Is Adolescence Inevitably a Time of Psychological Turmoil?
Psychological angst remains a common and natural feeling during adolescence. The transition from childhood to adulthood is full of storm and stress; storm entails the reduced level of self-control and stress entails the increased sensitivity level (Arnett, 1999). Conflicts, mood swings, risky conduct, low self-esteem, defiance, and lack of self-care are the common signs of psychological turmoil by adolescents. It is the life stage when teenagers begin acting out in a disrespectful and rude manner while not having matured fully (Vitelli, 2013). But, is adolescence unavoidably a period of psychological disorder? Psychologists make people believe that this theory is true; this essay provides a description of the reasons behind this myth and a summary of research refuting the “adolescence is inevitably a time of psychological turmoil” myth.
The concept of psychological disorder was pioneered by Stanley G. Hall in 1904 (Hall, 1904). Throughout the myth, Hall examined 3 key categories of storm and stress among the adolescents; mood swings, risky behavior, and conflict with their parents; which are suggestive of the ancient time of storm and stress (Arnett, 1999). The daughter of Sigmund Freud, Anna believed that experiencing emotional distress or turmoil during the period of adolescence was very normal. As per Anna Freud’s arguments, it was abnormal if a teen did not encounter psychological turmoil during this period, and that there was a high possibility for such a teen to suffer from depression, stress, phobia, and anxiety disorders in adulthood (Hall, 1904). A popular psychologist, Phil McGraw supported this belief by warning that “the teenage can be the worst nightmare for parents” (Vitelli, 2013, p. 10).
As per (Lilienfeld, Lynn, Ruscio, & Beyerstein, 2011), the myth that adolescence is unavoidably a time of psychological distress exists due to ithe biological changes which occur during puberty. Developing bodies take time before getting used to manage these biological changes (Casey, et al., 2010). Mood swings are inevitable due to constant hormonal changes in the body. Also, adolescents feel awkward due to physical growth at this period. According to (Hall, 1904), neurological connections also come together and cause teenagers to seek stimulation. In addition, this myth occurs due to the fact that adolescents seek independence; making them rebel against authority and form strong associations with peer groups. Risk seeking and attention-seeking habits also form during adolescence. While these facts hold, (Vitelli, 2013) state that emotions differ and get changed at moments of notice.
Although not all teens undergo psychological turmoil during this period, Hall’s ideas were by then popular (Vitelli, 2013). Until today, academics and scholars have been placing their own spin to Hall’s theory to find out whether adolescent tensions are associated to physical and biological factors (Casey, et al., 2010). Albert Bandura, in his 1964 studies, “The Stormy Decade: Fact or Fiction”, found that most adolescents do not consider their period of adolescence as stormy. Bandura further warned that adolescence is not necessarily stress-free (Bandura, 1964). Other studies by (Casey, et al., 2010) noted that the media rarely presented adolescents to be anything but stormy creating a skewed view about teen development. These two studies refute this myth by affirming that the expectation to see adolescence as stormy is often a self-fulfilling prophecy which lacks any valid and substantial reason.
Despite Bandura and other developmental psychologists’ attempts to challenge the storm and stress hypothesis, the debate initiated by Stanley G. Hall still continues after more than a century. But, are the modern developmental researchers asking the right questions? New studies by (Hollenstein & Lougheed, 2013) suggest that the ‘all-or-nothing” storm and stress views about adolescence have a great potential of preventing people from a clear understanding over how adolescents develop during transition. These studies propose that the key question should not be whether storm and stress happens to all adolescents but rather asking when these changes do happen and how are they expressed? According to (Hollenstein & Lougheed, 2013), instead of considering storm and stress as being both biologically rooted and inevitable, it is more accurate to recognize that biological changes of adolescence are ubiquitous and inevitable, adolescent biological transitions hold different adolescent behavior mechanisms, and that biological changes during adolescence are environmentally shaped (Hollenstein & Lougheed, 2013).
Evidence from Stanley G. Hall, Anna, Sigmund, Phil McGraw and other psychologists indicate that some adolescents encounter storm, stress, and emotional distress, but certainly not all of them (Hall, 1904). Most peoples’ ideas about the misconception are largely similar to the arguments brought forth by Hall and his colleagues, for they tend to think the myth is true. Studies by (Vitelli, 2013) suggest that storm and stress during the adolescence period is determined by culture. In this study, the non-western respondents reported to have experienced less psychological turmoil than those adolescents in the western world. Other studies by (Lilienfeld, Lynn, Ruscio, & Beyerstein, 2011) disputed Hall’s idea that mood swings, risk behavior, and conflict with older people is universal and biologically rooted by noting that one’s culture influences these three attributes of an adolescent.
Scientifically, adolescence is biological. Scientists have been on the forefront to support the idea that mood disruptions, risky behavior, and conflict with parents are common biological characteristics among the adolescents, this argument is misleading. According to (Hall, 1904), teens are influenced by religion, media, and fashion industries. As a result, not all adolescents exhibit terrible behavior, absurd moods, and arrogance during this period. Other studies by (Casey, et al., 2010) note that adolescence is a wonderful moment of life, thus a channel for productivity and independence. His studies associate psychological turmoil during this period with parents’ inability to act as role models, lack of enough resources from parents and the surrounding environment (Casey, et al., 2010). Another dispute of this myth is that denial of independence for adolescents is the cause of emotional discomfort, and not related to any physical or biological attribute (Vitelli, 2013).
In conclusion, adolescent “psychological turmoil” has been a controversial developmental hypothesis debate for more than a century. While Hall and other psychologists view adolescence as a period of inevitable psychological turmoil, this is untrue. The myth is built on three evidences namely risk behavior, mood disruptions, and conflict with parents. In this essay, research disputing that adolescence is inescapably a period of psychological disorder has been provided. This essay concludes that the biological transitions of adolescence are ubiquitous and inevitable, adolescent biological changes contribute to diverse adolescent behavior mechanisms, and that adolescent biological changes get shaped through influence of culture and environmental surroundings. In a nutshell, the theory should major more on adolescent biological changes and not psychological changes in which adolescent turmoil is considered to be universal and inevitable, and this is untrue.
References
- Arnett, J. J. (1999). Adolescent storm and stress, reconsidered. American Psychologist, 54(5), 317-326.
- Bandura, A. (1964). The stormy decade: Fact or fiction? Psychology in the Schools, 50-66.
- Casey, B. J., Jones, R. M., Levita, L., Libby, V., Pattwell, S. S., Ruberry, E. J., & Somerville, L. H. (2010). The storm and stress of adolescence: insights from human imaging and mouse genetics. Developmental Psychobiology: The Journal of the International Society for Developmental Psychobiology, 52(3), 225-235.
- Hall, S. G. (1904). Adolescence: Its psychology and its relation to physiology, anthropology, sociology, sex, crime, religion, and education (Vol. 1&2). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
- Hollenstein, T., & Lougheed, J. P. (2013). Beyond storm and stress: Typicality, transactions, timing, and temperament to account for adolescent change. American Pyschologist, 68(6), 444-54.
- Lilienfeld, S. O., Lynn, S. J., Ruscio, J., & Beyerstein, B. L. (2011). 50 great myths of popular psychology: Shattering widespread misconceptions about human behavior. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.
- Vitelli, R. (2013). Storming into Adulthood: Are adolescents really emotional volcanoes waiting to explode? Pyschology Today, 8-15. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/media-spotlight/201309/storming-adulthood