Young Adults
16 - 25 year olds

Young adulthood is a significant time of change both physically and mentally. Current research suggests that this change is not completed in the brain structure until around 25 years of age. During this phase, with the accomplishments of puberty and pressures to discover relationships outside of the home, influence and unsettle many families. Young adults reach a stage in which their brain has developed sufficiently to see alternatives to the values and beliefs expressed in their childhood. The common mantra of young adults is an optimism of utopian thinking along with a denigration of the mess their parents’ generation has made of world order. Unfortunately lack of experience does not always allow the young adult to manage the chasm between ideal and real. Add to this the task of establishing sexual identity in a dramatically intense "market".

The young adult today has far more restrictions and yet have exposure to much more of the adult world than ever before. The rapid pace of social change, high rates of youth unemployment, higher expectations for education and learning, increased globalization, increased family breakdown, changing values and increased media influences all add to an uncertain world. Today independence is less and less likely to occur in the teen years. While media portrayals of adult like behaviour are seemingly younger and younger (particularly the marketing of sex), the reality is that young adults are dependent longer and longer on their parents. Youth unemployment and increased demands for education and training are marked changes in a persons ability to be independent, autonomous, and self-directed (in 1900 3% of the population went on to higher education, in 2005 over 40% did). Technology has changed forever the way in which young adults interact. Yet the tasks of young adulthood remain the same – establish who you are, your social identity in work, play and finances, your relationship identity with lovers, friends and relatives.

Ancient Roman Pueblos Syris wrote “there is no fruit that is not bitter before it is ripe”.

Physical and social changes may trigger mental health issues. Young adulthood is a common period of diagnosis of mental illness. The complicated factors in distinguishing mental illness from the struggles of growing up often mean that a young person’s difficulties are left undiagnosed and untreated until a crisis occur. Early intervention with specialist support is essential for quality of life for the young adult.

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CASE STUDY - Take, for example, ????

Other Mood disorders-
Depressive & Bipolar Disorders
Eating disorders - anorexia and bulimea
Disruptive behaviour disorders
Licit and Illicit Drug abuse and
Substance related disorders
Attention Deficit Disorders
Phobias

Psychological conditions reflected through physical symptoms -
Somatoform Disorders
Personality Disorders