WHILE GROWING (ADOLESCENCE)
4.1 Review of syllabus covered in Std. IX
We have seen in our last year’s book that the adolescent period is from the
age of 13 to 19 years and is also named as teen age. Maximum
physical development, internally and externally occurs during this
period. This is also a period of psychological changes and
personality development. Perplexed by rapid physical and
psychological changes, an adolescent has to cope skillfully with
himself and with his surrounding environment. There is an
appreciable change in his intelligence, thinking power, logical
reasoning, and ability to understand his environment. The
adolescent is strong in memory, perceiving things, concept
formations, association, generalization, imagination, and decision
making.
This is a period of emotional turbulence to emotional stability. The
adolescent has to face various psychological ups and down during
this period.
a) EMOTIONAL TENSIONEmotional development is at its maximum and is continuously changing.
Self respect and personal pride make the individual emotionally
unstable. He expects the things to be done as he aspires.
b) PERSONAL APPEARANCEThis is a significant problem. The adolescent is much worried about his
appearance and wants to adopt the latest life style and fashions
at any cost.
c) EMANCIPATIONIt is the ambition for freedom from parental souverign.The individual hates
control of the parents. He or she seeks for one’s own identity.
d) ECONOMIC INDEPENDENCEMoney plays a major role in adolescence. He has to depend on his parents
or other relatives for money for fulfilling his growing aspirations
and desires. His desires may be realistic or unrealistic. Parental
control over money may thwart many of his wishes leading to
numerous frustrations. The adolescent may think if he was big
enough to support himself financially.
a) SOCIAL ADJUSTMENTDuring this period, one has to face a lot of adjustment problems. The
most difficult problem is related to social adjustment
outside the family and to peer group
.
4.2
Temptations, controlling
temptations. Proper use of technology
Many adolescents become envious of those with more material
possessions. They may think to take a part time job to earn money for the
material possessions they crave or even have idea of dropping out of
school to get these things.
Adolescents are very attractive target for many businesses because of their
population size, their lack of savings habit and availability of easy money
with them. This money is often spent on leisure activities such as food,
clothes, cosmetics, automobiles and electronic equipments, video games
and other play pools. Mobile phones and internet use are becoming almost
an addiction amongst them. Some adolescents indulge in betting of various
types leading them to debts.
It is believed that advertising aimed at adolescents take advantage of their
impulsiveness and self consciousness. It is not only advertising, but the
strong influences that teens have on each other regarding their purchases
that drive adolescent consumerism. This peer influence is known as viral
marketing, in which products are promoted by encouraging individuals to
pass on information to others. The adolescent market also extends into the
adult market because of teen’s influence on their parents’ purchases.
Many adolescents’ parents worry that electronic communication may
negatively affect their social development, replace face to face
communication, negatively affect their social skills, lead to unsafe
communication with strangers, and replace more useful activities.
Excessive use of internet may have negative effect on the health of
adolescents, as time spent using internet replaces doing physical activity.
The usefulness of internet depends on the quality and content of websites’
material. Studies have found that it depends on what teens are doing
online that determines whether high internet use is harmful to their
development. Online sexual exploitation is a real hazard. Another
temptation is television, sexually provoking adult scenes, violence and
controversial material may contaminate young adolescents’ mind.
According to some research, adolescents who play relatively more violent
video games are involved in more fights and get into more
arguments than peers who play fewer such games. Anti-smoking
and anti-drinking ads shown on television have been shown to be
effective in changing the beliefs and attitudes of adolescents
about drinking and smoking.
The human brain is not fully developed by the time a person reaches
puberty. Between the ages of 10 to 25, the brain undergoes changes that
have important implications for behavior. The brain reaches 90% of its
adult size at around 6th year of age. Thus, the brain does not grow in size
much during adolescence. However the creases in the brain continue to
become more complex until the late teens. The biggest changes in the
folds of the brain during this time occur in the parts of the cortex that
process cognitive and emotional information. The synaptic connection in
between various
neurons or nerve cells goes on improving and brain starts maturing. It
leads to better decision making power and better cognitive control.
Information processing system improves further, leading to better
evaluation of risk and rewards, as well as improved control over impulses
and better planning ahead.
4.3 MEASURES FOR CONTROLLIG
TEMPTATIONS
Most of the problems of temptations in adolescents are due to
uncontrolled emotions. Controlling temptations is synonymous with
developing emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is very different
than intelligence quotient (IQ), which is the ability to perform cognitive
tasks effectively. Emotional intelligence includes as Aristotle described it,
the rare ability to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the
right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way.
Many problems of adolescence can be primarily prevented by improving
their emotional intelligence in school itself.
The competencies of emotional intelligence are crucial for the self
management of emotions and for the skillful handling of relationship.
These abilities are learned throughout life with primary learning occurring
during childhood.
Emotional intelligence can be enhanced through the systematic offering of
beneficial learning experiences as children grow and deficits can be
repaired through remedial learning and coaching.
