Mood swings are common among teenagers based on their minds and bodies yet to be fully developed. "Cognitive control systems lag behind emotional development" (Shallcross) for teens, accounting for adolescents having difficulty in coping with their emotions. Other contributors to emotional instability include the transition to high school and all the pressures that accompany it.
But "as teens get physically and mentally more mature" there is a "gradual stabilization in moods across the teenage years"(Shallcross). Although, there are cases where emotions continue to be unstable due from mental illnesses such as schizophrenia that is often not detectable until later adolescence.
Anxiety remained a variable throughout teenage years, the highest levels being at the start and end of adolescence. One reason to help explain such levels can be accounted for in a teen's progression from middle to high school and then the years after high school in his transition into adulthood.
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