Introduction
Adolescents of the present day face many more choices, burdens and demands than earlier days. It may be related to managing one?s own emotions and feelings, developing an individual identity, resisting peer pressure, building interpersonal relationships, adjusting to changing roles and responsibilities, or gaining informations on education services and managing academic pressures. These demands and burdens not only give them autonomy, but also lead to greater conflict, anxiety, decreased confidence, motivation and frustration if not handled properly, thus affecting their psychological well-being (Kaur, 2011).
Thus, there is a need for effective communication skills, stress management skills, coping skills, …show more content…
Assertiveness is an important social skill that promotes an individual?s well-being. Assertive individuals have an internal control; it enhances the self confidence, a positive attitude towards self and others. Individuals who are assertive show an acceptance of others attitude and feelings (Townsend, 2007). Assertiveness in communication promotes social support. It is an essential social skill that is required to resist peer pressure. Social support has a protective power and promotes individual?s adaptation, health, and well-being (Cheung and Sun, 2000). Assertiveness is an important social skill that acts as a preventive strategy for many high-risk problems (Goldberg-Lillehoj et al, …show more content…
Positive framing, planning, active coping and instrumental support were the frequently used coping strategies by the adolescents during stressful events. It was also reported that stress had a significant impact on the adolescent mental health. The impact may be in the form of internalizing problems as anxiety, withdrawal or somatic problems, or externalizing as rule breaking and aggressive behaviors (Mathew et al, 2015).
Adolescents coping with stress, the effect of loss of a parent, and the gender of adolescents were studied among Pakistani adolescents. It was found that the adolescents who were living with both the parents used active distractive ways of coping and more religious oriented coping when compared to adolescents with only one parent alive. Generally it was noticed that the most frequently used coping strategy was avoidance focused. Among the girls and boys, girls used more strategies to deal with stress than the boys (Kausar and Munia,