Features of the adolescent brain help explain adolescent behavior and the risk of mental health problems.

We’ve already mentioned that adolescents experience more intense physiological arousal to emotional stimuli and more negative (and positive)emotional states.

As they experience the emotional highs and lows more intensely than other age groups, they also experience a curious neural reorganization in early adolescence that affects their ability to differentiate shades of grey when feelings are negative, stressful or unpleasant.

This makes negative emotions like anger and sadness more intense.

The developments in the so-called ‘social brain’ make them uniquely responsive to context, such as peer influence, peer rejection and social comparison.

All of this happens while control or executive functions are underdeveloped.

Not all teens experience this to the same degree, but for some, this can feel like a lot of distress.