Throughout the article, “Adolescence: Whose Hell is It?” by Virginia Rutter, there is an astonishing analysis on the way teens behave today and how parents are responding to their behavior in return. Rutter points out that as the adolescent rates of depression, suicide, substance abuse, delinquency, sexual activity, and health problems drastically increase, there are too few parents who are responding to the needs of their adolescent children. Parents are clearly the most influential models outside of the school, which can altar the amount of success in the classroom.

The author discusses how adolescents are emotionally and mentally separate from both children and adults because they can’t reason like adults, however they think more maturely than children. In this scenario it is very easy for a parent to continue to treat their teenage son or daughter like a child, which could lead to an early decaying relationship with the parent. Within American society, kids entering into their adolescent years usually bring a social stigma that culturally depicts teenagers as rebellious and lazy youths. Rutter explains that parents also continue to carry this social stigma with their own children. A report within the article stated that teens overall still have high levels of respect towards their parents. However, “when fighting does occur, it’s in families with younger teenagers, and it has to do at least in part with their burgeoning cognitive abilities” (Rutter 119).

Rutter also explains that while teenagers naturally develop a surge of hormonal activity during the first few years of adolescence, there can tend to be more aggression and depression within the adolescent. However, Rutter believes that it is the parents who

truly effect the way the teenager thinks and acts. The relationship through parents and their adolescent children will always be a mutual one. If the mutual relationship is broken on either end, than there will be consequences for both the parent and the teenager. Rutter believes that if parents don’t keep positive attitudes towards their adolescent child then it can have harsh affects on their own feelings. “Scientists have studied the behavior and emotions of parents as well as their adolescent children, and found that when children reach puberty, parents experience tremendous changes in themselves” (Rutter 119).

For instance, Rutter points to how marital satisfaction in fathers is directly affected by how actively their adolescents are dating. She also discusses the impact of working parents. Working parents may become burnt out by heavy levels of stress during the day and then have a tendency to lack the motivation to communicate with their adolescent child. These are all various ways in which the Rutter explains the mutual impact between parent and teenager.

The author seems to become more positive towards the closing of the article. Rutter believes that the family remains one of the most effective outlets to increase values, academic success, and confidence within peer relationships. “The role of parents is to socialize children, to help them become responsible adults, to teach them to d the right thing. Conflict is an inevitable part of it” (Rutter 121). However, It seems the worst possible thing a parent could do is to withdrawal from the relationship of their adolescent child.

Overall, it seems that communication is the key to a healthy relationship for both the parent and adolescent child so that they both can change without too much social and psychological stress.