Emotional & Behavioral Symptoms in Teens: Signs, Causes, and Treatment

October 14, 2025

Authored by: Hayley Snelling, B.S. Psychology

Edited by: Jemma Strain, B.S. Psychology

Adolescence is often a time of big changes and can be an emotional rollercoaster. However, while “teenage moodiness” can be a common occurrence, persistent emotional or behavioral changes may be a sign of something more serious.

In fact, in 2023, more than 5.3 million teens in the U.S had a diagnosed mental or behavioral condition, such as anxiety or conduct problems.¹ That’s more than one in every five adolescents. Recognizing the difference between normal teen development and signs of a struggle is essential for getting your child the help they need.

On this page, we will look at:

Common teen emotional symptoms
Behavioral symptoms in adolescents
Causes of emotional and behavioral changes
Warning signs to look for in your teen
Where to find professional support

Common Teen Emotional Symptoms

The teenage years can be a time of intense emotional changes. However, when feelings interfere with a teen’s ability to function, they may be going through something more than “typical” adolescent development. Understanding the emotional symptoms in teens can help parents recognize when to step in with extra support. Common emotional symptoms include.

Irritability and Mood Swings in Teenagers

Mood swings and irritability in adolescents are common due to the hormonal changes and brain development experienced during this pivotal stage. When you add on academic pressure, increased responsibility, self-discovery, and social media stress, you can see why teens may feel more emotionally vulnerable.

However, if your teen’s moods change rapidly, their feelings are interfering with their daily life at home or school, or their emotions are causing them distress, it may be a sign of something more serious, such as a mental health condition.

Emotional Outbursts and Sensitivity in Adolescents

With hormonal fluctuations, brain development, and physical changes, puberty can make everything feel more intense. Emotions may build up and overflow, showing themselves through crying spells, emotional outbursts, or overreacting to innocuous comments. Usually, these are just temporary emotional reactions.

However, if your teen regularly struggles to manage their feelings or often has emotional outbursts that affect daily life, they may be experiencing emotional dysregulation. This can indicate an underlying emotional or behavioral problem that may benefit from professional support.²

So while emotional changes may be likely during adolescence, when feelings significantly interfere with a teen’s ability to function, it may be a sign that they require extra support.

Sometimes, teens are very skilled at masking their emotions. In these cases, knowing the difference between normal teenage behaviors and actions that indicate a mental or behavioral health condition can be useful. So what signs might you look out for?

Behavioral Symptoms in Adolescents

While certain behaviors might seem typical of teenagers, others can signal deeper emotional struggles. The following sections cover “typical” teen behaviors before addressing those that may be a cause for concern.

Seeking More Independence

Striving for independence is a normal part of development. Teens often crave more freedom, more personal space, or start to question rules in a way they haven’t done before. As a parent, this may feel uncomfortable, especially if your child seems to be pulling away from you and confiding in their friends instead. Yet, it is usually a normal part of the process.

On the other hand, if their need for independence is accompanied by changes in behavior such as a drop in grades, withdrawing from family and friends, or taking risks, this may be a sign of an underlying struggle that needs attention.³

Developing Their Own Identity

Adolescence is a crucial time for exploring and developing identity. Teens may begin to explore new interests, form their own beliefs, and connect more with their peers.⁴ For instance, your child may change their entire wardrobe because their clothes don’t reflect who they are anymore. Or, they may begin new hobbies with friends. This experimentation is a natural part of healthy adolescent development and allows teens to discover their authentic selves.

However, if your teen is withdrawing from their family and friends or having problems at school, it may be a sign of a deeper problem.⁵

Social and Academic Changes

It’s somewhat normal for a teen’s interest in school to fluctuate, especially at a time when they crave freedom, independence, and would rather be hanging out with their friends. Exam stress can pile up, and teens may occasionally find it difficult to concentrate in class with the hormonal, physical, and emotional changes they are experiencing.⁷

However, if your teen’s grades suddenly decline, they consistently find it hard to focus, or they begin avoiding school, these could be red flags for a deeper underlying problem.

Risk-Taking and Impulsivity

Teens are likely to test boundaries while vying for independence. However, constantly being reckless or taking impulsive risks could be warning signs of a mental health condition, like bipolar disorder, or a neurodevelopmental difference such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Self-Destructive Behavior

Self-destructive behavior involves doing something that’s likely to cause you physical or mental harm, such as binge eating, driving recklessly, or self-harming. Self-destructive behaviors can lead to problems ranging from procrastination to engaging in risky sexual behavior, or even carrying out suicide.⁶

Recognizing adolescent behavioral issues early can help parents intervene before the problems grow larger. But what might lie at the root of these symptoms?

Underlying Causes of Emotional and Behavioral Symptoms

The underlying causes of emotional and behavioral issues can be grouped into three categories: biological, environmental, and mental factors.

Biological Factors

During adolescence, the part of the brain responsible for self-control and decision making – the prefrontal cortex – is still developing.^7,8 This can contribute to teen emotional symptoms such as mood swings or emotional outbursts.

Additionally, neurodevelopmental conditions such as ADHD can influence mental health and are often linked to emotional and behavioral challenges.^9,10

Furthermore, research tells us that genetics play a part in mental health. Certain disorders, like depression and bipolar disorder, can run in families.¹⁰ This may mean that if there is a family history of depression, for example, emotional or behavioral changes in your teen may indicate early signs of teen depression.

