The 7 Psychosocial Changes in Adolescents (Explained)

Adolescence is a turbulent and turbulent period, something that popular culture has very internalized. It is inevitable to think of an adolescent as that emotionally unstable person who is in a deep but uncertain search for her identity.

That is a fairly close description of adolescence, but incomplete, since the changes that take place occur at puberty are varied and involve not only the emotional aspect, but also the cognitive and Social.

Next we are going to explore what are the psychosocial changes in adolescents and what consequences they can have on their lives. Keep reading if you want to discover them.

• Related article: "The 3 stages of adolescence"

What are the psychosocial changes in adolescence?

Psychosocial changes in adolescents are all those variations that occur in the form of think, feel and relate to society that are experienced when entering the stage of puberty.

Adolescence is a period of many transformations that are evident in the physical and psychological development of the individual

. Because these changes are so sudden and disconcerting, adolescents often feel confused and even scared by the new experiences they are having.

One of the leading scholars on the changes that occur throughout development, not only in adolescence but throughout people's lives, is the psychoanalyst Erik Erikson.

Thanks to his work we know in greater depth what happens during adolescence from a psychosocial perspective, although it is worth mentioning that its findings are quite old and that since then new discoveries have been made about it stage.

Next we are going to talk in depth about what are the psychosocial changes that adolescents go through during this very turbulent period of their lives. Generally, These changes can be divided into three broad categories: cognitive, emotional and social.

1. Cognitive changes

Adolescence is the period of development of people where, according to developmental theory of the Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget, the last stage of his model is reached: the stage of operations formal. Arrived at this point, the adolescent acquires some advanced mental capacities, definitively separating him from childhood.

One of the most notable is the ability to reason abstractly. As adolescents approach twelve years of age, they are able to effectively reflect on elements that are not in the here and now. This natural capacity in adulthood is something that, although it does exist at previous ages, is more modest in childhood. Abstract reasoning is one of the most important abilities not only in adolescence but also in adult life.

Another of the most significant cognitive advancements is the ability to use logic more accurately and independently of your desires and feelings. Before the age of twelve, children get more carried away by their emotions and find it difficult to keep a cool mind and act rationally. At puberty, cognitive abilities increase markedly, although it may not seem like it since, also, it overlaps with the emotional instability typical of these ages.

Finally, it should be mentioned that adolescents also begin to be able to use skills such as deduction well. Due to this and the other two skills that we have discussed, it is common for adolescents to begin to emerge new interests related to aspects such as morals, ethics or what role they play in the world.

• You may be interested in: "Cognition: definition, main processes and operation"

2. Emotional changes

One of the best known facts about adolescence is that hormones take control of the body, inducing a highly varied mood.

Added to this, there is the fact that the adolescent changes educational stage, going on to study at the institute, a place where interacting with other adolescents can be the scene of multiple conflicts and tensions. All this is the perfect cocktail so that the emotions of the adolescent are on the surface, feeling them in a much more pronounced way than when they were children.

Among these emotional changes we can highlight:

2.1. Emotional instability

It is well known that one of the most remarkable features of adolescence is its multiple mood swings. The adolescent mood is very, very variable. Young people of these ages can go from one extreme to the other in a very short time.

It is not strange for a boy to get up very animated, to later become a little low at lunchtime and, when night comes, he is pensive and taciturn. In other cases, the mood varies over the course of days, going through sad times and times of joy with no apparent significant cause.

• Related article: "Neurosis (neuroticism): causes, symptoms and characteristics"

2.2. Acquisition of empathy

Without pretending to generalize too much, boys and girls tend to be self-centered. The reason for this is that they find it possible to understand and interpret the emotions of others, and to put themselves in their shoes.

However, when adolescence arrives, boys and girls develop some empathy, although they do not necessarily show it. Most adolescents are able to understand the effects of their actions on others much more effectively than when they were children.

• You may be interested in: "Empathy, much more than putting yourself in someone else's shoes"

23. Insecurities and feelings of uncertainty

Adolescents experience puberty as a very uncertain period, both hormonally and socially and emotionally.. This causes that, by not knowing what will happen next and not being very clear about their role in life, they have a constant feeling of insecurity.

In turn, insecurity causes changes to be perceived as more threatening and confusing than are, which makes the kid can fall into a loop of negative emotions experienced in a very intense. Fortunately, it is a matter of time before you acquire a feeling of greater control of the situation, the insecurity vanishing as you mature.

• Related article: "Do you really know what self-esteem is?"

3. Social changes

Finally, we can comment that adolescents go through a series of changes related to the role they have in the world and the way they interact with others. Among the most notable social changes we have:

3.1. Search for own identity

Before the age of twelve, identity is an aspect little thought about by boys and girls. They may identify with labels concerning their gender, cultural or family identity, but they don't think too much about it. Nevertheless, once puberty begins, identity becomes the subject of much reflection on the part of the adolescent, so much so that we could say that he becomes obsessed.

The adolescent tries to find himself, define who he is, build an identity that differentiates him from others, something that makes him unique. It is because of that at these ages new experiences are tried, assuming signs of identity such as those shared by some urban tribe. Generally, these behaviors are temporary and are not a problem, and with the passage of time they will shape both their personality and their own identity.

• You may be interested in: "Self-concept: what is it and how is it formed?"

3.2. Desire for independence

During childhood you are completely dependent on your parents to do everything. At the beginning of adolescence this changes, as a result of the fact that the adolescent is already capable of doing more things on his own and, in addition, you want to completely shed your dependency on your parents.

It is at these ages when the desire to become a more autonomous person begins, something that is so evident by doing more things by himself as by his aggressive attitude, arguing even with the parents so that they are not so long on top of he.

This is not something to worry about at first. It is normal for teens to exhibit challenging behaviors and they have some scuffle with their parents, although if they suppose a serious alteration in family life, they should go to a psychologist specialized in adolescence to assess the possibility of a mental health problem or disorder.

• Related article: "Rebellion in adolescence: why it appears and what to do"

3.3. Identity and sexual orientation

One of the most relevant changes in puberty is everything that has to do with sex and intimate relationships. Hormones, as we have commented, take control of the body and it is almost inevitable that certain physiological reactions linked to a series of very powerful emotions that leads adolescents to change their interests and ways of acting, thinking a lot about the sex.

Thus it is normal that it is in adolescence that one realizes what their sexuality is, because it is in this period the moment in which the sexual awakening occurs. Boys and girls who are exclusively interested in people of the opposite gender will find that they are heterosexual, whereas if they are interested in the same gender then they will see that they are homosexuals. If they like both boys and girls, then they are bisexual.

Although much progress has been made in accepting sexual orientation, Today there are many gay adolescents who fear that, when they come out of the closet, they will be socially and family rejected. Even in the apparently more open-minded institutes, it is common for homophobic behaviors to occur among peers, attacking Gay or bisexual guys who have not even disclosed their sexuality because they still have doubts about what it is that they attracts.

Nor should we ignore the reality of asexual people. Unlike heteros, gays and bisexuals, asexual people do not feel sexual attraction, and can be considered both the absence of sexual attraction and a variation of the other orientations but in which there is no desire sexual.

Since they are still a very little visible group, asexual adolescents, far from understanding that they are, may think that they have an arousal problem or that there is something wrong with them. That is why sex education and explaining all sexual realities are so important.