WHY AM I LIKE THIS?

(Development of
Adolescents)
Learning
Competencies:
1. Discusses developmental tasks and challenges
experienced during adolescence
2. Evaluates one’s development through the help of
significant people around him/her (peers, parents, siblings,
friends, teachers, community leaders)
3. Identifies ways that help one become capable and
 Human life completes its journey through various
stages and one of the most vital stage is
adolescence. Adolescence is the period of transition
from childhood to adulthood and plays a decisive
role in the formation of a pro-social/anti-social adult.
All of us undergo this stage, which poses many
challenges and is full of excitement. At the same
time, it demands adjustment on many fronts.
 Adolescence is a period of transition when the
individual changes—physically and psychologically—
from a child to an adult. It is a period when rapid
physiological and psychological changes demand new
social roles to take place. Prior to these changes, the
adolescents often face a number of crises and
dilemmas. It is the period when the child moves from
dependency to autonomy. It demands significant
adjustment to the physical and social changes.
Developmental
Tasks Facing
Adolescents
 A developmental task is a task that
arises at or about a certain period in
life, unsuccessful achievement of
which leads to inability to perform
tasks associated with the next period
or stage in life.
 There are eight main developmental tasks that adolescents must
complete in order to establish an identity:
1. Achieving new and more mature relations with others, both boys
and girls, in one's age group
2. Achieving a masculine or feminine social role
3. Accepting one's physique
4. Achieving emotional independence from parents and other adults
5. Preparing for marriage and family life
6. Preparing for an economic career
7. Acquiring a set of values and an ethical system as a guide to
behavior; developing an ideology
8. Desiring and achieving socially responsible behavior
1. Achieving new and more mature relations
with others, both boys and girls, in one's age
group
Adolescents learn through interacting with others in
more adult ways. Physical maturity plays an
important role in peer relations. Adolescents who
mature at a slower or faster rate than others will be
dropped from one peer group and generally will enter
a peer group of similar maturity. For early-maturing
girls (girls whose bodies are fully developed at a
young age), entering into a peer group of similar
physical maturity can mean a greater likelihood of
early sexual activity.
 2. Achieving a masculine or feminine social
role
Each adolescent develops his or her own definition
of what it means to be male or female. Most
adolescents conform to the sex roles of our cultural
view of male (assertive) and female (passive)
characteristics. Yet these roles have become more
relaxed in the last 30 years. As adults, we need to
provide opportunities for adolescents to test and
develop their masculine and feminine social roles.
For example, we need to encourage males to
express their feelings and encourage females to
assert themselves more than they have in the past.
 3. Accepting one's physique
The time of the onset of puberty and the rate
of body changes for adolescents vary greatly.
How easily adolescents deal with these
changes will partly depend on how closely
their bodies match the well-defined
stereotypes of the “perfect" body for young
women and young men. Adolescents whose
bodies do not match the stereotypes may
need extra support from adults to improve
their feelings of comfort and self-worth
regarding their physiques.
 4. Achieving emotional independence from
parents and other adults
Children derive strength from internalizing their
parents' values and attitudes. Adolescents,
however, must redefine their sources of personal
strength and move toward self-reliance. This
change is smoother if adolescents and parents
can agree on some level of independence that
increases over time. For example, parents and
adolescents should set a curfew time. That
curfew should be extended as the adolescent
matures.
 5. Preparing for marriage and family life
Sexual maturation is the basis for this
developmental task. Achievement of this
developmental task is difficult because
adolescents often confuse sexual feelings
with genuine intimacy. Indeed, this
developmental task is usually not achieved
until late adolescence or young adulthood.
 6. Preparing for an economic career
Adolescents reach adult status when they
are able to financially support themselves.
This task has become more difficult now
than in the past because the job market
demands increased education and skills.
Today, this developmental task is generally
not achieved until late adolescence or
young adulthood, after the individual
completes his/her education and gains
some entry-level work experience.
 7. Acquiring a set of values and an ethical system
as a guide to behavior; developing an ideology
Adolescents gain the ability to think abstractly and
to visualize possible situations. With these changes
in thinking, the adolescent is able to develop his or
her own set of values and beliefs. Discussing these
newly forming ethical systems with parents and
other adults can be a great help to adolescents in
accomplishing this developmental task. In addition,
parents may want to provide adolescents with
hypothetical situations that challenge their emerging
values, to help the adolescents evaluate the
strength and appropriateness of those values.
 8. Desiring and achieving socially
responsible behavior
The family is where children learn to define
themselves and their world. Adolescents must learn
to define themselves and their world in the context
of their new social roles. Status within the
community beyond that of family is an important
achievement for older adolescents and young
adults. Adolescents and young adults become
members of the larger community through financial
and emotional independence from parents, which in
turn teaches them the value of socially responsible
behavior.
 The remaining parts of the
lesson will be discussed next
meeting. See you!