Those who fail to master the competencies of emotional intelligence face a
spectrum of behavioral problems such as mood and anxiety disorders,
eating disorders, smoking and drinking and other temptations. Because
these skills of emotional intelligence are teachable, offering children and
adolescents opportunities to strengthen these competencies can act as
vaccine against a spectrum of social and psychological problems.
Emotional intelligence has 5 abilities.
b) self awarenessRecognizing one’s feelings as they occur is the key thing of emotional
intelligence. The ability to monitor feelings from moment to moment is key
to psychological insight and self understanding. Being aware of one’s
emotions makes one more confident when making important personal
decisions and falling prey to temptations.
c) Managing emotions-
Having appropriate emotional reactions is a capacity that builds on self
awareness. Those who lack emotional self regulations are continually
bothered by feeling of distress.
d) Motivating oneselfBeing able to focus on a goal is essential for success. Emotional self control
such as delaying gratification or controlling impulsivity is crucial in working
towards such life goals. Individuals who can harness their emotions despite
frustrations are generally more productive and effective in their
achievements.
e) Recognizing emotions in othersRecognizing and giving values to the feelings of other people is
fundamental to interpersonal relationships. Those who pick up clues
indicating what others feel are more successful in personal and
professional relations.
f) Handling relationshipThe art of relationships require skill in managing others’ emotions, social
competence underlies popularity, leadership, overall happiness.
Emotional intelligence skill building should be used as a primary prevention
strategy by the school teachers who can reach hundreds of children. The
information about AIDS, substance abuse if given at this stage goes a long
way
4.4
Building, meaning and development of
healthy relationships
Adolescence marks a rapid change in one’s role within a family. Young
children tend to assert themselves forcefully, but are unable to have much
influence over family decisions until early adolescence, when they are
increasingly treated by parents as equals. When children go through
puberty, there is often a significant increase in parent-child conflict and a
less cohesive familial bond. The impact of friends also further complicates
the parent –adolescent relationship. Although conflicts between children
and parents increase during adolescence, these are just relatively minor
issues like parental control, acceptable clothing, and adolescents’ right to
privacy. Regarding to the important issues in lives, most adolescents still
share the same attitudes and values as their parents.
When the relationships of young adolescents with
members of their family deteriorate as adolescence progresses, the fault
usually lies on both sides. Parents quite often refuse to modify or update
their concepts of their children’s’ abilities as they grow older. As a result,
they treat their adolescent sons and daughters the same way, when they
were younger. In spite of this, they expect them to “act their age”,
especially when it comes to assuming responsibilities.
Even more important is the so called “generation
gap” between adolescents and their parents. This gap is partly the result of
radical changes in values and standards of behavior that normally occurs in
a rapidly changing culture. Many young adolescents now have greater
educational, social, and cultural opportunities than most of their parents
had when they were adolescents. Thus it is more correctly a “cultural gap”
not due entirely to differences in age.
Parents cannot be blamed for all the
friction that develops between them and their children. No one is more
irresponsible, more difficult to live with, more unpredictable than young
adolescents. Their inability or unwillingness to communicate with their
parents helps to widen the gap between them. This gap is maximum
between fourteen and fifteen years of adolescent’s age, after which there
is generally an improvement in parent-child relationship.
Many adolescents feel that their parents
do not “understand them” and that their standards of behavior are old
fashioned. This is due more to the cultural gap than to differences in age.
Disciplinary methods used by parents are
often considered by adolescents as “unfair” or “childish”, and usually have
rebellious attitude towards discipline. Relationship amongst the siblings is
also quite complex. The adolescent may be scornful of younger siblings and
resentful of older ones leading to friction with them as well as parents,
whom they may accuse of “playing favorites”. As the adolescents matures,
their relationships with their parents, siblings, grandparents, and other
relatives start improving. Older adolescents start accepting these
relationships in a calmer and more philosophical and graceful manner.
Adolescence is also a time for rapid thinking
process development. The individual’s thoughts start taking more of an
abstract form and the self –centered thoughts decrease. This allows the
individual to think and reason in a wider perspective. The thoughts, ideas
and concepts developed at this period of life greatly influence one’s future
life, playing a major role in character and personality formation. Biological
changes in brain structure and increased connectivity of various brain areas
with one another interact with increased experience, knowledge, and
changing social demands to produce rapid cognitive growth which
continues further in adulthood.
The development of abstract thinking is another feature of adolescence.
They start understanding the hidden meanings in puns, proverbs,
metaphors, and analogies. There increased ability permits them to
appreciate the ways in which language can be used to convey multiple
messages, such as satire, metaphor, and sarcasm. Children younger than
age 9 often cannot understand sarcasm at all. This also permits the
application of advanced reasoning and logical thinking to social matters
such as interpersonal relationships, politics, philosophy, religion, morality,
friendship, faith, democracy, fairness and honesty.
