Socio-emotional development in adolescence
During adolescence, socio-emotional development continues, a process through which individuals learn to understand and manage their emotions , set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. Socio-emotional development is considered to encompass several areas: emotional awareness, self-esteem and self-knowledge, emotional regulation, social awareness/empathy, and relationship and conflict resolution skills.
- Emotional awareness consists of knowing your own emotions and the emotions of others.
- Self-esteem is the benchmark for valuing oneself and is related to the need to be appreciated and valued. People with high self-esteem tend to show more security and confidence in themselves and others.
- Emotional regulation refers to giving an appropriate response to the emotions we experience, favoring positive ones and managing other emotions such as anger, fear, or sadness appropriately.
- Empathy is the ability to recognize, understand, and connect with the emotions of others. It allows us to understand the world from another person's perspective, and this is key to building good relationships with others.
- Interpersonal skills are related to the ability to interact and communicate effectively with others. Some examples of social skills include: initiating, maintaining, and ending a conversation; waiting one's turn; listening to others; expressing feelings appropriately; asking for help when needed; saying no; expressing oneself assertively; formulating and responding to a complaint; demonstrating sportsmanship in a game/knowing how to lose gracefully; coping with peer pressure; and resolving interpersonal conflicts.
Ten Commandments for Understanding and Promoting Adolescent Mental Health
There are some sex/gender differences in socio-emotional development. It is generally considered that girls develop an earlier ability to recognize faces and facial expressions, identify emotions, and sense others' distress. Similarly, they tend to develop prosocial behavior (interest in what happens to others, offering help) earlier, as well as an earlier ability to recognize nonverbal components of communication.
Other distinguishing features include an earlier capacity to show empathy and understand others' perspectives. We also know that there are differences in sociocultural norms of emotional expression based on gender: anger, rage, and externalization are more accepted in boys, while girls learn not to express such feelings from a very young age.
On the other hand, girls tend to socialize in dyads (two girls together) rather than in large groups during preschool and school years and engage in more language-based play. Boys tend to participate in group activities, especially sports. The socio-environmental or biological component of these differences is not yet fully understood.
Shyness and social anxiety in adolescence
Shyness is characterized by feeling uncomfortable in new social situations or situations where social evaluation is anticipated. This often leads to feelings of insecurity in situations that involve interacting with others. Shyness in adolescence can be very common because teenagers must learn new social roles and expectations , as well as adapt to and accept the physical, hormonal, and emotional changes inherent in this stage of life. All of this can result in a certain lack of confidence in themselves and their own social skills.
Shy teenagers may worry excessively about what others think, fear negative criticism or making a fool of themselves, and therefore may have difficulty starting or ending conversations, expressing feelings, or speaking in public. When shyness is severe, social situations are often avoided, which has a negative impact on the person's life.
Emotional education of children and young people
Thus, excessive shyness is associated with social adjustment problems, such as social withdrawal or inhibition and social reticence, which leads to a significant decrease in the number and quality of friendships. When shyness is very high, the adolescent may develop social phobia, requiring specialized services.
Shyness, in turn, can be associated with difficulties in developing social skills. Teenagers with poor social skills often feel more insecure in social settings. This insecurity, in turn, often leads them to avoid social situations that are necessary for developing social skills, thus hindering their development. In this case , it will be important to provide the teenager with specific support to improve their social skills.
This is an original article from the School of Health at Sant Joan de Déu Hospital in Barcelona . For more information on family communication, please consult the 12th FAROS Report "A look at the mental health of adolescents - Keys to understanding and supporting them."
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