Category: Adolescence

Adolescence is the time period between ages ten to nineteen where in many of our lives we begin to look to our parents for advice about our future as well as build new stronger connections with peers whom we depend upon. In J.D. Salinger’s famous novel The Catcher in the Rye the main character, Holden Caulfield, our 17 year old narrator who’s telling the readers about a series of events that happened in his life when he was 16 years old. However, Holden does not experience the typical psychological development standards of a regular adolescent. Unlike most individuals experiencing adolescents who develop socially and cognitively Holden seems to be entrapped in a static state of mental and cognitive instability.

It is very common for most individuals during adolescence to look to their parents for help and advice on which direction they should navigate their lives. This demonstrates a large amount of cognitive development (Eccles, Midgley,Wigfield et al.,1993) which is not found in Holden, who insists on only depending on himself and his views of life rather than respected and trustworthy individuals in his life who are attempting to help him. Holden’s behaviour is demonstrated in pages 17 and 18 of the Catcher in the Rye when Holden has a conversation with Old Spencer, one of his old teachers, regarding whether Holden has any concern for his future. Holden responds to this by saying “Not too much, I guess. Not too much, I guess” (Salinger 17-18) which leads Old Spencer to respond to Holden in a concerned fashion and saying, “You will boy. You will when it’s too late” (17-18). Which makes Holden uncomfortable and unhappy. Through this interaction between Old Spencer and Holden it becomes clear that Holden has a plantain disregard for the advice of a concerned and respected individual in his life. Holden’s lack of cognitive development is revealed due to how Holden refuses any form of guidance from a caring person in his life which is an essential part of experiencing a healthy form of psychological development. In addition to that, Holden’s abnormal behaviour is once again demonstrated when he leaves Pencey Prep and arrives at Penn station contemplating whether or not to call his younger sister. He realizes though that it is late at night which indicates that his sister is likely asleep which causes Holden to make the statement that ‘‘The trouble was, she wouldn’t have been the one that answered the phone. My parents would be the ones. So that was out” (66). This instance in the novel is when Holden arrives to Manhattan which is only a few miles away from where his family lives. He continues to refuse to make any contact with his parents; his limited cognitive development is clearly illustrated by his refusal to contact his parents and reach out for help regardless of his young age and being alone in a large municipal city. Holden, unlike most adolescents, does not look for the guidance of his parents or any experienced adults. In conclusion, through Holden’s interaction with Old Spencer and his lack of interaction with his parents, where in both situations he does not seek guidance provided by caring individuals in his life, Holden’s cognitive limitations are clearly evident due to his lack of interest in advice or help from any adults which is something most adolescents seek which further proves that Holden did not a typical adolescent.

During the period of adolescence most individuals look to make strong bonds with peers and friends which shows social development during the period of adolescence (O’koon,1997). Unlike most adolescents, Holden does not fit the norm of being socially developed because he does not look to make strong bonds with friends, but rather he is simply satisfied with having any company which he eventually manages to drive away. One instance in which his behaviour is exemplified is when he was describing his roommate who he described by saying “I just see the big phony bastard shifting into first gear and asking Jesus to send him a few more stiffs” (Salinger 20). Through Holden’s description of his roommate as fake or someone who puts up a facade Holden’s lack of social development is clearly illustrated. Holden is incapable of making lovable friends even with people extremely close to him such as a roommate who a regular socially developed adolescent could likely do with ease. Overall, the typical behaviour of a socially developed adolescent would include making friends, and Holden’s incapability of doing that even with someone as close as a roommate reveals Holden’s lack of social development through how he does not have lovable friends and strong bonds with others.

Some individuals and critics of Salinger’s novel may make the argument that Holden was not an irregular or an abnormal adolescent who is incapable of making social connections, but rather he is an observant figure in society who is aware of the conditions of society. This claim may seem to be logical in “Resistance as madness in The Catcher in the Rye” by Sorour Karampour Dashti and Ida Baizura Binti Bahar which makes the claim that “Holden is not a madman but he is a social observant figure. Like a sociologist, Holden scrutinizes the society and he is aware of the impending danger of losing a genuine idea and intellect that results in losing individuality and authenticity” (Sorour Karampour Dashti and Ida Baizura Binti Bahar 2015). Although the concept and argument that Holden is not unstable, but rather he is an observer of the unstable and fake society may seem logical, it is not because throughout the novel most of the individuals who Holden interacts with he dismisses and refuses to acknowledge any help they are showing. This doesn’t even give him the chance to truly observe each individual. Holden’s limited social and cognitive growth as an adolescent member of society clearly reveals that the issues that arise in the novel are not due to society or how fake it may be but rather due to Holden’s unstable state.

To conclude, adolescence is an important stage in an individual’s life, where there are a myriad of essential experiences such as looking for help and guidance from people you trust in your life which shows cognitive development as well as the experience of creating strong bonds with peers showing that an individual has socially developed as an adolescent individual. In J.D. Salinger’s famous novel The Catcher in the Rye the main character, Holden, who narrates a story that happened to him at age sixteen where it is clearly highlighted that he did not experience a normal adolescence through how he showed extreme disregard towards any advice or guidance that was given to him by individuals which were concerned about him such as Old Spencer and his parents which he does not contact entirely showing that he is not cognitively developed as a normal adolescent would be as well as how he is incapable of making friends and strong bonds even with individuals close to him like his roommate which shows his abnormal psychological development as an adolescent.

First of all, the investigator feels privileged to have the opportunity to express deep appreciation and sincere thanks to the District education officer for accepting and making necessary arrangement for co-ordination with government schools for research study as well as giving official permission letter to conduct study from different government schools of Kathmandu.

The researcher would like to express Prof. Dr. Sarala Shrestha for supportive suggestion, direction, encouragement, and continuous guidance for the research. Researcher would like to express sincere thanks to the Library department of National Health Research council, library management team of Mahrajgunj nursing campus, Bir hospital Nursing campus, Padmakanaya Multiple campus for providing all the necessary material/ journals, articles and brochures related to this topic.

The investigator would like to thanks to the principals of Janapath school, Gyanodaya school and Bijay memorial school for accepting and making necessary arrangements for smooth research study in their schools for data collection.

The researcher would like to express humblest thanks to all the respondents for their valuable time and information without which this research couldn’t be happened. Vote of thanks also goes to Ms. Bidhya Bajrcharya for validating Nepali version of the tool, Ms. Usha Acharya for English language proof reading of this research and Mr. Nirmal Duwadi for guiding through all the statics related to the research.