Wisdom or the capacity for insight and judgment increases between the
ages of 14 and 25, then levels off. Wisdom is not the same as intelligence.
Adolescents do not improve substantially on IQ tests but may become
wiser and wiser. Everyone matures at approximately the same age.
4.5
Communication skills
You may have experienced at least one conversation in which you felt
completely satisfied and connected to the person you were
talking with, and at least one conversation you left
dissatisfied because of lack of understanding between you
and the other person. Although you cannot guarantee that
every conversation will be great, you can learn skills to make
communication a bit easier and more satisfying.
You communicate with various persons daily, within your family and
outside. Consciously thinking about what you do to
communicate can help you to improve your skills and use
them even when you are upset or unsure of what to say.
What a conversation is like depends upon greatly, whom you are
talking with. Clearly, a conversation with your teacher tends
to be very different than the conversation with your best
friend. The other person in the conversation is your
audience and being conscious of your audience can remind
you of your purpose.
Consider the following conversationBoy. “Can I go to Sahil’s home tomorrow for overnight stay?”
Parent:“Will Sahil’s parents be there? Who else will be there?”
One possible response for the boy is to get annoyed with the parent
for asking questions, another is for the boy to explain more
about why he wants to go to Sahil’s house. Most adolescents
get frustrated with their parents, it is completely normal.
Keeping in mind his audience, the above boy should hold
back himself prior to responding with anger to the parent’s
question.
After all, the purpose of this communication is obtaining permission to
go to Sahil’s house. Refusing to answer the parents question
is unlikely to elicit that permission, which defeats the
purpose. Paying attention to your audience and purpose
does not mean you cannot express your emotions. The
emotions should be expressed in positive and constructive
manner. You should not take your audience for granted,
even if he happens to be your best friend.
If you are worried about a particular conversation, remembering the
purpose behind it can help you to deal with some of that
anxiety and make the conversation easier.
Improving communication skills take some planning.
a) pre conversation –
Try to cool off as much as possible. It is good to feel your emotions
but not be too emotional. More emotions can be
unproductive when they get in the way of rational thinking.
b) During conversationCommunication is not only about telling other people what you think;
it also involves understanding what ideas and thoughts
other people have. Active listening can be conveyed to the
opposite person by restating in your own words what he or
she has said. The more you listen, the more the other
person will listen to you. Always make eye contact while
communicating. All non verbal gestures or body language is
equally important like words you use. Using non verbal
communication shows your respect towards the other
person. Also pay attention to other person’s body language
to understand whether the other person is interested in you
and has understood what you have to say. Be respectful but
not afraid to express your views. If you are honest about
what you think and feel, people will have more respect for
you.
Always use “I” statements. For example, instead of saying, “you hurt
me”, it is better to say, “I feel hurt”
Try to understand every ones point of view in your audience. Do not
react reflexly to what the other person has said but reflect
cautiously.
If you reflect back to other person what he or she said, then he or she
will feel understood and will be much more likely to listen to
you. Instead of vague talks and statements be specific in
affirming you.
c) Post conversationRelationships are built on trust but trust cannot be built on trust but
trust cannot be built in an hour conversation. The first step
to rebuilding trust with a person is showing you are
committed by following through on your agreement. If you
care for that relationship, make sure you put time into doing
what you said you would do.
Communication between
adolescents and teachers can be one-to-one or classroom communication.
Many students of this age group complain that” My teachers do not
understand me”. Many teachers are not able to reach students with
backgrounds different than their own. Communication is important to
improve the academic performance for all the students in the classroom.
Academic achievements raise the self- esteem of adolescents leading to a
decrease in other behavioral problems. Apart from teaching curriculum; a
teacher should inspire and motivate students to excel in various fields.
Teachers should not be biased about the negative images of the
adolescents portrayed in media, and generalize them. Students often feel
that teachers do not understand and validate their opinions, thoughts and
feelings. Adolescents want teachers to know and understand them
individually.
When teachers ask a question and wait for an answer, the time the teacher
waits may not be sufficient. Extended wait times allow students to show
respect and help students with limited language proficiency to translate
their thoughts in words. Students need encouragement, validation and
support for expressing their opinions from teachers. Insulting or
humiliating a student in classroom for whatever reasons, is a very
traumatizing experience, with negative effect on adolescent’s personality.
A healthy and mutually trusting teacher-student relationship will go a long
way in helping adolescents to face and cope up with the challenges of adult
life positively.
DR AVINASH JOSHI
Nagpur
References:
1.Kaplan & Sadock’s comprehensive textbook of psychiatry
Seventh edition 2000
Editors
Benjamin Sadock
Virginia Sadock
2. Developmental Psychology
Author: Elizabeth Hurlock
5th Edition
3. Evan, E. D.; Hccandless , B. R. ;
Children and youth psychosocial development
2nd edition
NY Library of congress category in publication data.
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