Scientific Background

In this post, I am seeking to use a small sliver of the vast world of scientific research focusing on adolescent development and influences in order to better understand the causes for rebellion, angst, and acting out seen in teenagers.

"Part of the rationale underlying this study is that adolescent rebellion is a necessary part of growing up. Behavior falling into this category serves the growing organism in a number of ways. It is not merely a manifestation of a young person raising hell just because he feels like doing so. Rebellion is a flexing of the total person. It is a testing of limits, a search for competency, an attempt at establishing a degree of autonomy for oneself, an adherence to non-parental standards (peer groups), a development of one’s own value system and, in a Piagetian sense, a comparison of the ideal world of one’s egocentric development with that of reality." - Frankel and Dullaert, 228

Teen angst is something that is easy to spot, but hard to understand. Whether it be through acts of rebellion, increased risk-taking, poor performance in school, or worrying signs of mental health issues, teen angst serves as a catch-all term for the many emotions and behavioral changes exhibited by teenagers across America. While these behaviors plague the minds of parents and fill them with worry, there is a broad array of scientific research available that explains these behavioral changes, and in some cases, possibly even justifies them.

Many social and developmental factors influence the behavior of teens, including but not limited to peer alienation, loneliness, peer pressure, and fear. In Roberta Lynn Woodgate’s study published in 2006, she discusses how depression and self-preservation can play a large role in adolescence. Woodgate’s study demonstrates a prioritization of four major themes in teens: keeping the self alive, containing the shadow of fear, maintaining a sense of belonging in the world, and feeling valued as a human being (265). Adolescents with a history of depression exhibited an intense fear of feeling depressed, even when they are currently out of a depressive episode (261). These teens were affected by their mental health even if the feelings were not currently present. This creates a cycle of fear where self-preservation becomes the main focus. Woodgate explains that the only method of breaking the cycle of fear experienced by these teens is through “accepting the depression, taking responsibility in getting better, and staying positive” as explained by the teenagers themselves (265). However, teens faced challenges in accessing help. Woodgate writes that “adolescents also acknowledged that how friends, family, healthcare professionals, and others responded to them because of their depression also affected their ability to deal with their fears of depression” (268). This makes it clear that when teens feel isolated or distrusted by friends, family, and professionals, rather than supported, they struggle to break the cycle of fear and depression. As posited by Woodgate, teens in this study desired to feel valued and to feel a sense of belonging within the world. Woodgate’s study provides critical information as to why it is crucial for family members to accept and trust their teenagers in order to help them through mental health challenges. Parents who become fearful or frustrated with behavioral changes in their teens may unknowingly create more barriers for teens to access crucial resources for long-term happiness.

As Woodgate demonstrates, a sense of belonging and acceptance is an important factor in adolescent development. Reijntjes et al. discuss the effects of adolescent alienation on aggression in their 2006 study. Feeling alienated or estranged from society, loved ones, friends, or even oneself is not enjoyable at any age, but one can imagine that this may be especially stressful during the developmental and awkward years of middle and high school. Reijntjes et al. state that teens who feel alienated often also feel powerless, meaningless, self-estranged, and normless (1395). Rejected youth, the study found, were, in fact, more aggressive than their accepted peers. However, Reijntjes et al. found that the aggression of alienated adolescents was not general, but rather specifically focused on those who had rejected them. The researchers also pointed out that an increase in aggression led to an increase in alienation, creating a negative feedback loop. Those who are alienated retaliate with aggression and subsequently become increasingly alienated once more. Reijntjes et al. campaign for the importance of intervention programs, specifically for at-risk youth, in order to break the cycle of “the outcast lash-out effect” (1398). It is important to note that the age range of participants in this study is 10-13 years old and that the results showed no significant difference between genders. While 10-13-year-olds are not always considered teens, they are considered a part of the adolescent age group and social patterns established during this time may impact teenage behavior later on.

