Increased stress puts more at risk.

• Position: Teenagers

Adolescence is difficult in the best of times. It is doubly stressful for kids today; they are experiencing the same worries and insecurities as adults in this troubled economy--and with far fewer coping skills. From families struggling with joblessness and foreclosure to increasing competition for college admissions to the normal fears associated with impending adulthood, they are particularly vulnerable.

"Teens who are overwhelmed by stress often are unable or unwilling to ask for help, but the longer they continue to flail and struggle emotionally, the greater the chance they'll develop more serious problems like clinical depression, generalized anxiety disorder, dependence on alcohol or drugs, and, sadly, suicidal tendencies," says psychologist Gregory L. Jantz, author of When Your Teenager Becomes ... The Stranger in Your House. "It's up to parents and other adults to recognize when a teen is struggling and intervene."

So, how do you know when typical teen characteristics, such as moodiness, have moved beyond "normal"? Jantz offers these tips:

Arguing is normal; constant anger is not. Sometimes teens argue just to argue. It allows them to let off steam, express their displeasure about life in general, and test boundaries. The occasional dramatic meltdown is to be expected, but it is not normal for a teen to be angry and hostile all the time, constantly fighting and yelling.

Withdrawal from parents is normal; pulling away from family and friends is not. Expect them to pull back a bit from you--unless they want something--and...