Teenage psychology

From this material you will learn:

• General characteristics of adolescence
• Stages of adolescence
• Main causes of difficulties in adolescence
• Features of adolescent psychology
• Adolescent psychology of boys and girls
• Common problems of adolescents
• Adolescent psychology and the desire to learn
• Recommendations for parents on building relationships with adolescents
• Useful books on adolescent psychology
• Frequently asked questions about adolescent psychology

What is it about? The term "adolescent psychology" can be considered from two perspectives. The first is the science whose interests include the study of behavioral characteristics of adolescents. The second position implies a simple description of what is happening, as well as recommendations for teachers and parents on raising children in the difficult adolescent period.

What to pay attention to? The adolescent crisis occurs in all children without exception. The difference is that it can manifest itself in different ways and with varying degrees of intensity. But in any case, you cannot stay away from what is happening. The child needs help, and the task of adults is to provide it in a timely and complete manner.

About adolescence in general terms

Psychologists consider adolescence to be a period of growing up when a person is no longer a child but has not yet fully formed. This is a complex and responsible stage between childhood and adulthood.

Often this period is called transitional. During this time, a person develops a system of life values, as well as moral principles and beliefs. The formation of social status and self-awareness occurs.

In adolescence, a person learns to critically evaluate events and phenomena, develops creativity and independent thinking, and also strives to find adequate arguments when arguing. This period is characterized not only by intensive psychological development but also by active physical maturation of the body.

The features of adolescent psychology are called the "adolescent complex." It is often characterized by asocial behavior. Such adolescent problems in psychology are called the "pubertal crisis."

At this age, the growing child acquires new knowledge and skills that will become the basis for decision-making in adult life. The adolescent learns to solve problems independently and gains individuality that determines their position in the social group.

On the other hand, the lack of life experience and encounters with previously unknown problems force the one who was recently a child to doubt the correctness of their decisions and their abilities. A young person does not fully understand how to deal with fears and anxieties, so they are often prone to depressive states.

The modern world is developing rapidly, which adds complexity to the life of an adolescent. Many traditional mechanisms lose their relevance, and the experience passed down from generation to generation can no longer provide answers to the questions arising in young people. The adolescent crisis in psychology is helped not only by specialists in this field but also by competent people in other areas: doctors and lawyers.

Stages of adolescence

It cannot be said that the pubertal period is the same for all adolescents in the world. Its duration depends on the culture of the people, the ethnic affiliation of the young person, and other factors. WHO identifies the adolescent period in psychology, setting boundaries from 10 to 19 years. At the same time, some specialists believe that the transitional period can begin earlier and end only at 23 years.

Conditionally, the process of growing up can be divided into three stages. Each of the stages is characterized by certain features.

Early stage

This stage of growing up lasts from 10 to 14 years. In girls, this stage usually begins a year or a year and a half earlier than in boys. This factor affects academic performance.

Teachers and parents of young people need to consider the features of youth adolescent psychology, as high demands on academic performance increase the load and psychological pressure.

At this age, a person still manifests themselves as a child in many ways, but intense physiological changes occur in their body.

During puberty, hormone production increases. Because of this, adolescents are prone to sudden mood swings and asocial outbursts.

Middle stage

It is believed that it begins at around 14 years and ends at about 16-17 years. During this period, hormonal restructuring of the body occurs. By the end of the middle stage, puberty is almost completely completed.

At this time, young people develop an understanding of the psychology of adolescent relationships. They learn to establish contact with the opposite sex. Adolescents develop sexuality. Representatives of both sexes exhibit lability and impulsivity.

The lack of life experience and the ability to independently solve problems arising from love relationships often lead to difficulties in social life. Adolescents do not yet fully realize the consequences of their actions and decisions. At the same time, they are quite categorical in their beliefs and are ready to fiercely defend them without having proper arguments.

Emotional experiences come to the forefront. At the age of 14 to 17, the concept of personal space is formed. In this regard, adolescents often react sharply to prohibitions and express protest in any available way.

In addition, the middle stage of adolescence is characterized by high pickiness about their appearance. Young people find physical flaws in themselves that sometimes do not even exist. At the same time, the opinion of others, especially the older generation, ceases to play an important role for them. Young men and women develop critical thinking and a desire to express and assert their own opinion.

Late stage

Usually, this period lasts about a year, approximately from 17 to 18 years. But it can drag on until 23 years. This is influenced by many factors: personal characteristics, cultural values of the social group, ethnic affiliation, etc.

