Environmental Factors that Affect Adolescent Development

A student?s environmental circumstances often include a single parent in the home, limited financial resources, and limited parental supervision. Thus, many young people must assume responsibilities making them appear more independent than they are emotionally. For example, youth are often responsible for youngsters in the family. This added responsibility can conflict with school attendance (baby-sitting during school hours) and grades (lack of privacy or study time). Without adult supervision, young people must take more responsibility for themselves before they are ready.

Growing up in poverty will often affect a young person’s developing sense of identity and goals. Youth may have few role models for success. They see parents, grandparents, and sometimes great-grandparents struggling with the same problems, with little change or progress from generation to generation. This affects the young person’s ability to picture his/her life or future in a positive way. Instead of planning for education or career, some youth may show little concern for the future. Some youth are motivated and determined to take charge of their lives and develop their potential, whereas some do not have a vision for themselves and may present a frustrating challenge for mentors.

There will be students from all along the continuum. Part of the mentor’s challenge is to determine where the student fits into the developmental picture. A combination of knowledge, intuition, and the continued desire to discover more about the youth will help mentors help their students.

PROBLEMS OF THE URBAN POOR

Since many mentor programs deal with youth in urban poverty, mentors need to understand the unique problems that arise for youth because of this environment.

In general, youth growing up in poor urban areas face problems that would overwhelm many adults:

• Fear of personal safety due to crime in neighborhoods.
• Violence in neighborhoods leads to violence in schools.
• School dropout rate is high; peer culture fosters quitting school more often than graduating.
• Sexual activity is at an earlier age; youth are less likely to use birth control, hence three to four times more likely to become teen parents; parenthood during adolescence provides bleak prospects for schooling, employment, and future income; these youth are also at greater risk of sexually transmitted diseases, including

AIDS. In learning to survive in often-hostile environments, many teens exhibit caution, mistrust, cynicism, and even hopelessness. Mentors may have difficulty breaking through the tough outer shell to the "real" person inside. Knowledge and understanding will help the mentor to persevere.

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