Yirah Kaminer and Oscar G. Bukstein (eds): Adolescent Substance Abuse: Psychiatric Co-morbidity and High Risk Behavior

Excerpt

Adolescence generally has been described as a developmental period of transition, one in which the child becomes an adult in all aspects. Adolescence usually is defined as the period in a person’s life from ages 13 to 21; on the average, physical growth ceases at 21. However, research findings show that the person continues to develop neurologically until the 25th year, with the brain becoming more efficient in its neuronal connections. The adolescent undergoes massive physical changes brought upon by hormonal cascades. The child goes from the “cocoon” of elementary school—where one teacher monitors academic-related behaviors—to middle and high schools where the adolescent is required to become more autonomous and responsible with homework, studying, and complying with the more complicated rules of the school regarding language used, dress, timeliness, and extra-curricular activities. The adolescent’s task is to become less emotionally dependent on his or her parents, and more reliant on peers and age-appropriate cohorts. In adolescence, the person now wants control, develops his/her opinions, becomes more logical in thinking and “has a mind of his or her own.” Adolescence can be a time of passion, energy, creativity, spontaneity, and fun. …