Violence Among Adolescents: What Happens To Young People?

Violence among adolescents can be explained in many ways. In order to analyze what happens to young people, we also need to examine the role of adults in this regard.

Violence among adolescents: what happens to young people and adults?

It is worth saying that the role of adults in relation to teens can be an important factor and contribute to positively transforming their interests and projects. This requires adults to be present. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always happen.

Is lack of time the only culprit?

While many people have to work long hours, there can also be misinformation about the importance of the role parents play in their children’s teenage years.

We often hear parents say things like “My child is grown up now, it’s time for them to take care of themselves” . While there is some truth in this sentence, the fact that your child is following their own path does not mean that you should completely separate yourself from them now.

You increase the physical distance with your child when they seem confident enough as they learn to climb the stairs. Something similar also happens in puberty. If you think they can take care of themselves in many things, step aside.

Violence among adolescents: how do adults deal with conflict?

How adults deal with conflict is a decisive factor in predicting what will happen to their teens. Likewise, setting boundaries in childhood can anticipate many of the problems that can arise during puberty. Adolescent violence may be related to the way teens solve problems.

It is therefore essential that parents receive regular counseling through pediatric consultations. Likewise, when their teens reach puberty, it’s important that parents try to talk to a professional about teen health issues.

Adolescents and gangs

Much has been said and written about this subject. Do violent video games have any impact on childhood and puberty violence? Common sense makes you think that while there may be some influence, it’s not the only factor.

In this sense, Guillermo Goldfarb, pediatrician and member of the Information and Communication Technologies Subcommittee of the Argentine Pediatric Association, in his publication ‘ Infants, children, adolescents and screens: what’s new? ‘ (English link) that adults, who are responsible for upbringing and childcare, are also increasingly engrossed in fencing. This situation sometimes generates significant gaps in communication with the family.

On the other hand, he also points out that there seems to be a consensus that a child should not interact with screens before they are two years old. In this regard, this topic was also raised by professionals of the Valencian Pediatric Society.

The recommendations recently published on the subject by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) suggest that this age be lowered to 18 months. Before this age, parents should only allow Real-Time video applications (such as Skype or FaceTime) to communicate with relatives who live far away.

What should you think about with regard to violence among adolescents?

It is important to remember that problematic use of the Internet, including video games, is a growing concern. In addition, the Internet and video games sometimes cause a decline in interest in real-world relationships. In addition, numerous “frustrated attempts to reduce the time adolescents spend on these activities and withdrawal symptoms,” as Dr. Goldfarb notes.

Additional Tips

• Don’t stop raising your teen.
• Do not assume that you can withdraw from your teen because they have reached this stage of life.
• Promoting progressive independence from an early age can help with this.
• Violence among adolescents does not come out of nowhere. Instead, it has a certain pattern, which means that it is possible to prevent it.