Cognitive Development
Most teens ages 13 to 17 will

• Attain cognitive maturity—the ability to make decisions based on knowledge of options and their consequences
• Continue to be influenced by peers [The power of peer pressure lessens after early adolescence.]
• Build skills to become self-sufficient
• Respond to media messages but develop increasing ability to analyze those messages
• Develop increasingly mature relationships with friends and family
• Seek increased power over their own lives
• Learn to drive, increasing their independence

Emotional Development
Most teens ages 13 to 17 will

• Have the capacity to develop long-lasting, mutual, and healthy relationships, if they have the foundations for this development—trust, positive past experiences, and an understanding of love

• Understand their own feelings and have the ability to analyze why they feel a certain way
• Begin to place less value on appearance and more on personality

Sexual Development
Most teens ages 13 to 17 will

• Understand that they are sexual and understand the options and consequences of sexual expression
• Choose to express their sexuality in ways that may or may not include sexual intercourse
• Recognize the components of healthy and unhealthy relationships

• Have a clear understanding of pregnancy and of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections and the possible consequences of sexual intercourse and have the ability to make reasoned choices about sex based on knowledge

• Recognize the role media play in propagating views about sex
• Have the capacity to learn about intimate, loving, long-term relationships
• Have an understanding of their own sexual orientation [This is different than sexual behavior]