At last but not least, investigator would like to express gratitude to all the people who have helped directly or indirectly to complete this research.Introduction: Adolescence is a transitional period of developing autonomy for adulthood. During the period of development of autonomy adolescents may come with conflict with their parental norms and advices. Therefore, this study was conducted with purpose of finding out the major issues of conflict experienced by adolescents with their parents.

Methodology

Descriptive research design was conducted. The study population was adolescents period students from selected public schools in Kathmandu. Convenient sampling technique was used to select 123 students from 9,10. Interview method was used to collect data by using semi structured questionnaire, interview schedule including 7 issues of conflict related statements in Likert scale.

Results

Autonomy( 52.8%) was major issues of conflict between parents and adolescents followed by disciplinary issues ( 41.2%) and the family rules/ regulations and obligation (36.5%).

There was a significant association of adolescents’ sex with the autonomy issue of conflict (p- value 0.014) with female adolescents facing more conflict with parents (64.2%) in autonomy issues than male adolescents (41.3%). There was an association of adolescents’ sex with academic issue as well (p-value 0.0) and conversational issues (p-value 0.0) of conflict. Girl (54.7%) faced more conflict with parents in academic issues than boys (12.7%). Equally, girls (24.5%) faced more conflict with parents in conversational way than that of boys(1.6%)

Regarding household chores issues with parental age , the adolescents having younger father (48.0%) had more conflict than that of older aged father( 22.1%). Similarly, with younger aged mother ( 43.5%) had more conflict than that of aged mother (15.6%). The results also showed that more adolescents faced conflict with their mother (69.8%) than with their father (30.2%).

Conclusion

Adolescents faced conflict in all issues during their adolescence period. However, autonomy was the major issues among all, which is followed by disciplinary issue and rule/regulation and obligation issue. This also showed that female adolescents faced more issue than that of their peer male adolescents. And they faced issue more with their mother rather than father.

References

1. Saxena R, Srivastav N , naithani R, Disagreements in parent-adoloscent relationship: a comparision in middle class families and lower class families. Stud Home Com Sci. 2015; 5(2); 99-104
2. Shibeshi HZ. Sources of Conflict between parents and adolescents: in Dejach Belay Zelkey Secondary School. 2015: Unpublished master thesis ; Addis Ababa University.
3. Ghai OP. Essential Pediatrics Nursing Ed 1st Hockenberry MJ, Wilson D JA, Editor Elsevier; 2015; 397-404
4. Allison BN. Parent- adolescents conflict in early adolescence : research and implications for middle school programs. J Fam Sci Educ. 2000;18(2);1-6 Available from: http://natefacs.org/pages/v18no2/v18no2Allison.pdf
5. De Goede IHA, Branje Sjt, Meeus WHJ. Developmental Changes in Adolescents’ Perceptions of Relationships with Their Parents 2009;38(1):75-88 Available from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10964-008-9286-7

INTRODUCTION

Adolescence is a time of major transition that bridges the gap between childhood and adulthood. This developmental stage is marked by significant biosocial, cognitive and psychosocial development that can make the teenage years incredibly that can make the teenage years incredibly challenging.

This presentation categorize these developmental stages as relevant to parents, healthcare providers and teachers. Adolescence is divided into three periods; early (ages 12-14), middle (ages 15-17) and late (ages 18-21). Some teens will develop faster in one task than others. Some go through the stages smoothly while others do so with lots of turmoil. Of course, no one goes through adolescence exactly as the model may suggest.

BIOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

PARENTS

Nutritional requirements during adolescence include a need for additional calories and about 50% more calcium, iron, and zinc than prior to the growth spurt. During puberty, oil, sweat, and odor glands become more active, producing acne in approximately 90% of boys and 80% of girls and a need for deodorant in most. A daughter’s age of menarche ( first menstrual period) correlates with her mother’s age of menarche.

HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS

Because of menstruation, adolescent females also need additional iron in their diets and are more likely to suffer from iron-deficiency anemia. Internal organs grow, including the lungs, which triple in weight, and the heart, which doubles in size and slows in rate. These changes give the adolescent increased physical endurance.

The lymphoid system, including the tonsils and adenoids, decrease in size, making teenagers < susceptible than children to respiratory ailments. Most experts agree that it is less traumatic if one goes through puberty at about the time as one’s closest friends.

TEACHERS

Between ages of 10 & 14, the average girl gains about 38 lbs. & grows 9 5/8 inches. Typical boy gains about 42 lbs. and grows 10 inches between ages 12 & 16. Growth spurt proceeds from extremities to trunk, making adolescents temporarily big footed, long-legged, & short-waisted.

As they mature, they become increasingly dissatisfied with their bodies, especially the girls, some develop anorexia or bulemia. Menarche is also related to body weight with most girls having their first menarche about the time they reach 100 lbs. Stocky children tend to experience puberty earlier than those with taller, thinner builds. Average age of puberty onset varies among nations & ethnic groups.

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

PARENTS

The early adolescent begins to question authority and society standards. The early adolescent begins to form and verbalize his or her own thoughts and views on a variety of topics, usually more related to his or her own life, such as: What parental rules should be changed, personal hygiene, cloths and dressing should be changed. The middle adolescent thinks about and begins to form his or her own code of ethics (for example, What do I think is right?). The middle adolescent thinks about different possibilities and begins to develop own identity (for example, Who am I?).

The middle adolescent thinks about and begins to systematically consider possible future goals (for example, What do I want?). The late adolescent begins to focus thinking on making career decisions. The late adolescent begins to focus thinking on emerging role in adult society.

HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS

Has some experience in using more complex thinking processes with expansion in thinking to include more philosophical and futuristic concerns. Invincibility fable – immune to common dangers. Imaginary audience — fantasy about how others will react to their appearance & behavior The late adolescent may debate and develop intolerance of opposing views. Healthy environments and good nutrition are important for brain growth and development at this stage of development.

TEACHERS

The early adolescent begins to demonstrate use of formal logical operations in schoolwork. The early adolescent begins to question authority and society standards. The early adolescent begins to form and verbalize his or her own thoughts and views on a variety of topics, usually more related to his or her own life, such as: Which sports are better to play, Which groups are better to be included in, What personal appearances are desirable or attractive.

The middle adolescent often questions and analyzes more extensively. The middle adolescent thinks about and begins to make his or her own plans. The middle adolescent begins to think long-term. The middle adolescent’s use of systematic thinking begins to influence relationships with others. The late adolescent has increased thoughts about more global concepts such as justice, history, politics, and patriotism.

PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

PARENTS

Early adolescents begin to pull away from their parents and show less interest in family activities. Early adolescents are often moody, alternating between being pleasant and nasty toward their families. Early adolescents are mainly antagonistic towards the most ‘controlling“ parents. The parent-adolescent interaction is more on an adult-adult level. At middle adolescents, taking care of issues such as acne or unwanted hair (e.g., eyebrows) becomes paramount. Weightlifting and dieting become important as well. Middle adolescents may share intense personal relationships with the group.

Being ‘normal’ is a huge concern to early adolescents and leads to constant comparisons to others. The limited ability to think abstractly makes it hard for a teen to see another’s point of view and also makes compromise difficult. Lack of abstract thinking also encourages feelings of invulnerability. The values and morals of the early adolescent are those of the parents. As they attempt to pull away from the family and move closer to peers, teens’ values mirror those of their friends.

Usually by the end of adolescence, the teens’ morals and values come back in line with those of their family.

HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS

Gender is more than biological but it comes a lot from the socialization of adolescents are expected to fulfill. Though many exciting changes occur during this period, teens also face several risk factors, such as depression, suicide, and drugs. Teens experience growth in their relationships, not only with their parents and peers but also with romantic partners. Healthcare providers/ physician should take into account this move toward independence and help parents appropriately give the teen responsibility for medical care.

Failing to recognize this move towards independence makes the physician prone to appearing as an ‘agent of the parent’ and may make it more difficult to gain the confidence of the teen.

Most early adolescents are not sure what to think of the changes in their body and accompanying hygienic responsibilities. Body odor, axillary hair, acne and menstrual cramps are not exactly thrilling. With the gain in confidence comes increased interest in the opposite sex as a result of hormonal changes production. This is often the onset of dating and the development of skills and behaviors related to sexual relationships. By late adolescence, teens are comfortable with the changes in their body. Pelvic exams or hernia checks are not as stressful.

Many adolescents are now ready to deal with issues such as birth control. Sexual relationships become less exploring and exploitative and more loving and sharing. A useful strategy for providers is to ask about the risk behaviors of the teen’s friends, since teens are often more comfortable sharing information about friends than about themselves. This enables the physician to explore the adolescent’s feelings and knowledge of risk behaviors. Teens believe that nothing bad will happen to them no matter what. They trust that they can have sex, use drugs, smoke, or drive recklessly without consequence.

TEACHERS

Usually, the teen is mainly antagonistic towards the most ‘controlling’ teachers, peers and authorities. Early adolescents crave privacy and desire to control their personal information as they carve out a life separate from that of their parents. Adolescents become aware of their physical development and the fact that it portends adulthood.

Middle adolescents are more at ease with the changes and want to make the most of their ‘new’ body. Clothing, jewelry and makeup become big with this group. Peers become extremely important during adolescence as they pull away from their family and relates more outside with their peers.

Early adolescents are not strong enough to stand on their own and they turn to their peers for guidance and support. By mid-adolescence, the peer group exerts a huge influence over the teen. By late adolescence, peer groups do not demand the same level of conformity. It is all right to attend a party and not drink when others are drinking. Individuality is more acceptable. Identity development includes the emergence of abstract reasoning along with personal values and morals.

REFERENCE

1. Biosocial Development in Adolescence. (n.d.). Retrieved July 19, 2019, from Liberty University – Course Apps website: https://www.liberty.edu/courseapps/book/psychology- 201/module-5/section-1-title/introduction/
2. Adolescence: Biosocial Development. (n.d.). 9. https://www.austincc.edu/dgran/Adolescence.pdf
3. Stanford Children’s Health. (n.d.). Retrieved July 19, 2019, from https://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=cognitive-development-90-P01594
4. Psychosocial Development. (n.d.). Retrieved July 19, 2019, from https://www.utmb.edu/pedi_ed/CoreV2/Adolescent/Adolescent5.html
5. https://www.liberty.edu/courseapps/book/psychology-201/module-5/section-1-title/introduction/
6. https://www.austincc.edu/dgran/Adolescence.pdf
7. https://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=cognitive-development-90-P01594
8. https://www.utmb.edu/pedi_ed/CoreV2/Adolescent/Adolescent5.html

Physical development

Physical development contributes a major part in overall adolescent development. During this development there are many different milestones adolescents will reach which can greatly impact (them). All adolescents develop differently and accordingly to their own body’s timetable which can be a source of discomfort and difficulty that can lead to self-consciousness regarding personal maturity (American Addiction Centers, 2015). One of the first physical milestone changes for both boys and girls alike is a growth spurt. For girls this growth spirt usually occurs between the ages of 10-13 and for boys slightly later between 12-15 when they will usually overtake and become taller than their female peers (Boundless, 2017). During this time adolescents can often feel awkward and uncoordinated as these rapid changes in height and unproportional growth can make their bodies feel unfamiliar.

Besides the growth spurt and significant changes in height adolescents will also experience large changes is body composition and shape (Healthwise Staff, 2018). For males this involves muscle mass greatly increasing and developing far faster than before because on increased amounts of hormones such as testosterone in their systems. During this development males’ shoulders broaden and taper more towards the waste forming the familiar triangular frame. For female adolescents this stage of development also involves increases in muscle mass but also additional body fat increases. This extra fat is deposited on the hips, buttocks and chest to transform girls’ straight lines square bodies into the recognisable hour glass shape of older females (American Addiction Centers, 2015).

During these big changes in development it is common for teens to fell uncomfortable and lack self-confidence. In the case of female changes often adolescents are no emotionally prepared for the increased sexual admiration of their changing bodies (American Addiction Centers, 2015). Whereas, adolescent males are less likely to experience this because physical competence in admired and respected in males. Overall physical development plays a massive part in adolescent development as it is when teens begin to mature and display recognisable adult features.

Cognitive development

Cognitive development is the growth of an adolescence ability to think and reason. According to Piaget’s Cognitive development theory, during adolescent teens enter the formal operations stage of cognition (Cherry, 2019). This stage of development consists of increases in logic as well as the ability to understand abstract ideas and use deductive reasoning.

As adolescents begin to experience these increases in abilities and reach new cognitive milestones they are able to better understand the world around them and think about the future (Stanford Children’s Health, 2019). Increases in the ability to reason enable teens to begin making educated guesses and differentiate fiction from fact. Along with this adolescence also begin to better understand the consequences their actions will have today, tomorrow and in the future (Ginsburg, 2018). These developmental milestones allow adolescence to begin to imagine and solve hypothetical situations and create future goals which they can working towards. These milestones allow adolesces to begin to make important career decisions, apply their ideologies to complex situations and ideas and develop their own identities (Morin, 2014).

