They have stinky feet and bad attitudes. They push you away, even as they wish you closer. They're complicated, confusing, full of drama and full of themselves - they're teenagers, and they need YOU, perhaps now more than ever.
The Simmons College Longitudinal Study, which followed 400 people from age 5 (1977) to their mid-30's (today), was conceived to search for predictors of good mental health from early childhood onward. The study was designed to help caretakers, mental health professionals, and policy makers improve early identification and treatment of mental health issues. Overwhelmingly, the study shows that feeling valued by their families, and feeling that their opinions are considered within the family, are paramount to teen mental health, greatly reducing the risk for depression and suicide. The study also shows that adolescents who believe that they can rely on family members for advice, or who have parents or siblings they can view as confidants, have significantly increased chances for good academic achievement and overall healthy social and psychological adjustment.
Though the teenage years are when kids gravitate more toward peers and independent thought, the Simmons Study formally indicates what parents have assumed for generations: That even as they transition to adulthood, teens need to feel connected to their families, need the guidance of loving adults, and need to know that, even when they mess up (as they inevitably will), they are still loved and valued.
Easier said than done - as the parents of teens everywhere are thinking right now - but just as important as it was to you, when you were their age.
