ASE1201 Adolescent Health Assignment Sample

• Subject Code : ASE1201
• University : Victoria University My Assignment Services is not sponsored or endorsed by this college or university.
• Subject Name : Nursing

Population Health

I studied a Journal article based on Australian adolescent submitted by Irteja Islam et al. (2020) for my work along with other research paper.

Introduction to Adolescent Health

Adolescence, a ‘period of life from 10-19 years’ as described by the WHO (World Health Organization) is supposed to be a period of stress and strain. It is a transient stage from dependency to self-sufficiency. During adolescence, several physical and biological changes take place in the body which leads to confusion, frustration, tension, instability and sometimes ends up in depression. Adolescents are the backbone of every society (Pushpalatha & Sashikala, 2015), they represent the future of a country. Thus it is imperative to say that they need special attention particularly during when the puberty starts.

As the puberty changes occur, social attitudes and behaviour become antisocial that is why this age is sometimes known as the “negative phase” or a” period of disequilibrium”. Apart from these apparent changes, self-concept of the individual also goes under a significant change. Adolescents want to take their own decisions and sometimes like solitude. They become emotionally sensitive and get attracted to the opposite sex easily. Another striking feature of this particular age group which I observed is the distance from parents and close relationships with friends. They like to get involved with the peer group to explore the world outside and seek new opportunities. Adolescents experience sudden mood swings from being extremely happy to becoming extremely sad. Family relationships also play a key role in the development of adolescents.

Adolescents also experience cognitive changes and develop the capacity for abstract thinking, logical, critical and creative thinking. The major changes that take place during the initial period of adolescence are largely contributed by the hormonal changes occurring in the body. These hormonal changes sometimes become imbalanced which further aggravates the negativity among adolescents. A large number of adolescents did not access any assistance, although the incidence of seeking service for mental health was more among adolescents having suicidality in contrast with those having amental disorder (Irteja Islam et al., 2020).

Thus, adolescence is a period of multidimensional development. While going through my case study I found the following problems and their negative impact on adolescent health.

Problems among adolescents

The most common problem that adolescents face is related to psychosocial adjustment. This issue, in particular, leads to many other issues such as-

• Personality changes
• Stress, strain and ultimately depression
• Mental instability
• Substance abuse
• Unhealthy behaviours
• Anti-social tendency

Other adjustment problems may include –

• Adolescents want independence from parents
• Peer influence is on its peak
• Social acceptance becomes very important
• Lack of interest in school studies as they are more interested in electronic gadgets
• Poor time management, spend most of the productive time using mobile phones or on the laptop
• Adolescents want to be in solitude, they do not want interference from parents and siblings
• Drug or alcohol use to temporarily inhibit the problem or escape from the situation

Negative Outcomes

The negative outcomes of adjustment problems among adolescents are manifold. They are usually concerned with self-harming and are mentally deteriorating. The most commonly observed negative consequences would include-

• Risk-taking behaviour
• Drug addiction
• Suicidal tendency
• Chronic depression
• Criminal tendency
• Self-harming thoughts and practices
• Sexual experimentation

These negative tendencies require immediate treatment and need to be channelized in the positive direction otherwise they can prove pernicious or even fatal for the adolescent community. In Australia Suicidality among girls were high irrespective of the condition of their mental health (Irteja Islam et al., 2020).

Conclusion on Adolescent Health

As mentioned earlier, adolescents are the backbone of every country (NHS, 2016). They are going to be leaders of their country. Their health and education decides the future of a particular community. When we consider the adolescents to be the future of our country, we must pay attention to their overall health as well. Only a person can prove to be useful to the community. So as far as nursing is concerned it is mandatory to keep a check on their mental as well as physical health. If their problems are not rectified, they will only intensify in future and will affect their personal as well as professional life.

Reflective Essay on Adolescent Health

“No adolescent ever wants to be understood, which is why they complain about being misunderstood all the time” -Stephen Fry

The specific population group: It is very rightly said that adolescents do not want to be understood because they have a confused perspective towards life.

Major health issues: I interpreted that if they develop a negative approach towards self or towards life, it is difficult to change it. So it is better to pay attention to them from the very beginning. They indeed need a guide in their life but they do not know this fact. Relevant health risks: I feel that it is a complex stage of life where elders need to guide and understand them in order to make them mentally and physically healthy.

Common barriers: It is not only the responsibility of the parents only but school authorities and institutions are equally responsible. In the present era especially when parents are so busy, it becomes the responsibility of the educational institutions to introduce guidance and counselling services to help adolescents channelize their energy in the right direction and to guide them.

Role of Nurse: I will apply Counselling as an interactive process where clients (counselee) will be helped in dealing with their personal and interpersonal conflicts by a counsellor (professional and trained person). The objective will be to help the counselee and bring about a voluntary change. It is essentially a ‘helping relationship’.

Counselling will help to gain insight into the emotional difficulties and develop a meaningful and satisfying relationship with others, gaining self-awareness, self-actualization, self-acceptance and problem-solving in various aspect of life.

For the counselling of adolescents, there is a wide variety of techniques available but it depends upon the problem that which method is to be used. I am mentioning below some of the counselling methods adopted worldwide.

Personal counselling can be used to deal with behavioural problems and emotional distress which usually arise because of developmental stages of life.

Group Counselling can be used when the same problem is being faced by many adolescents rather than a single client (Bolyn, 2018).

Rehabilitationcounselling comes into play when the problem is concerned with a physical disability as such individuals usually feel secluded and demotivated.

Behavioural counselling is used when the unethical or unacceptable behaviour of the client is to be treated.

Cognitive behavioural therapy is a therapy which helps individual manage one’s problems by altering the way the person thinks and behaves.

References for Adolescent Health

Bolyn,M. (2018). Counseling techniques for adolescents. How to Adult. Retrieved from https://www.livestrong.com/article/212757-counseling-techniques-for-adolescents/ 

Pushpalatha & S.Sasikala. (2015). Counselling need among adolescent students. Indian Journal of Applied Research, 5(12), 1-3. Retrieved from https://www.worldwidejournals.com/

Cognitive behavioural therapy. (2016). Nhs.Uk. Retrieved from https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/cognitive-behavioural-therapy-cbt/

Ghosh, S.(1980 ) the effect of counseling on the study habits and achievement of teacher trainees (Doctoral thesis). Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10603/138934

Hurlock,E.B. (2007). Child development (6^th ed.). New Delhi, McGraw-Hill

Irteja Islam, M., Kabir, E., & Khanam, R. (2020). Suicidality, mental disorder and the utilization of mental health services among Australian adolescents. Children and Youth Services Review, 111, 104821. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.104821

‌Kashyap, D. (2015). 3 techniques used in counseling process in schools. Your Article Library. http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/education/guidance-in-schools/3-techniques-used-in-counselling-process-in-schools/

Ray,R., Mahapatro, S., & kar,S.S. (2011). Adolescent Counseling. Indian Journal of Clinical Practice, 22(3), 117-119.

SATI, L., & VIG, D. (2016). Need of psychological counselling among adolescents. Int J Appl Home Sci, 3, 441-46.

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