A 14-Year-Old Male Patient Who Has Not Yet Begun Puberty

question 13

Multiple Choice

A 14-year-old male patient who has not yet begun puberty reports being bullied at school. The boy's father reports that he and his father also experienced teasing as adolescents because they did not begin puberty until around age 16 years. What will the provider tell the patient and his father when they ask what can be done?

• A) "A limited course of androgen therapy may be prescribed, but it is not necessary."
• B) "He will eventually begin puberty, so this is nothing to worry about."
• C) "There is nothing that can be done about the puberty delay, but I can make a referral for psychological counseling."
• D) "The risk of accelerated growth plate closure is too great to warrant androgen therapy."

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Definitions:

Representativeness Heuristic

A cognitive shortcut that involves making judgments about the probability of an event under uncertainty, based on how much it resembles the typical case.

Three-Number Sequence

A specific arrangement of three numbers that follows a particular rule or pattern, often used in cognitive and psychological testing.

Confirmation Bias

The tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and remember information in a way that confirms one's preexisting beliefs or hypotheses.

Communication Episode

A specific instance of communication that includes a series of interactions and the context in which it takes place.