How Can Parents Reduce or Remove the "Storm and Stress" of Adolescence?

Abstract

Until the creation of adolescence one hundred years ago, this period of time was not characterised by opposition and disconnection. Today however, many parents with adolescents are struggling and statistics reinforce this experience. The research question is: how can parents reduce or remove the “storm and stress” of adolescence? There are differing views on the cause, but the overarching theme in the research is that “storm and stress” is caused by culture: horizontal rather than vertical passing of culture, technology, media, the billion-dollar youth culture that reinforce myths of “storm and stress,” and the lack of value that adolescents hold in Western culture. This Capstone will include a discussion of parenting styles that are detrimental as well as parenting styles that lead to confident adolescents and close adolescent-parent relationships. With the research demonstrating that “storm and stress” is not inevitable, an important piece of this Capstone looks at how parents and professionals can turn these negative stereotypes around, face these myths, and either reduce or remove the “storm and stress.” Ultimately, this Capstone outlines in detail a program for parents that will educate and support them in developing strong and close relationships with their adolescents in such ways that “storm and stress” can either be prevented, or if it already exists, reduced, or removed. This Capstone is general in nature and is meant to address a broad group of parents of Western adolescents.