Adolescence is a challenging developmental period for teenagers and for their parents.
I'm Dr. Robert Archer, professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Eastern Virginia Medical School. Parents may become concerned about dramatic changes in their sons or daughters during adolescence, and may even wonder if their teenagers are displaying behaviors that should concern them in terms of their child's emotional well being. These issues have become even more marked after the recent media attention given to a small number of psychologically disturbed adolescents who have perpetuated violence in their schools. Some behaviors, however, are not part of normal development. Threats regarding suicide or homicide, for example, are not part of standard adolescent development and should always be taken seriously.