Greenspan looks at an individual in terms of constitutional strengths and weaknesses and in terms of what stages the person has mastered. The constitutional part includes what strengths or weaknesses the person might have been born with, or acquired. An example of a constitutional strength would be exceptional skills at running, throwing and other gross motor activities. A constitutional weakness might be hypersensitivity to noise, so that the person may become disorganized or experience great pain around loud noises that most people can cope with. The person may have mastered all the stages of emotional development, or may have partially mastered some.
Adolescents go through a period of rapid change both physically and psychologically.
Personal and family stress can reach crisis proportions, and many people regard adolescence as a difficult time. However, adolescence is filled with opportunities for social, psychological, and emotional growth. There are few times in life when people are as ready and willing to change. Parents and their adolescents must learn new ways of communicating and negotiating with each other. The old ways of enjoying a close relationship with a parent usually have to change, since they may seem immature and babyish to a growing adolescent.