How Can Parents Help Teach Generation Z Teens about Living in Uncertain Times?  

The prolonged health and safety stressors of COVID-19 has many parents reaching out to mental health professionals with concern over their teenagers’ increased levels of anxiety. In the United States, teenagers already experience higher rates of anxiety disorders than any previous generation in history. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, the prevalence of anxiety disorders among adolescents aged 13-18 is 31.9%, with females at a higher rate (38%) than males (26.1%). Some teen anxiety is normal due to typical teen life stressors, including friends and family dynamics, self-identity, body image, achievement, and college admission. However, these stressors are heavily impacted by COVID-19, with added challenges brought on by distance learning, the disruption of the college process, and shelter-in-place orders disconnecting Generation Z teens from their vital in-person relationships. The result has high school seniors feeling robbed of their teenage memories with the hallmarks of their high school experience all but canceled. On the other hand, freshman high school students worry if the effects of the pandemic will allow them to have a “normal” high school experience at all. Living in these uncertain times, should parents be concerned that Generation Z’s mental health wellness has become increasingly fragile? One of the unique stress factors Generation Z faces is that teenagers today have, unfortunately, grown up in a heightened state ...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Children and Teens Parenting Child Development Coping Skills coronavirus COVID-19 Emotional Development pandemic Uncertainty Source Type: blogs