Teenage aggression might initially be mistaken for teen angst and rebellion. However, when teen aggression escalates and continues to disrupt your family dynamics, it could be related to underlying causes such as mental health issues, ADHD, learning disabilities, or substance abuse.
If your teen is displaying aggressive behavior, it’s important to schedule a mental health assessment to diagnose possible conditions and identify signs of trauma. Here we look at teenage aggression and what to do when it becomes too much to handle.
What Is Considered Aggressive Behavior?
Teen aggression can include verbal aggression, violence, and/or anti-social behavior such as:
- Shouting
- Constant cursing
- Abusive language
- Sarcasm
- Insults
- Physical violence
- Out-of-control behavior such as staying out all night, skipping school, fighting with friends, etc.
- Bullying
- Purposefully harmful gossiping and spreading rumors
- Damaging property
Consider the Type of Aggression
Teen aggression can manifest itself in two ways:
1. Impulsive aggression that is uncontrollable and spontaneous such as yelling at you when you tell them to do something or pushing a sibling when they are “hogging” the computer.
2. Instrumental aggression that is planned and intentional with a goal in mind such as bullying, gossiping about a friend, or damaging property for revenge.
Consider Causes of Aggression
By causes, we don’t mean the incident that led to the aggressive behavior, but instead possible underlying causes and conditions. In younger children, tantrums and meltdowns are stressful, but they are part of the development process. However, if your child has more intense moments of violence and aggression that last beyond preschool, it is of more concern. This is because as a child gets older, their strength and size make their aggressive child behavior progressively more dangerous for the child, their family and those around them. Some possible causes of aggressive teenage behavior might include:
- ADHD
- Anxiety
- Undiagnosed learning disabilities
- Sensory processing issues
- Autism
- Mood disorders
- Substance use or abuse
- Behavioral disorders
- History of physical or sexual abuse
Having your child diagnosed as soon as they demonstrate aggressive behavior will help them receive treatment and parental supports that help you manage their condition. If the behavior is new to a teen, a visit to their family doctor to discuss their behavior is recommended. They can refer your child to a specialist who can diagnose potential underlying issues or events such as sexual abuse or some sort of childhood trauma that has led to the behavior.
What Happens if Teen Aggression Isn’t Addressed?
Aggression, whether at home or at school, with family or friends, or authority figures such as parents or teachers always has consequences. If your teen’s aggression is not addressed it can interfere with their education if events occur at school, including being suspended or in chronic cases, expulsion. It can also have a terrible effect on your family dynamic as your teen continues to act aggressively towards their siblings and constantly challenges your authority.
When their aggression is directed at friends, peers or strangers it can put them at risk for dangerous encounters including violence, injury and death. If your teen is in a romantic relationship their behavior could be very damaging emotionally to the people they are involved with. These scenarios can limit your child’s opportunities and lead to social isolation. If their behavior is related to harassing others or damaging property, they might even face encounters with the law. All these consequences can be avoided if your teen’s behavior is addressed early on.
What If Proper Action Isn’t Effective?
A teen’s aggression might require therapies, medication, counseling, or a combination of approaches that might not be successful. If this is the case, the risk of long-lasting effects increases. One of the most effective and safest ways to provide help for your teen is to consider full-time care in a structured environment. When teens continue to demonstrate aggression, it could be their way of trying to cope with difficult emotions related to serious conditions that require ongoing care such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic disorders.
A full-time solution such as a therapeutic boarding school will provide ongoing care from a team of mental health professionals, counselors, and teachers who can continue to provide treatment, education, support and care. Your teen can discover the cause of their aggression and reduce their aggressive behavior by learning coping mechanisms. As a result, they can find a path of healing and enjoy academic and personal success.
Telos Academy has helped hundreds of families in similar situations to yours. Although we aren’t the right solution for every family, we are here to discuss your teen to see if we are the right fit. Request more info here.