 Change of voice and appearance of facial hair in boys is perhaps the most

prominent change that takes place during adolescence.

 Acne is one of the major problems.
 Muscle gain sometimes leads to excessive body weight in teens.
 The growth of pubic hair in girls and boys.
 Body odor becomes evident.
 Girls start their periods.
 They tend to feel overly emotional (blame it on the hormones). Just about
anything and everything can make them happy, excited, mad or angry.
 Adolescent girls are vulnerable to crying.
 Mood swings are common among teenage boys and girls.
 Bodily changes result in self-consciousness.
 Children who hit puberty early may even feel weird.
 Feelings of inferiority or superiority may arise at this time.
 Adolescence is the age when sexual feelings arise in youngsters. Feelings
and thoughts about sex can trigger a sense of guilt.
 Peer influence is one of the significant factors that drive adolescents to take
up smoking and drinking or to do drugs.
 The tendency to take risk encourages most teens to try smoking or drinking
even before they are of legal age.
 What may start as a ‘thrill’, can become a habit if it remains unchecked.
 If there is somebody who smokes or drinks at home, they can become your
teen’s role models.
 Poor self-esteem and the need to be ‘cool’ can push adolescents to smoke or
drink.
 Easy access to substances like cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, and anabolic
steroids i may increase the temptation to try illicit substances.
 Teenagers may have self-esteem or confidence issues. The feelings of
inferiority or superiority often arise from their appearance, and acceptance of
their body – skin color, beauty, and figure.
 Poor performance in academics and low IQ can also demotivate them. They
develop the ‘I’m not good enough’ attitude towards life.
 Depression is one of the common psychological problems associated with
adolescence.
 The stress and pressure of adolescence can create anxiety related issues,
while mood swings can lead to conduct disorder or oppositional defiant
disorder.
 Eating disorders are also psychosomatic i as they start with the adolescent
having a poor self-image and the need to change the way they look by any
means.
 Teenagers want to have an identity of their own. They tend to look up to role
models at home or outside.
 Adolescents also start thinking about what is ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ and question
your take on certain things.
 They need time to understand and get comfortable with their sexuality. Girls
and boys start experiencing ‘weird’ feelings towards the other sex and may
not know what to do about it.
 For certain adolescents, their sexual identity can cause confusion, anxiety,
and discrimination. Due to their sexual orientation or gender identity, they
 may face harassment or ostracism, which can be incredibly challenging to
navigate.
 This is the time they start dating. Your adolescent may not be comfortable
talking to you about it and may go with little information or misinformation
they have about it.
 Competition is another important aspect of a teenager’s social life. Your child
may compete with her peers in anything and everything. Their spirit of
competition speaks a lot about their perception of self – whether they have a
positive self-esteem or a negative one.
 Sexual feelings and thoughts of sex may seem wrong to an adolescent,
because of which they may feel guilty.
 Their social circle expands during this time as they seem occupied interacting
with friends on social media sites, through their phone and outside.
Adolescence is known as a period of change for young people. Changes
experienced in this period are rapid and sudden compared to other stages of a
person’s development is a transition from childhood to adulthood accompanied by
physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development that is brought about by
hereditary means and environmental influences. Adolescence is divided into three
stages:

Define each domain of development.

Possible answers: Answers may vary.
● Physical development refers to changes in an individual's size, appearance,
functions, and physical capacities.
● Cognitive development pertains to different intellectual abilities and thought
processes.
● Socio-emotional development talks about regulating and managing
emotions and feelings, interpersonal skills, and different aspects of behavior.

Sequential – This principle of development happens in a fixed

sequence. One good example of this is the development of a fetus.
Inside the mother’s womb, the fetus will first develop organs before
being able to have limbs. A person cannot skip stages and milestones in
his life to fast forward and reach the end.

Individualized – This principle of development puts emphasis to one’s

development being influenced by his/her genes and environment.
Therefore, a person will not likely to develop in exactly the same way
as someone else will. Although there are a lot of similarities across
different adolescents, one must keep an open mind that there will
always be differences and exceptions to the rule.

Gradual – The idea of development, like the development of a tree,

does not happen instantly. It does not happen overnight but instead, it
occurs in a gradual manner. Just think about your hair after you had
your new and trendy haircut, it will slowly grow back after a few weeks.

