As defined by Dalgleish et al. (2017), an adolescent is an individual undergoing a transitional stage of both psychological and physical development, which occur from early teenage to legal adulthood. The adolescent is experienced earlier in females than males but generally starts from the age of nine to teenage. Psychological and physical expressions in some cases may begin earlier or end later, depending on environmental factors and existing medical conditions. Neuroimaging studies confirm that more emotional satisfaction associated with risk-taking behavior is experienced more significantly amongst adolescents, thus building their emotional growth. However, the evidence reveals that the judgment region does not finish developing during the adolescence stage but until when one has fully grown to adulthood. This paper provides details to parents about the general behavior of adolescents, including emotional and decision making, and how they (parents) can support the teenagers during the adolescence period.
In a normal circumstance, the neural pathway is streamlined and strengthened by the brain to generate a more effective communication system. Magnetic resonance imaging confirmed that much streamlining takes place in the frontal cortex, an area used for making decisions and thinking of higher levels (Gaylord et al., 2017). However, adolescents' limbic system is responsible for reward-seeking which emotional variables and social peers stimulate. The development of the limbic system is faster compared to the cortex, implying that until cortex meets limbic system, social pressures and desire for rewards supersedes rational thinking.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
The traditional techniques of helping adolescents to make the right choice are often met with challenges caused by the temporary imbalances existing in the cortex and limbic system. It is a fact that both adults and adolescents are capacitated cognitively to distinguish between safe and risky choices (Gaylord et al., 2017). The unfortunate part is that at that moment, the adolescents are less likely to make righteous choices.
According to Dalgleish et al. (2017), brain maturation of adolescents is influenced by the environment, heredity, patterns of sleeping, and drug use at an early age. Besides, sexual hormones like testosterone, mental, physical, and psychological stress affects the development of the teens’ brain. Furthermore, neurocircuitry plays a role in the maturation of adolescents' brains. The factors influencing the maturation of adolescences' brains are elaborated in the picture below.
Concerning the known information on the brain development of a teen, parents should focus on providing appropriate limits stipulated in place to aid adolescents in making rightful decisions . Parents require to provide the brakes to the teens while the brain develops brakes for its own. As Dalgleish et al. (2017) explains, when adolescents spend quality and quantity time with healthy adults, it can make a significant difference. It is noted that part of adolescence’s urge is looking for new experiences. Teenagers require a lot of time with healthy adults to assist them in brain shaping and acquiring skills essential for the transition to adulthood. Guidance on information about adults' mature prefrontal cortex is vital even when one has trauma histories.
Besides, since opportunities of gaining confidence and independence are seen as a vital need in teens, parents can deploy suggestions like giving knowledge to teens regarding what happens in the brain. Parents should particularly insist on the need for limits to adolescents' urges. Also, parents can limit teen’s access to drugs and provide opportunities like sports and music to solve structured risk-taking. Lastly, parents should set clear expectations of behavior on the teens, and knowing the friends of their teens since peer's presence can make teen increase desire for a potential reward that affects the choice of right and wrong.
In conclusion, adolescence is a critical stage that every human being undergoes through. The stage is associated with numerous physical, psychological, emotional, and cognitive changes. If the situation is not contained among the youth, sometimes subsequent outcomes have adverse negative effects. Parents should take full responsibility to guide through the teen in adolescence by knowing that by talking about good virtues alone is not sufficient.
References
Dalgleish, T., Walsh, N. D., Mobbs, D., Schweizer, S., Van Harmelen, A., Dunn, B., Dunn, V., Goodyer, I., & Stretton, J. (2017). Social pain and social gain in the adolescent brain: A common neural circuitry underlying both positive and negative social evaluation. Scientific Reports , 7 (1). https://doi.org/10.1038/srep42010
Gaylord-Harden, N. K., So, S., Bai, G. J., & Tolan, P. H. (2017). Examining the effects of emotional and cognitive desensitization to community violence exposure in male adolescents of color. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry , 87 (4), 463-473. https://doi.org/10.1037/ort0000241
