According to Erik Erikson, adolescence stage of Psychosocial development, also

known as “identity vs. role confusion” is the stage wherein teens need to develop the sense of
self and personal identity. At this point, teenagers start to have circle of friends in which they
build their trust.
Teenagers also experience adolescence cognitive empathy, known as “theory
of mind” which is described as having high regards toward the perspective of others and feeling
concern for others. Being adolescents, they tend to foster social cooperation that prevents
problems and leads to avoidance of conflicts with peers. Teenagers are very careful in
understanding the emotions of their friends as they start to create deep trust with them.
Sometimes, this leads to misunderstanding with their family, abuse of prohibited drugs, pre-
marital sex, cigarette smoking and alcohol intake.
Based on research, teenagers are commonly high risk-takers and impulsive due to
incomplete development of frontal lobe during adolescence. The frontal lobe is responsible for
judgement, impulse control, and planning. That is why they search for their self-identify and
independence which requires guidance from their parents, relatives and other people like
teachers with whom they can share their struggles.
These experiences and challenges are part of a process of personality development that
adolescents need to understand. It is necessary for them to examine all the circumstances and
opportunities so that they can deal with them calmly. They have be to open-minded to the
opinion and advise of other people in order to shape their future with broader perspective and
self-determination.
Being an adolescent, you should be accountable for all your actions because these power
triads can either make or break your motivation to take charge of life. It is up to you on how you
will handle it. Remember, your judgement is based on your views in life and it is rooted on your
upbringing.
Thoughts are impression activated by a stimulus in your mind that is evident from the
environment that you are in.
This conscious thought occupies emotions that give life to thoughts and it expressed
through feelings. Sometimes when you are too emotional, you could not think properly because
your emotions occupy your thoughts, this means there is lesser space to analyze the situation
because feelings occupy it.
Behaviors are bodily reaction made based on our feelings that result to actions.
There are instances when feelings are faster than emotion and thought. This
would result to fast reaction and realizing the emotion and thought afterwards.
Either positive or negative, feelings result to actions. Emotions can direct and control
thoughts that sometimes affect your consciousness. This can also lead to loss of focus. As a
teenager, it is very important to be focused on your goals. A focused thought will lead to high
intelligence. That is why if you are disturbed with your emotion, try to figure out where the
emotion is coming from and it will bring you back to reality.

ASSESSMENT:
Directions: To fully understand the lesson, read each statement/question carefully and choose
the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a separate sheet of paper.