Environmental Factors

Many factors can affect stress and mental health, and the more risk factors a teen is exposed to, the more likely they are to be impacted. Some of the risk factors that add to teenage stress include:⁹

Family dynamics
Unsafe home environment
Stressful life events
Chronic illness
Bullying
Peer pressure
Academic expectations

When a teen experiences too many stress factors, they may have an increased risk for developing a mental health condition like depression or anxiety.⁷ Recognizing teen stress and taking steps to either reduce it or help your teen find more effective ways to manage stress can have a considerable effect on their mental health.

Mental Factors

Emotional and behavioral disorders are fairly common among adolescents, with 20% of teens experiencing conditions such as anxiety, depression, or behavioral conduct issues.¹ Sometimes, a teen may be struggling with a pre-existing mental health condition that either contributes to or causes their symptoms. For instance, what may appear outwardly as worry about school performance or perfectionism could actually be teen anxiety symptoms. Alternatively, school avoidance or withdrawal from friends and family may be signs of unresolved trauma or undiagnosed depression.

Some of your teen’s behavioral or emotional changes may be caused by the adolescent developmental period. However, sometimes these changes are part of a deeper issue, such as a mental health condition, which may require treatment. So how can you tell if your teen needs some extra support or professional assistance?

When to Be Concerned About Adolescent Emotional Health

Given that adolescence can involve so many changes, at what point should you be worried about your teen’s emotional symptoms?

Some of the red flags to look for include:¹¹

Persistent emotional or behavioral changes lasting for longer than two weeks
Symptoms causing distress to your teen or your family
Changes that interfere with your teen’s functioning at home, school, or with friends
Losing interest in things they used to enjoy
Constantly having very little energy
Sudden, severe, or rapidly cycling mood changes
Withdrawing or isolating themselves from friends and family
Risky or self-destructive behaviors
Self-harming or having thoughts of suicide

If your child is having thoughts of suicide, seek help immediately by either contacting their doctor, attending your nearest emergency room, or calling 911.

If you recognize some of the red flags above, they may be early signs of mental illness in teens. Although this may sound frightening, your child may need to be assessed by a medical or mental health professional. If your teen is diagnosed with a mental health condition, there are many treatments available as well as coping strategies that can significantly improve their symptoms.

Treatment Options, Coping Strategies, and Parental Support for Teen Mental Health

When teen emotional symptoms stem from an underlying mental illness, getting your teen the help and support they need can be a game-changer. This support may be in the form of professional help, coping strategies, parental support, or often a combination of all three. For example, support may look like:

Professional Help: Therapy can enable teens to better understand their condition, discover how to manage their challenges, and facilitate healing. Therapy for adolescents comes in many different forms, such as teen behavioral therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), art therapy, and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT).
Coping Strategies for Teens: Coping strategies can help teens manage their emotions and behaviors outside of therapy sessions. Some of these strategies may include journaling, practicing mindfulness, reducing stress, or increasing physical activity for emotional benefits.
Parental Support: Parents play an essential role when it comes to supporting their teens through mental health challenges. They can make a significant, positive impact by modeling emotional regulation, encouraging open communication, and creating a safe and structured home environment for their teens’ healing. However, supporting a teen through emotional and behavioral issues can be challenging at times, which is why it’s important to seek support for yourself. This may look like reaching out to friends or other parents, joining online support forums, or carving out time in your week for your own self-care.

Whatever your teen is going through, remember that they are not alone – and neither are you. Take heart in knowing that professional support is available for your teen, and that they can look forward to a life where they feel calmer, confident, and more in control.

Mission Prep: Professional Mental Health Support for Teens

Adolescence can bring ups and downs, but if you suspect your teen is struggling to manage their emotions or behavior, remember that help is available.

At Mission Prep, we specialize in providing evidence-based therapy and support for teens facing mental, emotional, or behavioral issues. We work to enable them to grow, gain confidence, and go out into the world ready to face any challenges that come their way.

References

Sappenfield, O., Alberto, C., Minnaert, J., Donney, J., Lebrun-Harris, L., & Ghandour, R. (2024, October 1). Adolescent Mental and Behavioral Health, 2023. National Survey of Children’s Health Data Briefs – NCBI Bookshelf. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK608531/
AACAP. (2022). Emotion Dysregulation Resource Center. https://www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Resource_Centers/Emotional_Dysregulation/Home.aspx
Robinson, L., & Segal, J. (2024, August 21). Help for parents of troubled teens. HelpGuide.org. https://www.helpguide.org/family/parenting/helping-troubled-teens
Pfeifer, J. H., & Berkman, E. T. (2018). The Development of Self and Identity in Adolescence: Neural Evidence and Implications for A Value‐Based Choice Perspective on Motivated Behavior. Child Development Perspectives, 12(3), 158–164. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12279
Ignite Healthwise. (2024, October 24). Teen behavior: What’s typical and what are signs of a problem? ColumbiaDoctors. https://www.columbiadoctors.org/health-library/article/teen-behavior-what-s-typical-what-are-signs-problem/
Pietrangelo, A. (2020, July 21). Understanding Self-Destructive Behavior. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/self-destructive-behavior#definition
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). (2023). The Teen Brain: 7 Things to Know. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/the-teen-brain-7-things-to-know
Hathaway, W. R., & Newton, B. W. (2023, May 29). Neuroanatomy, prefrontal cortex. StatPearls – NCBI Bookshelf. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK499919/
World Health Organization: WHO. (2025, September 1). Mental health of adolescents. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/adolescent-mental-health
Stoewen D. L. (2022). Nature, nurture, and mental health: Part 1: The influence of genetics, psychology, and biology. The Canadian Veterinary Journal, 63(4), 427–430. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8922370/
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). (2024). Children and mental health: Is this just a stage? https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/children-and-mental-health

Tagged Authored By Hayley Snelling, Edited By Jemma Strain