Assessment of the Adolescent

 

 

 

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Assessment of the Adolescent

The Range of Contemporary Issues Teenagers Face Today

“Adolescence is a new birth, for the higher and more completely human traits are now born. (G. Stanley Hall). Assessment of the adolescent is a multiplex procedure requiring a comprehensive approach. Assessment of the adolescent entails evaluating an individual’s physical, emotional, social, and cognitive development, highlighting possible issues impacting their well-being (Strang et al., 2018). It also involves gathering information from numerous sources, which include adolescents, parents, teachers, and healthcare professionals. A standardized assessment is used to assess the adolescent’s cognitive abilities, academic performance, and mental health. Appraising the distinctive culture and developmental factors influencing an adolescent’s behavior and attitudes during the assessment process is vital. Thoroughly assessing the adolescent provides valuable insights into their strength and weaknesses guiding the development of effective interventions supporting their growth and development. This paper will explore the contemporary issues that teenagers face today, external stressors associated with the issue, assessment strategies to screen for current and external stressors, and support options for adolescents encountering external stressors.

Contemporary Issues Teenagers Face Today and the External Stressors Associated with the Issue

One of the major contemporary issues teenagers face today is depression. Teenage depression is a mental health issue that makes teenagers feel sad and lose interest in activities. Depression affects one’s feelings, thinking, and behaviors, causing physical emotion and functional problems. Teenage depression is a life-threatening concern today. A report by the World Health Organization indicated that over 350 million teenagers suffered from depression globally in 2015 (Wang et al., 2019), where teenage depression is the leading cause of teenage suicides, where suicide has become the second cause of death in youth aged 10-24 years. There are numerous external stressors that are associated with depression in teenagers. One of the significant stressors is bullying, which has been a growing worry estimated to affect 20-30% of the students in the United States (Dietrich & Cohen, 2021), and for the past few decades, society has evolved more with the rise of the internet, and teenage bullying has changed significantly. Due to the rise of social media usage, bullying has taken a new form, and bullies remain anonymous while hurting their victims without concern. In recent days, more than 80% of teenagers are having social media accounts, cyberbullying has become a peril. A second stressor associated with depression is social networks like social media, friendship and peer influencers. Teenagers often desire to form their own identity with age and stop being dependent on their parents, leading to inner struggle and confusion. As teenagers’ bodies develop, self-esteem kicks in as society depicts idealistic body perfection. The healthcare providers and the relevant authority need to enable teenagers to overcome depression and minimize bullying and social networks like social media and peer influencers, which eventually leads to teenage depression, which can lead to suicide cases.

Assessment Strategies to Screen for Depression and External Stressors during an Assessment for an Adolescent Patient

There are numerous strategies to be used to screen for depression in teenagers. Teenage depression can cause physical, emotional, and functional problems. One of the significant strategies for the assessment of depression in teenagers is the head-to-toe assessment starting the minute the nurse faces the patient (Yin, 2019). The nurse has the ability to observe the patient’s mood, consciousness, and hygiene. The nurse conducts the head-to-toe assessment starting with the crucial signs and heading to the neurologic assessment. The nurse conducting the assessment should focus on any physical anomalies like changes in mood and emotional changes like the level of fear. A determined neurologic assessment identifies any possible functional problems, with the assessment starting with observing moods, behavior, and ability to converse with the assessor. The assessor should also focus on the patient’s self-esteem by focusing on focusing on how the patient feels about themselves, also, the assessor should focus on the use of social networks by the patients in order to identify cases of cyberbullying, peer pressure, and failed relationships. For the nurse assessing the parent, confidentiality must be maintained at all levels as information on confidentiality should be provided to the teenage patient, where no such information should be given to the parents or guardian without the patient’s knowledge. Education should be offered to the parent or guardian on the importance of confidentiality. Such strategies can be essential for screening depression in teenagers where numerous questions such as if the patient is a victim of bullying and assessing social network usage of the patient would be essential during the assessment.

Support Options for Adolescents Encountering External Stressors

There are numerous support options for adolescents encountering external stressors such as bullying and social networks such as social media and peer influence. One significant support option entails building skills and education (Hobaica et al., 2018). Programs educating teenagers on handling stressors like bullying should be established, and they can be instituted at the societal level or in schools. Teenagers at high risk should be identified and provided with more customized help. Parents and teachers must know what to assess to identify when teenagers are suffering from depression. The peer support option is an essential support option for teenagers who are suffering from depression as it involves receiving help from other teenagers who have suffered from a similar problem, and it can occur through social support groups. For extreme cases, the secondary support option can be essential and can be integrated into the patient’s support system. It can be done by introducing a case manager where the case manager plans, assesses and implements specific measures facilitating the patient’s recovery (Dummett & Williams, 2018). Using such strategies ensures that teenager suffering from depression receives good care.

Conclusion

It can be surmised that depression is kind of common in adolescents. There are numerous reasons being the cause of depression is widespread. Bullying and social networks such as social media and peer influence can be reasons why most teenagers suffer from depression in the United States. Depression can lead to severe circumstances like self-harm and suicide, and this regards the role of parents and teachers is vital in minimizing the risks. Support options like education and building skills for teenagers are essential as they can know how to overcome external stressors like bullying. Frequent counseling with a psychologist is essential as it minimizes depression promoting mental health among adolescents.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Dietrich, L., & Cohen, J. (2021). Understanding classroom bullying climates: The role of student body composition, relationships, and teaching quality. International Journal of bullying prevention, 3(1), 34-47. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42380-019-00059-x

Dummett, N., & Williams, C. (2018). Overcoming teenage low mood and depression: a five areas approach. CRC Press.

Hobaica, S., Alman, A., Jackowich, S., & Kwon, P. (2018). Empirically based psychological interventions with sexual minority youth: a systematic review. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 5(3), 313. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000275

Strang, J. F., Meagher, H., Kenworthy, L., de Vries, A. L., Menvielle, E., Leibowitz, S., … & Anthony, L. G. (2018). Initial clinical guidelines for co-occurring autism spectrum disorder and gender dysphoria or incongruence in adolescents. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 47(1), 105-115. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2016.1228462

Wang, R., Chen, Z., Zhou, Y., Shen, L., Zhang, Z., & Wu, X. (2019). Melancholy or mahjong? Diversity, frequency, type, and rural-urban divide of social participation and depression in middle-and old-aged Chinese: A fixed-effects analysis. Social science & medicine, 238, 112518. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112518

Yin, S. (2019). Adolescents and drug abuse: 21st-century synthetic substances. Clinical Pediatric Emergency Medicine, 20(1), 17-24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpem.2019.03.003

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