1. This is an important aspect that we need to consider focusing on to be developed as a strong

and healthy individual.
A. Cognitive empathy B. Personality C. Life motivation D. None
2. The following are changes experienced during adolescence stage, EXCEPT
A. Change of interests that lead to have a circle of friends
B. Change in physical characteristics and being more conscious about their appearance.
C. Change in mood which results to them being risk-takers.
D. Change in their belief and interest for intimate relationship
3. According to Erik Erikson’s theory of Psychosocial development, adolescents should able to
resolve the conflicts they experience at their age. What conflict experience of adolescents based
on Psychosocial theory needs to be successfully developed?
A. Trust and Mistrust C. Intimacy vs. Isolation
B. Initiative vs. Shame D. Identity vs. Role Confusion
4. Which of the following characterizes the Psychosocial theory of Erik Erikson during Identity vs.
Role Confusion stage?
A. to develop a sense of direction in life
B. to form a strong identity
C. to develop a personal exploration 14
D. to remain insecure and confused about the future
5. Adolescence is transition age between childhood and adulthood. What are the characteristics
of adolescence?
A. social cooperation C. high risk takers
B. avoidance of conflict D. all of the above
6. Parents continuously guide and support their children during adolescence stage, yet
teenagers tend to have a conflict with their parents. Which of the following reasons does not
explain the cause of this conflict?
A. because of house rules
B. because of strong trust in their friends
C. because of incomplete development of their frontal lobe
D. because of confusion
7. Which of the following is an expression of cognitive empathy?
A. Adolescents dream of a good and satisfying life
B. Adolescents have broader perspective and self determination to reach their goal.
C. Adolescents show high regards to the perspective of others and they feel concern for others
D. B&D
8. How does cognitive empathy create a conflict among adolescents?
A. because they are able to develop social relationship
B. because they develop their trust toward their friends more than their parents.
C. because they test their self-control
D. because they create effective business partner
9. The following are ways on how to be responsible with our own behavior and actions, except.
A. Have a focused mind C. Examine the situation
B. manage feelings and emotion D. Make a fast reaction
10. While you are cooking you accidentally touched the hot surface of the pan. What reaction of
your body comes first?
A. feelings, action, thoughts C. thought, feelings, action
B. actions, feelings, thoughts D. feelings, thoughts, actions
11. Learning to identify our strength and weakness will help in forming our individual
personality. The following statement are parts of development, except?
A. We can judge others easily C. We can understand our selves better
B. We learn to accept others too. D. We become successful in dealing
with
12. You are playing at the covered court with your friends, while playing, you notice that your
crush is looking at you. You want to show that you are good in playing. What is the best thing for
you to do?
A. Stop playing and ask her to watch you.
B. Concentrate on your play while she is watching.
C. Inform your teammate that there are girls watching
D. Stop playing and hide.
13. You are invited to help in organizing a youth event in your church. You are about to work
with other teenagers whom you don’t really know. Which of the following situations shows a
social interaction barrier?
A. Show a smile when you have eye contact with them.
B. Show to them that you want to be friends with them, saying Hi for example
C. Show that you are hesitant because you think they are not approachable
D. Show a feeling disgust and discomfort
14. How can you attain your goals in life?
A. Give up when you feel it’s hard to live up to expectations
B. Practice self-regulation in every situation
C. Learn from mistakes and face challenges with confidence
D. B&C
15. What makes us understand our thoughts, feelings and action?
A. Handling a thought or information with positive outlook will help us handle the situation with
intense reaction.
B. Handling a thought or perceive information with negative feeling will result to better outcome
C. Handling the thought or perceive information with too much emotion, we can understand the
situation.
D. Handling the thoughts or perceive information with positive feelings and focus on the situation
can solve the problem with less stress.
ANSWERS
1. B 6. D 11. A
2. D 7. B 12. B
3. D 8. B 13. C
4. D 9. D 14. D
5. D 10. A 15. D

Adolescence is the period of development that begins at puberty and ends at emerging
adulthood. During puberty stage, there are changes that occur in the body of a child. It is a
natural process that everyone goes through.
Adolescence is a stage in a young person’s life in which they move from dependency on their
parents to independence, autonomy, and maturity.

CHALLENGES THAT ADOLESCENTS EXPERIENCE

Biological Challenges
Adolescence begins with the first well-defined maturation event called puberty.
Included in the biological challenges are the changes that occur due to the release of the sexual
hormones that affect emotions. Mood changes can increase which can have an impact on
relationships both at home with parents and siblings and peers at school.

Cognitive Challenges
Piaget, in his Theory of Social Development, believed that adolescence is the time
when young people develop cognitively from “concrete operations” to “formal operations”, so
they are able to deal with ideas, concepts, and abstract theories.
It takes time to develop confidence using these newly acquired skills, and they may make
mistakes in judgment. Learning through success and failure is part of the learning process for the
adolescent.
Adolescents are egocentric. They can become self-conscious thinking they are being
watched by others, and at other times they behave as if they were on a center stage and
perform for a non-existent audience. For example, acting like a music idol, singing their favorites
songs in their room with all the accompanying dance steps.

Psychological Challenges
The notable psychological challenge that the adolescent must cope with is moving
from childhood to adulthood.
A new person is emerging, thus, rules will change and more responsibilities will be placed
on him/her, so a certain standard of behavior is now required to be maintained. Accountability is
becoming an expectation from both parental and legal concepts. As adolescents continue their
journey of self-discovery, they continually have to adjust to new experiences, even biologically
and socially. This can be both stressful and anxiety-provoking.

HEALTH ISSUES OF ADOLESCENCE:

EATING DISORDERS
An eating disorder describe illness that are characterized by irregular eating habits
and severe distress or concern about body weight or shape. Eating disturbances may include
inadequate or excessive food intake which can ultimately damage an individual’s well-being. The
most common forms of eating disorders are the following.