By the age of 23, the physiological processes of the body's maturation are completed. The hormonal background becomes stable, which, in turn, reduces the lability of the emotional state.

At this age, young men and women already understand what they want from life and how to evaluate the events happening around them. Professional inclinations are formed. Often at this time, young people gain their first experience in work and love relationships.

Why do problems arise in adolescence?

The psychology of development in adolescence is characterized by a large number of difficulties and crises of different types. Sometimes they manifest in a complex. Specialists identify three groups of causes of adolescent problems.

Physiological

In the adolescent period, there are sharp changes in the hormonal background. Puberty is characterized by high excitability. Young men and women learn to control their instincts, which does not always succeed. Sometimes adolescents need help from the older generation or a professional psychologist.

Intensive physiological development of the body occurs. This process can be uneven, leading to a violation of body proportions. The adolescent feels clumsy, and this causes complexes. The development of internal organs is also often uneven. In this regard, young men and women may feel a decline in strength and reduced performance.

Psychological

Child psychology in adolescence influences the formation of personality. Young men and women become independent people, while previously most decisions were made for them by representatives of the older generation, i.e., parents and teachers. Adolescents doubt themselves, as they do not have enough life experience to realize their position. Not all young people are capable of adequately assessing themselves and others, as well as the events happening around them.

Lack of self-confidence can lead to sharp manifestations of protest, irritability, and even malice. Young people still find it difficult to understand the consequences of their actions and decisions.

Adolescents strive for self-knowledge. They are concerned with many questions, for example: "Who am I? How do I look compared to others? What am I capable of?"

Socio-psychological

The social world in the imagination of young men and women is often idealized. Many of them think that being an adult is easy and pleasant, as they can behave as they please. At the same time, adolescents begin to think about choosing a future profession. They form a circle of communication corresponding to their interests. Young people try to establish contacts with people they consider authoritative.

Many representatives of the younger generation want to grow up as soon as possible. They strive to gain recognition in this status and get rid of the control from parents and teachers, which seems excessive to them. Adolescents feel the need to make decisions and perform adult actions independently. This causes an internal contradiction, as young people themselves realize that their knowledge and experience are not yet sufficient to be considered an adult.

As a result of internal psychological conflict, two characteristic features develop. The first is the desire for independence. The adolescent tries in every way to become independent and get rid of guardianship and control. The second is the unwillingness to take responsibility. A young person wants to have the opportunity to shift the blame for their mistakes onto someone else, which is characteristic of an immature personality.

Features of adolescent thinking

It is important for parents to learn to understand the psychology of adolescent behavior, as this will help maintain a connection with their child during the crisis period. Often, adults do not understand what is happening in the soul of their child. This can lead to controversial situations and conflicts in the family.

Sense of growing up

It arises in a child as a result of psychological and physiological changes. Young men and women have new aspirations and needs. The adolescent has desires but does not understand how to fulfill them. They cannot yet psychologically separate from their parents but at the same time want to feel independent and freely dispose of their time, for example, spending it with friends rather than studying. This leads to an internal conflict in the soul of the adolescent, which, in turn, provokes conflicts in the family.

Change of preferences

Often, adolescents abruptly change their preferences. A young man or woman may break off previous social ties, refuse to perform household duties, or solve academic tasks. This reaction intensifies if major changes occur in the adolescent's life, such as moving to another city or transferring to another educational institution.

Separation

The former child strives to distance themselves from their parents and become independent but does not yet fully understand how to do this.

You may think that the adolescent is deliberately provoking conflicts, but in reality, they are just testing the boundaries of what is allowed.

Compensation reaction

If an adolescent fails in any area of life, they strive to compensate for this by achieving success in another. Since the young person does not yet know how to do this correctly, this reaction can become a cause of conflict behavior. It is not uncommon for an adolescent to try to gain authority in their social group through rudeness, hooligan acts, or physical strength.

Stubbornness, negativism

This reaction manifests in protest behavior, refusal to fulfill the requests and demands of adults. The adolescent demonstratively does everything contrary. In fact, such behavior is associated with the desire for self-assertion. It becomes a kind of protection of the nervous system from sharp changes.

Mood swings

The level of hormones changes sharply, leading to sharp emotional swings. The adolescent may show irritability and malice without reason. Young men and women react stormily to the actions of others or certain events. Changes in the production of sex hormones are accompanied by physiological manifestations. These can be frequent headaches, increased sweating, dizziness, etc.