The development of an adolescent’s identity though their cognitive development links directly to the identity vs role confusion psychosocial development stage (Cherry, 2019). This is because teens can often find it confusing how they are supposed to reach the future goals and careers they are now thinking about and often question “who am I?” (Ginsburg, 2018). FINISH THIS SUM UP

Psychosocial development

As teens progress into adolescence, they embark on a process of finding out who they are, passing though many milestones along the way. Developmental psychologist Erik Erikson suggests as adolescents enter this process, they also enter what he calls the firth stage of psychosocial development, identity vs role confusion (McLeod, 2018). During this identity vs role confusion stage adolescence experience many exciting changes such as growth in relationships regarding parents, peers and romantic partners alike as well as changing views and overall comfort with their body image (Rupp, 2019). However, there are also risk factors such as how teens overcome identity confusion and foreclosure (Liberty.edu).

James Marcia is another well knows developmental psychologist who built on Erikson’s original theory identifying four different ways teens work though the identity crisis milestones: Identity confusion, foreclosure, moratorium and identity achievement (Learning Theories, 2019). Identity confusion is often one of the first hurdles, it revolves around a teens impeded abilities to form close relationships and their involvement in meaningful activities, which can lead to social withdrawal. The second, foreclosure is when adolescence adopt their peers values and social norms to attempt to avoid confusion. The stage of moratorium occurs in the later teen years giving adolescents a break from identity confusion as they begin to enter the workforce or tertiary education (Liberty.edu). This signifies adolescents are properly developing though these milestone stages and moving towards identity achievement. Once an adolescent has been though the psychosocial milestone stages they will have accomplished independence, body image, relationships and identity (Learning Theories, 2019).

Introduction

Television needs to be taken away from adolescents as soon as possible. Adolescents are being sucked into television and they don’t want to be disturbed by anyone. Young children are staring to get the hand of staying up watching TV as well and we need to stop that before it is too late.

All the time that is being wasted on watching television is taking away time from all the important things like, family time, school, social development, work, playing outside with friends, and many other things. Not only does it take time away from the real important things in life but, it also may be influencing kids and giving them information that may not be a hundred percent appropriate for children or adolescents to be watching or paying attention to. Most of the young watchers are being affected in some kind of way for example, most of them are getting bad grades in school, they aren’t talking as much, and they can even stop telling the difference between real and non-real patterns.There has even been some cases where kids have gone to the doctor because they have a severe headache or their vision is not as good as it used to be. This might be because of the amount of hours they have spent in front of a television.

In addition, television is slowly taking over,and kids are replacing reading with watching TV. This isn’t really good because reading needs so much more thinking that will help kids to improve their brain and their way of thinking unlike watching TV. There is reports showing evidence that kids who watch television most of the time instead of reading, are not doing that well when it comes to their brain developing. It isn’t as fast and improved as if they were to show the evidence of a kid who reads most of the time. Another way that teen viewers are being affected mentally is that because, they are so used to watching violent subjects on television, they might have nightmares when they watch the news or something related to their television pick.

Conclusion

I believe that if parents would spend more time with their children out,reading , and doing different activities everyday , it can help with their brain development . Kids who suffer from overweight can also get off the television, go outside,exercise and be active, they will have a much better and healthier life than what they had when they were witting at home watching television all day eating snacks.There is clubs available where adolescents are together reading, exercising, doing fun activities to help each other and not go back to being stuck at home not doing anything good for their health. Also back to parents spending more time with their kids, it would be perfect for them to go to amusement parks as well. They have these beautiful parks where there is so much art and weird illusions that will make your brain work hard to understand what is going on.

One in every four adolescents (between ages 10 and 19) worldwide suffer mental illnesses such as mood and anxiety disorders. These and many other mental illnesses are strongly associated with suicide; being that one of the leading causes of death in 15 to 19 years old globally. Loneliness is considered one of the main factors leading to adolescent suicide and mental illnesses such as depression and self-harm. It can also cause some risky behaviours such as recreational drug and alcohol use, violence, eating disturbances, obesity and sleep disturbances.

It is not unusual for adolescents to feel lonely sporadically. The problem begins when it is experience as a persistent and painful feeling. For some teenagers, loneliness become a debilitating psychological condition defined by a deep sense of isolation, emptiness, worthlessness and lack of control. During the adolescence, when social development and identity formation becomes extremely important, prolonged loneliness could emerge as chronic. Therefore, adolescence is a time where unresolved loneliness can become pathologically and come to show a personality trait.

Some researchers believe loneliness is a unidimensional construct (a single entity which is the same for everyone and therefore measurable) while others consider it to be multidimensional (considering social loneliness – as a deficit in one’s social relationships, social networks and social support-, and emotional loneliness – caused by a lack of intimate companionship, explaining why people can sometimes feel alone even when they are surrounded by people).

In the article addressed, loneliness was treated as a multifactorial experience with two main constructs: 1) connectedness with friends and 2) perception of solitude.

FRIENDSHIPS

Feelings of loneliness for adolescents were strongly related to their feelings of connectedness to friends at school. For the ones that expressed strong feelings of disconnection and isolation from other adolescents it was clear that the absence of good friends was very difficult and painful and it was associated with feelings of sadness. This lack of friendships and the resulting loneliness had negative effect on the lives of these adolescents. It was shown that social connections and friendships were important for emotional wellbeing, as well as that the supportive role social friendships play in preventing feeling of loneliness.

ALONENESS

Perception of solitude appeared to be situational. For example, being alone at school was considered to be problematic and associated with exclusion, discomfort or sadness; but being alone at home was much more accepted by the adolescents. In general, these adolescents reported they would never or very rarely intentionally choose to be alone at school.

Sometimes kids can be a bit mean and say ‘you’re a loner’. (Female, 10) There’s a new kid in my class and he seems lonely. because he’s upset, he’s got nothing to do, he’s got no one to play with. (Male, 13)

We do not have many students in school who seem very lonely. Usually some are sitting the corner looking down, looking very sorry for themselves and very low. They don’t look good at all. (Female, 12) Many teenagers identified positive emotions related to spending time alone including relaxing and having some peace, provide space, give freedom to choose their own activities and have some “time” just for themselves. This means that being alone as an occasional event was generally accepted by the adolescents.

