It’s probably safe to say that for most parents it can be a challenge to try and identify troubled teens. First of all, if a teenager starts to become a little annoying and withdrawn is one thing, but when they let their issues worsen to the point that they end up becoming violent or turn to substance abuse, then that’s a whole other matter. So then, how does one tell if their teen’s problems are turning into something a lot more serious? Well, just one single isolated defiant act does not indicate that your teen is in serious trouble. Even if you happen to notice habitual rudeness, this alone does not really indicate a serious issue unless there are other types of teen behaviors that you are concerned about. On the other hand, should you begin to see that your teen is constantly rude, seems moody and depressed, is always in bed or always outside, and seems to be falling behind in school a bit, all happening at the same time, then these types of behaviors do fit the classic profiles seen with troubled teens. What you are really looking for is a pattern and not a single instance of trouble.