Types of Eating Disorders

1. Anorexia Nervosa
Teenagers with anorexia may take extreme measures to avoid eating and to control
the quantity and quality of the foods they eat. They may become abnormally thin and still talk
about feeling fat. They typically continue to strict diet even at very unhealthy weights because
they have a distorted image of their body.
2. Bulimia Nervosa
Teenagers with bulimia nervosa typically ‘binge and purge’ by engaging in
uncontrollable episodes of overeating (bingeing) usually followed by compensatory behavior
such as: purging through vomiting, use of laxatives, enemas, fasting, or excessive exercise.
Eating binges may occur as often as several times a day, but are most common in the evening
and night hours.

MENTAL HEALTH DISORDER

Anxiety Disorders
 Anxiety disorders are a group of mental disorders characterized by significant feelings of
anxiety and fear. Anxiety is a worry about future events, and fear is a reaction to current
events. These feelings may cause physical symptoms, such as a fast heart rate and
shakiness. •
Mood Disorders
 The development of emotional or behavioral symptoms in response to identifiable
stressors that occur within 3 months of the onset of the stressors. Here, low mood,
tearfulness, or feelings of hopelessness are predominant.
Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)
 A period of at least 2 weeks during which there is either depressed mood or the loss of
interest or pleasure in nearly all activities. In children and adolescents, the mood may be
irritable rather than sad.
Bipolar Disorder
 A period of abnormally and persistently elevated, expansive, or irritable mood and
abnormally and persistency increased activity or energy, lasting at least 4 consecutive
days and present most of the day, nearly every day, or that requires hospitalization.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
 Definitions of the symptom complex known as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD) differ, but severe problems with concentration or attention and/or hyperactivity
are estimated to affect adolescents. Six times as many boys as girls are affected.
School phobia
 School phobia, also called school refusal, is defined as a persistent and irrational fear of
going to school. It must be distinguished from a mere dislike of school that is related to
issues such as a new teacher, a difficult examination, the class bully, lack of confidence, or
having to undress for a gym class. The phobic adolescent shows an irrational fear of
school and may show marked anxiety symptoms when in or near the school.
Learning disabilities
 Learning abilities encompasses disorders that affect the way individuals with normal or
above normal intelligence receive, store, organize, retrieve, and use information. Problems
included dyslexia and other specific learning problems involving reading, spelling, writing,
reasoning, and mathematics. Undiagnosed learning disabilities are a common but
manageable cause of young people deciding to leave school at the earliest opportunity.

SOCIAL ISSUES
Sexual Abuse
 Sexual abuse is a sexual behavior or a sexual act forced upon a woman, man, or child
without their consent. Sexual abuse includes abuse by another man, woman, or child.
Sexual abuse in childhood may result in problems of depression and low self-esteem, as
well as in sexual difficulties, either avoidance of sexual contact or, on the other hand,
promiscuity or prostitution. Sexual abuse in children is regarded by the World Health
Organization (WHO) as one of the major public health problems.
Substance Abuse
 Many communities are plagued with problems of substance abuse among youth. Some
children start smoking or chewing tobacco at an early age, aided by easy access to
tobacco products. Many of our youth, with limited supervision or few positive alternatives,
drink too much beer and liquor. Other youth, influenced by their peers, use other illegal
drugs. Our youth suffer from substance abuse in familiar ways: diminished health,
compromised school performance, and reduced opportunities for development. Our
communities also bear a heavy burden for adolescent substance abuse.
Influence of Mass Media
 Adolescents, in particular, spend a significant amount of time in viewing and interacting
with electronic devices in the form of TV, radio, cellphone, and computers. Mass media
activate and reinforce attitude and contribute significantly in the formation of new
attitudes and will continue to affect children's cognitive and social development.

As an adolescent who is entering the stage of adulthood, you are responsible for your own
being. Accepting yourself and ensuring your body’s physical health help you build stronger
personality and sense of identity. Likewise, building a strong relationship with your family and
showing affection and respect to others can improve interactions with them. Establishing social
responsibility, moreover, develops personal and moral values to guide you on how to react to
social issues.