CHAPTER 5: THE

CHALLENGES OF
MIDDLE AND LATE
ADOLESCENCE
 CHALLENGES DURING
ADOLESCENCE
LIST OF COMMON CHALLENGES
THAT AN ADOLESCENTS FACES,
PARTICULARLY, THE CHALLENGES A
FILIPINO ADOLESCENT FACES.
ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR TOWARD
SEXUALITY AND SEXUAL RELATIONSHIP.
Puberty drives the adolescent to experience surges
of sexual desires, which often lead them to
experimentation and exploration. While this is often
healthy to engage in, there is the danger of losing
control over one’s sexual drives which inevitably
end up in lifetime of regrets. Sexual relationship is
healthy when the adolescent sees this as part of a
loving relationship and not as something that is just
for exploration or pleasure.
WHAT IS
THE PROPER AND
HEALTHY ATTITUDE TOWARD
SEXUALITY AND SEXUAL
RELATIONSHIP?
The attitude of being responsible for one’s actions
is the guiding principle toward a healthy sexuality.
Being responsible also implies that entering into
relationship is all about genuine loving and caring
for the other person, and not just to satisfy one’s
urges and needs which can lead to bigger problems
like teenage pregnancies or sexually transmitted
diseases.
LOVE is genuine when the intent is to help the other
person develop his or her talents and potentials
according to personal values, and to encourage
them to become a better person. It is also based on
respect for the other person’s uniqueness, which
means accepting and respecting that he or she is
different from you; has a different set of priorities in
life; different values that he or she gives more
importance to; has a personal plan for the future;
and has different emotions and feelings, attitudes,
thoughts and likes and dislikes.
ACADEMIC CONCERNS
The role of a student is the primary role of an
adolescent who is still in school. Be aware that
academic grades are not the only indicators of
learning. Discipline, openness, perseverance,
diligence, excellence, curiosity, analytical and critical
thinking, memory, understanding, cooperation and
teamwork, respecting other people’s opinions and
beliefs, social interactions, leadership and fellowship
are some of the more important skills and values that
an adolescent student can also learn while in school.
GROUP BELONGINGNESS
An adolescent wants to belong. While there is an
urge to be independent and autonomous from his
family and parents, there is also an urge to seek a
replacement of this support system, this time in the
form of social groupings such as school friends,
memberships in organizations and community.
Healthy and wholesome organizations whose
objectives aim to help individuals develop
themselves are better choices.
An adolescent should not be lured by
organizations that promise “exclusivity” or
“superiority”, often touting false courage
through strength in their numbers. Avoiding
organizations that adhere to violence and
other anti-social behaviors is a responsibility
of the adolescent because he is responsible
for his own welfare, his family, his friends and
his school.
HEALTH AND NUTRITION
A healthy mind and body is what every
adolescent (and everybody else) should
strive for. However, adolescents, because
of their growing bodies and brains, are
gifted with so much energy that seems
inexhaustible, resulting in abuse of one’s
body and mind. Lack of sleep and poor
eating habits often result in disaster.
Avoid unhealthy food such as items laden
with bad oils and fat served in fast food
chains and drinks that contain high amount of
processed sugar. Drink plenty of clean water
and regulate intakes of rich foods such as
desserts and animal meat and fat. Embrace a
healthy lifestyle for yourself. Every time you
put something inside your body, ask first the
question, “Will this make me healthy or not?”
Long exposure to television and screen
gadgets are also unhealthy. Regulate the
hours you spend with technology. Read
books and take time to exercise. Better
yet, embrace a sport that you enjoy
playing, either by yourself or with others.
Start a hobby to serve as an expansion
or outlet for your creative impulses.
DEVELOPING OR REGAINING SELF
ESTEEM
Adolescents who are creating their self-identity
should be objective and balanced when viewing
themselves. Being objectives means seeing one’s
self as having both strengths and weaknesses or
having positive and negative characteristics.
Individuals who often encounter criticism at home
and in school often develop low self-esteem. This is
because the underlying message in the criticism is
“you are not good enough for me”.
This is especially true when the criticism
comes from an important person in a
person’s life. Children who grow up with
criticisms often result in losing their self-
respect. Claiming back what had been
lost when they were often criticized and
scolded for certain behavior and were
labeled as “bad” boys or girls, requires a
lot of work in restoring self-respect.
Related to self-esteem is one’s perception of
one’s body type. Adolescents at this stage are
very self-conscious, and often view
themselves as unattractive, lacking the kind
of physical look that is often dictated by the
advertising and the image business. The
healthy thing for adolescents to do is to
understand that there is such a thing as body
types and their genes dictate each body type.
