Psychological Trauma and Emotion Management Behind Adolescent Aggressive Behavior

Psychological Trauma and Emotion Management Behind Adolescent Aggressive Behavior

**Research Overview** Adolescent aggressive behavior is often not just a simple temper issue, but an external manifestation of unseen psychological trauma and emotional management difficulties. From a neurobiological perspective, long-term emotional neglect and verbal devaluation have profound effects on brain development.

**Neurobiological Mechanisms** 1. **Thinning prefrontal cortex**: Long-term emotional neglect damages the development of the medial prefrontal cortex responsible for emotional understanding 2. **Loss of emotional translation ability**: Adolescents have difficulty recognizing and understanding their own and others' emotions 3. **Overactivation of amygdala**: The brain remains in a state of alert for long periods, overreacting to minor stimuli 4. **Failure of rational control**: The prefrontal cortex cannot effectively suppress out-of-control emotional responses

**Psychological Mechanism Analysis** **Alexithymia**: Adolescents have difficulty expressing inner feelings in words, emotions are suppressed and then released through aggressive behavior

**Chain Reaction Pattern**: 1. Childhood psychological trauma damages mentalization ability 2. Alexithymia makes emotional expression difficult 3. Aggression becomes the only outlet for emotional release

**Educational Environment Factors** Traditional education emphasizes "strength," "understanding," and "endurance," but neglects the cultivation of emotion recognition and expression skills. Emotional expression is often misunderstood as "weakness" or "shame," leading to a lack of healthy emotional expression channels for adolescents.

**Intervention Strategies** **Family Level**: - Parents use "emotional pause button," avoid immediate criticism - Focus on children's feelings rather than just behavioral outcomes - Create a safe emotional expression environment

**School Level**: - Conduct emotion expression courses - Provide emotional expression channels like drawing, sandplay, writing - Establish psychological support systems

**Individual Level**: - Emotion diary recording to help identify emotional patterns - Body sensation awareness training - Emotion navigation skill development

**Treatment Goals** Through systematic psychological intervention, help adolescents: 1. Repair psychological trauma 2. Rebuild emotion recognition ability 3. Develop healthy emotional expression methods 4. Restore warm connections in interpersonal relationships

**Research Significance** This study provides a neurobiological basis for adolescent mental health intervention, emphasizing the importance of emotional education. By understanding the psychological mechanisms behind aggressive behavior, we can more effectively help adolescents overcome emotional difficulties and promote mental health development.