Adolescents experiencing alienation from their peers, as seen in the Reijntjes et al. study, may also experience loneliness. Adolescence is a time period full of cliques, bullying, and exclusion. While this is no surprise to anyone, and mentors may do their best to warn teenagers of this, it can still be incredibly difficult to experience these situations at this age. Feelings of alienation and loneliness could greatly impact a teenager’s sense of self and sense of belonging which may create unhealthy behavioral coping mechanisms and outcomes. In a 2014 study by Wols et al, researchers sought to link emotional intelligence with loneliness in adolescents ages 11-13. Researchers noted that “chronic loneliness during adolescence predicts poor physical health and increase in anxiety and depressive symptoms” (41). Their findings supported existing research that loneliness can be increased over time as a result of poor emotional skills. Additionally, better developed emotional skills can aid in deterring loneliness.

Alienation, loneliness, and fear are clearly all major factors within the world of adolescent development. While these studies above are separate, the behaviors they focus on are inherently intertwined. Alienation can cause increased loneliness, which can isolate teens struggling with depression even further away from access to help. Those who struggle with loneliness can also experience a direct increase in anxiety symptoms which may further the cycle of fear that depressed teens experience. Depressed teens desire to feel a sense of belonging and feel valued as human beings, but depression can cause withdrawal from social activities and situations that could result in loneliness or alienation. In short, a vicious cycle emerges in adolescence when teens cannot easily access help either at home, through a medical professional, or through programs. These are some of the many reasons why society needs to reach out to teens more, accept behavioral changes, and encourage an open dialogue without judgment in order to facilitate breaking the larger cycle created by isolation.

In Keri Smith’s 2018 article, “Sex and Drugs and Self-Control: How the Teen Brain Navigates Risk,” she discusses the neuroscience behind adolescent risk-taking and why this occurs beyond our typical ideas of teen angst and rebellion. Smith discusses a study where scientists used an fMRI scanner while having teens play a risk-taking video game. The study showed that when teens thought that their peers were watching they took increased risks and exhibited higher activation of the ventral striatum area of the brain associated with rewards. She also discusses a study that showed that isolated or excluded teenagers were more likely to take risks. Using a similar study, Smith discusses how “the same brain systems that mediate unhealthy risk-taking also seem to help teenagers to take positive risks” (427). It is the ventral striatum reward area of the brain that causes teenagers to seek both positive and risk-taking behaviors as they both trigger the dopamine of this reward center. Smith covers another study by Eva Telzer, neuroscientist, that studied adolescents expelled from school. This study involved button-pressing reactions based on pictures on a monitor. Images included happy images of teenagers socializing as well as negative images of bullying. Ultimately the study found that “Most teenagers were worse at the button-pressing task when the images were positive; their cognitive control was overridden by the rewarding picture. Activity in the ventral striatum went up in tandem. But among the expelled or suspended students, it was the aversive pictures that impaired performance. The teenagers’ lack of control, Telzer says, seems to come from a different type of reaction to social stimuli.” (428). Smith’s article makes the case that when it comes to reward, teenagers are more vulnerable to both positive and negative cases as a result of their developing brains. Furthermore, Smith argues that normal, cognitive functioning that may deter adults from risk-taking behaviors can be overridden by these powerful reward centers in teens. This information is critical in understanding teenage behavior and actions. Perhaps instead of frowning upon and punishing negative teenage risk-taking, we should redirect these enhanced abilities to the positive risk-taking many adults may avoid. Studies such as these depict how the developmental differences of teenagers should be nurtured and cherished in society rather than ignored and patronized. Adolescence can be a great age for exploration and the creation of long-term healthy habits if we learn to approach this age with the right care and knowledge.

