1.

Attitudes and behavior towards the

sexuality and sexual relationships
• Puberty drives the adolescent to experience surges
of sexual desires, often lead them to
experimentation. It may end up in lifetime of
regrets.
• Their sexuality should be able to draw their limits in
terms of sexual expressions.
• Should be responsible enough to see the future
results consequences of their behaviors.
• 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.
 2. Academic concerns
• The role of a student is the primary role of an
adolescent who still in school.
• Adolescent become problematic with their academic
studies.
• Being responsible is called when dealing with academic
challenges. Be aware that the academic grades are not
the only indicators of learning. Discipline, openness,
perseverance, diligence, excellence, curiosity,
analytical and critical thinking, memory, understanding,
cooperation, and team work, respecting other people’s
opinion and beliefs, social interactions, leadership, and
followership are some of the more important skills and
values.
3. Group belongingness
• While there is an urge to be independent and autonomous from
his/her 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.
• An adolescent with a low self-esteem might be drawn toward
organizations that promise camaraderie in the form of “walang
iwanan,” “do or die,” or “one for all and all for one,” kind of
social support. However, there is a possibility that these types
of organizations may be more destructive than constructive.
• An adolescent should not be lured by organizations that
promise “exclusivity” or “superiority,” often touting false courage
through strength in their numbers.
• When joining informal groups or organizations, be very aware
of peer presure that say’s “Do this or you cannot join our group
because you are not like us.”
 4. 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 brain, are gifted with so much energy that seems
inexhaustible, resulting in abuse of one’s body and mind.
• Avoid unhealthy food such as items laden with bad oils and fat often
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
dsserts and animal meat and fat.
• Dieting might work for some but the long terms results are not
commendable because more often than not, the person returns
eventually to his bad eating habits.
• Long exposure to television and screen gadgets are also unhealthy.
Regulate the hours you spend with technology. Read books and take
time to exercise.
5. Developing or Regaining Self- Esteem
• Adolescents who are creating their self-identity should be objective
and balanced when viewing themselves. Being objective means
seeing one’s self as having both strengths and weaknesses or
having positive and negative characteristics.. Balancing how one
see’s oneself means to avoid over-emphasizing an aspect of one’s
identity to the detriment of another aspect.
• Adolescents at this age 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.
• Accepting one’s body is type is better than rejecting it when there is
not much one can do (except plastic surgery, liposuction, regular
exercise, body building, etc.)
• Grooming is also an important aspect of an adolescent’s lifestyle,
which can affect his/her self-esteem. Proper grooming and self-
care can self improve one’s feeling and attitude about oneself. Skin
problems and hair problems often crop up during adolescence, and
these can be addressed if the adolescent is aware of the roots of
these problems, and the solutions or remedies available.
 6. Roles
• All human beings have roles to play in their lives. Roles
are part od 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 member of
organization. Although these roles seem separate and
different from each other, adolescents must learn to
integrate all the roles and it should be clear that these
roles are related to the tasks expected of them by others.
• These healthy adolescent will recognize not merely the
roles but the values being expected from him or her, such
as personal and family responsibility, love for family, and
basic survival.
• Balancing his or her time and energy is addressing the
responsibilities demanded by each role can be achieved
through discipline and time management. When these
values are clear in mind of adolescent, role confucion is
diminished.
 7. 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 for hours, some cross the rivers and
streams, and other go up to hills and mountains, before
they will be able to reach their school. Stories of
students who could not go to school because they do
not have money for food and transportation are usually
exploited in movies and television.
 8. 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 their needs of their families.
• In a particular study titled Migration and Filipino Children Left
Behind: A Literature Review by Professor Melanie Reyes of the
Merriam College Women and Gender Institute, Professor
Garcia said that “several studies showed how migration of
parents is indeed heart-breaking for children, making them long
for parental care, get confused over gender roles, be vulnerable
to abuse, and even develop consumers attitude.
• There must be recognition of the emotions and feelings brought
about by the situation. Sadness, loneliness, and thought 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.
• Those who react positively way will see their situation
as a consequence of the socio-economic needs of
their family to survive and have better lives. They see
their parents who work abroad as offering so much
sacrifice for their welfare.
• Support systems are necessary for growing persons;
therefor, an adolescent with parents who work
abroad should be able to identify people he/she can
trust and lean for support whenever he needs it.
These can be family members, relatives, or friends
who are genuinely concerned for his/her welfare.
 9. 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 established a career path for the
future. While many private schools provide career
counseling and guidance which involves testing and
interviews, the adolescent can be more proactive by
accessing many resource materials found in the
internet to help him identify his capabilities and skills.
 10. 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.
• At home. 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.
• Among friend, adolescents can be more relaxed. This is the
stage when friendships develop easily and frequently.
Adolescents find it easier to bond with friends rather than with
family member who “do not understand them.”
• Romantic relationships are inevitable and equally changing to
an adolescent. When emotions are involved, it is often difficult
to be objective, and many adolescent are still developing their
skills in understanding their emotions.
11. Values and Beliefs

• Ask a typical adolescent what he believes in or what

values he upholds, and often you get a shrug of the
shoulders as a reply. As discussed in the previous
chapter, the adolescent is still developing his cognitive
skill that he can use in thinking of abstract concepts
and asking critical question.
• The adolescent is hereby invited to ask themselves
these questions in order to find out what are the
important question of their life.
12. Other Challenges

• There many other challenges facing adolescents, and

some may not be aware that they are experiencing
them, like depression. There are telltale signs of
depression an adolescent should be aware of. If you
suspect that you are experiencing depression, talk to
your parents, guardian, or school guidance counselor.