Adolescent Identity Issues
The period of adolescence, between puberty and adulthood, can be difficult, stressful and dangerous. Teenagers or adolescents deal with many issues as they make the challenging transition from child to adult. Dealing with these issues is a hard but necessary part of growing up. As children become teenagers, they must become comfortable with their notion of self and their identity as individual people who can make decisions for themselves.
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Social Pressures
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A major identity issue with adolescents is dealing with social or peer pressure. Teens depend to a large degree on their school friends or classmates for nurturing, opinions and sense of worth. Social pressures can often dictate how an adolescent dresses, acts or talks. Teens struggle with the notion of fitting into a group or clique and garnering acceptance into a group that provides comfort and stability, no matter whether it is what they really want. Peer pressure can lead to alcohol, tobacco and substance use and possibly abuse. For parents, it is important to be aware of who adolescents spend their free time with.
Autonomy
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Becoming an autonomous person who can make individual decisions is at once liberating and frustrating for adolescents, as they can feel entitled to make their own rules while they still must listen to their parents. A balance of autonomy and following orders is necessary for teens to learn to behave as adults who must follow rules and laws. Parents must allow teens to make some decisions for themselves while still following the household rules.
Individual Expression
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As teens begin developing personal taste in music, clothes and other things, the search for individual expression and identity can become overwhelming. Adolescents sometimes struggle to differentiate themselves from their parents by rebelling or acting in a way that their parents disapprove of. Individual expression should be allowed within reason, permitting teens to have some say about their clothes, hairstyle and music. Teenagers must feel that they can express themselves or create their own identity.
Body Image
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With changing bodies and developing sexual awareness, body image and sexuality is a major issue for teenagers who must cope with their newly hormone-addled bodies. Adolescents often have problems accepting the way they look. Teenage girls especially are prone to eating disorders or body image problems. Anorexia and bulimia most commonly strike adolescent girls who starve or purge themselves because they are afraid of becoming obese, even if they are already dangerously underweight. Boys, too, can struggle with body image, taking to exercising excessively or worrying too much about their physical appearance. Teens also might be confused about their sexuality, depending on their new sexual feelings and interactions with the opposite or same sex.
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Depression is an illness that affects how your teen acts and behaves. She might also lose interest in activities she formerly enjoyed. Your teen might benefit from seeing a psychiatrist to address her problems. A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who
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Teen girls have many venues in which to express their own unique and individual personalities. This helps them discover their own innate strengths and attributes that will guide them through the rest of their lives. A teenage girl should follow and n
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Theres a fine line between pampering a teenager so she feels loved, appreciated and well-cared for and overindulging a teenager to the point she acts spoiled or has feelings of entitlement. Teenagers are still children so they shouldnt have the same