It could mean that you want to be alone if you’re having some problems and you feel like being alone or having your own space, that can be the case. Like, you want to be, you’re on your own sitting down just thinking things and you know, you, you want some space from everything. (Female, 11)

It’s good to have friends and everything but sometimes you just need your personal space. (Male, 12) For others, being alone was used as a strategy to cope with frustrations or issues with their families or friends.

It’s quiet and sometimes you need to be alone to calm down from something and so you’re by yourself, you’re quiet, you can calm down if you’re frustrated at something. (Female, 10) Well, sometimes it helps you. Like if you’re a bit angry, it’s good to be alone and think over something. Instead of acting quickly, or something like that. (Male,12)

However, when they were asked the reason they spent time alone most of the answers were negative which included being angry or upset, having an argument or issues with friends or family members, being bullied, not wanting to talk, being different, not getting along with others or that nobody cared or nobody was home.

Probably not, there are no advantages in it [being alone]. (Male, 12) [When I am alone I feel] Sad and unhappy. (Female, 11)

I don’t like being by myself. [If you are lonely] and you’re by yourself, there’s not much you can do. I hate being bored. (Female, 11)

Most of them considered normal being alone at home and even for the older students this was evident. Still, for the teenagers who appeared to not yet have developed the desire to spend time by themselves being alone at home was undesirable. Negative feelings towards being alone at home seemed to be related to frequency of involuntary aloneness (for example: parents at work, no siblings at home or not being allowed to socialise with friends) and it was in fact those adolescents who spent a lot of time alone at home the ones who had more negative attitude to aloneness.

Well, um, sometimes like when I’m alone, I don’t like it because I have too much of my own company and it gets a bit frustrating, but I think if you’re really, really lonely all the time, you don’t have friends, you get a bit upset about it- but sometimes you need that space for yourself. (Female, 12)

Yeah, and during the holidays. As well my mum and dad are full time [working] parents so I guess I spend a lot of time in my own company [expressed sadness]. (Female, 12)

Although many participants could identify differences between feeling alone and being alone, those who have friendship issues found it more difficult to distinguish between the two. Some of them even related it to feelings of depression. When you’re all by yourself and you’re scared, well, not necessarily scared but there’s no one around you. (Female, 11)

CONCLUSION

To sum up, being alone can have both positive and negative associations for adolescents and this seems to be influenced by the context and the frequency of being alone. Young people experiencing both a lack of connection with friends and loneliness seem to be at particular risk of poorer mental wellbeing.

Friendships during adolescence are essential since they are significantly associated with adolescent wellbeing and are a preventing factor against problematic issues during puberty. Consequently, detachment from friends is a risk factor for dysfunctional adjustment and depression. It is also important to underscore the ability of some participants to identify schoolmates who had no friends and perceived them as “sad”, “loners” and/or “lonely”.

Loneliness is associated with a lot of physical, psychological, social and mental health outcomes and can become a debilitating condition, especially if it is not resolved during adolescence. Understanding and making the most of periods of time alone helps learning and thinking combined with a positive attitude towards aloneness supports a healthy emotional development during childhood and puberty. Assisting teenagers to both develop secure friendships and positive attitudes towards being alone has an important role to play in reducing adolescent loneliness as well as dropping the risk of associated negative outcomes.

There are two critical aspects of personality that can determine a person’s self worth – self esteem and self concept. Each of them are dependent on the vision a person has of whom they are. Self concept is how you think about yourself. How you feel people view you is the determining factor. Though much of it is a self decided view, the information comes from how you perceive the world sees you.

One of the tragic factors about self concept is a misinterpretation of what you feel people see. This leads to doing and saying things that may be unacceptable or controversial. Perceived negative feedback can cause withdrawal and a desire to protect yourself. How to develop the skills to read the world is highly influenced by your primary caregivers. Their interpretations of people’s behavior guide how a child will view others. If the caregiver is suspicious and cautious, the child will grow up to distrust the world and be highly protective.

Conversely, self esteem is an inner feeling that you have about your self worth. There are many factors that contribute to its development. Most important, again, is the initial caregiver. How they treat us and the amount of affection they give can build a strong feeling of self esteem. Most people concentrate on their self esteem. It is a guide to the path of life to be taken. With good feelings, you are more willing to take chances and risks with confidence.

Self esteem can be measure by the global evaluation of the self referring to the feelings of high or low self worth. It is the confidence in one’s own worth and feeling of trust in their abilities. When closely examining self esteem and self concept in children and adults, psychologist say adolescents are the most difficult to measure since there are many domains and conditions to be considered.

Susan Harter developed a self perception profile for adolescents that included: “scholastic and athletic competence, social acceptance, physical appearance and behavioral conduct. It also included close friendships, romantic appeal, job competence and global self worth.”

If our self concept is positive we tend to act and behave in a more positive and self confident way we tend to perceive the world in a more positive way. As to where if our self concept is more so negative we tend to feel unhappy, unsatisfied, and hopeless.Having high self esteem we have fewer sleepless nights, cope better with stress as well as pressure situations. In contrast though, having a lower self esteem can lead us to feel as though we are falling short of what we ought to be, It can lead to anorexia nervosa and delinquency and in more severe cases can lead adolescents to fall to commit suicide.

The adolescent period is a critical period to have low self esteem and negative emotions about themselves. There are many interventions that were formulated to increase self esteem among adolescents. Assertiveness train is one skill to modify self hatred, negative emotions and low self esteem.

Adolescence is the transitional phase of life from childhood to adulthood during which biological and major social role transitions occur (Sawyer etal, 2018). This is a critical time of formative growth when adolescents make decisions that can affect their health now and for their life time and influence the country‘s sustainable development (Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia [CIDRZ], 2018). Risky behaviours among adolescents such as engaging in sexual activity without using contraception result in unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions and risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs), Human Immuno Deficiency Virus (HIV) / Acquired immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) inclusive. All these adverse consequences can be averted by consistent use of family planning. Family planning prevents unintended pregnancies, reduces the need for unsafe abortion and delays pregnancies for adolescent girls who are at increased risk of health problems resulting from child bearing. Further, family planning methods such as condoms do not only protect girls from unplanned pregnancy but from HIV and other STIs (World Health Organisation [WHO], 2018). In Zambia, a variety of contraceptive methods are available ranging from long-acting reversible contraception, such as the implant or intra uterine device (IUD), hormonal contraception, such as the pill or the Depo Provera injection, barrier methods, such as condoms, emergency contraception, fertility awareness, permanent contraception, such as vasectomy and tubal ligation Ministry of Health [MOH], 2017). However, adolescents frequently encounter significant barriers to accessing contraceptive information and services, leading to high rates of unintended pregnancy and increased risk of contracting HIV and STIs (United Nations population Fund [UNFPA], 2018). Parents can potentially improve utilization of family planning services yet many are uncomfortable talking to adolescents or may have inaccurate contraceptive information (Hartman, 2012). Furthermore, parents represent a resource for providing clear messages about the use of contraceptives among adolescents (Guilamo-Ramos, 2016).This can enrich adolescents with lifelong sexual health information needed in good decision making in sexual and reproductive health. It is for this reason that the researcher wishes to explore the perceptions of adolescent‘s parents on family planning services in Lusaka, Zambia.