Accepting one’s body type is better than
rejecting it when there is not much one
can do (except plastic surgery,
liposuction, regular exercise,
bodybuilding, etc.) to alter this.
Grooming is also an important aspect of
an adolescent’s lifestyle, which can affect
his self-esteem. Proper grooming and
self-care can improve one’s feeling and
attitude about oneself.
ROLES
Are part of one’s identity, such as being a
son or daughter to your parents, being a
brother or sister to your siblings, being a
student in your school, or a member of
your organization. When there is a
disparity between one’s self-identity and
the roles one play, then confusion arises.
For example, an adolescent, who is a student,
has studying as his or her top priority.
However, this adolescent being the eldest in
his family may also be required by the
parents to take care of his or her younger
siblings and may be asked to work after
school to help in providing for the family. A
healthy adolescent whose self-identity is clear
and whose roles are integrated will
understand and accept the situation.
This healthy adolescent will recognize not
merely the roles but the values being
expected from his or her, such as personal
and family responsibility, love for family and
basic survival. Balancing his or her time and
energy in addressing the responsibilities
demanded by each role can be achieved
through discipline and time management.
When these values are clear in the mind of
this adolescent, role confusion is diminished.
MATERIAL POVERTY
There are many stories about school children
and adolescent students who live in far-flung
areas where infrastructure is not available
and of those who do not have much choice
but to walk when going to school. Some walk
hours, some cross rivers and streams, and
others go up the hills and mountains, before
they will be able to reach their school.
PARENTS WORKING ABROAD
Another social phenomenon experienced by
many Filipino families today linked to poverty
are parents who leave their families to work
abroad to support the needs of their families.
What is the impact of an absent parent on a
child who is growing up with only one parent,
or even no parent at home?
Professor Garcia said that “several studies
showed how migration of parents is indeed
heart-breaking for children, making them long
parent care, get confused over gender roles,
be vulnerable to abuse, and even develop
consumerist attitudes”. How can an
adolescent minimize the impact of a parent’s
absence? First of all, there must be
recognition of the emotions and feelings
brought about by the situation.
Sadness, loneliness and thoughts of being
abandoned are often experienced by
adolescents in this given situation. The
behavior exhibited behind these feelings and
thoughts vary from person to person. Some
may react negatively by being angry at
themselves or feel resentment toward the
absent parent’s, some may act in rebellious
ways toward elders who stay with them at
home, or may become over-dependent on
their friends.
Others will channel their emotions to buy
material/things to compensate for the
lost love and caring of a parent. Some
children of OFWs often resort to
emotional blackmail just to get what they
want, like a new gadget or an expensive
pair of shoes. This is the reason why
they accede to the whims of their
children to compensate for their
absence.
The child, on the other hand, grows
up to regard material things as
objects of their desire and affection,
instead of their parents who
sacrificed many things working in a
foreign land just to be able to provide
them with better education, more
food on the table and more comforts
at home.
CAREER CHOICE
The adolescent who is creating identity
for himself is faced with an urgent need
to identify what course to take in college
and establish a career path for the
future. When finding the right career,
adolescents need to know what their
interests are, what things they find
exciting and challenging and what their
skills are.
It has often been said that in
pursuing a career, look at what you
love to do and are passionate about
and the money will just follow. But
here is a word of caution: be ready to
make sacrifices before you can attain
the kind of wealth and fame that may
come in doing what you love to do.
RELATIONSHIPS
Maintaining healthy relationships require
a certain level of maturity. An adolescent
who is still in the process of acquiring
maturity may often find maintaining
relationships challenging. For example, a
female adolescent who desires autonomy
and independence will encounter more
parental objections.
She may not allowed to attend social
gatherings without chaperones, or go to
out-of-town trips with males in the group.
When this happens, relationships at
home are strained, and the adolescent
who does not see the real purpose of
why her parents are restricting her will
react negatively to such restrictions.
What is important is for the adolescent to
understand that her parents are concerned
for her safety and well-being, and for the
values her parents uphold, and restricting her
may be a way of showing that they care for
her. Among friends, adolescents can be more
relaxed. This is the stage when friendships
develop easily and frequently. Adolescents
find it easier to bond with friends rather with
family members “who do not understand
them”.
Healthy friendships are necessary for
adolescents’ social development, but the
challenge in maintaining them are also
equally challenging. Rumors can easily
destroy friendly relationships. Envy due to
comparison is also a major cause of
breakdowns in relationships. Adolescents who
are still determining their self-identities
oftentimes become critical of others who do
not conform to what they like or believe in.
