Louisa’s mother, Janet married Dave last year November. Dave is Louisa’s second stepfather in a span of six years. Her mother married when Louisa was ten years but broke up with her husband four years later. So, far, Louisa has schooled in three schools making her repeat grades. In her new school, Louisa feels apprehensive that she is in tenth grade at seventeen years. She has a problem making friends with fifteen years old students in her class. Recently, Louisa is mostly angry and stays in solitude. This trend affects her grades as well as communication with her parents.
Culture and biological developments play a part in how the issue manifests. Louisa has grown up in a socialist culture where the quality of friends reflects the quality of one’s life. The sense of self-inadequacy makes Louisa experience low self-esteem, which also affects her ability to make friends. As observed by Lee and Goldstein (2016), the manifestation of social issues mostly follows personal aspects such as character, personality, and social perceptions. Biological evolution also affects adolescents’ adjustment (Simmons, 2017). Biological changes bring about hormonal imbalances and physical changes. It becomes hard for a teenager to explore the psychological changes in an already stressful environment.
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The most difficult issue to deal with is Louisa’s withdrawal from her parents. Gautam and Pradhan (2017) argue that the most detrimental mental and social issues are those that can trigger a chain of negative consequences. Without talking to her parents, Louisa is vulnerable to peer pressure and irresponsible behavior. This could lead to drug abuse, poor police record, or irresponsible sexual encounters. Her parents and school counselor should first focus on establishing positive and open communication with Louisa before attempting to handle her adjustment issue.
References
Gautam, P., & Pradhan, M. (2017). Stress as related with conduct and achievement in adolescent students. Indian Journal of Health & Wellbeing , 8 (5).
Lee, C. Y. S., & Goldstein, S. E. (2016). Loneliness, stress, and social support in young adulthood: Does the source of support matter?. Journal of youth and adolescence , 45 (3), 568-580.
Simmons, R. G. (2017). Moving into adolescence: The impact of pubertal change and school context . Routledge.