During adolescence, children grow into young adults who are becoming independent. They undergo striking physical, cognitive, social, and emotional changes. However, the path to adulthood is not a straight line. Adolescents do not simply become steadily more and more like adults with time. Rather, adolescents alternate between acting like adults and acting like children. As adolescents develop, they gradually spend more time behaving as adults and less time behaving as children. Guiding adolescents through this period can be a challenge for parents.
Cognitive Development in Adolescents
"Cognitive" means relating to the mental processes involved in learning, thinking, reasoning, and understanding things. As children grow up, their cognitive processes become more developed.
Cognitive development also impacts how adolescents view and navigate their lives. In early adolescence, a child begins to develop the capacity for abstract, logical thought. This increased sophistication leads to an enhanced awareness of self and the ability to reflect on one’s own being. Because of the many noticeable physical changes of adolescence, this self-awareness often turns into self-consciousness, with an accompanying feeling of awkwardness. The adolescent often also has a preoccupation with physical appearance and attractiveness and a heightened sensitivity to differences from peers. These feelings are also impacted by social expectations and pressures.
In mid adolescence, the weight of making decisions about a future career gets increasingly heavy, and most adolescents do not have a clearly defined goal, although they gradually realize their areas of interest and talent. Parents must be aware of the adolescent’s capabilities and help the adolescent set realistic goals.
Adolescents apply their new reflective capabilities to moral issues. Preadolescents typically understand right and wrong as fixed and absolute. Adolescents often question standards of behavior and may reject traditional customs and values—sometimes to the dismay of parents. Ideally, this reflection culminates in the development and internalization of the adolescent’s own moral code.
School issues in adolescents
One setting where a lot of cognitive development takes place is at school. School constitutes a large part of an adolescent’s existence. Difficulties in almost any area of life often affect how an adolescent behaves socially and performs academically at school.
Particular school issues may include
Fear of going to school
Dropping out
Academic underachievement
Fear of going to school may be generalized or related to a particular person (a teacher or another student—see Bullying) or event at school (such as physical education class). The adolescent may develop physical symptoms, such as abdominal pain, or may simply refuse to go to school. School personnel and family members should attempt to understand and address the reason and encourage the adolescent to attend school.
Adolescents who are repeatedly absent or drop out of school have made a conscious decision to miss school. These adolescents generally have poor academic achievement and have had little success in or satisfaction from school-related activities.
Adolescents at risk of dropping out should be made aware of other educational options, such as vocational training, graduate equivalent degrees (GED), and alternative programs.
School issues during the adolescent years may result from a combination of
Mental health disorders, such as anxiety or depression
Family conflict
Behavioral issues
Inappropriate learning environments
Rebellion and a need for independence
Sometimes, school issues occur if an adolescent is not in the appropriate school grade or group, particularly in adolescents with a learning disability or mild intellectual disability that was not recognized early in life.
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and learning disabilities, which typically begin earlier in childhood, may continue to cause school issues for adolescents. Occasionally, these disorders are first recognized during adolescence as school work becomes more challenging.
In general, adolescents with significant school issues should undergo a complete learning evaluation and a mental health evaluation. A professional educator may be needed to help support school participation.
Specific problems are treated as needed, and general support and encouragement are provided. Changes in the learning environment, and sometimes medications, can also be of great help to struggling adolescents.
The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that schools evaluate and provide appropriate services for students with learning disabilities and others who are not living up to their academic potential by providing individualized education plans (IEPs).
Emotional Development in Adolescents
During adolescence, the regions of the brain that control emotions develop and mature. This phase is characterized by seemingly spontaneous outbursts that can be challenging for parents and teachers who often receive the brunt. Adolescents gradually learn to suppress inappropriate thoughts and actions and replace them with goal-oriented behaviors.
Communication can be challenging as parents and adolescents renegotiate their relationship. All of these challenges are accentuated when families face other stresses or parents have emotional difficulties of their own because adolescents continue to need parenting.
Doctors can help open lines of communication by offering adolescents and parents sensible, practical, and supportive advice.
Development of Independence in Adolescents
During adolescence, developing independence (autonomy) is a major focus. “Who am I, where am I going, and how do I relate to all of these people in my life?” are frequent preoccupations for most adolescents. This period of development provides opportunities for adolescents to learn about how to take care of their own health and adopt healthy behaviors and also often involves risk-taking behavior or vulnerability to health risks.
