Are Teens Getting a Bum Rap? (A Positive View of Adolescence)

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=John_R._Morella,_Ph.D.]John R. Morella, Ph.D.
"The children now love luxury: they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their household. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, and tyrannize their teachers." Socrates, 470-399 B.C.
While time marches on, some perceptions remain the same, in spite of clear evidence that most teens, are well- adjusted, and when compared to most adults, fare better. So, how did all the negative stereotyping develop? Well, in the Middle Ages, children and adolescents were viewed as "miniature adults," expected to comply to adult authority and were treated with harsh discipline when they didn't comply. Eventually, a more enlightened view was gained, in that a child or a teen was not the same as being an adult. It became clear that reasoning developed during the teen years, and teen's gradual maturity replaced the selfishness of childhood by expressing interest in others. One notable behavioral scientist, G. Stanley Hall,1844-1924) (the father of the scientific study of adolescence) believed that teens are filled with stress, and marked a long period of belief that the "storm and stress view" was an acceptable explanation of teen development. Subsequent research has challenged his conclusion, and contemporary thinking on teens, hopefully is changing. Dr. Daniel Offer, through his extensive studies, across several countries, concluded that only 20% of teens report problems of isolation, loneliness, or confusion. The remaining 80% report no evidence of severe mood swings or disturbance in behavior and make the transition to adulthood just fine. With forty years of research on adolescents, Dr. Offer concludes that the American teenager sees himself or herself as competent, able to solve problems throughout their development, and to do so without turbulence.
I conducted surveys of hundreds of high school and college students. The data is extensive, but basically concludes, that most (85%) are happy, content; get along well with parents, teachers and other authority figures; find the onset of puberty to not be troublesome; have low arrest records; drug and alcohol use lower than adults; report less sexual issues than past generations; rates of pregnancies are dropping and greater use contraceptives; low levels of sexually transmitted diseases, relative to other age groups; low percentage of suicide and finally, teens agree that if they could relieve their teen years over again, they would do so.
We, as adults, perpetrate myths of adolescence and maligned our teenagers. We give them a negative self-fulfilling prophecy and perhaps our teens seek to behave in the ways we expect them to behave. Abraham Maslow's famous quote, "To the man who only has a hammer in his toolkit, every problem looks like a nail," is appropriate for the way in which we perceive teens. To a great extent, most adults view teens the same, like a "nail,"and grab the hammer to pound them into the same stereotypic board. What is the board? Maybe, we see irresponsibility, narcissistic, moody, sex-crazed. risk-takers and all the negative myths of being a teen. Maybe we need to carry more tools in our toolkit as we relate to our thirty-million teens in our country. We need to deal with our teens in a kind and compassionate way that embraces them, and not fear them. Now, go hug your teen!
Dr. John R. Morella, Ph.D., retired psychologist and academician, has over thirty-five years experience working with teens. He has authored two books: A Guide for Effective Psychotherapy ( a consumer's guide for those seeking mental health services) and Give Teens a Break!, (a positive look at teens), both written for laypersons and those interested in mental health issues. View my website: http://www.johnmorella.com
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Are-Teens-Getting-a-Bum-Rap?-(A-Positive-View-of-Adolescence)&id=6435729] Are Teens Getting a Bum Rap? (A Positive View of Adolescence)