Emotional Factors Among Adults
Emotionally the adolescent is more of a problem to himself than to others. He or she faces new roles faster than they can adjust to old ones. It is important in understanding the development of human behavior to realize that most of these emotional problems are normal in the statistical sense.
There is a marked sex difference in both interests and problems in early adolescence. Girls, maturing more rapidly, have more problems than boys. They are more concerned with school, family, and social adjustments, and with personal appearance. Boys are more concerned with money problems and career planning. Both groups increasingly become concerned with emotional problems, particularly those who were unsuccessful in dealing with childhood problems. Older adolescents are often concerned with problems related to getting into college, and once in, staying there. Some wonder if they should go to <;ollege at all, or whether they should combine college with work, a growing practice in our changing culture.
Normal Emotional Expression
Normal adolescent emotions differ from those of childhood and adulthood in many ways.
Nervous Habits
At puberty there is likely to be an increase in nail-biting. This nervous ehavior decreases as the adolescent, becomes more conscious of his appearance. Substitutes, such as finger tapping, hair twisting, or igarette smoking, arise. Nervousness in girls may take the form of siggling or overreacting to mild stimuli; such behavior usually lessens after puberty. Boys tend to display exaggerated behavior in such acts as "burning rubber off the tires."
The nervous habits of adolescent college students have been rudied extensively, One may conclude that worries, shifts in mood, and the more acceptable emotional feelings take over from earlier ','ert emotional expressions. The college freshman must deal not only with old nervous habits, such as nail-biting, but habits of thought as ell. Moods of exhilaration and depression alternate, varying with evironmental influences (the big weekend versus examination peri).
Research indicates that increased emotionality, and the many bits which are displayed during adolescence are attributable mainto social factors. Chief among these are unfavorable family relanships, restraints imposed by parents, and situations in which the dividual feels inadequate and where expectations of mature behavior exceed actual performance. For the college freshman, coming to derstand and learning to cope with a new psychological climate is -pecially difficult. Once he or she learns more about "the system," :rvousness decreases considerably.
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.
Depression and Suicide
We all have mild feelings of depression at times, but normal depression clears up quickly and without any form of treatment. Feelings of depression in adolescence are characterized by restlessness and bore· dam. The individual alternates between total disinterest and intense preoccupation with some activity or event. These extreme shifts iIl mood bring on physical fatigue and difficulty in concentrating, which often affect school performance. Acting out takes several forms- temper tantrums, running away, defiance, rebelliousness, and delinquency.
Extreme depression, however, can prompt suicide, but this does not mean that all extremely depressed people turn to self-destruction. Many factors are involved. First, suicide is most difficult to predict. Second, it occurs very infrequently in the population at large. It may seem to be a bigger problem than it actually is because one instance in a community is often dramatically publicized. Third, suicides claim our attention when they are near us. Fourth, many suicide "attempts" may be for reasons other than genuine self-destruction. Fifth, statistics show, in spite of popular belief, that there is a trend toward the diminishing of suicide among youth.
Suicide in adolescence is usually precipitated by some specific problem or event. Conflicts within the family, particularly those turning on some disciplinary action taken, are commonly related to suicides or their attempts. Like adult suicide, the suicidal adolescent, whose success at taking his life is often unintentional, usually has a previous history of either talking about or attempting self-destruction. It is seldom possible to predict an adolescent suicide attempt or its consequences except in instances where the adolescent verablizes his or her intention.
One writer has proposed the following "danger signs" of possible suicide. First, the possibility should be considered when the youngster begins to exhibit depression, accompanied by declining school performance and prolcHlged periods of rebellious behavior. The possibility of drug taking should be watched. Second, the risk of suicide is enhanced when there has been a recent and marked breakdown in previously existing communication channels. Third, note seriously any attempts at suicide, even though they may turn out to be maiJlly attention seeking. Attempts to hang or shoot oneself have greater lethality than aspirin overdosage or superficial scratches of the wrist.
Anger
Adolescents, like many adults, become angry when mechanical things fail to work or in other impersonal situations. But the most effective stimuli in evoking anger are social-unfair treatment, unjust accusations, unwelcome advice. Among college students, high on the list comes thwarted self-assertion.
The most frequent response made by the angry adolescent is talking. Boys swear and lash back with sarcasm and ridicule. After such explosions the teen-agel' often becomes sulky or engages in behavior annoying to the individual with whom he or she is angry e.g., wllistling under the breath. Male adolescents may kick and throw things, girls cry. Gradually language responses substitut, more direct acts. Studies shO\v that college girls exhibit more fteq verbal responses to anger than do boys, who engage in more rhy combat.
