Day 18 – Q 3.What are adolescents vulnerable to? Examine. How can these vulnerabilities be reduced? Have any initiatives been launched by the government in this direction? Discuss.
3. What are adolescents vulnerable to? Examine. How can these vulnerabilities be reduced? Have any initiatives been launched by the government in this direction? Discuss.
किशोरावस्था की भेद्यताे क्या हैं? जांच करें। इन्हें कैसे कम कर सकते हैं? इस दिशा में क्या सरकार द्वारा कोई पहल शुरू की गई है? चर्चा करें।
Synopsis:
Adolescence, the period of life between childhood and adulthood, is defined by the transition from parental dependence to relative autonomy. During this time, important changes take place in the structure and workings of the brain, and in the mental abilities which underlie some of the most sophisticated human behaviours.
Adolescents today face complex and changing environments in which many things can go right and wrong. If we are to serve and protect them, we must have a full appreciation of these environments as well as society’s opportunities to shape them.
- One of the central events of adolescence is puberty, the transition to reproductive maturity.
- We now know that adolescence is also a socio-cultural phenomenon. Across time and place, its duration varies widely, as do its “typical” behaviours.
- Abuse and neglect: Abuse and neglect during development are associated with alterations in brain structure. This may increase the risk of psychiatric illnesses such as depression and borderline personality disorder in adulthood.
- Gender: Brain development shows subtle differences across gender, at puberty, some of these gender differences accentuate, and are attributed to the effects of puberty hormones on neural tissue.
- Cannabis: The short and long term impacts of recreational and addictive substances may differ in adolescence compared to adulthood.
- Puberty and nutrition: There is evidence that the age of puberty onset is dependent on both foetal and childhood nutritional intake.
- Population-wide changes in nutritional status may therefore impact brain development via mechanisms related to pubertal timing.
- Cyber-crime: People all over the world are vulnerable to cyber-crime but adolescents are more vulnerable as the outside world is exciting to them and they often fell prey to lucrative things and emotions
- Culture and ethnicity: Intriguingly, there is evidence that aspects of brain structure may vary across culture. Such differences could potentially reflect the impact of differing linguistic and social environments on the developing brain, although the direction of causality is difficult to determine.
Optimising adolescent development and experience:
- Dietary supplementation: Diet can have a profound impact on the brain and mental health, and represents one means for policy makers to effect positive change.
- Maternal dietary supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids during pregnancy can improve cognitive indicators of infant brain development shortly after birth.
- Cultural inclusion: The presentation and recovery rates of many mental health problems vary widely across cultures.
- There are a number of mechanisms that might underlie this disparity, including culturally insensitive diagnostic criteria, variations in social expectations for “normal” behaviour, difficulties in access to mental health facilities, and societal stigma.
- Positive impact of adolescent peer relationships: The impact of peer influence on adolescent risk perception and risky behaviour has been highlighted.
- However, peers also have an important and positive role to play for adolescents.
Government initiatives:
- Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK): It identifies six strategic priorities for adolescents such as nutrition, sexual and reproductive health, non-communicable diseases, substance misuse, injuries and violence including gender-based violence and mental health.
- The Adolescence Education Programme (AEP): It is an important initiative that aims to empower young people with accurate, age appropriate and culturally relevant information, promote healthy attitudes and develop skills to enable them to respond to real life situations in positive and responsible ways.
- Kishori Shakti Yojana (KSY): It seeks to empower adolescent girls, so as to enable them to take charge of their lives. It is viewed as a holistic initiative for the development of adolescent girls.
- Atal Innovation Mission for: Adolescents of 6 to class 12 so that they develop a scientific temper which is also a Directive Principle of State Policy.
- Mission XI Million: So that child gets healthy by playing football and he can learn the essence of team spirit.
Best answer: Ankita munshi
