Foundation for a Healthy Life - ACT for Youth

							Adolescent Emotional Development:
Foundation for a Healthy Life

       Janis Whitlock
            2011




                                                               Cornell University Family Life Development Center,
             Cornell University Cooperative Extension of New York City, New York State Center for School Safety,
                                                 University of Rochester Medical Center Div. of Adolescent Health
            What is emotion ?

  “A mental state that arises spontaneously rather than
through conscious effort. “

 “The part of the consciousness that involves feeling.”




                              Adolescent Emotional Development
                                                 Janis Whitlock • 2011
Why is emotion important?

        Emotion and emotion
      regulation is central to healthy
      mental, cognitive, social, and
      moral functioning




               Adolescent Emotional Development
                                  Janis Whitlock • 2011
     Why is emotion important? (cont.)


 Emotions are central to people’s capacity to make
meaning in their lives

  Emotions are strongly linked to coping style and
capacity which is, in turn, linked to behavior and social
relationships




                              Adolescent Emotional Development
                                                 Janis Whitlock • 2011
    Why is emotion important? (cont.)
 Sticks & stones may break my bones…
Emotional pain registers in same
brain regions that register
physical pain

Recall of emotional pain elicits a
greater brain pain response than
recall of physical pain
What is emotional development?

  The way human beings become aware of and
express feelings

  The role of emotion in everyday life

  The change over time in a person’s capacity to
cognitively identify, process, manage, and express
feelings




                              Adolescent Emotional Development
                                                 Janis Whitlock • 2011
              Emotional intelligence

“The ability to monitor one's own and others' feelings and
emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this
information to guide one's thinking and actions.”

                  - Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer




                              Adolescent Emotional Development
                                                 Janis Whitlock • 2011
       Emotional intelligence means that
          adolescents need to learn:
About themselves:                     About others:

Identify their own emotions             Identify emotion
Accept emotion                          Accept emotion
Recognize common patterns in            Separate their emotions
emotion, thoughts, and behaviors        from others
Separate their emotions from            Practice compassion
others                                  Understand how to assist
Manage their emotions                   without need to save




                                   Adolescent Emotional Development
                                                      Janis Whitlock • 2011
Emotional development in early
   adolescence: Challenges
  Mood swings
   Difficulty labeling and talking about feelings
   Difficulty separating emotions from thoughts and
behaviors
   Difficulty interpreting other people’s emotions and
intentions
   Internalizing and / or externalizing behavior
  Assume feelings represent reality accurately




                           Adolescent Emotional Development
                                              Janis Whitlock • 2011
      Emotional development in early
        adolescence: Opportunities

  Receptive to understanding more about emotions

  Interested in other’s feelings (especially peers!)

  Capable of intense emotion

  Capable of learning to separate thoughts and
behaviors from emotions




                             Adolescent Emotional Development
                                                Janis Whitlock • 2011
Emotional development in older
         adolescence

                    Compared with early
                    adolescence, older
                    adolescence is better
                    integrated with and
                    moderated by cognitive
                    capacity.




                  Adolescent Emotional Development
                                     Janis Whitlock • 2011
                Emotion and gender
When compared to males, females:
     Are more aware of their emotions and are more empathetic

     Tend to nurture themselves and others and to form alliances with a larger
     social group. Use “tend and befriend” responses to cope with emotional upset

 When compared to females, males:
   Show higher confidence, adaptability, and
   optimism than females

   Use internal and cognitively driven
   mechanisms for managing emotions




                                           Adolescent Emotional Development
                                                              Janis Whitlock • 2011
Emotion and culture
Basic emotions are universal but
vary significantly by culture

Social norms for managing
emotion
   Desirable and undesirable emotion
   Feeling rules
   Display rules




                   Adolescent Emotional Development
                                      Janis Whitlock • 2011
   How can we support healthy emotional
              development?
Model
Build on strengths
Respect variations in style
Provide opportunities to practice:
 Accepting and being with emotion
 Self-reflection skills
 Perspective-taking skills
 Being in the moment
 Questioning negative cultural messages
 Sharing emotions



                                    Adolescent Emotional Development
                                                       Janis Whitlock • 2011
                             Web-based resources
Raise awareness and emphasize value of emotion and self-knowing
      Enneagram: http://www.enneagraminstitute.com/
      Multiple intelligence and types: http://literacyworks.org/mi/assessment/findyourstrengths.html

Skill building activities to enhance emotional intelligence
      Emotional Intelligence Activities for Teens Ages 13-18 (University of Illinois Extension)
      http://my.extension.uiuc.edu/documents/257080502080208/Emotional_Intelligence_13-18.pdf
      Emotional Intelligence Activities for Children Ages 8-10 (University of Illinois Extension)
      http://my.extension.uiuc.edu/documents/257080502080208/Emotional_Intelligence_8-10.pdf
      Social skills activities (WINGS): http://www.wingsforkids.org/experience/hot-wings
      Reachout.com: http://us.reachout.com/

    Understanding Adolescence
      Understanding Adolescence: Adolescent Development, Sexual Health, Mental Health (ACT for Youth)
      http://www.actforyouth.net/health_sexuality/




                                                       Adolescent Emotional Development
                                                                             Janis Whitlock • 2011
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