Adolescence

Characteristics and
Problems
 Adolescence Characteristics and Problems

 Development Characteristics of Young Adolescence

Physical
• Experience onset of puberty, develop sex characteristics
• Become highly self-conscious, body image can affect self-image
• Need physical activity
Cognitive- Intellectual
• Develop critical thinking skills and become more self-aware,
self- critical.
• Become argumentative and demonstrate an intense need to be
“right”
• Show intense focus on a new interest but lack discipline to
sustain it.
 Adolescence Characteristics and Problems
 Development Characteristics of Young Adolescence
Emotional
• They are unpredictable emotionally, are sensitive and prone to
outbursts.
• Are vulnerable to emotional pleas and can be easily manipulated
• Experience increasing sexual feeling may engage in sexual behaviour
without realizing consequence.
Social- interpersonal
• Display a more developed social consciousness.
• Are more aware of relationships and have a strong need to belong
• Experience a shift in dependence on family to dependence on peers
• Seek deeper friendship based on shared interests loyalty
• Experience increase interest in opposite sex, though may often feel
uncomfortable and awkward with the other sex.
 Adolescence Characteristics and Problems

 Development Characteristics of Young Adolescence

Moral
• Form a more personal conscience, seek moral criteria that make sense to
them.
• Refrain moral belief of parents but begin to test rules of childhood
• Are influenced the values of peers.
• Exhibit a stronger sense of responsibility towards larger society.
• Tend be legalistic, focusing on “rules” and “fairness”
Spiritual
• Desire a deeper relationship with god
• Can be open to new prayer experience
• Seek adult role models who live their faith authentically
• Begin moving away from religious imagery, beliefs and practices of
childhood, many begin to explore new images
• Are open to service opportunities primarily to correct with peers, test
skills.
 Adolescence Characteristics and Problems

Excessive Energy
• Adolescence is the stage of excessive energy. In take of food is
increased in this stage and general health is also improved.
The result is excessive energy. The adolescent need more
activity for catharsis of excessive energy.
Aggressiveness or Withdrawal
• When an adolescent cannot adjust himself with the world, he
grow to be aggressive or withdraws from the field and his
personality is arrested. If the conflict is too serious, he
regresses.
 Adolescence Characteristics and Problems

Rebellious Attitude
• A rebel doesn't listen to the rules and regulations, they create
their own rules and live life on their own terms. Someone has
a rebellious attitude when he or she doesn't believe in what
the world says and all they care about is LIFE.

• They turn to be very obedient if they are trusted. But things

do not work so smoothly in ordinary schools and homes. Their
sense of independence and responsibility is seldom
recognized. The result if rebellion against authority.
 Adolescence Characteristics and Problems
Physical Awkwardness
• Most of the adolescents have the feeling of physical
clumsiness. Consequently their movement stand to be
awkward and unbalanced. They may be connected in the
playground and on the stage. Games and dancing will gave
them harmonious and balanced movements. Social service at
the occasion of festival etc. and practical work can help the
children in this respect.
Excessive Day- Dreaming
• Day-dreaming is normal at this stage but when it grows to
excessive it may be injurious as far as development of
personality is connected.
• This condition causes intense daydreaming that distracts a
person from their real life.
 Adolescence Characteristics and Problems

Emancipation
• It is the ambition for freedom from parental sovereign. The
individual hates control of the parents.
Economic independence
• This is another problem of economic independence. Money from
parents for personal expense is major problem
Emotional tension
• Emotional development is maximum and unstable self respect
and personal pride make the individual emotionally bad. He/Her
expects the things to be done as he/her aspires.
 Adolescence Characteristics and Problems

Personal appearance
• This is a significant problem. The adolescent is much worried
about the appearance with modern and latest life style at any
cost.
Morphological/Development Problems
• Over growth of hair or undergrowth of hair
• Skin colour problems
• Abnormal growth of genitals and breasts
• Over weight and under weight
• Limb deformities
• Facial deformities, pimples, etc.
 Adolescence Characteristics and Problems

