FALLING IN LOVE IN ADOLESCENCE: CAUSES, CONSEQUENCES - PSYCHOLOGY - 2024

The infatuation in adolescence differs somewhat from the feelings experienced during adulthood. Although the emotions felt are similar, the phase of life in which they occur, external circumstances and ways of seeing the world modify the experience until their independent study is necessary.

The National Association for the Study of Adolescent Health, in the United States, found that more than 80% of young people aged 14 and over had been involved in romantic relationships. A small number of them had even done it with same-sex couples (approximately 3% of those surveyed).

Despite the fact that most of these relationships had not been very long-lasting, the fact that it is something so common tells us that it is a phenomenon whose study is important. In this article we will see what are the latest data collected on the subject of falling in love in adolescence.

Causes

Once a person enters puberty, both his body and mind begin to undergo a great series of changes. Most of them are related to the entrance of the person in the reproductive phase of her life, reason why in this stage the sexual and romantic aspect takes on a great importance.

On the other hand, the social world in which adolescents are involved is also very different from what they have experienced during childhood.

Therefore, social and biological factors combine during puberty to configure how these people experience falling in love.

Biological factors

The first thing we have to understand is what role falling in love plays in people's lives. At the biological level, this process is essential for the formation of stable couples long enough for the conception and raising of a child to occur.

Despite the fact that this goal no longer makes sense in the modern world, our brain does not know it, and therefore it makes us experience the same emotions that our first ancestors felt. This makes falling in love occur extremely similar in all people.

Because the main objective of this set of emotions is to promote the birth of a child, the person in love feels certain impulses:

- Desire to be with the loved one constantly.

- Increased desire and sexual activity.

- Despair when losing the partner due to a breakup.

During adolescence, all of these urges are much stronger than in adult life, because younger people have not yet learned to control them. This is one of the reasons why falling in love in adolescence can be such an intense experience.

Social factors

In addition to biological causes, falling in love also has to do with a series of social pressures that push adolescents to feel this emotion especially strongly.

Due to influences such as romantic movies, popular music or love novels, young people have a series of preconceptions about how relationships and love should be. These expectations are nuanced with age, but in adolescence they are tremendously powerful.

Here are some of the most common beliefs about falling in love in adolescence.

Confusion of love with infatuation

According to the latest studies, true love can only emerge in the course of a relationship of more than six months, during which the two people interact constantly.

However, the youngest believe that true infatuation occurs even before starting a relationship, when in reality what is happening is that they have entered a phase known as infatuation or "limerence."

Vision of love as a solution to problems

Adolescents often believe that a relationship can help them solve all kinds of problems. From social isolation to depression, love appears as a kind of magical elixir that will make you instantly happy.

Overestimation of feelings

Because adolescent love is nothing like the emotions experienced so far, it can be experienced much more intensely than in adult life.

Therefore, during puberty relationships take on greater importance, in addition to giving much more weight to elements such as breakups, infidelities or jealousy.

Processes

The emergence of falling in love in adolescence follows a series of steps common to most relationships. Next we will see the most important ones.

Sexual and sentimental attraction

Due to the hormonal and social changes they experience, adolescents begin to feel attracted to members of the opposite sex (or in the case of homosexuals, their own).

This attraction, at first, is based almost entirely on sexual attraction, although sometimes emotions such as attachment or affection can also be involved.

Idealization

Because the feelings experienced are so intense, during adolescence one tends to see the person they love as perfect, as if they were the only one suitable to form a relationship with. This idealized view of the other in general incapacitates the person from really getting to know them.

Unsafety

In adolescence, the couple has a great power over their own feelings due to the lack of emotional control. For this reason, relationships in general carry a more or less high degree of insecurity.

This insecurity can translate into attempts to control the other, jealousy, low self-esteem or simply mistrust towards the partner.

Consequences

Due to the intensity with which falling in love is experienced in adolescence, most young people who experience it carry out a series of actions and feel specific emotions that can harm them to a greater or lesser extent.

Among the most dangerous consequences are violence within the couple, unwanted pregnancies, depression after a breakup or social isolation.

Researchers continue to investigate the best ways to avoid these negative consequences of falling in love in adolescence.

References

1. "Adolescence and falling in love" in: Psychology Today. Retrieved on: April 30, 2018 from Psychology Today: psychologytoday.com.
2. "Teenagers in love" in: The Psychologist. Retrieved on: April 30, 2018 from The Psychologist: thepsychologist.bps.org.uk.
3. "Teenagers in love" in: Psychology Today. Retrieved on: April 30, 2018 from Psychology Today: psychologytoday.com.
4. "Young Love: The Good, the Bad and the Educational" in: The New York Times. Retrieved on: April 30, 2018 from The New York Times: nytimes.com.
5. "Love and Romance" in: Kids Health. Retrieved on: April 30, 2018 from Kids Health: kidshealth.org.