Teen Stress

Teen stress is similar to the adult stress in terms of the signs and symptoms. But the causes of teen stress are totally different and they need somewhat different stress management programs for dealing stress. It is estimated that teens form 20% of the total population. Yet they are a neglected group of the population.

The adolescent group is the intermediate group between the dependent childhood and the independent adulthood. This transition from childhood to adulthood is never so easy. This group is a vulnerable group to both physical and emotional stress. T

There are problems everywhere for them - problems at home with their parents and siblings, problems in the school with their friends and education. Adolescent medicine is a new concept in the field of medicine. The adolescents cannot be treated as either adults or kids because their problems are totally different.

The Adolescents or the Teenagers
A lot of physical and emotional changes occur during this period, which are very significant in the shaping a person.

Physical Changes
The physical changes include

    * Increase in the weight
    * Increase in the height
    * Change in voice
    * Development of secondary sexual characters
    * Menarche (beginning of menstruation) in girls.

Mental Changes
These are equally significant which include

    * Feeling of independence
    * Attraction towards opposite sex
    * Aggressive behavior
    * Experimenting new things including substance of abuse

Teenage Stress
Surveys conducted shows that one third of the teenagers suffer at least one episode of stress every week. Though stress has the same kind of response in all the age groups, the stress factors are different. Stress in teens could be due to

    * Pubertal Changes
    * Changing relationship with peers
    * New demands in the school
    * Safety issues in their neighborhood
    * Responsibilities to their families
    * Negative thoughts and feelings
    * Separation or divorce of parents
    * Death of a loved one
    * Chronic illnesses
    * Changing schools
    * Financial problems
    * Holiday stress

In a study conducted on the stress and related problem of teens in the city of Baltimore showed that the following figures.


The Biggest Causes of Stress

    * School work (78%)
    * Parents (78%)
    * Romantic relationships (64%)
    * Problems with friends (64%)
    * Siblings (64%)

The Conclusions of the Study are

    * Girls are affected more than boys
    * Girls respond to stress by seeking help from others or by taking certain actions to reduce or remove stress.
    * Boys respond to stress by not dealing with the stress at all or by engaging the mind away from the sources of stress.
    * Family members and friends are both sources of stress and support for teenagers.
    * Teenagers use both healthy and unhealthy ways to cope up with stress.