Adolescent Emotional Development: Foundation for a Healthy Life

1. 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

2. 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 www.actforyouth.net Janis Whitlock • 2011

3. Why is emotion important? • Emotion and emotion regulation is central to healthy mental, cognitive, social, and moral functioning Adolescent Emotional Development www.actforyouth.net Janis Whitlock • 2011

4. 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 www.actforyouth.net Janis Whitlock • 2011

5. 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

6. 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 www.actforyouth.net Janis Whitlock • 2011

7. 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 www.actforyouth.net Janis Whitlock • 2011

8. Emotional intelligence means that adolescents need to learn: • About themselves: • Identify their own emotions • Accept emotion • Recognize common patterns in emotion, thoughts, and behaviors • Separate their emotions from others • Manage their emotions • About others: • Identify emotion • Accept emotion • Separate their emotions from others • Practice compassion • Understand how to assist without need to save Adolescent Emotional Development www.actforyouth.net Janis Whitlock • 2011

9. 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 www.actforyouth.net Janis Whitlock • 2011

10. 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 www.actforyouth.net Janis Whitlock • 2011

11. Emotional development in older adolescence Compared with early adolescence, older adolescence is better integrated with and moderated by cognitive capacity. Adolescent Emotional Development www.actforyouth.net Janis Whitlock • 2011

12. 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 www.actforyouth.net Janis Whitlock • 2011

13. 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 www.actforyouth.net Janis Whitlock • 2011

14. 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 www.actforyouth.net Janis Whitlock • 2011

15. 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 www.actforyouth.net Janis Whitlock • 2011

16. ACT for Youth Center of Excellence The ACT for Youth Center of Excellence connects positive youth development resources and research to practice in New York State and beyond. The Center provides: • Support for youth-serving programs funded by the New York State Department of Health. • Youth Development resources: www.actforyouth.net, publications, narrated presentations, and the e-letter ACT for Youth Update.Subscribe at http://www.actforyouth.net/publications/update.cfm • A home base for the ACT Youth Network. Visit the network at www.nysyouth.net Was this presentation useful? Please give us your feedback: http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22AEZWMYJH3 ACT for Youth Center of Excellence act4youth@cornell.edu • 607-255-7736•www.actforyouth.net