The frequency of anger responses in adolescents is quitl dividual. It is related to such factors as coliege climates, pan restrictions, and in particular the degree of realism present in de, with problem solving. For many people annoyances take over in place of anger with maturity. Jl'alollsl/ often grows out of anger, and envy may take over. This is particularly true with the adolescent gir both jealousy and em'y, the typical adolescent reaction is verbal
The Pleasant Emotions
There are two reasons why more attention is given to the undcsir emotions of fear and anger and less to the more positive emotior joy, pleasure, delight, and affection. First, fear and anger are USt exhibited in specific ways. One has a fear of failing an examination. One is angry about a regulation that he or she perceives to be nn On the other hand. pleasure, happiness, and the like are general feelings, d:fficult to pin down. Second, fear and anger often bring sequence of problems which must be dealt with. No doubt a pa the reason why adolescence seems to be the un age, a time uf st and stress, is that negative behavior is so easily observed. It often creates community problems. Part of the problem is that adoiesc are expected to be disturbed.
For the teen-ager with abilities. with a sense of humor, Ii in a favorable home and schoo] climate. the pleasant emot may outweigh the negative behavior. Some of the disturbing emot may even have in them a source of enjoyment, i.e .. they pro excitement. They may even help provide certain required amo of stress.
Emotional Control
Achieving emotional control during adoJt.scence can be most beneficial to adjustment in adult life. App]ying the problems, process helps us to see the cause-effect relations in behavior. Thi turn, enables the person to gain better control in expressing emotion An individual who maintains an appearance of calmness in the of anger- or fear-producing situations has taken the first step toy real calmness. Also, we can control an emotion by becoming adjusted to the stimulus that produces it. Since emotion is a nonadjm reaction, procedures that give a person more adjustive power ove: or her environment will lessen emotional reactions. Though emo inhibits clear thinking, it is also true that clear thinking inhibits emotion to some extent.
Many studies support the conclusion that counseling can help the adolescent objectify and think through his problems. Though guidance may not itself solve the problem it encourages problemsolving beba\tior. Sharing problems makes the adolescent more aware that he or she is not alone with his or her problems. Learning that many emotional problems are "normal" aids understanding. Guided group discussions are most beneficial in this respect.
There is a marked sex difference in both interests and problems in early adolescence. Girls, maturing more rapidly, have more problems than boys. They are more concerned with school, family, and social adjustments, and with personal appearance. Boys are more concerned with money problems and career planning. Both groups increasingly become concerned with emotional problems, particularly those who were unsuccessful in dealing with childhood problems. Older adolescents are often concerned with problems related to getting into college, and once in, staying there. Some wonder if they should go to <;ollege at all, or whether they should combine college with work, a growing practice in our changing culture.
Normal Emotional Expression
Normal adolescent emotions differ from those of childhood and adulthood in many ways.
- Emotional responses are often intense and out of control. The adolescent gives way to feelings of the moment. He or she reacts out of proportion to the reason for the behavior.
- Responses shift rapidly from one extreme to the other-from joy, pride, and hope to despair and gloom, from self-confidence to self-destruction, from success to failure and back.
- There is a lack of control at times. Typically girls weep or giggle; boys grin or become silent.
- Moods become drawn out in duration. When outward expressions are inhibited, moods take over. Emotional feelings seem to get bottled up inside, where they may smolder for days.
- Oversentimentality is characteristic of teen-age emotions--for school: for family. and for peer groups.
- Steam is let off in the wrong places and at the wrong times.
- In contrast to many of the outward expressions of emotion, the adolescent keeps some things quiet. For example, feelings of possessiveness may not always be shown as open protection of territory, but some things are hidden away-candy and other food, and even unusable prize possessions of no real value. Secretiveness is characteristic of the adolescent.
Nervous Habits
At puberty there is likely to be an increase in nail-biting. This nervous ehavior decreases as the adolescent, becomes more conscious of his appearance. Substitutes, such as finger tapping, hair twisting, or igarette smoking, arise. Nervousness in girls may take the form of siggling or overreacting to mild stimuli; such behavior usually lessens after puberty. Boys tend to display exaggerated behavior in such acts as "burning rubber off the tires."
The nervous habits of adolescent college students have been rudied extensively, One may conclude that worries, shifts in mood, and the more acceptable emotional feelings take over from earlier ','ert emotional expressions. The college freshman must deal not only with old nervous habits, such as nail-biting, but habits of thought as ell. Moods of exhilaration and depression alternate, varying with evironmental influences (the big weekend versus examination peri).
Research indicates that increased emotionality, and the many bits which are displayed during adolescence are attributable mainto social factors. Chief among these are unfavorable family relanships, restraints imposed by parents, and situations in which the dividual feels inadequate and where expectations of mature behavior exceed actual performance. For the college freshman, coming to derstand and learning to cope with a new psychological climate is -pecially difficult. Once he or she learns more about "the system," :rvousness decreases considerably.
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.