While teens may be at an increased risk for risk-taking behavior as shown by Smith, Dumas et al. study identity development as a buffer against risk-taking as a result of peer pressure in adolescents. Identity development, as used in this study, is the way in which teens develop interests, passions, and beliefs that they consider a core part of themselves. Dumas et al. reference existing research in order to explain how members of the same adolescent peer groups typically share similar behaviors towards substance use, delinquency, school dropout, and unsafe sex (918). Participants in the Dumas et al. study ranged in age from 14-17 and they completed a questionnaire about identity development, identity exploration, and identity commitment before being questioned about peer group pressure, peer-group control, substance use, and deviant behavior. Dumas et al. ultimately found that identity development works as a buffer against peer pressure in adolescents. Researchers found that teens with high identity commitment and interest in identity exploration were less likely to take risks in the face of peer pressure and control than those with low identity development. It is important to note that teens who showed high identity exploration “appear to be particularly resistant to poor psychological adjustment resulting from engagement in risk behavior” (925). Researchers note that future research examining the difference in self-initiated and peer-initiated risk would be beneficial. This kind of research may determine how motivation plays a part in the psychological reaction of teens in risky situations. This study displays the important role of identity exploration, development, and commitment in teenagers. However, identity can only be developed through discovering new experiences, that may include small risk-taking. While Dumas et al. seek to find ways to buffer risk-taking in teens, some risk-taking as mentioned by Smith could be positive and ultimately benefit teens in creating an important, lifelong sense of self.

It is through the substantial body of scientific studies and literature that we can come to better understand the intricate workings of the adolescent brain. At this age of development, we are susceptible to many influences, ranging from those within the home to peers to internal struggles. Adolescence is an age that tackles coming to terms with the world you have been given and trying to discover your place within it. It can be extremely challenging for teens to find who they are, especially when they are not supported with proper resources. As the research above has proven, teens are not always simply rebelling or acting out without reason. In many cases, what parents may deem as an act of rebellion is more so a painfully honest response to the society thrust upon us. Teens who are alienated may respond with aggression. Teens who take risks may be doing so in search of an identity, or due to a lack thereof. Peer pressure and a developing brain are at a higher risk of resulting in emotional responses. Teens who struggle with mental illness may live in a state of fear, searching for their own belonging while also trying to navigate this illness on their own. Adults can all too easily discredit the struggles of a teenager, but in doing so, they simply push teenagers further away from the support they need. During this major transitional period of one’s life, acceptance and unwavering support are of the utmost importance. With family or peer acceptance and support, teens may be able to conquer mental illnesses, develop strong identities and subsequently resist negative peer pressure, formulate a strong sense of belonging and avoid alienation or loneliness, and learn about appropriate risk-taking that can healthily teach teenagers about the world around them as well as themselves.

Works Cited:

Frankel, Judith, and John Dullaert. "Is Adolescent Rebellion Universal?" Adolescence 12.46 (1977): 227. ProQuest. Web. 7 Feb. 2022.

Woodgate, Roberta Lynn. “Living in the Shadow of Fear: Adolescents' Lived Experience of Depression.” Journal of Advanced Nursing, vol. 56, no. 3, 2006, pp. 261–269., doi:10.1111/j.1365-2648.2006.04020.x.

Reijntjes, Albert, et al. “The Outcast-Lash-Out Effect in Youth: Alienation Increases Aggression Following Peer Rejection.” Psychological Science, vol. 21, no. 10, Oct. 2010, pp. 1394–1398, doi:10.1177/0956797610381509.

Wols, A., et al. “Prospective Associations between Loneliness and Emotional Intelligence.” Journal of Adolescence, vol. 39, 2015, pp. 40–48., doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2014.12.007.

Smith, Kerri. “Sex and Drugs and Self-Control: How the Teen Brain Navigates Risk.” Nature, vol. 554, no. 7693, 2018, pp. 426–428., doi:10.1038/d41586-018-02170-3.

Dumas, Tara M., et al. “Identity Development as a Buffer of Adolescent Risk Behaviors in the Context of Peer Group Pressure and Control.” Journal of Adolescence, vol. 35, no. 4, 2012, pp. 917–927., doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2011.12.012.