Introduction
Adolescence starts when an individual hits puberty and ends when they reach adulthood. It is a developmental stage in which social, personal, or biological factors can precipitate stress. Importantly, adolescents are particularly vulnerable to stress and present a unique social group.
McMahon et al. (2022) note that it is at the adolescent stage that one develops one’s self-concept – a key predictor of future psychological outcomes and health. Thus, proper stress management at the adolescent stage can secure a higher quality of life going forward. This paper will discuss stressors in adolescence as well as applicable stress management techniques.
Stressors
Social Stressors
Peer rejection and bullying are the major causes of stress in adolescents as they become increasingly aware of how their friends perceive and treat them. Adolescents exposed to adverse treatment from peers can suffer from poor self-esteem, depression, and sleep disorders (Sisk & Gee, 2022). Another social stressor particular to adolescents is schoolwork and academic demands. Notably, many adolescents become overtly anxious about their academic performance as a determinant of their future achievements (Anniko et al., 2019).
Additionally, adolescents are increasingly sensitive to domestic or parental conflicts. Instances such as parental divorce exert a toll on adolescents, who may resort to brooding, worrying, and crying to cope with the upheaval in their lives (Anniko et al., 2019). Moreover, romantic relationships invoke novel and distressing feelings in adolescents. Romantic exertions expose youngsters to emotional whirlwinds and sexual tension that may occasion negative ruminating and stress.
Another social stressor that adolescents must deal with is economic pressure. Low and Mounts (2022) point out that it is during the adolescent stage that individuals become acutely aware of their family’s economic status. With this realization, adolescents may feel socially inferior or superior to others and may start compensating for it, thus causing stress to their psyche.
Unpredictable events such as the COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately impact adolescents. For instance, the calls for school closures distanced adolescents from their peers, causing them to become isolated and socially withdrawn (Low & Mounts, 2022). Overall, adolescents are perhaps the most vulnerable demographic group to social stressors.
Personal Issues
Prior institutionalization is an important predictor of stress in adolescence. Sisk and Gee (2022) note that children who grew up in foster homes show poorer emotional responses to adverse life events. In the same vein, McMahon et al. (2020) note that such adolescents are particularly prone to substance abuse and criminal tendencies, which can develop as a precursor or side effect of prolonged periods under stress. Another stressor at the personal level is past unresolved trauma. For instance, parental loss, sexual abuse, and physical assault by a caregiver in childhood can lead to a lifetime of heightened stress and mental health disorders that often kick in during adolescence.
Physiological Stressors
Certain individuals are genetically susceptible to stress as a result of particular heritable traits. Such adolescents may display inexplicable and prolonged moodiness, among other symptoms of stress (Sisk & Gee, 2022). Additionally, unpredictable hormonal changes usually accompany rapid physiological growth in adolescence. For instance, Sisk and Gee (2022) point out that the heightened neural plasticity experienced by adolescents may increase sensitivity to environmental changes. While certain adolescents cope exceptionally well with the biological changes, some become anxious, avoidant, and stressed as they come to grips with the turbulent emotions that come with hormonal imbalances.
Importance of Understanding Stressors in Adolescence
Knowing the exact stressor likely to affect a certain individual or cohort of adolescents is an important precursor to the design of appropriate social support interventions. For instance, the six social stressors discussed in the preceding section call for the integration of psychosocial supports such as counseling and stress therapy in school environments. Mindfulness exercises should be employed for adolescents affected by long-past personal issues. For physiological stressors, genetically susceptible persons should be identified early on and continuously monitored. They can be encouraged to self-monitor and seek periodic and timely assistance from a mental health expert when they become overly stressed.
Stress Management Techniques
Cognitive-Behavioral Stress Management Program (CBSM)
Initially, this technique requires the individual to note the events in their lives that elicit a stressful reaction. For teenagers, these events can feasibly be put down in a timely journal as part of the therapeutic process and as a record. The second step involves the individual sitting down with a counselor and going through the logs to discover behavioral patterns and attendant cognitive gaps (Putwain & von der Embse, 2020).
Consequently, the individual is brought to the attention of emotional triggers and encouraged to react differently. For instance, an adolescent who is stressed during every examination season may come to the realization that they have excessively high expectations. CBSM would necessitate that they embark on an activity such as painting during the exam season to take their mind off their academic performance.
Yoga Breathing Technique
Yogic breathing is a targeted intervention that works well with adolescents with behavioral problems. It involves a combination of breathing and physical exercise in which the subject achieves a state of calm and serenity (Stephens, 2019). Yoga promotes mental and psychological detachment from a state of stress.
