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ABSTRACT
The present article is concerned with how to alleviate behavioral problems of Malaysian adolescents. To achieve this, the author suggests that an all-out effort is needed at the National level to orient parents, teachers, educationists, administrators, politicians and other functionaries to make value-oriented education as integral part of the ongoing educational process. The psychosocial problems develop during adolescence period and the development of human values is emphasized here. Cultivation of human values and character development of adolescents also call a concerted effort by the parents and teachers. A number of suggestions are also offered for the development of responsible behavior in adolescents.
INTRODUCTION
Adolescence is the most important period of human life. This is the transitional period of life. The child experiences a number of changes in this transitional period. The period runs between childhood and adulthood and is sometimes called the period of teenage.
Chronologically, adolescence comes roughly in between the years from 12 to the early 20's. The onset of adolescence varies from culture to culture depending on the socio-economic conditions of the country. The country's success in various field of life depends on the proper guidance of adolescents. In this period, great changes occur in all development dimensions (i.e., physical, mental, emotional and social) of the individual.
As the organization of society becomes more complex, it exerts more demands from its individual members in maintaining their personal integration and social adjustment. Human society is passing through a unique time of transition. Urbanization, environmental pollution, moral and mental degradation, parental neglect, norm erosion and social disorders are all challenging the very existence of human society, threatening its extinction. Malaysian adolescents are confronted with many problems of global nature. The accumulation of stresses has led to resulting in various kinds of behavioral deviations such as delinquency, vulgarity, personality problems and indiscipline.
Problems during adolescence
Adolescence is marked with a number of behavioral problems such as aggression and violence, antisocial behavior, hyper activity, daydreaming or fantasy, and personality problem which affect the mental health. Adolescent problems are many and often involve the adolescents' relationships with their peer group as well as their search for identity. The problems linked with adolescents i.e., substance abuse, eating disorders, aggressive behavior, and sexual deviation not only...