Discuss the factors that contribute to adolescent moodiness

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Higher pubertal hormone levels are linked to greater moodiness, but only modestly so. In several studies, adolescents reported less favorable moods than school-age children and adults. But negative moods were linked to a greater number of negative life events, such as difficulties getting along with parents, disciplinary actions at school, and breaking up with a boyfriend or girlfriend. Negative events increased steadily from childhood to adolescence, and teenagers also seemed to react to them with greater emotion than children. Compared with the moods of older adolescents and adults, those of younger adolescents ( ages 12 to 16 ) were less stable, often varying from cheerful to sad and back again. These mood swings were strongly related to situational changes. High points of adolescents' days were times spent with friends and in self-chosen leisure activities. Low points tended to occur in adult-structured settings—class, job, and religious services. Furthermore, emotional highs coincided with Friday and Saturday evenings, especially in high school. Going out with friends and romantic partners increases so dramatically during adolescence that it becomes a "cultural script" for what is supposed to happen. Teenagers who spend weekend evenings at home often feel profoundly lonely. Yet another contributor to adolescent moodiness is change in sleep schedules. Although teenagers need almost as much sleep as they did in middle childhood (about nine hours), they go to bed much later than they did as children, perhaps because of increased neural sensitivity to evening light. This sleep "phase delay" strengthens with pubertal development. Sleep-deprived adolescents are more likely to suffer from depressed mood, achieve poorly in school, and engage in high-risk behaviors, including drinking and reckless driving.