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 Adolescence is a time of
experimentation. Emerging cognitive abilities and social experiences lead
adolescents to question adult values and experiment with
high-risk
behaviors.
Some of these threaten current health while others may have long-term
consequences. Sensitive attention to these aspects of the adolescent behavioral
history leads us to detect early departures from the normative behavior.
Obtaining a history with full awareness of the delicate balance between the
teenagers’ need for privacy and the parents’ concern for supervision is one
of our areas of expertise. Counseling is a valuable tool to prevent
communication problems from becoming behavioral and emotional problems. Depression is common in this age group and it must be distinguished from normal
adolescent reactions.
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Adolescent Medicine 
