An analysis of the problems encountered concerning the transition from childhood to adulthood

Adolescence is the period in life just before maturity; it is the transition from childhood to adulthood. This transition is quite often very difficult one as the child adjusts, and has to come to terms with the responsibilities that they face as they progress in life. This essay will look at peer pressure and the other causes of stress, along with the implications of poor diet. It will consider the consequences of relationships and sexual activity, boredom, drug use and depression, and how much social and economical aspects play a part in their well being.

One of the biggest pressures faced by adolescents today is the one from their own contemporaries. Peer pressure plays a huge part in any teenagers’ life and being accepted, and having the approval of friends is very important. This can be anything from listening to the right music to wearing the right jeans. Peer pressure is not always negative; sometimes the adolescent will strive to do well in certain sports or activities to gain the respect from their friends. (Witmer, D 2004)

[...] In the year 2002 there were 43,468 babies born to girls under the age of 20 in the UK. This doesn’t take into account the thousands of miscarriages and abortions that are performed on teenagers every year. Britain has the highest teenage pregnancy rate in Europe. Because of this and the social disadvantages that tend to accrue to very young mothers and their children, the government set up a Teenage Pregnancy Unit in 1998 with the aim of halving the number of teenage pregnancies within 10 years. [...]

[...] (www.youngminds.org.uk) The pressure for adolescents to perform well in exams is immence, this maybe the first serious kind of stress that they encounter. (Adams, C 2000) The Social and Public Health Services Unit at Glasgow University studied 2,700 school pupils and discovered that the mental health of teenagers has deteriorated. Two groups of 15-year-olds were interviewed in 1987 and 2003 using a standard questionnaire. The results showed that stress levels have almost doubled in the last 15 years. This was mainly due to exam pressure. [...]