Psychological Problems
• Ignorance about many basic facts leads to psychological problems
like misconceptions about sexual feelings, sex related issues.
• Fear about sex and sexual issues
• Misconception about child birth, reproduction
• Misconception about coitus(sexual intercourse), menstrual cycles
• Attraction towards opposite sex
• Exceptional vulnerability to suicide psychology
• Wrong and unrealistic ideologies about friendship and courtship
 Adolescence Characteristics and Problems

Social
• Fear/ imagination about married life, life partners.
• Unpredictable and volatile relationship with friends
• Unrealistic social perception about violence, love , sex as
influenced by media.
• Unusually vulnerable and volatile relation with relatives
Educational
• Fear about failure in examination.
• Fear about low score
• Low IQ feeling
• Tensions of attending the classes, examinations and test
• Misconceptions about teacher
• Fear and concern about a future career
Emotionality During
Adolescence
 Emotional Development
• Continues once children reach adolescence, In fact emotions
have often been used to define the period of adolescence.
• For some people the changes associated with adolescence up
pictures of strong emotion, a developmental period
characterized as a time when teens become moody and
negative. these images however are accurate for only a
minority of adolescents. Most adolescents cope with the
changes in emotionally positive way.
Emotional Patterns in Adolescence
I. Differ in the stimuli that give rise to the emotion.

Stimuli: “being treated like a child”

Childhood: feels happy and enjoy the situation (Love of Parents)

Adolescents: feel irritated especially when this is acted by the

parents in front of his age mates.
feels angry when it is overdone and because adolescents seek
independence during this period.
II. Differ in the degree of control the individuals exercise
over the expression of their emotions.
Stimuli: “Unable to get what they want”
Childhood: Cries or have temper tantrums.
Adolescents: sulk or refuse to speak

Stimuli: “treated unfairly”

Childhood: Will cry and tell parents what happened.
Adolescents: Will sulk or loudly criticize the one who caused
their anger.
 Emotional Tension
• Most adolescents experience emotional
tension/ emotional instability because they
are not yet prepared or ready on making
adjustments to new patterns of behaviour and
new social expectations.
Emotional Tension

 Factors causing Emotional Tension to Adolescents

• School demands and frustrations
• Social pressure/ Popularity
• Parental conflict/ Change at home
• Being Bullied
• Drugs and alcohol use by peers, family members
 Factors causing Emotional Tension to
Adolescents

School
demands and
frustration
 Factors causing Emotional Tension to
Adolescents

Drugs and
alcohol use by
peers, family
members
 Factors causing Emotional Tension to
Adolescents

Sexual images/
Sexual
pressure
 Factors causing Emotional Tension to
Adolescents

Social
Pressure
/Popularity
 Factors causing Emotional Tension to
Adolescents

Parental
conflict/
Changes at
home
 Factors causing Emotional Tension to
Adolescents

Being Bullied
Expression
of
adolescents
Expression of Adolescents
Love
• Adolescence love bring
out a whole range of
feeling and emotions in
an already turbulent
teenager. However, at
that age, the teenager
enjoys these feelings
and emotions. The
excitement and the
drama of adolescence
love is something that
no one forgets, even
when they reach
adulthood.
 Expression of Adolescents
Happiness
• Based on the study of
Meliksah Demir, Wayne State
University to understand the
relative contributions of
friendship duality and
conflict friendship network
variables, gender and age in
the predicting happiness
among adoloscents the level
of positive duality (for girls
only) and conflict were
significantly associated with
happiness.
Expression of Adolescents
Anger
• Adolescent
express their anger
by sulking,
refusing to speak,
or loudly criticizing
those who agreed
them instead of
having temper
tantrums
Expression of Adolescents
Enviousness
• Adolescents become
envious of those with
more material
possessions. While they
may not complain and
feel sorry for
themselves, as children
do, they are likely to
take a part time job to
earn money for the
material possession
they crave or even drop
out of school to get
these things.
Thank You!