Does Labeling Teens Cause Scars?

Lingering Effects

• University of Toronto researchers determined that stereotypes and labeling caused lasting effects on subjects, according to a 2012 article at PsychCentral.com. Coping with the stereotypes continued even when the negative circumstance ended. After facing stereotyping, people sometimes experienced aggression or low self-control. Decision-making became more difficult, and people sometimes made food choices that were less healthy. Labels about age, religion, gender or race could all cause reactions that leave people at a disadvantage to complete other tasks.

Siblings

• When parents have more than one child, labels can be used to easily differentiate between the preferences and idiosyncrasies of the siblings. This can create problems among teen siblings as they vie to forge their own personalities. If the oldest teen performs well academically, she might be known as the family ̶0;scholar.̶1; Even if her younger sister also excels at school, she might try to develop other skills and downplay her academic prowess in order to differentiate herself, according to psychologist Sylvia Rimm. Parents might prefer assigning her the label of ̶0;creative̶1; or ̶0;social,̶1; doing her the disservice of invalidating her academic achievements.

Negativity

• Well-meaning social workers, teachers, parents or other family members might cause emotionally scarring by using damaging labels to describe teens who require extra support. Terms such as ̶0;disadvantaged̶1; or ̶0;poor̶1; can make teens feel poorly about their circumstances, even though many such teens have much to contribute to their communities, according to the Wyman Center. Labels might be acceptable to describe circumstances, but should not be used to describe the teens themselves. Instead, support teens by using positive terms to describe their achievements and goals.

Criminal Behavior

• Being labeled an ̶0;offender̶1; for criminal behavior can have lasting effects, according to a web page on the University of New Hampshire website. Having been labeled, teens might be judged in certain ways by society so that it becomes harder to achieve academically or gain employment. Completing a high school or college diploma can become more difficult and family support can diminish. After being excluded from conventional society, teens might reject traditional institutions, increasing the risk of fresh offenses in the future.