External Stressors that are Unique to adolescents
Stressors are emotions, feelings, and factors that make an individual feel tense and anxious about a particular event or situation (Fahrenkamp and Sato, 2018). They elicit a stress response, which are physical reactions to an event, condition, or feeling that often interfere with a person’s sense of wellbeing. All human beings usually get affected by both internal and external stressors. It is, however, critical to note that despite the availability of various external stressors that the human species has to deal with, most adolescents across the world uniquely get affected by peer pressure and parental expectations.
Teenagers often face a significant amount of pressure from their peers, who usually expect them to look, think, and act, all the time, in a particular predetermined fashion. Their failure to conform to these standards always generates pressure and stress from this group of friends. Parents can equally create tension for their teenage children when they impose higher expectations on them beyond their actual potentials (Deo et al., 2018). The adolescents would automatically feel stressed when they fail to meet the expected standards as predefined by their parents. Unfortunately, the effects of the given stressors are externally propagated, and adolescents cannot stop them.
Ideally, parents should note that imposing unrealistic expectations upon their adolescent teenagers could drive them into risky behaviors such as examination malpractices, forgery, and cheating. Besides, teenagers under the influence of peer pressure would likely take part in illegal practices such as drug abuse and premature sexual behaviors to impress their friends. To cope up with these external stressors, children should be frequently guided and counseled by their teachers and parents (Braun-Lewensohn et al., 2018). They should be reminded over and again the adverse effects of peer pressure and bad company. Essentially, parents should not impose expectations over their adolescent teenagers.
References
Braun-Lewensohn, O., Huss, E., Ganayeim, H., & Al-Said, H. (2018). Bedouin adolescents Are their coping resources stable over time. Stress and Anxiety. Theories and Realities; Moore, KA, Buchwald, P., Eds, 97-105.
Deo, I. R., & Prelow, H. M. (2018). The role of stressors and academic competence in adolescent depression by race. Journal of Adolescent and Family Health, 9(1), 5.
Fahrenkamp, A. J., & Sato, A. F. (2018). Child-specific, maternal, and environmental stressors in the context of adolescent weight outcomes. Children’s Health Care, 47(4), 397-415.