C . Emotional Changes The adolescent experiences many emotional changes in the process of growing up. Many of these changes are a consequence of the biological and physical changes that the adolescent is undergoing. It is true that adolescents are preoccupied with their physical body.
They imagine that others are noticing each and every aspect of their body and behaviour. A young person with pimples on the face may feel that everyone is first and foremost noticing that. However, there are individual differences in the way adolescents react to the bodily changes. A boy who does not have adequate growth of facial hair as compared to all the other boys of his age may feel peculiar about it.
However, this same lack of facial hair may not disturb another boy. A sense of pride or comfort with the way one is developing physically will contribute positively to the adolescents’ sense of self. On the other hand, if the adolescent is dissatisfied with one’s appearance beyond a point, it can prevent from concentrating on other aspects of her/his personality, work or studies. This can cause a dip in performance at school and a lowering of self-image or self-esteem.
A negative self-image can cause a person to feel insecure and also generate negative feelings about the body. An adolescent with a physical disability may not experience herself/ himself as any less than others, whereas a well-built adolescent boy may feel conscious and inadequate because he feels that his body is not “good enough”. The adolescent also experiences mood swings – for example, desiring the company of family members and friends at one time and wanting to be alone at other times. There may also be sharp bursts of anger.
A lot of this happens as the adolescent is trying to make sense of and understand the variety of changes she/he is experiencing at different levels.