I will tell you about the approaches of the world of psychology regarding adolescence. So, let's take a journey with you in this magnificent yet stormy world we call adolescence.
We encounter individuals around us or within the family who are trying to take a step from childhood to adulthood. From time to time, we witness the reactions of these individuals, who are trying to form their own identities, to events, their trials and errors in the solution process, their problem-solving strategies, and the situations they find difficult. While witnessing, you may have whispered to yourself that you were once a teenager. “Oh, we became teenagers too. Was there adolescence in our time? I've heard statements like this, "that's how we grew up..." from the parents around me. When I listen to parents, I often remind them that each individual needs to be evaluated on their own merits. Changing environmental conditions, technological developments, expectations and perspectives may not be the same in every period. So, let's start examining all these differences by including the scientific perspective and, as we enter the world of adolescents, let's take a brief look at how the science of psychology looks at adolescence.
When we say adolescence in the world of psychology; I wanted to start the subject with Jean-Jacques Rousseau's views on adolescence. Jean-Jacques Rousseau refers to the period between the ages of 12 and 15 as the pre-adolescent period. This period expresses an awakening in rational functions, including reasoning and self-consciousness. He emphasizes that the excess power and energy that young people have stimulates their sense of curiosity, while social awareness and emotionality have not yet developed. Stanley Hall is; He calls this period storm and stress. Storm and stress express personal emotions, passions, suffering. According to Hall, adolescence is a transition period and rebirth. Anna Freud said; He defines the concept of youth in 1936 as follows: "A young person is extremely selfish, sees himself as the center of attention and the world, and is also extremely self-sacrificing, able to sacrifice himself without a moment's thought." "He avoids people, loves loneliness, and throws himself into society with great desire." In other words, the feelings and thoughts of young people during adolescence can be changeable. He mentions that they may go back and forth at opposite ends. Psychological science has also discussed adolescence in terms of friendships and attitudes within peer groups and within the family. While talking about adolescence in this article, I wanted to start by drawing attention to adolescent and family relationships.
Family and Adolescent
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines adolescence as the individual's transition from childhood to adulthood with biological, psychological and social changes. .
When we look at the concept of family; It is expressed as the smallest union in society, based on marriage and blood ties, and formed by the relationships between husband, wife, children and siblings. Within this union, an individual who reaches the age of 15-16 begins to ask himself the question of who he is. He/she experiences anxiety in trying to prove himself/herself in both physical and spiritual change and forming his/her own value judgments. While adolescents grow physically, they may not have the same maturity in their behavior. While they try to emulate adults and behave like them, they may, on the other hand, exhibit childish behavior. On the one hand, they want to declare their independence and on the other hand, they want to feel the support of their families. In adolescence, the feeling of rebellion may be directed towards those they see as authorities. This may sometimes be the elders of the house or other authority figures in the society. They may show this rebellion by doing the opposite of what is said or by criticizing those they see as authorities, by moving away from the family or their caregivers, and by seeking different sources of love outside the family. It is during this period that friendship relationships begin to gain even more importance. And the feeling of belonging to a group becomes stronger. They may exhibit risky behavior in order to be included in the group. The number of children in the family, the sociocultural environment and economic situation, the age and education levels of the parents, the interactions within the family and the attitudes and behaviors seen in the family are of great importance in the adolescent's world.
In families where healthy relationships are established, that is, individuals' own emotions and In environments where adolescents can express their thoughts freely, a decrease in feelings of loneliness and separation from family can be observed in adolescents. When we look at attitudes within the family; Rejecting, overprotective, overly authoritarian and oppressive, democratic parental attitudes have a negative impact on the psychological and social development of the adolescent. It can produce positive or negative effects.
Children in families that exhibit rejecting attitudes and behavior may be deprived of love and attention. According to Gül Şendil (2003), since children raised in this way are deprived of love and attention, they can become individuals who do not love themselves and are distrustful of other people.
As for overprotective parental attitudes; All tasks that are the child's own responsibility are carried out by the parents with the idea that the child will not get tired or upset. However, this attitude can cause negativities in the child's sense of success, self-confidence, and capacity to take responsibility in later life. During the individualization process, when the child wants to do a job independently of the family, he may experience anxiety and fear and constantly desire to be protected by someone else.
In authoritarian families; There is no democratic attitude. There are strict rules in the family and a strict attitude is taken to comply with these rules. When these rules are violated, the penalty system comes into play. Verbal insults, belittlements, humiliations and physical violence may be among the behaviors exhibited by parents. So, it would be beneficial to have a more democratic attitude when communicating with our children. In families with democratic attitudes, parents value their children's opinions. They exhibit attitudes and behaviors based on tolerance and a sense of trust. Let's not forget that every child is special. He deserves love, respect for his ideas, attention and understanding.
Dear readers, today I tried to tell you different perspectives on adolescence and how important families can be on adolescence.
What your child wants to tell you. Listen to everything with your ears. If you don't listen to the little things he tells you when he is little, he won't tell you about the big things he experienced when he grows up. Because all those little fears, excitements and events are big for them.
Read: 0
