Adolescent Problems
Adolescence is a time for developing independence. Typically, adolescents exercise their independence by questioning, and sometimes breaking, rules. Parents and doctors must distinguish occasional errors of judgment from a degree of misbehavior that requires professional intervention. The severity and frequency of infractions are guides. For example, regular drinking, frequent episodes of fighting, truancy, and theft are much more significant than isolated episodes of the same activities. Other warning signs include deterioration of performance at school and running away from home. Of particular concern are adolescents who cause serious injury or use a weapon in a fight.
Because adolescents are much more independent and mobile than they were as children, they are often out of the direct physical control of adults. In these circumstances, adolescents' behavior is determined by their own moral and behavioral code. Parents guide rather than directly control the adolescents' actions. Adolescents who feel warmth and support from their parents are less likely to engage in risky behaviors. Also, adolescents whose parents convey clear expectations regarding their children’s behavior and show consistent limit setting and monitoring are less likely to engage in risky behaviors. Authoritative parenting is a parenting style in which children participate in establishing family expectations and rules. This parenting style, as opposed to authoritarian-style parenting (in which parents make decisions with minimal input from their children) or permissive parenting (in which parents set few limits) is most likely to promote mature behaviors.