An adolescent’s normal desire to seek more freedom may clash with the parents’ instincts to protect their children from harm and results in conflict. Frustration caused by trying to grow in many directions is common.
Adolescents are much more independent than they were as younger children, and therefore they are often not able to be physically controlled by adults. In these circumstances, adolescents' behavior is determined by their own decision-making, which is not yet mature. Parents guide rather than directly control their adolescents' actions.
Typically, one way adolescents exercise independence is by questioning or challenging, and sometimes breaking, rules. Taking risks and testing abilities and limits are all normal actions and are developmentally appropriate during adolescence. For example, many adolescents begin to engage in risky behaviors, such as fast driving. Many adolescents begin to experiment sexually, and some may engage in risky sexual practices. Some adolescents may engage in alcohol and substance use. Experts speculate that these behaviors occur in part because adolescents tend to overestimate their own abilities in preparation for leaving home. Studies of the nervous system also have shown that the parts of the brain that suppress impulses are not fully mature until early adulthood.
Parents/guardians and health care professionals must distinguish occasional errors of judgment, which are expected of this age group, from a pattern of misbehavior that requires professional intervention. For example, regular drinking, frequent episodes of fighting, absenteeism from school without permission (truancy), and theft are much more significant than isolated episodes of the same activities. If a behavioral issue is impairing an adolescent's ability to function, warning signs include deterioration of performance at school and running away from home. Of particular concern are adolescents who cause serious injury to themselves or others or who use a weapon in a fight.
Adolescents who feel warmth and support from their parents and whose parents convey clear expectations regarding their children’s behavior and show consistent limit setting and monitoring are less likely to develop serious problems.
Parenting styles during adolescence
Conflict between parents and adolescents is common. In these situations, control can be the core issue. Adolescents want to feel they can make or contribute to decisions about their lives, and parents are afraid to allow their children to make bad decisions. In these situations, everyone may benefit from the parents picking their battles and focusing their efforts on the adolescent's actions (such as attending school and complying with household responsibilities) rather than on expressions (such as dress, hairstyle, and preferred entertainment).
There are 4 main parenting styles:
Authoritative
Authoritarian
Permissive
Uninvolved
Authoritative parenting is a parenting style in which children participate in establishing family expectations and rules. This style of parenting is most likely to promote mature behaviors because it involves setting limits, which is important for healthy adolescent development.
Authoritative parenting uses a system of graduated privileges, in which adolescents initially are given small bits of responsibility, such as caring for a pet, doing household chores, purchasing clothing, decorating their room, or managing an allowance. If adolescents handle a responsibility or privilege well over a period of time, more responsibilities and more privileges, such as going out with friends without parents and driving, are granted. By contrast, poor judgment or lack of responsibility leads to loss of privileges. Each new privilege requires close monitoring by parents to make sure adolescents comply with the agreed-upon rules.
Authoritarian parenting is defined by a lack of flexibility. Parents set rules that children are expected to obey and make decisions with minimal input from their children. There is little flexibility for negotiation, and communication is one way, that is, parents do not listen to their children.
Permissive parenting is defined by some flexibility but fewer expectations, and parents set few limits. Although this style can lead to children learning to explore and take more risks, it also can lead to children developing negative habits because permissive parents do not provide much guidance.
Uninvolved parenting is defined by the a high degree of flexibility. Although uninvolved parents may ensure that children have basic needs (for example, food, shelter, and clothing), they are otherwise not as involved. There are many reasons why parents are uninvolved, and for some parents it is because the majority of their time is spent securing financial resources for the family.
Social Development in Adolescents
The family is the center of social life for children. During adolescence, the peer group begins to replace the family as the child’s primary social focus. Peer groups are often established because of distinctions in dress, appearance, attitudes, hobbies, interests, and other characteristics that may seem profound or trivial to outsiders. Initially, peer groups are usually same-sex but typically become mixed later in adolescence. These groups assume an importance to adolescents because they provide validation for the adolescent’s tentative choices and support in stressful situations.
Adolescents who find themselves without a peer group may develop intense feelings of being different and alienated. Although these feelings usually do not have permanent effects, they may worsen the potential for mental health issues and, rarely, for antisocial behavior. Conversely, the peer group can become too important, which also results in challenging behavior caused by peer pressure or fear of being excluded or left out.
More Information
The following is an English-language resource that may be useful. Please note that The Manual is not responsible for the content of this resource.
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): Comprehensive information on how the IDEA provides for a public education to eligible children with disabilities and ensures special education and related services to those children