Desire to socialize

Adolescents seek recognition in their social group. In fact, this is not bad, as at this time young men and women learn to build relationships with others and express themselves as individuals.

Imitation reaction

The adolescent chooses an idol, most often from media personalities, and idealizes them. Often, the young person attributes qualities to the object of imitation that they would like to possess themselves.

Enthusiasm reaction

The adolescent searches for themselves and tries new hobbies. They can be absolutely anything: from collecting stamps to gambling. Often, the adolescent quickly loses interest in a new hobby and finds another. Psychologists explain such behavior as a desire for self-realization and self-discovery.

Differences in the psychology of young men and women

Despite a large number of common characteristic features, the adolescent period in young men and women proceeds differently. Girls mature earlier and enter puberty at around 10-11 years. They are less prone to manifestations of aggression than boys. The adolescent period in young men usually begins at 12-13 years. Boys are more prone to aggression and cruelty during the pubertal crisis. This is due to the fact that traditional society has higher demands on men than on women.

Boys

Young men in adolescence are characterized by the following traits:

• Anger and aggression. The body intensively begins to produce testosterone, leading to changes in the manner of communication with peers and adults.
• Violent emotional reactions. Hormonal changes manifest in sharp mood swings and manifestations of unprovoked aggression.
• Dulled sense of fear. Young men often commit reckless acts or start engaging in extreme sports. Like many other manifestations of the pubertal crisis, this is related to increased testosterone production.
• Desire for independence. The young man wants to become a man as soon as possible. To do this, he strives to gain authority in the eyes of others. But solving problems on his own does not always lead to a positive result. As a result, the growing boy loses confidence in himself.
• Desire to lead an adult lifestyle. This aspiration can have both a positive and negative connotation. Some adolescents, striving to imitate adult men, want to perform feats. In others, this desire manifests in a tendency towards bad habits and emphasizing external manifestations of masculinity.
• Attraction to the opposite sex. Increased testosterone causes a high interest in the intimate side of life.

• Complexes about appearance. Physiological changes in the body lead to the adolescent feeling clumsy. This can lead to the formation of low self-esteem. Adolescents react sharply to criticism of their appearance and perceive it maximally negatively.

Girls

Girls in adolescence are characterized by the following traits:

• Complexes about appearance. Girls strive to meet generally accepted beauty standards, want to dress fashionably, and often excessively use makeup, as well as choose an idol to imitate.
• Desire to attract attention. They want to show that they are interesting not only externally but also internally. Often this manifests in choosing an informal style or provocative behavior.
• Emotional swings. The hormonal background in the adolescent period constantly changes, leading to increased irritability, mood swings, and outbursts of anger.
• Interest in love relationships. Compared to boys, girls are not as strongly interested in the intimate side of life. At this age, they tend to idealize love, so they are attracted to platonic relationships. Girls often fall in love. Unrequited love can form complexes that will interfere with the healthy formation of personality. In some cases, such a situation can even push towards suicide.

Of course, this is an approximate description of the manifestation of adolescent group psychology, which depends not only on gender characteristics. The process of growing up is influenced by the upbringing of the adolescent, their environment, and other factors.

Common problems of adolescents

Often, even parents who maintain friendly relations with their child do not know how to behave with them during the pubertal period. Let's consider the most characteristic behavioral problems that are typical for adolescents.

Conflicts in the social group

In the adolescent collective, there are often stormy emotional quarrels. At the same time, there may be a sharp change of roles. Yesterday's friends can suddenly become enemies and vice versa.

Lack of interests and aspirations

Sometimes with the onset of puberty, adolescents withdraw into themselves. They spend most of their time on internal experiences, refusing to perform household duties and academic tasks. Detachment is often short-term and is replaced by a desire to search for new hobbies.

Dependence on gadgets

In the soul of an adolescent, emotions rage. Often, they do not know how to cope with their experiences and problems. Computer games and other virtual entertainments help to shut themselves off from the real world. It can be said that gadgets act as antidepressants. It is important to distract the child from the virtual world, showing how fascinating the real world can be.

Alcoholism and smoking

Often, an adolescent acquires bad habits, striving to prove to themselves and others their adulthood. If alcoholic beverages and tobacco products are constantly available, there is a high probability of developing dependence.

Drugs

Drug addiction often becomes a consequence of the desire to try something new. Examples from cinema and the world of show business can also push an adolescent towards the use of prohibited substances.

Excessive enthusiasm for diets

This problem is more common among girls. Young ladies want