Is Teen Turmoil Inevitable?

(Translation into most languages at tab to the right)

I want to continue with the thoughts from my November blog on The Cycle of Harm and how we now know that the War on Drugs has failed miserably. And especially in attempting to dissuade teens and young adults from using drugs, a punitive approach to drug use has failed spectacularly. There are many reasons for this: the development of the teen brain, the growing need for autonomy, and the influence of culture and their friends, among other things.

There have been innumerable research studies on the teen brain. “The rational part of a teen’s brain isn’t fully developed and won’t be until age 25 or so. In fact, recent research has found that adult and teen brains work differently. Adults think with the prefrontal cortex, the brain’s rational part. This is the part of the brain that responds to situations with good judgment and an awareness of long-term consequences. Teens process information with the amygdala. This is the emotional part.” (1) 

While the teen years are when our brains can comprehend and store new information at its highest rates, the ability to process that information in light of future consequences just isn’t there yet. And during these years there is a need to separate from our parents and begin the process of becoming an adult. 

David Robson, in an article for the BBC, says, “Adolescents often desperately crave the approval and acceptance of their parents. So while they certainly do want independence, it is not at any cost. Brain imaging studies show that the regions of the brain associated with reward generally develop more quickly than those associated with inhibition and self-control. They have greater activity in their dopamine signaling – a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and curiosity – compared to both adults and younger children, with bigger spikes when they experience something that is novel or exciting. In this light, it’s little wonder that teens are more likely to be tempted to try new experiences…with impulsive and risky decision making.” (2) 

Robson goes on to say that in relation to discipline, teens do not respond well to anger because they are receiving the emotional message and not the logic. Questioning, suggesting, and listening are the best tools. When discipline is needed, consequences such as making amends for their actions is more effective than punitive measures. “Given the increased dopamine activity in teens’ reward circuits, praise and positive feedback should also help, especially if they are offered quickly.” Parents and teachers could change dynamics with more encouraging words and actions.

I have always been interested in looking at how young people in their teen years grew up in previous centuries. We know that the word “teenager” was first used in print in 1913 but was not widely used until the 1940’s & 50’s when advertisers began targeting them as a new market. Dr. Robert Epstein, psychologist, professor and author, has studied and written on this topic. He says, “Consistent with modern observations, many historians note that through most of recorded human history the teen years were a relatively peaceful time of transition to adulthood. Teens were not trying to break away from adults; rather they were learning to become adults… there is no question that teen turmoil is not inevitable. It is a creation of modern culture, pure and simple–and so, it would appear, is the brain of the troubled teen…Today, with teens trapped in the frivolous world of peer culture, they learn virtually everything they know from one another rather than from the people they are about to become. Isolated from adults and wrongly treated like children, it is no wonder that some teens behave, by adult standards, recklessly or irresponsibly.” (3) 

Epstein concludes with, “We need to replace the myth of the immature teen brain with a frank look at capable and savvy teens in history, at teens in other cultures and at the truly extraordinary potential of our own young people today.” 

There is so much more to be said on this subject by others more capable than myself. Suffice it to say my husband and I wish we had known how to better guide our son into worthwhile service activities that would have helped him mature wisely by emulating adults rather than spending as much time with his unwise and immature peers. We don’t get a second chance at parenting, but we hope that others can perhaps gain some helpful insights as they navigate raising teens in an increasingly complex society.

Next blog I will delve into the different approaches of recovery programs for teens and young adults.

1. Understanding the Teen Brain. https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content?contenttypeid=1&contentid=3051
2. The Biggest Myths of the Teenage Brain 

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220823-what-really-goes-on-in-teens-brains

• The Myth of the Teen Brain

https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content?contenttypeid=1&contentid=3051