Adolescence Contemporary Issues and Resources
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Adolescence Contemporary Issues and Resource
Thesis
Adolescence is considered the transitional stage from childhood to adulthood and “defined as the age range between 13–19 years” (Faulkner, 2018). According to Psychology. Adolescence populations face a range of contemporary issues, including sexuality, drugs and alcohol, social life, mental health, and peer pressure. This paper will focus on the topic of bullying among the adolescent population, its outcome, and its direct impact on mental health. I will describe assessment options to screen for bullying and external stressors, ethical parameters on what can or cannot be shared with parents, and the resources available for bullied victims.
Bullying and External Stressors Associated
Bullying is defined as aggressive behavior that has the intent of repeatedly harming by peers. This form of abuse can be physical or verbal, which are considered physical acts and include hitting, name-calling, and stealing. Indirect bullying can consist of spreading rumors and social exclusion. In recent years, cyberbullying has increased, which is bullying by the use of mobile phones and the internet. Faulkner (2018) describes cyberbullying as “a relatively new phenomenon, can lead to devastating results, including depression and teen suicide.” Most of the adolescents spend an extensive amount of time on social media sites. They use several forms of know-how, with approximately 80% of adolescents having some social mass media account (Messias, Kindrick, & Castro, 2014). Bullying can lead to many long and short term effects in the adolescent population. The NCBI describes those youths who are intimidated were at increased hazard for self-harming, suicidal ideation, and conducts in teens.
Furthermore, a dose–rejoinder association was found showing that those who were recurrently bullied had a higher risk of suicidal ideation and behaviors in the teenage years. The lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/questioning adolescents are at higher risk of being bullied and harassed because of their states of appearance. Those youths also feel not worthy due to their conditions if they are not well counseled, and it can, therefore, be the beginning of being bullied by their fellow teens.
Assessment Strategies to Screen Bullying
Identifying the degree of harassment can be done by bullying assessment screenings. The CDC has provided a compendium of assessment tools to measure bullying victimizing, the perpetration, and bystander experience. Victims first needed to be identified by the age group to utilize the correct screening questionnaire. One questionnaire targets victims of 8-17 years old, which is called “My Life in School” Checklist with 40 question’s divided into three possible responses, which are “never, once or more than once.” When completing this assessment, teenagers should have privacy and be aware the checklist is to understand their life while in school. This assessment tool includes a second part, which is a reflection questionnaire to provide an understanding of how the victim felt.
Assessment questionnaires are the first step to determine how a teenager’s mental health may be tainted. The effect of bullying can lead to depression. Signs of depression can be the teen being withdrawn, poor grades in school, mood swings, significant changes in weight, change in sleep patterns, and feelings of hopelessness. Caregivers should then determine the root of the problem, identify the measures needed to stop the bullying, and begin the healing process. The use of support options can include professional resources that can be helpful to help the teen cope and assertive techniques. Caregivers who seek professional help from a psychiatrist should understand adolescents have the right to ask the psychiatrist not to disclose information to the caregivers. Other support options for teens who suffer from depression due to bullying is the 1800-NYC-WELL hotline. This hotline “include counseling, suicide prevention, crisis intervention, peer support, referrals to care, assistance in connecting to the referral, and follow-up services. NYC Well is free and confidential and operates 24 hours per day, seven days per week via phone, text, and internet chat” (“Child & Adolescent Mental Health Emergency Crisis,” 2018).
Support Options for Adolescents Encountering Bullying
Understanding the contemporary issues that adolescents face daily is beneficial for their physical and emotional growth. It is essential to provide support during this transition into adulthood. This transition can have many external stressors that may affect the teen’s mental health. One of the support options for those adolescents is utilizing assessment tools to ensure that every teen is well assessed and come up with ways to help them out. Observation is also an essential option for teenagers who are undergoing bullying. When a psychological expert in observing the behaviors of these youths can quickly tell the one experiencing mental disturbance probably through intimidation and therefore help them out, finally, outside resources can be helpful to provide an outlet for teens going through bullying and its outcomes.
References
Child & Adolescent Mental Health Emergency Crisis. (2018). Retrieved from https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/health/health-topics/child-and-adolescent-mental-health- emergency-crisis.
Faulkner, A. (2018). Health assessment: foundations for effective practice. Retrieved from https://lc.gcumedia.com/nrs434vn/health-assessment-foundations-for-effective- practice/v1.1/#/chapter/3
Messias, E., Kindrick, K., & Castro, J. (2014). School bullying, cyberbullying, or both: correlates of teen suicidality in the 2011 CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 55(5), 1063-1068.