It is known that adolescence is the period of transition between childhood and adulthood. Every child who is entering adolescence is going through many changes as well. As a parent who has children entering adolescence, it’s very important for you to understand the adolescent emotional development that your children may exhibit.
The term “adolescent” comes from the Latin word “adolescere,” which means “to grow up” or “to grow into maturity.” Many discuss the age limit of adolescence. Steinberg divided adolescents into three categories, i.e., early adolescents (11–14 years), middle adolescents (15–18 years), and late adolescents (18–21 years).
Storm and Stress in Adolescence
Basically, every age has its own challenges and can definitely get through those challenges. For adults, adolescence is such a fun time, since the challenges they face are not too hard compared to adults.
In the book entitled “Human Development,” authored by Pikunas, the adolescent period is seen as a time of storm and stress, frustration and suffering, conflict and adjustment crises, dreams and daydreams about love, and feelings of alienation from socio-cultural life.
Allport also stated in his book entitled “The Individual and His Religion: A Psychological Interpretation,” that adolescence is a time of rebellion. At this time, the emotional tension increases as a result of physical and hormonal changes. Even though not all experienced storms and stress, most experienced instability as a consequence of efforts to adjust to new behavior patterns and new social expectations.
A longitudinal study of 220 adolescents, presented in a book entitled “Continuity, Stability, and Change in Daily Emotional Experience Across Adolescence,” authored by Larson, Moneta, Richards, and Wilson, revealed that the average emotional state became increasingly negative from early to mid-adolescence.
In experiential sampling studies performed by Larson et al., adolescents have been observed to transition through emotional states more quickly and are more likely to react to situations with a mixture of positive and negative influences compared to children.
Aside from that, stressors cause a stronger negative influence among adolescents than children. In the study, Larson and Ham suggested that adolescents experience stronger associations between stressful events and the emergence of negative influences.
It is known that the model of adolescent development concurrently as an emotional “stack” of stressors. Petersen also highlighted the challenges that are faced by adolescents when they try to understand and manage their changing bodies, relationships, and responsibilities. These changes in the body, relationships, and responsibilities make it a source of stress for teenagers since it is something new and certainly not easy to get used to.
Mental Health Problems in Adolescence
Emotionally, adolescents are generally happier than unhappy. However, in the book entitled “Continuity, Stability, and Change in Daily Emotional Experience Across Adolescence,” authored by Larson et al., they show evidence that adolescents experience frequent and intense emotions that accompany an increased risk of mental disorders characterized by problems with emotion regulation.
According to WHO research performed in 2001, the study showed that 1 in 5 children aged less than 16 years experienced mental emotional problems. Adolescent girls have higher levels of depression than boys.
Emotions and the brain in Adolescence
Basically, every reaction produced by the human body will be related to the control center of the body, i.e., the brain, with the exception of emotions, which are related to the results of activity in the brain.
According to a study performed by Guyer et al, that focuses on amygdala function, they found patterns of excessive reactivity in adolescents compared to other ages. On the contrary, the studies performed by McRae et al. in 2012 and Silvers et al. in 2015 focused on the prefrontal cortex, which plays a central role in emotion regulation efforts (emotional control), have found that continuous development during adolescence may limit the efficiency of emotion regulation.
What Are Emotions in Adolescence?
We all understand that these passionate emotions are sometimes hard to manage, both for adolescents and adults. However, these passionate emotions also have benefits for adolescents in their efforts to find their own identity. The reactions of the people around him will be a learning experience for the teenager to determine what actions he will take in the future.
According to Hude in his book entitled “Emosi”, emotion is a psychological symptom that has an effect on perceptions, attitudes, and behavior, as well as on certain forms of expression.
According to Asrori in his book entitled “Psikologi Pembelajaran”, he identified a number of emotions, including (1) Anger; (2) Sadness; (3) Fear; (4) Enjoyment; (5) Love; (6) Surprised; (7) Irritated; (8) Shame.
Emotions in Adolescence
In his book entitled “Developmental Psychology: A Life-Span Approach,” Hurlock reveals that there are three types of emotions that stand out in the adolescent, including:
1) Anger
Anger will more easily arise when compared to other emotions in adolescents. However, it relates to the part of the brain that regulates emotions, which is still in the process of developing. Even though adolescents sometimes conduct acts of violence to vent their anger, they may try to suppress the urge to behave like that. Adolescents basically tend to replace emotions in a more polite way.
2) Fear
The fear that is experienced during adolescence is commonly related to the problems with parents who are sometimes different from their wishes; fear of being alienated in a friendship environment; fear of rejection from the opposite sex; and fear of the future related to ideals.
At the end of adolescence and as they are entering early adult development, new fears or anxiety arise regarding financial problems, work, business setbacks, political beliefs and views, beliefs and religion, marriage and family. A mature teenager will try to overcome his fear of heights.
3) Love
The first feeling of love is felt by a mother’s affection, and then, as you get older, the love starts towards the opposite sex. It’s so normal if adolescents experience confusion in feeling the emotion of love for the first time, which is certainly different from love for parents.
As time goes by, these emotions cause anxiety and cause mood swings. Actually, adolescents need to tell their hearts to the right people to get them going in the right direction so they don’t get caught up in blind love.
Emotional Maturity in Adolescence
In his book entitled “Developmental Psychology: A Lifespan Approach,” Hurlock reveals that unstable emotions cause difficulties for adolescents in living their lives. Adolescents who can control their emotions will find it easier for them to live their lives successfully.
Thus, it is very necessary for adolescents to have good emotional maturity, at least there is an effort to control their emotions. Adolescents who have emotional maturity are the individuals who have the ability to face life’s pressures, both light and heavy.
Hurlock also reveals in his book entitled “Developmental Psychology: A Life-Span Approach,” that two characteristics of emotional maturity, namely: (a) self-control, where individuals are able to wait for the right time and place to express their emotions in acceptable ways, (b) individual self-understanding, where individuals have stable emotional reactions and can change from one emotion to another. Individuals can understand what is felt and know the causes of the emotions they encounter.
Reaching Emotional Maturity in Adolescence
Effendi, a psychology expert, also gives tips for parents to develop the emotional maturity of their children. Some of Effendi’s tips for parents to shape the emotional maturity of their children include showing their warm and open attitude to their children, creating rules together for parents and children, giving rewards and punishments rationally.
Giving freedom to children to express opinions, feelings, and wishes is a must, since basically, parents are the givers of opinion and consideration of children’s activities, and parents accept the child’s condition.
In his book entitled “Adolescence Development,” Hurlock reveals that to achieve emotional maturity, adolescents have to learn to get a picture of situations that can cause emotional reactions, by:
a)Various personal problems with others. Adolescents shouldn’t hesitate to tell you about various problems and difficulties that are being experienced,
b)Emotional catharsis is the expression of emotions by means of strenuous physical exercise, playing or working, laughing or crying.
A bookworm and researcher especially related to law and citizenship education. I spend time every day in front of the internet and the campus library.