Yoga emphasizes that past events, ideations, and self-perceptions are not immutable. Felver et al. (2020) point out that when practiced consistently by adolescents, yoga exercises can promote healing from stressful past experiences. The yoga breathing technique is best applicable as a targeted program for preselected individuals.
Journaling
Writing down one’s present mind can provide much-needed clarity and perspective. This can be particularly useful for adolescents if they suffer from unexplained stress and need to vent their frustrations healthily. Thus, journaling can assist stressed adolescents due to genetic or developmental hormonal imbalances. Moreover, it is a valuable part of the CBSM program as it allows the individual to have a record that can inform a mental health caregiver of their struggles with stress.
Stress Management Program Implementation and Evaluation
The proposed stress management program should include the three techniques discussed in the preceding section. For practicality and to impact more adolescents, it should be school-based and aim at categorizing adolescents into the three categories of stressors: CBSM, yoga technique, and journaling. Thus, a licensed psychiatrist should be enlisted at the onset to evaluate the self-reported symptoms of every adolescent with mental health problems.
In consultation with the school’s counselors, the psychiatrist should allocate each learner to one of the three cohorts. Moreover, the psychiatrist should make monthly visits to the school to follow up on at least five exceptional cases identified in the evaluation process. After this preliminary exercise, the school should mobilize resources to cater to the programs.
Firstly, the school must allocate at least one large room for yoga sessions. The room should be large and equipped with yoga mats and other structural modifications to provide the proper lighting and ambiance as the instructor desires. Additionally, the school may have to hire the services of a yoga-specialized therapist weekly. The CBSM cohort should schedule weekly visits with the school’s counselors. The adolescents were advised to use the journaling technique and should seek assistance from the school counselors if their stress increases following the beginning of the intervention.
Obstacles
Potentially, the program could suffer from inadequate funds, primarily since it relies on school resources. One way to overcome this is to request assistance from national or regional programs to promote mental wellness. Specifically, the program could pay for the services of the licensed psychiatrist and yoga instructor for the duration of the program. Additionally, stressed adolescents may fail to enlist in the program, especially if they already suffer from poor peer perception. To offset this obstacle, the program should be preceded by a mental wellness awareness campaign to promote empathy for people suffering from stress.
Evaluation
To evaluate the program, records of participants’ self-reports from the program’s initial phase should be compared to their self-reports after a three-month interval. A successful program would result in participants expressing reduced stress levels, better peer and parental relationships, and fewer periods of prolonged stress. Moreover, the insights of school educators should be used to evaluate whether the program has resulted in behavioral improvements within the school.
Conclusion
In conclusion, adolescents are at the intersection of a variety of stressors. Biologically, they are prone to hormonal imbalances and may be genetically susceptible to stress disorders. They are in a period when discoveries are being made socially; moreover, an unresolved trauma from childhood surfaces during this sensitive phase. However, a combination of stress management techniques tailored into a school-based program and shepherded by a psychiatrist, a yoga instructor, and school counselors can secure positive mental health outcomes for troubled adolescents.
References
Anniko, M. K., Boersma, K., & Tillfors, M. (2019). Sources of stress and worry in the development of stress-related mental health problems: A longitudinal investigation from early to mid-adolescence. Anxiety, Stress, & Coping, 32(2), 155–167. Web.
Felver, J. C., Razza, R., Morton, M. L., Clawson, A. J., & Mannion, R. S. (2020). School-based yoga intervention increases adolescent resilience: A pilot trial. Journal of Child & Adolescent Mental Health, 32(1), 1–10. Web.
Low, N., & Mounts, N. S. (2021). Economic stress, parenting, and adolescents’ adjustment during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Family Relations, 56, 90-107. Web.
McMahon, G., Creaven, A., & Gallagher, S. (2020). Stressful life events and adolescent well‐being: The role of parent and peer relationships. Stress and Health, 36(3), 299-310. Web.
Putwain, D. W., & von der Embse, N. P. (2020). Cognitive–behavioral intervention for test anxiety in adolescent students: Do benefits extend to school-related wellbeing and clinical anxiety. Anxiety, Stress, & Coping, 34(1), 1–15. Web.
Sisk, L. M., & Gee, D. G. (2022). Stress and adolescence: Vulnerability and opportunity during a sensitive window of development. Current Opinion in Psychology, 44, 286–292. Web.
Stephens, I. (2019). Case report: The use of medical yoga for adolescent mental health. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 43, 60–65. Web.