Common Emotional Patterns:
The most important emotional patterns of the early, adolescent years include Anger, Fear, Worry, Jealousy, Envy, Affection, Jjoy, and Curiosity are given as:
Anger:
The adolescent is made angry when he is teased, ridiculed, criticized, or “lectured”, when he feels that he or his friends are unfairly treated or punished by parents and teachers, when privileges he considers fair are refused, when he is “treated like a child,” when people impose upon him, or when people are bossy and sarcastic. In addition, he becomes angry when things do not go right, when he is unable to accomplish what he sets out to do, when he is interrupted at times when he is busy and preoccupied, or when his private property is encroached upon by parents or siblings. The young adolescent experiences many frustrations or feelings of helplessness when he is blocked in doing what he wants to do. In his desire to achieve independence, he finds himself constantly blocked by parents, teachers, or others in authority. The more common form of angry response is sulkiness or being generally disagreeable. The sulky individual refuse to talk or to do what he is expected to do. Instead of trying to get his revenge by hitting and kicking, as a child does, the adolescent frequently substitutes belittling or ridiculing the person he would like to fight with. Frequently young adolescents throw things, stamp their feet, hit, kick, and, in the case of girls, cry when they are angry. Gradually, however, the adolescent comes to realize that such overt expressions are regarded as signs of immaturity, and he learns to control them. How the adolescent will react when angry, however, depends upon the social class with which he is identified. Those of the lower socioeconomic groups, or those who belong to aminority group, are likely to be more aggressive when angry than are those from higher socioeconomic groups. This is especially true of boys. It is not unusual for adolescents who have acquired control over their angry responses to show hostility toward a parent, usually the mother, and treat her as the scapegoat for their pent-up anger. They plan revenge, but this is rarely more than a fantasy. Of all the emotions, anger is aroused in late adolescence more often than any other emotion. Thwarting of self-assertion, and interruption of habitual activities are the two most common causes of anger at this age. Failure to accomplish what one sets out to do, to come up to one’s own expectations, likewise gives rise to anger.
Fear:
By the time the child has reached adolescence, he has learned from experience that many of the things he formerly feared are not dangerous or harmful. As a result, his farmer fears vanish. However, in place of fears of childhood come new fears related to his more mature experiences, such as fears of being alone in the dark, being out alone at night, being in social situations when larger numbers are present or when he is with strangers, and fears of school and subjects.
Worry:
Worry is a form of fear that comes from imaginary rather than real causes. The young adolescent works himself up into a state of fear about what might happen, though he may have little reason for believing that these happenings are possible or even probable. The older adolescent fears fewer things but worries more than he did when he was younger. By the time adolescence comes to a close, there should also be a waning of fears of people and social situations as the individual’s social experiences increase and as he has opportunities to meet people of all types. The older adolescent does not run away from a frightening situation, no matter how great his fear may be. He stands his ground, even though he may become tongue-tied and shake so that all can see him.
Jealousy:
Jealousy is commonly thought of as an infantile emotion, it appears in an intense and well-camouflaged form during early adolescence. The young adolescent is interested in members of the opposite sex en masse and craves popularity with them. Those who attain this desired goal arouse jealous reactions in those who are overlooked or scorned by members of the apposite sex. When interest in the members of the opposite sex appears, the individual who loses the loved one to another is as intensely jealous as the child whose position as center of attention in the family is suddenly usurped by the new arrival. Young adolescents are also jealous of peers who have4 more privileges and more independence, or who are more successful in schoolwork or athletics than they. Instead of making bodily attacks upon those of whom he is jealous, the adolescent makes verbal attacks. These attacks are generally in such a subtle form that it is often difficult to recognize them as such. The most common forms of verbal attack consist of sarcastic comments, ridiculing the individual, preferably in the presence of his parents or friends, and making derogatory comments about the person behind his back.
Affection:
The adolescent’s affections are concentrated on people with whom he has a pleasurable relationship and who have made him feel secure and loved. As a general rule, the affection relationship with members of the family is less strong among adolescents than it is in childhood, owing to the strained family relationships that typically exist at this time. The number of people for whom the adolescents has a strong affection is small. As a result, his emotional reaction toward these few individuals is strong. Adolescent affection is an absorbing type of emotion that drives the adolescent to seek constantly the companionship of the individual or individuals for whom his affection is strongest. When he is away from them, he tries to keep in constant touch by telephone calls and letters. In addition, the adolescent tries to do everything he can to make the loved one happy, whether it be helping him with his schoolwork, planning forms of entertainment he will enjoy, or giving him presents. He reveals his affection by watching and listening to the loved one with rapt attention and by smiling constantly when in the presence of the loved one. The individual has achieved maturity in this area of his development if, by the end of adolescence There is a marked trend toward concentration of affection on one individual of the opposite sex, together with an idealization of that individual, which adds to the intensity of the emotional reaction. To achieve emotional maturity, the adolescent must learn to get a perspective on situations which otherwise would lead to emotional reactions. This can best be done by discussing his problems with others –self- disclosure.
Joy:
Joy comes from the adolescent’s good adjustments to his work and to the social situations with which he is identified, from his ability to perceive the comic in a situation, from a release of pent-up emotional energy following worry, fear, anger, or jealously, and from feelings of superiority which result from successful achievements on the adolescent’s part.
