11 COMMON TEEN PROBLEMS AND HOW TO SOLVE THEM - PSYCHOLOGY - 2025

The problems of adolescence and young people are issues that bring up the parents of adolescents and also educators and others who are in their closest context.

Adolescence is the stage that takes place between the ages of 10 and 19, although some studies suggest that it ends at 25, coinciding with the beginning of maturity. Throughout these years, young people experience a series of changes at a physical and biological, psychological, social and sexual level.

This stage, so decisive in the development of the personality and morals of future adults, has been studied and described by various authors over the centuries.

An example of them was Johann Wolfang von Goethe when in 1774 he published The Young Werther. In this book, the author treats adolescence as a time when passions, feelings and sufferings are exalted. In addition, the young protagonist is immersed in a sea of ​​doubts and contradictions.

Adolescence is very likely the most turbulent stage of life that human beings can live due to the amount of things they want to experience and, sometimes, without assuming the risks that may entail. In addition, the first conflicts begin to arise when the adolescent must make decisions for himself.

This is why people who are close to adolescents show uneasiness since different problems can arise during this stage.

Next, we will see 11 problems that can occur throughout this period and that cause repercussions in the family, social and academic sphere. In addition, we will see some guidelines to be able to solve them.

Common Teen Problems and How to Treat Them

1- Emotional problems

Depressive symptomatology is common in adolescence. Also, adolescents tend to withdraw and avoid contact with adults, feeling more comfortable among their peer group, that is, those of a similar age, as well as those with whom they share tastes and interests.

The scene of the adolescent confined in his room is common, avoiding, in this way, contact with his closest relatives.

Also, improper management of emotions can face up to sleep and eating problems.

How can we address emotional problems with adolescents? First of all, it is important that they do not feel judged or questioned. Therefore, we can create moments in which the adolescent can express themselves freely without being questioned by the adult. This fact is called revelation.

In the same way, you have to respect their space and their rhythms, without making them feel invaded and questioned. Only then will the adolescent feel comfortable and be able to express himself. All this will have a positive impact on the family climate.

2- Eating disorders

Problems with eating that can end up becoming a pathology such as Eating Disorders.

Cases of anorexia and bulimia are increasingly common in young people, both in boys and girls. These problems are closely related to low self-esteem and how teens perceive their body image.

To avoid this, it is important to create a routine around mealtime and that foods are rich and varied. Also, do not send negative messages to adolescents about their body image and teach them to love themselves for who they are.

In cases in which the family detects inappropriate behavior or they have suspicions about whether they could suffer from an Eating Disorder, it is important to talk about this issue and go to the primary care doctor who will refer us to the appropriate specialist.

3- Lack of protection in sexual relations

As we saw at the beginning, adolescents have a certain inability to appreciate that their behaviors carry certain risks. One of these aspects is that of sexual relations.

Each time, adolescents experience sexual intercourse earlier and in many cases they do not use any type of protection, which translates into a high probability of causing an unwanted pregnancy and the possibility of developing a sexually transmitted disease.

In this regard, prevention and normal approach to sexuality are very important. It is important that from a young age, adapting it to their level of development, the issue of sexuality is approached naturally.

Also that, as adolescence approaches, they know the contraceptive methods, the characteristics of each of them and know where they can get them.

4- Alcohol and drugs

In line with the previous section and related to the assumption of risks, the consumption of alcohol and other illegal drugs is also an increasingly widespread practice among adolescents and with an early onset age, according to some studies, that is around 13 years.

In fact, there is a hypothesis that establishes that the development of consumption occurs in a staggered manner.

First, they start in the consumption of accessible drugs that are legal (for adults) such as alcohol and tobacco and, as time goes by, they take other drugs such as marijuana and hashish, ending with others such as amphetamines, speed, etc.

On occasions, consumption is the result of inadequate management of relationships and leisure time. Therefore, and to avoid precocious consumption, we must offer our young people other leisure alternatives in which they share free time with their group of friends and carry out activities that are satisfactory to them.

Also, we have to show them that the consumption of alcohol and other substances in adulthood must always be done in a responsible way.

There are prevention programs for this type of substances that show young people what the consequences of drug use and abuse are. It is important that these awareness measures are carried out at school.

5- Addictions without substance

We live in a society in which we increasingly depend on mobile phones and other technological devices in our daily lives. This was not going to be less in adolescents and more and more of them suffer from addiction problems to social networks, video games and surfing the Internet.

The Internet is a very powerful tool and offers us endless possibilities. Therefore, it is important to make our young people aware of responsible use.

