CONTEXTUAL ISSUES OF DEVELOPMENT IN ADOLESCENTS AND COPING STRATEGIES.

Adolescence is a period of transition from childhood to adulthood. Adolescents are persons between the ages of 10-19 years of age.  These are the formative years when maximum amount of physical, psychological, and behavioural changes takes place.   This  is  also a  time for adolescents  to  prepare  for  undertaking  greater responsibilities,  a  time  of  exploration  and  widening horizon  and  a  time  to  ensure  healthy  all-round development.

It is a period of most rapid intellectual growth and adolescents often feel that he/she knows more than his/her parents and other adults.

Human development occurs in stages and each of the stages has its distinctive features or characteristics.

These stages are;

• Infancy

• Childhood

• Adolescence

• Adulthood

• Aged or old age

Out of all these five stages of human development the stage or the period of adolescence is the most confusing and the most poorly understood stage.

Therefore, there is need for adolescents to acquire information and skills needed to achieve a healthy transition to adulthood.

DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES OF ADOLESCENCE

Adolescence can be conveniently divided into three sub-periods

1. Early adolescence

2. Mid-adolescence

3. Late adolescence

EARLY ADOLESCENCE

This period includes the developmental changes and the onset of puberty during this period; the adolescents remain home-centred. His behaviour may temporary show a disorganized, erratic along with a decreased willing to accommodate the expectation of his parents and others while wilder-mood swings and periodic bouts of feeling ill-treated end. His activities are primarily with members of his own sex. This period falls between 10 years and 13 years.

MID ADOLESCENCE

This period follows puberty by about one to one and a half years. It spans between 13 years and 18 years. At times, the first tentative interest and approach towards the opposite sex usually takes place. The awakening of heterosexual interest often disrupts previous peer groupings and intimate friendships. Characteristically, this is the stage when adolescent rebellion starts, a period of irritability, wide mood swings and rapidly changing feelings.

Obedience to parental dictates is replaced by conformity to peer group standards and loyalties. Early sexual exploration begins.

LATE ADOLESCENCE

This is the period of transition as the young consolidates his identity and comes to grips with his future. This stage falls between the age 14 and 19 years. He is more able to be selective and discriminating in his relationships. Feeling himself a more complete and separate person he is more able by his stage to form and maintain truly intimate relationship with others who belief, ideas and motives he can see and respect as clearly as he does his own.

Issues in development of Adolescents

 • Rapid hormonal and physical changes associated with adolescence

• Period of identity crisis-physical and sexual

• Playing feminine or masculine role

• Intelligence is at its peak and new academic schedule

• Pressures to conform or to engage in risky behaviours

•      Peer pressure- drugs, alcohol.

• Seeking independence

• Permanent personality traits begin to develop

• Preparing for a career and taking decisions regarding future

• Establishing new mature relations with peers of both sexes

Although adolescence and young adulthood are generally healthy times of life, several important public health and social problems either peak or start during these years. Examples include:

• Homicide
• Suicide
• Motor vehicle crashes, including those caused by drinking and driving
• Substance use and abuse
• Smoking
• Sexually transmitted infections, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
• Teen and unplanned pregnancies
• Homelessness

                            Coping strategies

•      Believe in yourself and a have a good self esteem. Don’t wait to be complemented on your beauty. Know who you are.

•      Make  your  academics  a  priority  and  not  a  lastminute.com thing

•      Seeking  social  support-Family,  role  model  youth leader

•      Set goals for yourself and Draw up a daily schedule for yourself.

•      Seeking  understanding  and  information-AYHS, Teachers, FLHE notes ,sites such as WHO

•      Seeking for Counselling and services  –from AYFHS, Teachers, books on adolescents

• Exercise. It releases tension and energizes. This can mean working out, bike riding around the neighbourhood, jogging.
• Eat regular and nutritious meals.
• Avoid excess caffeine intake which can increase feelings of anxiety and agitation.
• Avoid illegal drugs, alcohol and tobacco.
• Get enough sleep.
• Take a time-out. Everyone needs a break from stressful situations. Activities like listening to music, dancing, drawing, writing in a journal, playing a musical instrument, taking a long bath, reading a good book, taking a walk.
• Learn relaxation exercises (abdominal breathing, muscle relaxation techniques, meditation, yoga, etc.). Breathing exercises are a great way to relieve stress anytime and anywhere. They’re simple to learn, simple to use, and can be done on the spot when you feel tension, immediately helping you to feel better. One very effective exercise is to ‘inhale peace’ and ‘exhale your stress’.
• Learn to say no. Being overcommitted is a major source of stress, even if the activity you’re considering is fun (such as spending time with friends). Although fun activities can be a way to relax, they can also become a source of stress when time management is not used. All aspects of your life – school work, family life, social life, structured activities (such as sports) – must be in balance to minimize stress. It’s sometimes hard to say no – especially if you’re concerned about disappointing or offending people – but learning to diplomatically refuse requests is essential to taming stress.
• Develop organizational skills, such as time management and the ability to break a large task into smaller, more attainable tasks.
• Listen to music during your regular activities. Music has proven health and stress relief benefits, and can be easily played during daily life to relieve stress.
• Build a network of friends who help you cope in a positive way.
• Develop a positive attitude. Optimists and positive thinkers experience better health, less stress, and more ‘luck’ in life. Decrease negative self talk by challenging negative thoughts about yourself with more positive, or at lease neutral, thoughts. While it takes a little practice to develop a more positive frame of mind, the practice takes little extra time and can really change your whole experience of life and how you live it.
•  Use of religion-prayers, prayer books, develops a relationship with your God.
• Rehearse  and  practice  responses  to  stressful situations
• Learn to recognize and reduce negative self-talk. Challenge negative thoughts about oneself with alternative neutral or positive thoughts. Avoid demanding perfection from oneself or others; instead, learn to feel good about doing a competent or “good enough” job.
• Pay attention to your health. - know your HIV status, good hygiene especially during menstrual flow.
• Avoid gatherings and situations that can put you at risk of sexual abuse.
• Seek help when experiencing abusive situations and report appropriately.

 By Dr (Mrs) somefun