The Cost of Being Sensible: The Psychological Mechanisms and Long-Term Risks of Over-Maturity in Adolescents

Abstract

This paper carries out relevant analysis of the phenomenon of adolescents’ “excessive sensibleness,” focusing on its formation mechanism in the context of family education and the problems existing in long-term psychological aspects. In most families, “being sensible” is generally given the meaning of obedience, tolerance, and self-sacrifice, and in parents’ eyes, this means being a good child. In a family environment where boundaries are relatively blurred, children are very easily drawn into their parents’ emotions, which makes it difficult for adolescents to distinguish whether the emotions are their own emotions or their parents’ emotions. Excessive sensibleness is very likely to cause emotional expression to be suppressed and make children develop a stronger tendency to please others. This may form a false self and easily cause children to deny themselves, leading to psychological states such as depression and anxiety. This paper further uses the PHQ-9 depression symptom scale for the measurement of psychological consequences and constructs an analytical method of “family cultural background—family relationship mechanism—behavioral reinforcement process—psychological consequences.” Family education should pay attention to adolescents’ emotional release and allow children to have self-boundaries. Being sensible cannot be simply equated with making children obedient and silent, and it should promote them to achieve a good balance between their sense of responsibility and self-development.