–
Although the brain stops growing by early adolescence, the teen years are all about fine-tuning how the brain works and lying down new pathways.
The brain finishes developing and maturing mid-to-late 20s. The part of the brain behind the forehead, called the prefrontal cortex, is one of the last parts to mature in to the adult brain around 30 yeas old.
This area is responsible for skills like planning, prioritizing, and making good decisions.
Changes to the areas of the brain responsible for social processes can lead teens to focus more on peer relationships and social experiences.
The emphasis on peer relationships, along with ongoing prefrontal cortex development, might lead teens to take more risks because the social benefits outweigh the possible consequences of a decision.
Based on the stage of their brain development, adolescents are more likely to:
- Act on impulse
- Misread or misinterpret social cues and emotions.
- Get into accidents of all kinds.
- Get involved in fights.
- Engage in dangerous or risky behaviour.
- Think before they act.
- Pause to consider the consequences of their actions.
- Start dangerous or inappropriate behaviours.
- Develop unhealthy changes in sleep pattens.
Psychological / Emotional Difficulties:
- New onset of guilt
- Changes in energy level
- Changes in concentration or task completion
- Changes in appetite
- Changes in motivation
- Thoughts of self-harm / suicide
- Generalized anxiety—Excessive worry about everyday matters.
- Social phobias—Severe feelings of self-consciousness and insecurity in social settings.
- Depression—Persistent feelings of sadness, anxiety, and/or emptiness