos, 1996). Testosterone is a hormoneassociated with boys with the development of genitals, an increase in height and a change in voice. Estradiol is ahormone associated in girls with breast, uterine and skeletal development (Santrock, 2000).In girls, puberty starts with breast development, which now often begins by age 10 (Brody, 1999). But puberty’slandmarks are the first ejaculation in boys, usually by about age 14, and the first menstrual period in girls, usuallywithin a year of age 12. The first menstrual period, called menarche, is a memorable event (Myers, 2004). Nearlyall adult women recall it and remember experiencing a mixture of feelings – pride, excitement, embarrassment, andapprehension (Greif & Ulman, 1982’ Woods & others, 1983). Most men similarly recall their first ejaculation(“Spermarche”) which usually occurs as a nocturnal emission (Fuller & Downs, 1990).During adolescence, individuals enter what Erickson calls a “psychological moratorium – a gap between security ofchildhood and the autonomy of adulthood. In their search for identity, adolescents experiment with different roles.Those who successfully explore a number of alternatives emerge with a new sense of self that is both refreshing andacceptable; those who do not successfully resolve the identity crisis are confused, suffering what Erikson callsidentity confusion. These adolescents are at risk because their likelihood of becoming productive adults is limited.They may engage in delinquent behaviours, substance abuse, unprotected sex and adolescent pregnancy and schoolrelated problems.Adolescents’ physical maturation fosters a sexual dimension to their emerging identity. Most adolescentsexperienced premarital sex by age 18. This increase in sexual activity has led to an increase in the adolescentpregnancy rate. Short of abstinence, contraceptives are the surest strategy for preventing pregnancy. Yet it may besuggested that only a few of sexually active male teens use condoms consistently. This lower rate of contraceptiveuse may increase higher rates of sexually transmitted infection (STI) (also called STD for sexually transmitteddisease)PHYSICAL AND SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT AT ADULTHOOD AND ITS ASSOCIATED PROBLEMS.Physical growth is usually complete by the time people leave their teens. Young adults are at the peak of theirphysical, sexual and perceptual functioning. Maximum muscle strength in the legs, arms, and other parts of thebody is reached at age 25 to 30. By the time we are in our forties, most people are all too aware of the age-relatedchanges occurring in their bodies. Cardiac output, the amount of blood pumped by the heart, decreases noticeablyand the walls of the large arteries lose some degrees of flexibility (Baron, 2008). The performance of other major170