10.3.1 Addressing the Youth's Developmental Issues | 10.3.2 Adolescent Sexuality
To successfully work with youth, caseworkers and providers of services for adolescents must understand adolescent development, and stay abreast of those things that an adolescent needs to learn and know, as they move through adolescence and into adulthood.
Consolidating one's identity, learning to establish intimate and meaningful relationships, learning to deal with emotions, overcoming doubts about cultural and sexual identity and adjusting to physical and hormonal changes are just part of what an adolescent is struggling with on a daily basis. Developmental theory suggests that an individual cannot progress to the next developmental stage until the previous stage is completed. For some adolescents who have been traumatized, growth and development may be delayed or severely impacted.
Meeting the youth's developmental needs and addressing developmental delays involves caregivers assisting the youth in working toward an adult identity, helping to resolve any cultural or gender issues, learning to establish intimate and meaningful relationships with others and appropriately handling their emotions. In early adolescence (10-13 years), the youth are beginning to distance themselves from parental figures while looking for emotional ties outside of parents or a family arrangement. Emotional conflict occurs because the youth experience a loss of identity with family but have not yet fully developed the emotional ties with a peer group.
During middle adolescence, strong peer group ties have been formed with the youth adopting group values and ideas such as interests in specific clothing and music. Peer pressure impacts behavior. This is often the period when teens have no fear and begin to display risky behaviors. Many also begin to explore adult-like roles such as dating, part-time work and learning various life skills. Caregivers need to be diligent in monitoring and supervising the adolescents in their care during this phase.
Late adolescence is the time when the youth accepts more adult-like responsibilities. Youth begin to think about the future. Normal adjustment problems are to be expected, as youth are ambivalent about fully accepting an adult role.
Youth in substitute care experience the same adolescent developmental stages as do other youth. For youth in care, however, these normal stages may be delayed and exacerbated by the abuse or neglect which brought them into care and their experiences while in the child welfare system; i.e., multiple moves, worker turnover.
Physical maturation, increased sex drive and a struggle for identity are hallmarks of adolescent development. As youth explore their sexuality, caseworkers and caregivers must be careful not to label normal behaviors and explorations of sexual orientation as sexually acting out behavior.
The youth's positive acceptance of and adjustment to his or her sexuality is dependent on:
· His or her self-esteem
· The level of support from family and friends
· The youth's knowledge of human sexuality issues and resources
· The level of support and acceptance within the youth's community
· The youth's coping skills and his or her ability to recognize when they need help.
Workers and caregivers can support youth in dealing with sexuality issues by:
· Ensuring all youth receive life skills training which includes specific training on sexuality and health, including topics such as disease prevention, condom use, negotiating skills and family planning. (Information regarding these classes can be obtained through the Department's Division of Education and Transition Services, through the youth's independent living placement or a local public health professional);
· Giving him/her positive support and comments;
· Being non-judgmental.
Gay youth represent a population which have more acute needs in the area of sexuality based in part on the bias and pressures generated by other youth and society in general. Workers and caregivers can support gay youth by:
· Referring him/her to community resources that provide services for the gay population. More information about local community resources can be obtained from the Division of Education and Transition Services.
· Ensuring that any providers working with the youth deliver services that do not discriminate on the basis of gender or sexual preference.
· Ensuring youth are knowledgeable about physical and emotional health disorders for which they may be vulnerable as they pursue the personal journey to self-acceptance.
· Being aware that gay youth are at risk for depression and suicide
10.3.1 Addressing the Youth's Developmental Issues | 10.3.2 Adolescent Sexuality