Of the 7.2 billion people world-wide, 1.2 billion are adolescents aged between 10 and 19 years. This means 1 in approximately 6 people is an adolescent (WHO, 2018). Among these adolescents, about 21 million girls aged 15 to 19 years become pregnant in the developing regions every year while 2 million of these are girls less than 15 years. The World Health Organisation (2018) observed that 23 million adolescents would like to use contraception but are not. This results in unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS. Sadly, most of these unplanned pregnancies end as unsafe abortion.

Globally, 3 million girls aged 15 to 19 undergo unsafe abortion while 1 million girls under age 15 give birth every year (WHO, 2020). Complications during pregnancy and childbirth are the leading cause of death for 15 to 19 year-old girls worldwide (WHO, 2016). This is because young girls have immature reproductive organs predisposing them to complications associated with early child birth such as obstetric fistulae, post-partum haemorrhage (PPH), , puerperal endometriosis, pelvic inflammatory disease, prolonged and difficult labour, hypertensive disorders, cephalo pelvic disproportion, severe anaemia, disability and maternal death (WHO, 2016). Providentially, utilisation of family planning services among adolescents prevent deaths resulting from unsafe abortion, helps prevent Infant mortality and Human Immuno deficiency Virus/AIDS. Furthermore, effective and consistent utilisation of available family planning services can help reduce such complications by preventing unplanned pregnancies among adolescents (WHO, 2018) .The benefits of using family planning services are having improved quality of life, better health, less physical and emotional stress of life, better education, job and economic opportunities .It follows that most adolescent girls who become pregnant have to leave school with subsequent long-term consequences for them as individuals, their families and communities (Dutta, 2013). Overall, Family planning helps slowing unsustainable population growth. A high population has an adverse impact on the environment, economy, and national development efforts (WHO, 2018).

Therefore, if the need is met of increasing the use of contraception by adolescents at risk of unintended pregnancies, 2.1 million unplanned births, 3.2 million abortions, and 5600 maternal deaths could be averted each year world-wide (Darroch etal, 2016).

In the developing region, about, 252 million women are aged between 15 -19 accounting up to one sixth (1/6) of the reproductive age group of 15 to 49 years. Twenty-four percent of these adolescents live in Africa and nearly two thirds (2/3) live in rural areas (ibid). Adolescents in rural areas mostly lack education and wealth which has a relationship with non-utilization of family planning services (Central Statistical Office [CSO], 2014). The total fertility rate in Africa is the highest in the world as it is estimated at 4.6 children per woman. Likewise, the state of women report (2018), observed that 1 out of 3 women use modern contraception with 1 in 5 women with unmet need for family planning. The report further states that adolescent pregnancy rates are highest in sub-Sahara Africa with estimation that 1 in 4 girls in West Africa is pregnant and 1 in 18 girls before turning 15 years. The adolescent pregnancies are strongly resulting from early marriage. Generally, the adolescents are not ready to handle these pregnancies and resort to abortion that is mostly unsafe. In the Sub-Sahara African region, 1 in 4 abortions are among adolescents aged 15 to 19 years of which nearly four fifth (4/5) are unsafe (WHO, 2020).

The Declaration on human rights state that every woman has control over her fertility, the number, timing or spacing of pregnancies and her method of contraception (UNFPA, 2014). However, this is not the case as many adolescents are uncomfortable to discuss sex with older people about family planning resulting in unplanned pregnancies. Other challenges are unavailability of preferred method, and lack of community leader’s involvement in family planning programmes (Lorna, 2018).

In 2018, in East and Southern Africa (ESA) region, there were 160.2 million adolescents and young people aged 15-24 years representing 33% of the population (ESA Report, 2018). The region is experiencing early and unintended pregnancies sustained by poverty, social norms, sexual coercion, poor access to Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) services and information, low self-efficacy and peer pressure. As a result, the ESA commitment was signed by Ministers of Health in the region to increase access to SRH services, reduce unplanned pregnancies and increase coverage to comprehensive sexuality education in the region by 2020 (ESA Commitment, 2013).

Zambia is implementing the ESA commitment through the Adolescent Technical Working Group (ATWG) led by the Ministry of Health. The ATWG comprise non-governmental organisations and Line Ministries such as Ministries of General education, Youth Sport and Child development and United Nations (UN) partners such UNICEF, UNFPA and UNESCO.

The population of Zambia is estimated to be 17.86 million and ranks at number 8 for its fertility rate of 5.63 children per woman (Zambia Population review, 2019). Adolescents constitute 27% of Zambia‘s population (Central Statistical Office (CSO), 2010). According to the 2017-2021 Adolescent Strategic Plan, the priority for adolescents and youths in Zambia is to serve them with quality accessible sexual and reproductive health information and services. This is to reduce the unmet need for family planning in Zambian adolescents from 21% to 14 % by 2020 (UNFPA, 2018). This is hoped to be achieved by attending to health system bottle necks such as rights based family planning and information and service in every part of Zambia .

According to the Zambia Demographic Health Survey (ZDHS), (2018), the Maternal Mortality Ratio in Zambia is estimated to be 252 deaths per 100 000 live births. The decline from 398 per 10 000 live births in 2013/2014 ZDHS to 252 deaths per 100 000 live births has been aided by improved use of contraception for birth spacing, prevention of early marriages, systems access to emergence obstetrics services and the use of trained Midwives (MOH, 2018). The target is to further decrease the maternal mortality to 100 deaths per 100 000 live births by 2021 according to the 2017-2021 Zambia National Health Strategic Plan. This demand addressing the imbedded gender inequalities that manifest in early marriages, adolescent pregnancy, and inadequate access to sexual and reproductive health services and other interventions. Subsequently, the Ministry of Health (MOH) adopted the Youth Friendly Space (YFS) Model, previously known as youth friendly corner to attend to the health needs of adolescents in Zambia. The YFS is a well-advertised space which functions as an entry service point for adolescents visiting the health facility (Zambia Adolescent Health Strategy [ADHS], 2018). These YFS are manned by trained peer educators to provide a mix of services. The services offered by the peer educators include sexual and reproductive health information; provide health education materials, condom distribution and providing guided referrals to the health services offered by health workers trained to adolescent health standard. However, the Ministry of Health is transiting from adolescent friendly programmes approach to mainstreaming capacity in all health facilities to have an adolescent responsive system (ADHS, 2018). Further, the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Child Development with support from UNFPA in Zambia is involved in activities meant to support the delivery of comprehensive sexuality education to out of school youth who are mostly left out in the programmes being provided in schools.