Non-acceptance of differences is another
cause of “unfriending” someone on
Facebook, for example. You do not have
to prove that you are a good friend to
someone who tells you to drink or smoke,
take drugs, have sex, or cheat in class.
Being dared to behave unacceptably or
to do something that goes against what
you believe in is not friendship.
Romantic relationships are inevitable and
equally challenging to an adolescent. When
emotions are involved, it is often difficult to
be objective, and many adolescents are still
developing their skills in understanding their
emotions. Breakups in romantic relationships
occur very frequently among adolescents
because of immaturity. However, experiences
such as breakups are positive ways to grow
toward emotional maturity.
VALUES AND BELIEF
The adolescents is still developing his
cognitive skill that he can use in thinking of
abstract concepts and asking critical
questions. For example, “what will you fight
for or die for”? Adolescents have a quick
answer and this is usually their family or
loved ones. If this is the case, what universal
human value do adolescents uphold?
It can be relationships and/or family.
Another question, like, what they believe
in, and often the answer is something
related to their religious belief. Though
this may not necessarily be incorrect,
belief is not just limited to religious
matters, but also to human needs like a
safe and clean environment.
OTHER CHALLENGES
Depression, one of the many other challenges
faced by adolescents nowadays. There are
telltale signs of depression that should be
aware of. If you suspect that you are
experiencing depression, talk to your parents,
guardian, or school guidance counselor. Be
open about it. Experiencing depression is
nothing to be ashamed of. It happens even to
the best of us.
 THREE
FILIPINO
ADOLESCEN
TS, THREE
GREGORIO del PILAR
(“GOYONG”, “BOY GENERAL”)
 Fondly called by his family as Goyong.
 Referred to by his friends as Boy General for
being the youngest ever to be
commissioned as such by the Filipino
revolutionary forces that fought the
Spaniards and the Americans.
 Born in Bulacan on November 14, 1875.
 Graduated from the Ateneo Municipal
de Manila with a degree in Bachelor of
Arts.
 At the age of 20, he joined the
revolutionary forces against the
Spaniards headed by Bonifacio. He was
killed in the Battle of Tirad Pass in Ilocos
Sur fighting the American colonialist
forces. He died on December 2, 1899 at
the age of 24.
EDGAR JOPSON(“EDJOP”)
 Born on September 1, 1948 of middle class
parents who owned a small grocery in
Sampaloc, Manila.
 He graduated as the valedictorian of his high
school class in Ateneo. He was an active
high student, joining organizations such as
the Ateneo Catechetical Instruction League,
Solidarity of Mary and Student Catholic
Action
 Whiletaking up law, he became the
Student Council President at UP and
the President of the National Union
of Students of the Philippines (NUSP)
 He was also honored for his
achievements as one of the Ten
Outstanding Young Men in the
Philippines (TOYM) in 1970.
 During the martial law years under Marcos,
he became a moderate activist. He joined
the revolutionary forces of the underground
movement.
 In 1979, he was arrested and tortured in
prison. He managed to escape imprisonment
and continued his underground work.
 In 1982, while eluding arrest, he was gunned
down on his way out.
EFREN PEÑAFLORIDA (“EFREN”)
 Started an organization called Dynamic Teen
Company comprised of his fellow students to
keep adolescents like him away from trouble
when he was just 16 years old.
 The organization went into youth awareness
projects, talent and self-development
activities, and community services and
helping poor child to go to school.
 His innovative project was termed as
“pushcart classroom”, also termed locally as
the “kariton classroom” because they use
puschcarts to carry school supplies and
books, which they use for the classes that
they hold in unusual places like dumpsites
and cemeteries.
 He grew up in the midst of poverty, and was
even a recipient of the International Welfare
Organization, World Vision.
 He graduated from grade school and high
school with the help of scholarships and
financial assistance.
 He graduated from San Sebastian College-
Recoletos de Cavite with a degree in
Computer Technology. He continued his
studies at the Cavite State University with a
degree in Secondary Education and
graduated as Cum Laude in 2006.
 OnNovember 22, 2009, Efren
was awarded as the CNN
Hero of the Year attributing
this honor to the work he had
done in his pushcart project.
QUESTIONS:
1. What have you learned from this chapter?
2. Identify other ways on how to deal with
the 12 challenges enumerated in this
chapter?
3. Come up with some affirmation
statements to help you become a more
lovable and capable person?
THAT’S ALL
FOLKS!