From the Founder’s Soap Box
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to tell you that the modern teenager is a special breed. But then again, maybe it does. This week, Britain’s prestigious medical journal, The Lancet, released the Adolescent Health Series causing a flurry in the blogosphere and news outlets on the “shocking” statistics on teenagers in Western world. Teens play hard and die young. In fact, the resulting media portrayed modern teens as living in a Wild West. Instead of highlighting the unique needs of teens and the failure of public policy, education, and healthcare in addressing adolescent health, the media does what it does best: blame the victim. Take note of recent headlines:
Sensational
- American Teen: Live Fast, Die Hard
- US is worlds’ tops teenage wasteland
- Britain among worst for sexually active teenagers
- Study: Hard-partying lifestyle is catching up with young Americans
- Problems of rich world’s young spreading to poorer countries
- The US Is The Deadliest Developed Country For Adolescents
- Cars, Suicide – Top Killers
Moderately Inquisitive
- Young people’s health is not keeping pace
- Young deserve closer inspection
- Why Isn’t the Teen Mortality Rate Dropping?
Oh, what are we gonna do about these teens today?
The term “teenager” is in fact relatively new. The author Jon Savage details the rise of the youth culture in his book, Teenage: The Creation of Youth Culture, as a largely postwar (as in WW II), sociocultural construction. Teenagers, as a demographic group, are partly an outcome of child labor laws and public policy to reduce the competition in the labor force. This mid-century shift resulted in record numbers of youth attending high school. Where adolescents once looked to adults and authority figures for cues, they now relied on another social group with whom they spent the majority of time: their peers.
The psychologist Stanley Hall defined adolescence as a specific developmental life stage with unique stressors that deserved special attention. The formation of cliques, or informal social groups, created complex social structures for conformity and acceptance. Whereas parents, community and church once extolled significant influence, teenagers began to retaliate and create new avenues to express independence. The Beatles come to mind as a quintessential by-product of the “teen age” during this transition, and it’s not surprising that their music continues to bridge a deep connection across generations. The difference today is that the phase of adolescence is much longer: it starts around age ten and persists well into the mid-20s.
Youth have always been driven to push the limits, to take risks, and to seek out stimulation. These characteristics are biologically wired in humans as a means for survival of the species. Communities have always depended on their brazen adolescents. Barbara Strauch, author of The Primal Teen, depicts this adaptive feature of adolescence through her interviews with scientists: Certain behaviors and cognitive features related to mating, decision-making, impulsivity, and group think, are necessary functions of being human. Of course, modern teens need not fight saber tooth tigers, hunt for bison to feed families, or defend against trespassing tribes. Instead, the threats are in schoolyards, neighborhoods, from communicative diseases, and within one’s self-perceptions.
Since the turn of 21st century, rigorous research on healthy, normal teen brains has delivered incredible insights about cognitive function and youth behavior. It’s a new field ushered in by technology and MRIs. We now know with scientific accuracy just how sensitive and malleable the developing teen brain is. We understand better how the neuro-physiological reward system of the brain makes addiction to drugs so powerful and devastating, and just how challenging it is to recover from a certain teen afflictions, e.g., anorexia and bulimia. We understand also how powerful peer acceptance is as a stimulant. Yes, being with friends is a potent trigger for the brain’s reward system, often silencing the executive, rational function of the brain. Who doesn’t regret getting in a car during high school with a drunk driver (or having been the one behind the wheel)? What teen or parent doesn’t know someone from high school who died a tragic death by accident or suicide? We learned from our experiences but seem to forget the trials we endured when it comes to our own kids. We think they have it better, they are smarter, and will go farther. We hover over them thinking they can’t get away with what we did.
Moreover, today’s teens live in a culture driven by incessant marketing and media with prescriptions on how to fit in, feel attractive, be successful, or exert power. Sadly, these cultural norms are increasingly becoming more narrow and impossible to achieve for boys and girls. The mythologized American dream of opportunity persists yet the path is no longer clear. What hope do today’s teens have when over 50% of recent college grads are unemployed? We clearly have a generation of stressed out teens.
Yet, this need not be the norm. What the research on adolescent health consistently shows is that teens need specific care, tailored interventions, and community of connected adults who understand the risks associated with this phase of life. If there is any take away message from The Lancet’s Adolescence Health Series, it is this:
Treat our teens with respect and care. Our future depends on it.
Dr. Tara Cousineau is a clinical psychologist and advocate for teen health. The creation of BodiMojo is one way to bring a focus to adolescent health. Every once in a while she goes on a rant about just how underserved adolescents are, thanks for reading.
