Psychological abuse in the adolescence - Essay Example

The feeling of guilt might become prominent in some cases. This might even make the individual become prone to self-injury or self-harm. The condition might become more evident through changes in the victim's body language. For instance, some victims avoid eye contact while talking to someone else. There are many chances that such people might get misunderstood for exhibiting such weird behavior patterns. However, it becomes very important to exercise patience and understand the real problem.

The need to do so becomes greater when the victim is an adolescent on the threshold of looking at life with an independent perspective as well as enthusiastic to take the responsibility of his/her own life. A psychological setback at this stage could just de-alienate them from their purpose and dreams. Samuel Griswold Goodrich's contention that abuse is the weapon of the vulgar is not at all exaggerated. How else would one explain the hatred of one human towards another by not only causing physical but also psychological trauma to another The concept of the entire humanity being an extended family just goes for a ride, for there is no tolerance and synonymous virtues attached to an action that robs an adolescent off his/her future.

It is vulgar and there cannot be a more disturbing explanation. The most common symptoms that come out as psychologica. However, a more banal form of abuse involving exhibitionism can be very shocking to young adolescents. Abuse of teenagers can also be in the form of physical or emotional neglect or parental incompetence. A salutary reminder is the number of children who are in care at any one time, some of whom will have been taken into care because of abuse at home. (The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, )It is very important to observe adolescents with an insightful eye.

According to leading theorist Erikson's contention, adolescents are constantly exploring their identity. Every stage in their life poses a new question on identity crisis. An abusive setback can add more chaos to this crisis. The stages of 'split images' and 'dispersion' might be at the helm during such a phase. The victims of psychological abuse are generally not very communicative about their experiences. Even when they are probed, most adolescents would talk in terms of flashbacks or also might try to exhibit dissociative symptoms.

Social withdrawal and avoidance of any stimuli that are closely related to the trauma (traumatic trigger) are very typical for traumatic experiences. Some adolescents try to self-medicate with alcohol and drugs to compensate for flashbacks and major emotional disturbances. Many adolescents are also afraid to talk about their traumatic experiences, especially if close relatives are involved. They may even feel extreme guilt over their failure to prevent the traumatic event. These adolescents need intensive care and protection.

There is another side to the concept of abuse. The abuse might not always have physical or sexual overtones. It could be as abstract as a perspective that an adolescent might develop as he/she is maturing. It could be