Fear and Worry
One observer put it this way: "Adolescents have the same worries and as adults, only more so." Possibly one reason why we hear so much about teen-agers' fears of social relationships is that they are likely to talk about their feelings than they are to analyze fear Social fears include such situations as meeting people, being alone, being in a crowd, reciting in class, making a speech, or dealing with members of the other sex. Excessive self-consciousness makes the teen-ager easily embarrassed if he or she is teased about someone of the opposite sex, or if he or she is observed in clothing not like that of the group. The male overemphasizes status; such overemphasis may even lead to delinquency. The female appears more at ease in mixed gatherings.
Shyness in adolescents reaches a peak around fifteen years of age. It is often prolonged and intensified if the individual is forced into situations in which he has to display a weakness, By the time the adolescent is in college, he or she has acquired enough skill to make a good appearance, and hence fears decline. It is at this stage that worry, the mental counterpart of fear, increases. Most worries center on anticipated situations, clustering around schoolwork, feelings of inferiority, and loss of prestige. In addition, there are worries about conforming to changing cultural patterns. Says one counselor: "In their quieter, more reflective moments many adolescents really fear to try the new in social relationships, although it appears on the surface to be the in thing to do.
Adolescents worry about prejudices, the degree of worry reflecting the amount by which one is hurt. One study found that black and white adolescents have essentially the same types of worries, but blacks show more defensive behaviors and make more conscious attempts to appear adequate. Blacks show more of a tendency to withdraw from social contacts in integrated settings.
Worries in early adolescence relate a great deal to lack of understanding on the part of parents and the inability to communicate with them about problems of physical development, sexual revolution, religion, money, and "what is expected.;' Worries become a little more "other-directed" as adolescents grow older. Worry some· times even extends into thoughts of suicide. Here we find a multitude of studies and some reassuring statistics about the infrequency of suicide in adolescence and youth, in contrast to a higher rate found in later life.
