Adolescents often deal with multiple simultaneous changes and stressors in their daily lives. Some of these are easy to recognize, like all the physical changes that occur with puberty, or the unexpected worries that come with a new romantic relationship. Others, such as bullying at school or academic stress, can be less easy to recognize.
Not only do some of their stressors change, but the way that they respond to these stressors changes too! According to the National Institute of Mental Health, the brain fully develops in the mid to late twenties, which means that the child and adolescent brain are still developing, and at their most vulnerable. During adolescence, the brain’s hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which helps the body regulate stress responses, starts to change. This can lead to increased release of hormones in the body due to a stressor, that leads to an increased stress-response in the adolescent.
Studies show that adolescent’s stressors mostly comprise of three major categories: family, school, and self.
Family:
Within the family category, stressors included parent-child conflict, parental separation or conflict, disagreement with lifestyle choices or house rules, family health issues, financial strain and parental work issues, parental academic pressures, family transitions (such as moving), parental availability and family arguments.
School:
The school category included academic workload and pressure, academic difficulties, poor relationships with teachers, and lack of school motivation.
Self:
Lastly, the self-category included health issues and lack of sleep, concerns about the future, dissatisfaction or issues with their appearance, difficulty becoming involved in extracurricular activities, new responsibilities and expectations, and lack of autonomy
Group therapy has been shown to help adolescents learn how to adapt and cope with these stressors through interventions such as psychoeducation, cognitive behavioral therapy, and mindfulness in a group setting. In a group, they can collaborate through discussion and interventions to reduce stress by increasing their psychological resilience through increased coping skills, deeper insight, increased self-image, and an increase in emotional flexibility.
Being a teenager can be a difficult time, full of psychological and physical changes as well as stressors coming from all areas of life. Without help, adolescents may not know how to confront these concerns, and this may lead to bigger issues. Group therapy has shown to be productive in helping adolescents learn how to navigate through these challenges and increase their resilience. If your child is having difficulty finding tools or navigating these areas, consider an intensive outpatient program such as Reset IOP to support your child today, and for their future.
References:
Edwards, M., Adams, E. M., Waldo, M., Hadfield, O. D., & Biegel, G. M. (2014). Effects of a mindfulness group on Latino adolescent students: Examining levels of perceived stress, mindfulness, self-compassion, and psychological symptoms. The Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 39(2), 145-163.
İme, Y., & Ümmet, D. (2024). The effects of cognitive behavioral psychological group counseling program on the psychological resilience and emotional flexibility of adolescents. Current Psychology, 43(10), 8885-8895.
National Institute of Mental Health. The Teen Brain: 7 Things to Know. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health. Retrieved November 17, 2024, from https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/the-teen-brain-7-things-to-know#:~:text=The%20brain%20finishes%20developing%20and,prioritizing%2C%20and%20making%20good%20decisions.
Núñez-Regueiro, F., & Núñez-Regueiro, S. (2021). Identifying salient stressors of adolescence: A systematic review and content analysis. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 50(12), 2533-2556.
Romeo, R. D. (2013). The teenage brain: The stress response and the adolescent brain. Current directions in psychological science, 22(2), 140-145.
Vogelaar, S., Miers, A. C., Saab, N., Dusseldorp, E., van Loon, A. W., Creemers, H. E., ... & Westenberg, P. M. (2024). Teaching adolescents about stress using a universal school-based psychoeducation program: A cluster randomised controlled trial. School Mental Health, 1-16.