Physical Characteristics of Disturbed Adolescents

Abstract

Introduction Today more attention is being paid to the concept of the "whole person" both in health and in disease. When we study the child, we may see both the adult-in-the-making and the components and forces that affect the individual. While much is known about emotional disequilibrium and illness, much is not yet proved, conceptualized, nor even asked. The strong ferment of adolescence often forces adults to look hard and long at certain of our unanswered questions. The adolescent who is hospitalized in a psychiatric setting offers a challenging focus for research. How do such emotionally disturbed and disturbing adolescents differ from those who appear to be "well adjusted"? What similarities are there among teenagers who appear to function and relate in such divergent ways? This study in a research setting^* compares the physical and neurological characteristics of adolescents hospitalized in a