I agree with Freud’s argument that mood fluctuations mark adolescence stage. During this period, teenagers experience rapid physical changes that affect their behaviors. The mood fluctuations are widely attributed to biological changes related to puberty, rather than the adolescent’s social contexts. During puberty, hormonal levels change from time to time, thereby causing mood swings. In most cases, the effects of the hormonal changes vary between girls and boys (Casey, Jones & Hare, 2008). Boys at this stage are impulsive, aggressive, and irritable whereas girls demonstrate depressive moods. However, both teachers and parents can help restore the adolescents’ sense of being in control of their emotion by establishing rules and repercussions, uncovering the reasons behind their emotions, giving them time to retreat and helping them identify healthy ways of managing their emotions.
Moreover, I agree with Freud’s assertion that adolescence is marked by fluctuations in moods, which are attributed to both biological changes and the factors in the social context of the lives of the adolescents. The brain during puberty is subjected to extensive changes that result in the production of raging hormones that influence teenage behavior (Casey, Jones & Hare, 2008). However, the relationship between mood and hormones in adolescents is somewhat weak. Just like biological factors, stressful changes that characterize adolescents’ environments considerably influence their moods. Nonetheless, there are various approaches that teachers and adults can apply in the classroom or at home respectively to help restore adolescents' sense of being "in control" of their emotions. Some of these strategies include explaining to teenagers that getting emotional is ok, but some ways of expressing their emotions are unacceptable. Another approach is to encourage them to direct their emotions to other activities including sport or expressing them through writing or art.
Reference
Casey, B.J., Jones, R.M., & Hare, T.A. (2008). The Adolescent Brain. Annals of New York Academy of Sciences, 1124, 111-126.
