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Adolescent Development

Each teenager is an individual with a unique personality and special interests, likes and dislikes.  In general, there is a series of developmental tasks that everyone faces during the adolescent years.

A teenager's development can be divided into three stages - early, middle and late adolescence.  The normal feelings and behaviors of adolescents for each stage are described below:

EARLY (12 - 14 years)

MOVEMENT TOWARD INDEPENDENCE 

  • Struggle with sense of identity

  • Moodiness

  • Improved abilities to use speech to express oneself

  • More likely to express feelings by action than by words

  • Close friendships gain importance

  • Less affection shown to parents, with occasional rudeness

  • Realization that parents are not perfect; identification of their faults

  • Search for new people to love in addition to parents

  • Tendency to return to childish behavior, fought off by excessive activity

  • Peer group influences interests and clothing styles

CAREER INTERESTS

  • Mostly interested in present and near future

  • Greater ability to work

SEXUALITY

  • Girls ahead of boys

  • Same-sex friends and group activities

  • Shyness, blushing and modesty

  • Show-off qualities

  • Greater interest in privacy

  • Experimentation with body (masturbation)

  • Worries about being normal

ETHICS AND SELF-DIRECTION

  • Rule and limit testing

  • Occasional experimentation with cigarettes, drugs and alcohol

  • Capacity for abstract thought

MIDDLE ( 14 - 17 years)

MOVEMENT TOWARD INDEPENDENCE

  • Self-involvement, alternating between unrealistically high expectations and poor self-concept
  • Complaints that parents interfere with independence
  • Extremely concerned with appearance and with one's body
  • Feelings of strangeness about one's self and body
  • Lowered opinion of parents, withdrawal of emotions from them
  • Effort to make new friends
  • Strong emphasis of the peer group with the group identity of selectivity, superiority and competitiveness
  • Periods of sadness as the psychological loss of parents takes place
  • Examination of inner experiences, which mat include writing a dairy

CAREER INTERESTS

  • Intellectual interests gain importance
  • Some sexual and aggressive energies directed into creative and career interests

SEXUALITY

  • Concerns about sexual attractiveness
  • Frequently changing relationships
  • Movement towards heterosexuality with fears of homosexuality
  • Tenderness and fears shown towards opposite sex
  • Feelings of love and passion

ETHICS AND SELF-DIRECTION

  • Development of ideals and selection of role models
  • More consistent evidence of conscience
  • Greater capacity for setting goals
  • Interest in moral reasoning

LATE (17 - 19 YEARS)

MOVEMENT TOWARD INDEPENDENCE

  • Firmer identity
  • Ability to delay gratification
  • Ability to think ideas through
  • Ability to express feelings in words
  • More developed sense of humor
  • Stable interests
  • Greater emotional stability
  • Ability to make independent decisions
  • Ability to compromise   
  • Pride in one's work
  • Self-reliance
  • Greater concern for others

CAREER INTERESTS

  • Higher level of concern for the future
  • Thoughts about one's role in life

SEXUALITY

  • Concerned with serious relationships
  • Clear sexual identity
  • Capacities for tender and sensual love

ETHICS AND DIRECTION

  • Capable of useful insight
  • Stress on personal dignity and self-esteem
  • Ability to set goals and follow through
  • Acceptance of social institutions and cultural traditions
  • Self-regulation of self-esteem

Teenagers will naturally vary slightly from the descriptions above, but the feelings and behaviors listed for each area are, in general, considered normal for each of the three stages.  The mental and emotional problems that can interfere with these normal developmental stages are treatable.

If a teenager seems very different from the descriptions presented here, it may be appropriate to consult with a mental health professional.

 

Source:  Information taken from American Academy of Child Psychiatry materials.

 

The South Carolina Department of Mental Health
provides services through 17 mental health centers,
over 150 satellite clinics, a variety of outreach programs,
five hospitals, and two nursing homes.  If you need mental health
treatment, assistance or information, contact your nearest
community mental health center.

 

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