Dear MIRIAM: BOY'S IN A STROP.

Byline: Dr MIRIAM STOPPARD

Dear Miriam OUR 16-year-old son has become a monster. He's rude, spiteful and selfish.

We're in despair. He says he hates us and would like to get rid of us.

He used to be a great kid.

He hasn't got in with bad company. His friends are nicer to us than he is. Will we ever get our son back?

OH, yes. I think so. Your son's behaviour is down to excessive levels of male hormones.

There is 20 times more testosterone in his body than before and it can be an evil hormone.

Scans have shown the teenage brain is under reconstruction, mainly affecting the pre-frontal cortex which controls planning, impulse and inhibition, and decision making.

Testosterone lights the fire but the brain has responsibility for putting out the flames.

The still-evolving brains of teenagers aren't yet up to the job.

Children who suffer periods of deprivation or are abused also have high levels of the stress hormones cortisol and adrenalin which gives them a high.

The higher the resting level of adrenalin, the more extreme their behaviour needs to be to achieve a rush.