LESSON 3:

DEVELOPMENT
STAGES IN MIDDLE
AND LATE
ADOLESCENCE
 What do you know about
adolescence?
What behavior usually characterizes the
adolescent stage of development? Try to
remember what your parents usually
complain or praise about you.
ADOLESCENCE: BETWEEN
CHILDHOOD AND ADULTHOOD
As adolescents develop physically, they also develop
cognitively, psychologically, socially, and spiritually. The ages
during adolescence may be bracketed as follows (Corpuz,
Lucas, Borabo, and Lucido 2010):

• Early adolescence – ages around 10 to 13

• Middle adolescence – ages from 14 to 16

• Late adolescence – ages from 17 to 20

American psychologists diff er slightly with their
age defi nitions of adolescence. Feist and
Rosenberg (2012) pegged early adolescence at age
11 or 12, and late adolescence at about of age 18.

Hence, in America, a child is usually out of the house

by the 18 because this is the age of how they defi ne
young adulthood. This age defi nition of adolescence is
not a cut-and-dried rule as some persons mature ahead
of others, or some experience delayed maturity due to
many factors like genetics, environment, or even
economic conditions.
 ERIKSON’S EIGHT
STAGES OF
PSYCHOSOCIAL
DEVELOPMENT
Erik Erikson’s eight stages of
psychosocial development
defi ne each stage of human
development with a crisis or a
confl ict.

Each crisis or confl ict either gets resolved or may be left

unresolved, resulting in favorable or unfavorable
outcomes.
 ERIKSON’S EIGHT
STAGES OF
PSYCHOSOCIAL
DEVELOPMENT
In referring to these eight stages of
development espoused by Erikson,
it is important to know that the
stages and their corresponding
developmental crisis may overlap.
For example, an adolescent who is experiencing identity
issues may also be experiencing intimacy issues (young
adulthood) or may still be struggling with inferiority (of
school age), depending on whether or not they were able to
resolve each stage crisis.
 ADOLESCENCE:
IDENTITY VERSUS
ROLE
Identity CONFUSION
is the concept of an individual about
himself or herself and is often referred to as
“self-identity” that is infl uenced and molded
by their external environment. These may
include the manner by which they interact
with people

For example, the youngest child, who is always treated as

the “baby” of the family, will develop an identity of a
child who needs to be taken care of.
 ADOLESCENCE:
IDENTITY VERSUS
ROLEisCONFUSION
Identity a self-belief of what the
individual thinks and feels about
himself.

Identity is also infl uenced by how others perceive an

individual. For example, the eldest child may develop an
authoritative identity, the kuya or the ate whom their
siblings look upon as the substitute parent when they
are not around.
 ADOLESCENCE:
IDENTITY VERSUS
ROLE
Role CONFUSION
confusion is the negation of self-
identity, in a sense that there is
confusion over one’s self-concept or the
absence or lack of such a concept.
Role confusion aff ects an individual’s relationship
with others, because there is no clear defi nition of
what he or she is and how he or she relates to
others.
 ADOLESCENCE:
IDENTITY VERSUS
ROLE CONFUSION
For example: the eldest child who is
treated as the baby of the family will
end up confused over his or her identity.

When this eldest child who thinks he or she is still

a baby will have diffi culty dealing with other people
who may expect him or her to behave and think like
a panganay rather than a bunso.
 CHANGES DURING
ADOLESCENCE
The adolescent’s physiological
transitioning is very pronounced at this
stage.
Puberty kicks in and is fueled by the
hormonal changes that are occurring
and pushing the adolescent toward
sexual maturation.
At this stage, the brain also continues to develop.
Cognitive growth among adolescents is usually marked by
the way they are able to comprehend abstract concepts,
such as freedom and human rights.
CHANGES DURING
ADOLESCENCE
This is the stage when young men
and women begin to ask questions
about the status quo, about the way
things happen, and usually counter
questions or situations with a
challenging question of, “why not?”
Idealism is very prominent among
adolescents, and so is their
inclination toward becoming very
self-conscious and egocentric.
 CHANGES DURING
ADOLESCENCE
The reckless behavior of adolescents is
sometimes attributed to the
development of their brains, since their
ability to make plans and see the
consequences of their actions are not
yet fully developed unlike in adults
(Feist and Rosenberg 2012).
Experimentation is a common activity among
adolescents as they search for their identity. They
want to be treated as adults, and they see adult
behavior as something to emulate.
 CHANGES DURING
ADOLESCENCE
Unfortunately, they also mimic
negative behaviors, like smoking and
drinking, which are perceived as marks
of manhood in some cultures such as
ours.

Diff erent clothing and fashion styles are often the most
obvious ways used by adolescents in expressing their
independence and in asserting their unique selves. They
also search for social groups with whom they fi nd common
interests to further validate their chosen identity.
CHANGES DURING
ADOLESCENCE
In most high schools,
various student
organizations are being
off ered to students for them
to choose from. Joining
these organizations
according to one’s interest is
part of the adolescent’s
continuing formation of self-
CHANGES DURING
ADOLESCENCE
Socializing among male and female
adolescents also occurs in this
phase. In this digital era, online
friendships abound—thanks to social
networking sites and platforms.