From a young age, and before the beginning of adolescence, we must alert our minors of all the dangers that exist within the network and promote proper use.

To avoid addiction and for them to enter web pages that promote some type of illegal or harmful behavior for themselves (sects, gangs, eating disorders, pornography, etc.) we have to mark a series of habits and responsible consumption.

For example, mark the time of use so that it does not interfere with your responsibilities and the time at which you must disconnect. Also, that parents can control the history of webs or that they can be seated near them while they are browsing.

6- Reckless attitude

Adolescents suffer from the inability to anticipate the direct consequences of a behavior. Among these behaviors we find the ones we have talked about previously: addictions, unprotected sex, etc.

There are many other practices of which young people can be direct victims, such as gangs, sects and reckless driving, among others.

To avoid the consequences derived from these behaviors and practices, it is important that a family atmosphere is fostered at home in which any topic is discussed and there are no taboos, as we said in the section on sexual relations.

Also, that family relationships promote respect and affection for all members of the family. In short, that relationships are healthy and young people live in a positive context for them.

It is important that they feel understood to favor moments of revelation and trust their parents to tell them who their friends are, what plans they have, what they do in their spare time…

7- Relationship problems

Teens are usually shy and sometimes introverted. All of this makes relationships difficult. Although, in general, they tend to feel understood and integrated by their peer group, but they feel questioned and with little desire to open up to adults and those closest to them.

For these reasons and those discussed above, it is important to create a climate of trust and closeness at home.

It is important to set limits because parents are not colleagues, but they do have to establish the appropriate ties so that there is a healthy and trusting relationship.

8- Low self-esteem and obsession with the body

The adolescent undergoes changes in his whole body, he is in full transition between childhood and adulthood. Try to imitate the canons of beauty that appear in the media and those that are accepted by the circles in which it operates.

Self-esteem depends on our own concept, what we think about ourselves and, in addition, it is influenced by how others treat us and the comments we receive.

Therefore, to promote high self-esteem in our adolescents, we must send them positive messages and encourage them to love themselves for who they are and not for how they would like to be.

It is important to accept oneself with the defects and virtues and to change what really depends on us and that leads us to greater personal satisfaction.

9- Idleness is not the same as leisure

The first of these terms refers to the waste of leisure time. Many adolescents do not know how to properly manage their free time.

For this reason, it is important to explain the difference between having free time and taking advantage of it doing satisfactory activities that contribute to a good psychological state and not wasting them doing nothing.

Taking into account the tastes of the adolescent in particular, we can propose cultural activities that contribute to the enrichment and are beneficial.

These activities should not be imposed because they will perceive it as an obligation and they will not enjoy them, in addition to that they will seem boring and the next time, they will not accept any more suggestions.

10- Gangs and sects

This type of associations and relationships that arise between adolescents have multiple negative consequences and for this reason, it is important to keep our young people well away from these contexts.

These types of institutions are not the same or have the same purpose as the group of friends who get together to enjoy time together. In these cases there are criminal and illegal behaviors, such as drug use and delinquency.

The most introverted and vulnerable kids are cannon fodder for these groups as their leaders know how they can squeeze the most out of them and take advantage of them.

To prevent our young people from associating with these types of organizations, once again, work begins at home, in a context in which relationships are healthy and adolescents have references and support figures.

Also, parents and close relatives should be aware of how their relationships are and if they notice changes in the behavior of minors that may be an indication that something is wrong.

At the slightest sign, it's important to talk to them about what's going on and make the best decision to remove yourself from that context and the damaging relationships that arise.

11- Low academic performance

There can be multiple causes that lead to poor academic performance and, also, will vary in each adolescent. Among them we find: lack of motivation, attention problems, lack of habit or ignorance of study techniques, emotional problems, etc.

This is a problem that affects the entire educational community and, therefore, parents and teachers must work together for the good of the students.

In the educational center, they must motivate students to learn, to internalize new knowledge and that it is not imposed. This way they will perceive it as something negative.

At home, it is important to promote study habits and routines, that is, to have a space to study that is well lit, to establish working hours in which the adolescent will not be interrupted, etc.

Furthermore, communication between teachers and parents is important in case joint intervention or specific action is necessary.

Bibliography

1. Preventing Drug Use among Children and Adolescents (In Brief). National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).
2. Adolescence and its problems (Teresa Pereda).
3. Problems that adolescents can go through (Edith Beatriz Burgos).
4. Development in adolescence. World Health Organization (WHO).