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Adolescence is often referred to as “difficult”. Modern research shows exactly what features of brain development in the transitional period create these difficulties.
Teenagers lack self-control
Research shows that in many “neutral” situations, a teenager can control himself as well as an adult. However, when it comes to emotionally charged situations, problems begin. It is assumed that the excessive activity of the areas of the brain responsible for the interest in new things and the search for pleasure, at this age, is not yet sufficiently balanced by the activity of the prefrontal cortex of the brain, which should provide self-control, but often is not yet sufficiently developed. However, researchers believe that an increased interest in the new in adolescence may have its advantages – helping to “find yourself” and gain independence from the family.1.
Pass the tests
- How do you get through your child’s adolescence?
Teenagers are risk-averse
Although adolescents differ from small children in strength, health and greater maturity, they die almost twice as often. American researchers conducted an experiment in which 65 volunteers aged 12 to 50 participated. The subjects were offered a choice: they could be guaranteed to receive a small amount of money, or they could risk and get a chance to win more, but in case of a loss, they could receive nothing at all. Interestingly, adolescents were often even more cautious than adults – but only when the degree of risk was precisely known. When the odds of winning and losing were completely unknown, teenagers were willing to take risks. It seems that the reasons for this, again, lie in an underdeveloped prefrontal cortex, an increased interest in everything new and a lack of fear of the unknown. Scientists note that informing teenagers about the specific risks of certain hazardous activities can help prevent many accidents.2.
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- For teenagers, parental authority is very important.
Teenagers are chronically sleep deprived
Experts believe that young people in adolescence have an increased need for sleep – they need 8-10 hours of rest, while most adults need 7-9 hours. In addition, adolescents tend to have shifted circadian rhythms that regulate their sleep/wake cycles, making it more natural for them to go to bed late and wake up later, which is not consistent with early school start (although, in light of these studies, some schools in the US and other countries postponed the first lessons to a later time). Because of this, many young people constantly go sleepy.3.
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- Now sex is everywhere, but teenagers still don’t know anything about it
Teenagers find it difficult to recognize other people’s emotions
Studies show that because of the same underdeveloped prefrontal cortex, the teen brain more often uses the limbic system to recognize the emotions of other people.4.
In one experiment, people of different ages were shown a photograph of a person and asked to determine what emotions their face expressed. All adults correctly identified that the person’s face expressed fear, but about half of the teenagers were wrong. The limbic system is worse at recognizing emotions than the prefrontal cortex. It can also cause strong emotional reactions, so that teenagers often not only misunderstand what emotions the other person is experiencing, but also overreact to them.
1 В. Casey «The Teenage Brain: Self Control», Current directions in psychological science, Vol. 22 No.2, 2013
2 A. Tymula et al. «Adolescents’ risk-taking behavior is driven by tolerance to ambiguity», PNAS, Vol. 109 No. 42, October 2012.
3 M. Carskadon et al. «An approach to studying circadian rhythms of adolescent humans», Journal of Biological Rhythms, October 1997.
4 H. Marusak et al. «The stimuli drive the response: an fMRI study of youth processing adult or child emotional face stimuli», Neuroimage, December 2013.