Online games are also popular among

adolescents, partly due to the social
aspect of the game and the need to
develop abstract reasoning that is built
in these games. Oftentimes,
adolescents are already online friends
even before they could meet face-to?
CHANGES DURING
ADOLESCENCE
Sexual curiosity also happens
in this stage. However, due to
their underdeveloped
cognitive and aff ective
capacities and education of
the matter, this curiosity
sometimes ends up in
disaster, such as teenage
pregnancies and contracting
sexually transmitted diseases.
 ADOLESCENCE
AND SOCIAL
BEHAVIOR
Every culture has a representation of how
their adolescent population behaved over
the decades.
For example, in the USA, the
term “teenage rebellion” was
popularized in the 1950s with the
Beat movement at its forefront.
Popular rebel teen stars, such as
James Dean and writer Jack
Kerouac became the icons of that
era.
Local teenagers copied their
American counterparts. It
was the era of the “Lo’ Waist
Gang,” where actors wore
tight-fi tting jeans and
pompadour hairstyles
slopped with pomade.
In the 1960s and 1970s, it was the
hippie movement and fl ower power
that became the trademark of the
generation of adolescents and young
adults.
The use of psychedelic drugs and other
hypnotic substances were popular;
thus, supporting the theories about
adolescence and the curiosity that they
were going through.
Social issues also became the popular themes
of this era, with the anti-war movement against
the war in Vietnam where the slogan “Make
Love, Not War ” became popular.
Toward the new millennium, the new adolescents who
were born from 1977 to 1994 became known as the
Generation Y, popularly known as “millennials.” This
generation was born in the midst of a great technology
boom; hence, they were also the previous generation who
were referred to as “digital immigrants,” having migrated
from non-digital to digital technology (Schroer n.d.).

The social lives of the millennials are driven by technology

and their social interactions are dictated by their use of
social media networks, mobile phones, and other gadgets.
ADOLESCENCE AND
SOCIAL BEHAVIOR
An interesting social phenomenon
that took over the world in the last
couple of years was the “selfi e and
groupie” phenomenon.

People’s penchant to take their solo pictures, or in settings

with interesting “Instagrammable” backgrounds, which also
included taking pictures of food or drinks they are about to
consume and uploading these to their social networking
sites, continues to remain popular not just among young
people but even among their elders.
ADOLESCENCE AND
SOCIAL BEHAVIOR
This phenomenon has cut across
age boundaries creating an
impact on the way people see
themselves today.

The use of Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter,

WhatsApp, and Reddit, six of the more popular social
networking sites and apps, shows the way young and old
alike live today, but more driven by the younger
generations of millennials and Generation Z members.
ADOLESCENCE AND
SOCIAL BEHAVIOR
Social media have become their outlet
to express themselves, communicate
with each other, and even meet new
people.
There are dangers in using social media
though, such as a breach of one’s privacy,
identity theft, fi nancial frauds and scams,
fake news, and even connecting with
strangers whose motives may not be
friendly.
 SKILLS AND TASKS
APPROPRIATE FOR MIDDLE
AND LATE ADOLESCENCE
What do Filipino adolescents need to learn in terms of
developmental tasks and skills in order for them to grow
into well-rounded young adults?
SKILLS AND TASKS APPROPRIATE FOR MIDDLE AND
LATE ADOLESCENCE

01 Developing occupational skills

.
skills that can help the adolescent
develop responsibility as preparation
for gainful employment ahead.
SKILLS AND TASKS APPROPRIATE FOR MIDDLE AND
LATE ADOLESCENCE

02 Self-reliance
. the ability to identify their own skills
and knowledge, capabilities, and
resources to engage in meaningful
activities and not rely too much on
others
SKILLS AND TASKS APPROPRIATE FOR MIDDLE AND
LATE ADOLESCENCE

03 Ability to manage their fi nances

. be able to discern what is the diff erence
between wants and needs, and be able to learn
self-control when handling their fi nances. As
early as possible, the adolescent should learn
fi nancial literacy through various means
available to them.
SKILLS AND TASKS APPROPRIATE FOR MIDDLE AND
LATE ADOLESCENCE

04 Social responsibility
. adolescents should be able to see beyond
themselves, take into consideration the
greater community around them, and see
their role in improving and developing
these communities, serving as change
agents.
SKILLS AND TASKS APPROPRIATE FOR MIDDLE AND
LATE ADOLESCENCE

05 Mature work orientation

. develop pride in what they do and raise
standards of excellence in the quality of
their work.
SKILLS AND TASKS APPROPRIATE FOR MIDDLE AND
LATE ADOLESCENCE

06 Personal responsibility
. to be fully responsible for their own decisions
and actions by owning them, become aware of
the repercussions or results of the decisions
that they make and be mature enough to own
these results, and refrain from putting blame
on others for the results of their decisions and
actions.
SKILLS AND TASKS APPROPRIATE FOR MIDDLE AND
LATE ADOLESCENCE

07 Positive attitude toward work

. in the book, The Prophet by the Lebanese poet, Kahlil
Gibran, he wrote, “Work is love made visible.” Developing
a healthy and positive attitude toward work means that we
see work as an expression of our love for people who are
important to us, including ourselves.
One can learn new things and grow to become highly
skilled, knowledgeable, and loving person if he or she sees
work as a way toward self-improvement and as an
expression of love for his or her signifi cant others.
 Be courageous to
Develop your Learn how media
stand up and be and advertising
different from your
spirituality.
influence your
friends. thinking and
OTHER feelings.
Develop your DEVELOPMENTAL Be aware, critical,
TASKS AND SKILLS A
self-esteem FILIPINO
and involved with
ADOLESCENT social issues.

Be true to yourself
SHOULD ACQUIRE
(SANTOS, R. R.,
and avoid the 2016) ARE AS Embrace a
tendency to
Increase your
FOLLOWS: healthy lifestyle.
please others. financial
literacy.
THANK
YOU
VERY