From these statistics (ZDHS, 2018; WHO, 2020), adolescents are having sex from an early age resulting in unplanned pregnancies that mostly end in unsafe abortion or early child bearing with its associated complications. Adolescents in school may also end up dropping out of school due to pregnancy, yet a small percentage are accessing and utilizing family planning services. In Zambia, the family planning services are provided through youth friendly spaces, family planning clinics and outreach services (MOH, 2017). To access these services, parental attitudes have been shown to influence adolescent girls’ sexual decision making and attitudes towards contraception (O’Rourke-Suchoff, etal, 2017). The parents have potential to influence utilisation of contraceptives to sexually active young people by helping them discuss contraception options and appreciate their effectiveness (Adolescent Health strategy, 2017-2021). This would help avert the unplanned pregnancies, unsafe abortion, sexually transmitted infections and STIs. Therefore, preventing early, unplanned pregnancies among adolescents is critical as they are more likely to encounter more complications associated with child bearing. According to Vwalika and Kumwenda (2017), first degree perineal trauma, pregnancy induced hypertension, preterm or low birth-weight baby complications were observed to be higher among adolescents than older women. Furthermore, adolescent girls who become pregnant mostly have to leave school resulting in long-term economic implications for them as individuals, their families and communities (ZDHS, 2018; Nasilele, 2019).

The causes of teenage pregnancy in Zambia are poverty, peer pressure, desire for high life, distance from school, lack of knowledge about contraceptive use led by lack of communication between parents and children over sexual related issues (Restless development, 2019). Therefore, MOH targets to increase awareness and utilisation of available health services to promote healthy living by developing and adopting adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights package for community leaders, church leaders, school teachers and parents (Zambia Adolescent Health strategy, 2017-2021). This would warranty health promotion and demand creation for family planning services among adolescents.

Zambia has adopted strategies such as facilitating access for young girls to all types of health services specifically family planning without consent of spouses, parents or guardians as allowed by current laws (MOH, 2017). The Ministry of Higher Education, Ministry of Health and partners launched the programme on adolescents, young people’s health to mitigate the impact of health issues of public concern among young people such as unplanned pregnancy. This is to be realized through multi sectorial approach through health promotion, demand creation, health service provision and strengthening leadership. This would help the adolescents have the necessary information about their sexuality, access and utilise the facilities as a fundamental right (CIDRZ, 2019).

Conversely, adolescents in and out of school continue to be sexually active and participate in sexual risk behaviours despite efforts of comprehensive sexual education programmes (Caroline etal, 2014). The sexual risk behaviours include having multiple sexual partners, lack of contraceptive use such as condoms and other methods. However, a high level of parental involvement is associated with lower levels of risky behaviours during adolescence (Regnerus, 2006).

The impact of modern contraceptive method use is its key role in preventing unintended pregnancy. However, some unintended pregnancies would still occur even if all adolescent women were using contraception because of inconsistent or incorrect use such as forgetting to take oral contraceptive pills, incorrect use of condoms and method failures. This explains the need for a shift in the method mix toward long-acting, reversible methods due to its cost effectiveness (Biddlecom etal, 2018). Where abstinence fails family planning services play a crucial role in adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH, 2017; WHO, 2018).

For that reason, the researcher seeks to explore perception of parents on of utilisation of family planning services among adolescents in Lusaka, as there is currently limited information available in this area in Zambia.

PHYSICAL (BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES)

Rena has a height of 5’5” while Ashley has a height of 5’6”. They are 17 years old and on their 12 grade that is currently studying in Pangsinan National High School. Rena weighs about 53 klgs while Ashley weighs between 65-70 klgs. Rena’s sport is taekwando and wushusanda while Ahley’s sport is volleyball. They both do exercise and have a diet.

Children who play sports are more likely to be physically fit, have a healthy weight and maintain a better body image. A healthy body contributes to a healthy mind, and regular exercise contributes to overall physical and mental health. (Richards, 2017)

Sports require you to move your body, and it’s a commonly known fact that exercise is good for your health. According to the Mayo Clinic, physical activity helps control weight, combats health conditions and diseases, improves mood, boosts energy and promotes better sleep. The health advantages of participating in a sport far outweigh the dangers of actual injury. (Compton & Atkinson, n.d.)

PSYCHOMOTOR PROCESSES

Ashley and Rena can both move their hands and feets while playing. Jumping jacks, stretching hands and feets are the exercise routines of Ashley before playing. Rena does her stretching for her flexibility like splits. They can both easily catch up exercise routines when they are copying someone and have fast reflexes. Ashley uses reaction time to improve his reflexes while Rena has a trainor to guide her.

COGNITIVE PROCESSES

Thinking of a stategy on how to win is part of the sports. Rena and Ashely can easily both think strategies and back up strategies when their first plan is not successful. Sports can help you to become more alert in your class. Having a sport is an advantage if you have your Physical Education class says by Rena and Ashley because your cardio is higher than the other student who does not have sports. It also helps in the lessons when you encounter the lessons on your exercise routines or in your sports.

Many studies reveal that playing sports can actually boost your brainpower. A report from the Institute of Medicine stated: Children who are more active show greater attention, have faster cognitive processing speed, and perform better on standardized academic tests than children who are less active. This shouldn’t be too surprising as exercise increases blood flow to the brain, and blood flow to the brain stimulates brain growth. Plus, playing a sport actually does require you to think on your feet and strategize, keeping your mind sharp and alert. (Compton & Atkinson, n.d.)

