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YOUTH MINISTRY
Struggles of Adolescence
by Lex Horton
The struggle for maturity during the teen years is difficult and sometimes painful. Caring adults who work with youth know that developing meaningful relationships with young people can strengthen them for the inevitable rough moments of adolescence. Five common issues maturing teenagers face and the corresponding signs of growth are outlined below.
1. Identity
During the teen years, youth become aware that they are in the process of trying to discover their place in the world. They undergo a time of transition from the carefree security of childhood (if indeed they have experienced a carefree childhood) to their perceptions of adulthood. Living during the “in-between time” of adolescence (no longer a child but not quite an adult) and feeling unsure of who they are throws most young people into the struggle to develop their own unique identities.
Sign of Growth Toward Maturity
When a teenager exhibits the ability to set goals, relate with others, and sustain a sense of personal worth, meaning, and purpose in life, that young person is growing toward the mature side of the struggle for identity.
2. Independence
Adolescence is a transition from total dependency to interdependence. Teens often see this time as a struggle to be completely free. Their actual search, however, is only for partial freedom. Young people think they want full independence, but they have trouble handling such total freedom. Most adults are aware that the more freedom a person has, the greater his or her responsibility. Much of youthful rebelliousness is rooted in this struggle.
Sign of Growth Toward Maturity
As a teenager begins taking responsibility for their own actions, that young person is growing toward the mature side of their struggle for independence.
3. Intimacy
During the teen years, youth begin exploring the meaning of human relationships. At some level, they become aware of how they relate to others as sexual beings and begin the process of sorting out their feelings of what it means to be male or female. Unfortunately, many young people do not reflect on what they feel or think and simply move through the circumstances of their lives not fully aware of what they are experiencing and what these experiences might mean.
Sign of Growth Toward Maturity
A young person who relates consistently to others as persons rather than objects to be used is maturing in the struggle for intimacy.
4. Inspiration
Adolescence is often a time of grand and glorious dreams. Youth begin the transition from preoccupation with their own needs to imagining the potentials of life and the world, whether for good or ill. Some call this “looking through rose-colored glasses.” Other teens, however, are not so hopeful about the future. The ability to look at life with a fresh perspective can be a powerful force in bringing about necessary change. We stifle the creative energy and vision of young people when we fail to listen to them, when we ridicule them for having “unrealistic” ideas, or when we dismiss their concerns as trivial.
Sign of Growth Toward Maturity
Whenever a teenager is able to look at life and the world with a fresh perspective, that young person is maturing in their struggle for inspiration.
5. Investment
During the teen years, youth make the transition from simply following others to being concerned with various causes or for particular individuals. They begin developing significant commitments as they continue testing and refining ways to be successful. Young people want to be noticed for doing something. In a best-case scenario, a teenager is provided avenues for success where they accomplish something worthwhile and are given proper recognition for doing so. In a worst-case scenario, an adolescent does whatever they can to get the attention they likely do not realize they need.
Sign of Growth Toward Maturity
The ability to commit to a worthwhile cause or causes, without going overboard, signals a teenager’s growing maturity in the struggle to find something meaningful in which they can invest themselves.
This list is not exhaustive, but it does highlight some of the more important issues that contemporary youth encounter. May God continue to bless your work with young people. Know that your efforts are not in vain.
Lex Horton is editor of Intersection and lives in Macon, Georgia, with his wife and three children. At the time of this writing, the aliens have not yet come for his middle school daughter, but he can see the mother ship on the horizon. For the content of this article he is indebted to Merton Strommen’s Five Cries of Youth, 2d rev. ed. (New York: HarperCollins, 1993).
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