What do counselors need to know about the physical development of young clients to reach, serve and counsel them more effectively?
• Providers need to understand puberty and the accompanying body changes experienced by both boys and girls. • Girls begin menstruating and boys reach puberty at earlier ages than in previous decades. That, in many cases, means an increase in the time between the onset of puberty and marriage and a greater period of possible sexual activity and risk for pregnancy and STIs. • Among younger female adolescents, physiological immaturity may put them at greater risk for complications during pregnancy.