Self-determination theory (SDT), a meta-theory for framing motivational studies, defines that intrinsic and varied extrinsic sources of motivation have an effect on cognitive and social development and on individual differences. Self-determination theory has become a salient motivational theory in recent years and has received a great deal of research attention. The theory propositions focus on how social and cultural factors facilitate or undermine people’s sense of volition and initiative, in addition to their well-being and the quality of their performance. It is argued that conditions supporting the individual’s experience of autonomy, competence, and relatedness foster the most volitional and high quality forms of motivation and engagement for activities, including enhanced performance and persistence in physical activity. Autonomy refers to the belief that one has some level of control over whether to participate in physical activity. Competence refers to the belief that a person possesses sufficient ability to cope in a specific situation, and relatedness is how connected a person feels to those around, such as parents, peers, and colleagues. The stability of perceived competence has been studied to some extent. However, hardly any tracking research exists on perceived autonomy and relatedness. (Hirvensalo et al., 2011)

SOCIO-EMOTIONAL PROCESSES

SOCIAL PROCESSES

Rena just acts friendsly while Ashley believed that they would have some common interest for him to be able to be comfortable with them. Having an inspiration to look up to is good technique to motivate her and her team mates based from Rena. Ashley would have a talk to them about why are they are playing and that they should just enjot playing. Being comfortable with them, not being an authoritative or dominant can help your team mates to be open to you to talk about their ideas. Being friends with your team mates inside and outside the court is a great communication for your team.

In sports, individuals learn to rely on each other and motivate one another to accomplish a common goal. Though individual sports are great, team sports actually do teach you a life lesson: the success of a team — or an organization — depends on how well the players work together. Not even the “star” player can win the game alone.

Sports also teach you to play fairly and to respect the players on the opposing team. Cheating, gloating and fighting do not belong in sports — or in the professional world for that matter. Sports teach you to put forth your best effort and exhibit honorable behavior whether you win or lose a game.

When you join a sports team, you will inevitably make friends. Because teammates share so many fun and exciting moments, your friendships should last long after you finish playing. There is also one more perk: most teams traditionally go out to eat after a game! (Compton & Atkinson, n.d.)

EMOTIONAL PROCESSES

Being nervous before playing is already normal for atletes. Rena and Ashley both agreed that when they have a problem it can affect their game. Playing is their stress reliever. When someone is supporting them specially their friend or families it can increase their confidence to perform better. When their friend or families does not watch their game sometimes it affects their performance.

Devonport, Lane, Lowther, and Thelwell (2009) discussed how sport psychology and emotional intelligence are intertwined. “In terms of relationships between specific psychological skills and subcomponents of emotional intelligence, results show that participants who use self-talk are more likely to be able to appraise their own emotions, appraise others’ emotions effectively and regulate their emotions” (p. 198). It reaffirmed how this may benefit athletes by stating “thus enhancing emotional intelligence should increase an athlete’s ability to cope with a number of stressors, including those experienced in competition and also those experienced from the demands of everyday life (p. 199).

In summary, emotional intelligence theorizes that an individual’s ability to comprehend the social environment and discriminate between feelings and emotions contributes a better chance of succeeding in social relationships as well as life in general. The theory of emotional intelligence gained acclaim in spite of a lack of research about its validity. Studies have linked emotional development and decision-making and how these can be used to predict future success. Likewise, youth sports involvement enhances the acquisition of physical benefits by participants, as well as various social and psychological benefits. It appears that a relationship might exist between sport participation and the development of emotional intelligence. Therefore, a study examining participation in youth sports and its effect on the development of emotional intelligence appears warranted. (Gail, 2012)

MORAL AND SPIRITUAL PROCESSES

It is normal to feel sad or disappointed when you did not win the game based from Ashley and Rena. If you did not win because of the mistake of your team mate do not discourage them instead help them or motivate them more. Rena and Ashley says that shaking hands with your rival team before and after the game is a sign of sportsmanship that means you accept the result of your game wheather you lose or win. Rena and Ashley pray before playing. Saying sorry when you hurt someone while playing intentionally or not is what Ashley and Rena do.

Alcohol use has grown significantly among the youth ranging from adolescence through to young adulthood. The legal age for drinking alcohol in many global policies is between 18 and 21 years, and this is a period considered as the youth. Underage drinking is illegal and restricted in nearly all countries. However, it is still an epidemic and may go as low as 12 years (Osgood et al., 2013). Alcohol, in its many kinds and form, has become a big commercial product in today’s beverage market. Many infomercials on alcohol have targeted the youth which has led to many young people getting into alcohol use and abuse. Even though alcohol consumption among the legal youth has become a norm, there is a wide range of effects.

Youth is a growth time that spans from adolescence to 35 years of age. It is the stage in a human being when the mind is still developing and is open to new knowledge. However, alcohol has been found to have toxins that raise the rate of brain damage bearing on neurocognitive impairments (Zeigler et al., 2005). The young are supposed to transition fully into adulthood, but heavy drinking of alcohol impairs the learning routines and erodes this process. The youth, like any other users, suffer from other alcoholic related ailments like liver diseases and nutrition impairments.

Alcohol drinking has been found to have a social consequence in the lives of many young people. Those who drink alcohol mostly find it easy to make and maintain relations only with the peers who partake of the same. On the contrary, the social dynamics become very complicated to maneuver when party drink alcohol and the others do not. However, when alcohol is the primary piece to which people are related, it alienates them and forced into a narrow spectrum of social networking (Osgood et al., 2013). Alcohol addicted youth carry with them a certain stigma, and this plays an important role when it comes to making friends with others who do not.

Consumption of alcohol is an expensive behavior, even so among the youth. The most obvious cost comes from the purchase of drinks and the lifestyle, there are however a lot more expenses that are involved. Governments, families and non-government organizations spend a significant amount of money on campaigns against and on the treatment of alcoholism (Cook & Moore, 2002). The ratio of this money spent on the youth has increased with time indicating that more and more young people are feeling the effects of alcohol use. This money would have been used to make them have a better education system and a good future.

The adolescent and through the youth are a very turbulent time in an individual especially so when one starts to drink alcohol. It is a time which people get exposed to behaviors that risk their physical wellbeing. Alcohol use is a dominant cause of most of the sexually related diseases affecting the youth today. It impairs judgment and especially when it comes to life-threatening decision making (Zeigler et al., 2005). While some remember vaguely the day or time they contracted these diseases, those who were highly intoxicated on alcohol at the moment do not have an account of the event. Most young people who use other kinds of drugs confirms that they started with alcohol use. Moreover, anytime they drink, they find it alluring and inviting to do other drugs as well. Therefore, alcohol is an enabler to sexual and drug risks among the youth.

Alcohol use among the youth is a growing sensation and is increasingly becoming a socio-economic part of many societies. However, there are negative impacts related to alcoholism that touch on their physical and mental health as well as their status in society. These effects become extreme when one gets into alcohol addiction at a young age, sometimes even irreversible.