Pharmacological influence of sexual functions in adolescents.
The syndromes described are often related to primary endocrine or development defects, but may also result from purely educational or psychological problems. Adolescents may find it difficult to seek help, particularly in the younger age range where early medical intervention is important. While psychotherapy alone is often advisable, the use of anxiolytic agents may be an effective adjunctive treatment. Benzodiazepines are particularly useful because they do not stimulate enzyme activity as do some sedative agents. Teenagers are dependent on the expectations of their parents, and as ANTHONY and RIZZO [1971] have emphasized, the administration of drugs to a member of a family demands an understanding of such expectations, as well as a subtle awareness of the dynamic homeostasis and interactional patterns prevalent in the family at the time. The expectations of parents and the physician concerning the changes due to the drugs prescribed should be synchronized by mutual discussions and questioning. The adolescent has less anxiety tolerance, fewer brakes, less facilities for elaborating his symptoms on symbolic levels, and diminished capacities for postponement of impulsive gratifications; all these factors are important in achieving results by psychological methods alone. The time factor urges us to combine psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy; a well-selected drug in moderate dosage will not necessarily impair the transference. We may take the advise of Plato, who said that the drug effect should be supplemented with parleys ("epodai") which will guieten down or cheer up the soul. The modern sex therapist dealing with adolescents might follow this direction.
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000187:drug effects*; D000568:Amenorrhea / Q000188:drug therapy; D005260:Female; D005831:Genital Diseases, Female / Q000188:drug therapy; D005832:Genital Diseases, Male / Q000188:drug therapy; D006059:Gonadal Dysgenesis / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008572:Menarche / Q000187:drug effects; D008599:Menstruation Disturbances / Q000188:drug therapy; D010060:Ovulation / Q000187:drug effects; D011628:Puberty, Delayed / Q000188:drug therapy; D011629:Puberty, Precocious / Q000188:drug therapy; D012736:Sex Education; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000187:drug effects*