DELSU Don, Professor Okorodudu Urges Better Care For Adolescents

By Ben Nwanne

The need for governments, parents, teachers, pastors and other authorities in the country to take seriously their responsibilities to the adolescents or teens in order to prevent them from being maladaptive has been stressed by an educationist of note, Professor Grace Nwamaka Okorodudu.

Professor Okorodudu, a Professor of Guidance and Counselling, made this call on Thursday, March 17, 2022 at the 90th in the series of inaugural lectures of the Delta State University, Abraka.

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Speaking on the topic ‘’Teens and Stress Management’’, Professor Okorodudu noted that a ‘’greater percentage of adolescents in Nigeria and the world at large are passing through stressful conditions in their daily basic needs, parental and societal expectations’’.

While expressing understanding on the plight of the adolescent who undergoes monumental physical, social and psychological changes, Professor Okorodudu identified major causes of adolescent stress.

According to her, sources of adolescents’ stress include but not limited to parenting style, biological growth and development of the adolescent, parental expectations, societal expectations, peer pressure, social media and technology.

The inaugural lecturer who was quick to point out that stress is classified into bad and good stress, noted that bad stress is ‘’devastating’’.

In her words: ‘’Negative stress has a lot of negative consequences on the health and behaviour of an adolescent’’.

While acknowledging that stress is not limited to adolescents, Professor Okorodudu observed that ‘’stress management is the conglomeration of several psychotherapies and techniques employed for the purpose of stress reduction at different stages of human development’’.

Suggesting different methods of stress management, Professor Okorodudu is of the opinion that school counsellors should identify and assist adolescents experiencing stress using appropriate stress management techniques.

According to her, the school Counsellors, with the assistance of educational authorities, curriculum planners, policy makers, teachers and others should organise workshops, seminars and conferences to explore the use of stress management techniques in the management of adolescents’ stress in an educational setting and even in the larger society.

Professor Okorodudu, while encouraging school counsellors to assist adolescents to acquire emotional intelligence so as to enable them reduce deviant behaviour, urged parents to provide the basic needs of life for their adolescent children and wards.

She opined that parents and significant others should not label the adolescents because it is in their nature to be delinquent at that stage. Labelling them, she advised, would further compound their problems and make them irresponsible adults.

Professor Okorodudu urged government to make education worthwhile by providing free education for her citizens at all levels and provide jobs for them or an environment for self employment.

In addition, she said government should build rehabilitation centres for delinquent adolescents to give them a second chance.

Speaking at the occasion, the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Professor Andy Ogochukwu Egwunyenga, commended the inaugural lecturer for her timely and relevant title and diligent research.

He acknowledged that every adolescent indeed had issues, including himself when he was at that stage.

‘’I worried about where I would school, what I would be in future…I even worried about my parents, what would become of them ?’’ he told the audience.

He however assured the teenagers not to worry as their future was assured, just before he decorated the inaugural lecturer with the University Distinguished Honorary Medal.