Anger Management for Adolescents
Today’s adolescents face daily situations which cause feelings of anger. For example, emotional factors like poverty, divorce, physical or psychological abuse, neglect, and alcoholism can place adolescents in situations which lead to a lack of control. As a way of dealing with these factors, the human emotion called anger often becomes the dominant feeling that surpresses all others. It is important that adolescents learn anger management strategies.
It is highly unlikely anyone will go through life without experiencing anger, especially as an adolescent. The trick for adolescents is to make sure they know the difference between their emotions and their ability to act outside of their feelings! Often managing adolescent anger and understanding the causes of their anger is a mystery; but generally the anger is set off by triggers. Understanding potential triggers may help parents take the right steps to deal with their anger.
Causes of Anger in Adolescents
- Inadequacy in Family Life
- Limited contact with family or a feeling of limited direction from family members, especially parents!
- Exposure to domestic Violence at home
- Expectations or attitudes encouraging violence in the home
- Neighborhoods that have a high gang or crime rates are highly prone, or neighborhoods with nothing to do could also be a source of anger.
- Boredom may lead to trouble or bad attitudes
- School and Peers may lead to a great deal of stress.
Often times, these situational encounters when not monitored by an adult lead to violent confrontations. In addition, adolescent’s use of alcohol or illicit drug can further contribute to anger and out of control behaviors. Emotional intelligence, helping adolescents distinguish themselves as separate from their emotions and able to control how they feel can be a key factor in helping them manage anger and the negative effect it can have on thier life. If you have an adolescent or young adult who suffers from poor anger management issues, it is vital that they recieve proper help for their behavior and learn to deal with the feelings in a mature, fulfilling manner. Anger issues left unchecked can contribute to a wide array of poor life choices, negatively effect personal relationships and cause a loss of self-esteem.