The ‘Unrevealed’ Adolescent Mind Sailesh Gupta, Mumbai Secretary General, IAP

Agam’s regret  Agam - a car thief, at 15  Went to Jail at 16  Emerged 6 mo later and knocked down a pedestrian with a stolen vehicle  Jailed for 7 years.  Emerged from Jail at 25, ‘criminalized’  Shot fatally while getting away from a bank heist  He wondered as he lay dying, why did I cultivate such friends in life ? !

Sasha’s lament  Born in a conservative family  Found college life exciting  Eloped with neighbor, 10 years her senior  Disowned by family  Was an unwed mother at 17  Soon abandoned by her man  Landed up in a bar as dancer  Her child died at 6 mo from dehydration  Alone, she cried aloud, what have I done to my life ?

A Typical Adolescent  Peak of physical development  Sexual urge  Need for independence and self expression  Impulsiveness  Immature self control  Self consciousness  Desire for peer acceptance  Idealism, depression, suicidal tendency  Anxiety about life goals  Sleep deprived  Risky behaviors  Substance abuse  Antisocial activities  Emotional vulnerability

Why are Teens a puzzle ?

Development of the Adolescent Mind  Striking changes in human brain during adolescence  Grey matter of childhood brain thins out in adolescence  Synapses are pruned away and refined  Myelination increases: speed of neuronal transmission increases  Various brain structures mature differentially  Complete maturation is achieved around age 25  Brain development affected by genetics, hormones, environment, experiences, drugs

Differential brain maturation in adolescence  Lower brain structures, the amygdala, very active (heightened emotions and impulsiveness, reward systems well developed)  Higher centers, the frontal lobe and prefrontal cortex, still maturing (self control, abstract thought) (Neurological Gap !)  Experience + environment + genetic programming = brain maturation = future abilities + behavior  Adolescent brain literally shaped by experiences

Clinical Application

Adolescent brain development explains clinical behavior  Reward chasing behavior with disregard for risks and consequences  Differential development of brain structures = exploratory behavior, experimentation with tobacco, alcohol, illegal substances, addictions, risky sex, mental illness, depression, delinquency  Keenness to learn, excel, acquire, and lead  Emotions overrule logic; errors of judgment  Psychoactive substance abuse alters neurotransmitter action = sense of reward, habit formation, addiction, and dependence; over time, blunts perception of rewards of social interactions

The Paradox of Adolescence  Sharpened ability to imbibe and learn  Right learning (language, music, the arts etc.) causes long term potentiation  Girls brains mature faster than boys = ready for challenges at earlier ages VS.  Brain vulnerable to external stimuli, like alcohol, drugs, and traumatic experiences  Sleep deprivation = poor cognition, bad performance, anger, depression, delinquency  Sensory overload prevents focused learning, impairs concentration and long term memory

Teen Parenting

Knowledge Utilized for Parenting of Adolescents  Critical Period of development – need reassurance and emotional support  Blossoming brain – help the teen ‘use’ and not ‘lose’ the opportunity to shape it  Duality of adolescent thought – accept it and guide it  Self centered – I am the Universe  Teen tantrums – not a personal affront to parents; be calm

Knowledge Utilized for Parenting of Adolescents  Intense emotions – good intentions are misunderstood  Not enough sleep – affects cognition  Peer pressure, peer pleasure – ‘fitting in’ vs. learning new skills  Risk taking – involved parenting; limit the risks  Parents are important – be good listeners, stress busters, role models

A Peep for Parents into the ‘unrevealed’ adolescent mind

5 Secrets for Parents  SECRET 1 – Teens want PARENTS to KNOW them  SECRET 2 – Teens need outlets for EMOTIONS  SECRET 3 – Teens like practical and SOCIAL aspects of institutions  SECRET 4 – Teens have POOR TIME MANAGEMENT skills  SECRET 5 - PEER pressure can TROUBLE teens

Parents are More Relevant than Peers PARENTS CAN UNIQUELY OFFER TO A TEEN –  Unconditional Acceptance  A sense of Personal worth  Wisdom of the World  Experience of all years lived  Quality Time

What do Teens really want ?

2013 list of Teen wishes reveal the adolescent mind  Hate Justin Bieber on social networking  Becoming Tumblr famous (collecting crazy pictures)  Smoking cigarettes  Idolizing Miley Cyrus  Carrying iPhone to school  Online pornography  Instagramming pictures  Blogging  Accusing parents of being ‘uncool’  Uploading videos of themselves doing mundane things  Waiting for release of album of favorite music group  Adding likes on social networking  Ordering sex toys online

Parting Thought  Considering that development of adolescent brain continues until the age of 25, maybe we need to have separate prisons for the young adult group (18 to 25 years old), away from the world of mature adults