Holistic – In this principle of development, the person must be looked

at as a whole person – physically, cognitively and socioemotionally – to
be able to understand one’s development. For example, a change in a
person’s physical look, such as the appearance of pimples on the face,
can trigger feelings of insecurity and isolation from others.

SIGH
Consequences of Change
As emphasized, these years as an adolescent bring about many biological and
psychological changes that greatly affect his relationship with himself and with
others.

In 1904, G. Stanley Hall, published a book about adolescence and described in

detail the characteristics of individuals in this stage of life. There have been a lot of
arguments against his theories and some no longer apply to present day situations,
but there are still some concepts that can be applied today. One of them is his idea
that the adolescent stage is a period of “storm and stress.” He claims that it is during
these years that the adolescent goes through depressed moods due to peer
relations or failed “romantic” relationships, as he is now more aware and
sensitive to changes happening to himself and others. It is also a time for
delinquency and sensation-seeking tendencies, which is a reflection of the
increase in risk-taking behavior at this stage.

Identity vs. Identity Confusion

Erik Erikson is known for his Psychosocial Stages, wherein he stresses that at
each stage of development, there are certain conflicts that individuals face
and must overcome to successfully achieve the transition towards the next
period of his life. In the adolescent stage, the conflict that they face is Identity
vs. Identity Confusion which is described as the stage where the adolescent
attempts to answer the question “Who am I?” and “What is my place in
society?” Erikson believes that if he is able to choose his own values and path,
it will lead him to have a strong identity. But if not, the adolescent will have
difficulty with assuming adult roles in the future.

Imaginary Audience and Personal Fable

According to David Elkind, because you are now able to think about different
possibilities, including the perspective of others, the concept of an imaginary
audience develops. You think that you are on stage and that everyone’s
attention is on you and your performance. Therefore, you feel sensitive to
the criticism of other people and their judgments are taken personally. And
because you think that you are constantly being watched, you develop a strong
sense of self-importance from which you think highly of yourself. In
your mind, you are special and invincible – which then leads to risk-taking
behavior and this is known as personal fable.

Developmental Tasks In Relation to the SELF

As you change through time and experiences new situations, you are
expected to fulfill some developmental tasks to be able to succeed as an adult
in the future. Developmental tasks are the projected responsibilities that
must be accomplished, as well as internal conflicts brought about by the
complex changes in life that must be resolved. It can be influenced by
physical maturation, cultural and social expectations, and personal outlooks
(Medicine Encyclopedia, n.d.). The goal is for you to successfully strive on
fulfilling your task to be happier and contented in your life (Havighurst 1948).
The following tasks are adapted from Robert Havighurst’s Developmental
Tasks for Adolescents.

1. Accept, care and protect one’s physical body.

Physical development is one of the domains that undergoes significant
changes during adolescence. This is brought about by what we call
puberty, which the term given for the rapid changes – physically and
sexually – due to the maturation of a person’s hormones during this time.
In the middle and late stages of adolescence, you are expected to
gain more confidence and become content with your body. You must
be healthy, and must gain correct knowledge on how to take care of
your changing bodies.

2. Manage one’s sexuality and the roles that go with it.

At present, this may prove to be a challenge because there is no more cookie-

cutter type of roles for each gender. There are now various options for
different individuals and so it is up to you to learn to incorporate your
personal attitudes and values about what being male and female means to
you. This will affect your ideas and beliefs on dating, lifestyles, careers, and
others.

3. Select and prepare for a job or career.

You must be able to assess your skills so that you may be able to determine what
path you wish to pursue in terms of your career. Upon evaluating
yourself, you can identify what job fits you and hownyou will be able to achieve these
professional goals in the future. This will allow you to earn a living for
yourself as an adult later on.

4. Adopt a personal set of values to guide behavior.

To be able to help you in later stages of life, you must establish your set of
morals and principles at this stage. You must know what is right and wrong
for you, what is acceptable and unacceptable, what is important and what is
not. These priorities will be a guiding compass for you in making crucial
decisions later on in life.
Ex:
A teenager named Rina has identified that stealing is unacceptable to her.
Later on, as an adult, when entrusted with billion-peso accounts in her
work, she would not fall into the temptation of stealing a single centavo
because of this. Early on in her life, she has already committed herself to
practice honesty.