Depression and Suicide
We all have mild feelings of depression at times, but normal depression clears up quickly and without any form of treatment. Feelings of depression in adolescence are characterized by restlessness and bore· dam. The individual alternates between total disinterest and intense preoccupation with some activity or event. These extreme shifts iIl mood bring on physical fatigue and difficulty in concentrating, which often affect school performance. Acting out takes several forms- temper tantrums, running away, defiance, rebelliousness, and delinquency.
Extreme depression, however, can prompt suicide, but this does not mean that all extremely depressed people turn to self-destruction. Many factors are involved. First, suicide is most difficult to predict. Second, it occurs very infrequently in the population at large. It may seem to be a bigger problem than it actually is because one instance in a community is often dramatically publicized. Third, suicides claim our attention when they are near us. Fourth, many suicide "attempts" may be for reasons other than genuine self-destruction. Fifth, statistics show, in spite of popular belief, that there is a trend toward the diminishing of suicide among youth.
Suicide in adolescence is usually precipitated by some specific problem or event. Conflicts within the family, particularly those turning on some disciplinary action taken, are commonly related to suicides or their attempts. Like adult suicide, the suicidal adolescent, whose success at taking his life is often unintentional, usually has a previous history of either talking about or attempting self-destruction. It is seldom possible to predict an adolescent suicide attempt or its consequences except in instances where the adolescent verablizes his or her intention.
One writer has proposed the following "danger signs" of possible suicide. First, the possibility should be considered when the youngster begins to exhibit depression, accompanied by declining school performance and prolcHlged periods of rebellious behavior. The possibility of drug taking should be watched. Second, the risk of suicide is enhanced when there has been a recent and marked breakdown in previously existing communication channels. Third, note seriously any attempts at suicide, even though they may turn out to be maiJlly attention seeking. Attempts to hang or shoot oneself have greater lethality than aspirin overdosage or superficial scratches of the wrist.
Anger
Adolescents, like many adults, become angry when mechanical things fail to work or in other impersonal situations. But the most effective stimuli in evoking anger are social-unfair treatment, unjust accusations, unwelcome advice. Among college students, high on the list comes thwarted self-assertion.
The most frequent response made by the angry adolescent is talking. Boys swear and lash back with sarcasm and ridicule. After such explosions the teen-agel' often becomes sulky or engages in behavior annoying to the individual with whom he or she is angry e.g., wllistling under the breath. Male adolescents may kick and throw things, girls cry. Gradually language responses substitut, more direct acts. Studies shO\v that college girls exhibit more fteq verbal responses to anger than do boys, who engage in more rhy combat.
The frequency of anger responses in adolescents is quitl dividual. It is related to such factors as coliege climates, pan restrictions, and in particular the degree of realism present in de, with problem solving. For many people annoyances take over in place of anger with maturity. Jl'alollsl/ often grows out of anger, and envy may take over. This is particularly true with the adolescent gir both jealousy and em'y, the typical adolescent reaction is verbal
The Pleasant Emotions
There are two reasons why more attention is given to the undcsir emotions of fear and anger and less to the more positive emotior joy, pleasure, delight, and affection. First, fear and anger are USt exhibited in specific ways. One has a fear of failing an examination. One is angry about a regulation that he or she perceives to be nn On the other hand. pleasure, happiness, and the like are general feelings, d:fficult to pin down. Second, fear and anger often bring sequence of problems which must be dealt with. No doubt a pa the reason why adolescence seems to be the un age, a time uf st and stress, is that negative behavior is so easily observed. It often creates community problems. Part of the problem is that adoiesc are expected to be disturbed.
For the teen-ager with abilities. with a sense of humor, Ii in a favorable home and schoo] climate. the pleasant emot may outweigh the negative behavior. Some of the disturbing emot may even have in them a source of enjoyment, i.e .. they pro excitement. They may even help provide certain required amo of stress.
Emotional Control
Achieving emotional control during adoJt.scence can be most beneficial to adjustment in adult life. App]ying the problems, process helps us to see the cause-effect relations in behavior. Thi turn, enables the person to gain better control in expressing emotion An individual who maintains an appearance of calmness in the of anger- or fear-producing situations has taken the first step toy real calmness. Also, we can control an emotion by becoming adjusted to the stimulus that produces it. Since emotion is a nonadjm reaction, procedures that give a person more adjustive power ove: or her environment will lessen emotional reactions. Though emo inhibits clear thinking, it is also true that clear thinking inhibits emotion to some extent.
Many studies support the conclusion that counseling can help the adolescent objectify and think through his problems. Though guidance may not itself solve the problem it encourages problemsolving beba\tior. Sharing problems makes the adolescent more aware that he or she is not alone with his or her problems. Learning that many emotional problems are "normal" aids understanding. Guided group discussions are most beneficial in this respect.
