VATI Nursing Care of Children Practice Exam

Growth spurts in height during puberty typically occur during midpuberty. This stage is characterized by a significant acceleration in growth as the body undergoes a series of hormonal changes leading to sexual maturity. In boys, this is when testosterone levels rise substantially, promoting increased height, muscle mass, and overall physical development. In girls, the increase in estrogen results in rapid growth as well, although their growth spurts generally occur slightly earlier in the puberty timeline compared to boys.

Identifying midpuberty as the correct answer highlights that this is the critical period when adolescents experience the most marked increase in height, as well as other changes related to this stage of development.

While early puberty involves the initial stages where the body starts to prepare for growth, it does not have the significant growth spurts seen in midpuberty. Late puberty occurs after the peak growth velocity has typically subsided, focusing more on the completion of development rather than rapid growth. Prepuberty is the stage before these developments begin, so it does not involve any height increases associated with the hormonal changes of puberty.