How Stressful Is the Transition to Adolescence for Girls

The stress experienced by the young adolescent is defined here in terms of the potentially stressful life events that characterize the transition from childhood to adolescence. Many researchers often focused on the fact that many aspects of the adolescent transition were not particularly stressful, at least for the majority of girls. In a vast literature on adults, the occurrence of stressful life events has been associated with physical illness as well as negative emotional states. As girls mature, they demand more independence from their parents. In some cases, they seek out girlfriends who are similar in pubertal maturation. Storminess, as evidenced by intense, negative, and labile moods, is believed to characterize the young adolescent's emotional landscape. Given the young adolescent is experiencing a number of events, the cumulative load of events may be triggering conflictual interactions via low impulse control and depressive and aggressive symptomatology.