July 15, 2011

Adolescents

Adolescents are individuals, either man or women, who are in the middle of a transition period between childhood and adult.According to the World Health Organization (WHO) classification, the age of this group is between 10 to 19 years old, whereas the United Nation Children's Fund (UNICEF) says that youth is between 15 nad 24 (the term of "young people" refers itself to the composite age group of 10-24 years).Compared to other stages of the life cycle, adolescent is the most complex period for individuals as it is the period of psychological transition between childhood adn adulthood. Adolescent boundaries are less well-defined than puberty ones as it refers more to the whole psychosocial adolescent development. Puberty itself could be defined as the process of physical changes and sexual maturation by which a child's body becomes an adult body capable of reproduction. Besides these enormous physical changes, adolescent also experience emotional/psychological changes that clearly appear in their attitudes and behaviors. Most of the time adolescent refuse to be called "children", but they also can not be considered as "adults" as they are going through a transition period. It also means that adolescents may no longer benefit frm the attention and care that usually goes to children, but they may not get the protections associated with being an adult either.

Things have now changed. Adolescent are currently more and more involved in risk behaviors, due to several underlying causes like poverty of families (some adolescents can not attend school and have to work), rapid social changes or media influence. This complicated and competitive situation make them strunggle for life. At the same time, we should not forget that adolescent period is fragile and that young people are vulnerable, especially young girls. Moreover, influences (positive or negative) outside the family ones become increasingly important. All these reasons are the leading causes of adolescents risky behaviors, which manly are:
  • Risky sexual behavior which consequences are sexual transmitted diseases or early/at-rsik pregnancies
  • drug abuse (tobacco and other subtances)
  • accidents, injuries
  • violence



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