ABSTRACT

Adolescent development sparks remarkable growth and transformation. Neuroscientists have described the significant reorganization of the adolescent brain as “second only to the neonatal period in terms of both rapid biopsychosocial growth as well as changing environmental characteristics and demands” (Schore 2001). Interestingly, while adolescents’ physical and mental capacities expand greatly compared to younger children’s, they also undergo heightened reactivity to stress (Spear 2000). In fact, research indicates that physiologically, adolescents are especially ill-suited to cope with stress compared to other age groups (Spear 2000). In particular, adolescents face numerous difficulties with self-regulation as a result of a combination of rapid brain development and a variety of developmental stressors associated with increasingly complex family, peer group, and school relationships and responsibilities (Spessot et al. 2004).