Developmental Tasks of

Adolescence
Understanding the Middle and
Late Adolescence
• age 15-21
• full of excitement and challenges
• hallmark is the quest for identity and
individuality through:
– assertion of independence
– exercise of personal decisions in relation to
what one wants to be in the future
– establishing meaningful relationships with
others
• What do I want to be in the future?
• What course should I take?
• What job will fulfill me?
• Should I study abroad or in the city far
from home?
• Am I ready to leave home?
 The developmental tasks of
adolescence
• need to master developmental tasks to
cope with challenges and prepare for next
developmental stage
• Robert Havighurst: specific knowledge,
skills,attitudes and functions that need to
be demonstrated at particular periods in
life
 The developmental tasks of
adolescence
1. accepting one's physique and using one's
body effectively
2. adjust with growing intellectual abilities
and develop critical thinking skills
3. adjust to the academic demands in
school
4. develop language skills
 The developmental tasks of
adolescence
5. establish one's personal identity
6. achieving emotional independence from
parents and other adults
7. achieving new and more mature relations
with age mates of both sexes
8. achieving a masculine or feminine social
role; managing your sexuality
 The developmental tasks of
adolescence
9. acquiring a set of values and an ethical
system as a guide to behavior-developing
ideology
10.desiring, accepting and achieving socially
responsible behavior
11.preparing for an economic career
12.preparing for marriage and family life
 Stages of Adolescence
• Early
• Middle
• Late
(Kimmel and Weiner, 1995)
 Early Adolescence
• 12-13 years old
• rapid growth and various changes
• primary task: adapting to biological and
mental development
• to accept one's physique and use one's
body effectively
• capability for sexual reproduction
 Early Adolescence
• responsible care and use of the body
• increased sexual desire
• be comfortable with appearance
 Middle adolescence
• 14-16 years old
• primary tasks:
– achieving new and more mature relations with
age mates of both sexes
– achieving a masculine or feminine social role
– achieving emotional independence from
parents and other adults
 Middle adolescence
• need to be physically self-reliant and
psychologically independent from parents
• do things by yourself
• may still ask for help with things you
cannot do by yourself
• need support of significant persons
 Middle adolescence
• another task: becoming adept in social
settings and more capable of establishing
intimate relationships
• friends
• disclosure to people who can be trusted
• rejection and peer pressure inevitable
 Middle adolescence
• excitement of attraction to another person
(crushes/ dating)
• another task: learning to handle
heterosexual relationships, dating and
sexuality
• awareness of possibility of teenage
pregnancy
 Middle adolescence
• still bothered with physical appearance
and capabilities
• more concerned with self-identity,
independence and interdependence
• can work alone as well as live
harmoniously with others
 Late adolescence
• 17 years old -->
– consistency in personal identity in relation to
the people around
– formed fairly definite social roles, value
systems and life goals
– (Kimmel and Weiner, 1995)
 Late adolescence
• formed attitudes, learned skills,
established relationships --> bases of
ascertaining:
– what kind of person you are
– what kind of life you want to lead
 Late adolescence
• focused on :
– planning and preparing for marriage and
family life
– preparing for an economic career
– acquiring a set of values and an ethical
system as a guide to behavior or ideology
– desiring and achieving socially responsible
behavior
 Adolescents of the 21st
Century
• Activity: Ganito Kami Noon, Paano
Kayo Ngayon?
1. Think of your parents or an older family
member
2. Identify how this person is different from
you. Ask them the following:
- how did they communicate with their
partners when they were your age?
– What did they do when they went out
with friends and family members?
– Where did they go to have fun?
– other things you may want to ask

E.g. love letters/land line “telebabad” vs

texting or chats on social media
 Try to identify as many differences as you
can. Write your answers on call out signs as
shown below:
• What your • How you do
parents did things now
before
 Reflection
• Answer the following in your journal:
• What makes your generation different from
your parents?Why is this so?
• How do you feel about those differences?
• As a teenager, what would you do to
reconcile the gap between your generation
and the older generation?
Adolescents in the 20th vs the
21st Century
• Your parents and • The present time
grandparents'
time • culture of instant
• culture of hard results
work • short-term
• long-standing relationships
relationships
 Adolescents in the 21st
Century
• materialism, status symbols
• image over inner beauty and holistic value
• digital natives
• open to pornography
• distraction to learning
 Adolescents in the 21st
Century
• both parents commonly work
• less time for guidance from parents -->
turn to peers
• tempted to abuse freedom
• feel neglect --> sadness, anger, rebellion
 Are you a responsible
person?
• know developmental tasks
• know the factors that contribute to shaping
you, your attitudes and behaviors
 TAKE CHARGE, ASSUME
RESPONSIBILITY
• Covey, 2004: Taking charge or assuming
responsibility is the ability to choose your
own responses to encountered
circumstances
• taking ownership or accountability of own
behaviors without making excuses or
blaming others for own mistakes
 Successful Persons
• They take full responsibility of their actions
• They take charge to realize their goals
• They act with motivation and
determination
• They correct their mistakes to stay on
track of their goals
 Building Blocks of
Responsibility (Feiden, 1991)
1. A strong sense of self-esteem
– positive belief in oneself
2. The capacity for empathy
– ability to put oneself in another's shoes so
that you understand what he or she is going
through
– foundation of concept of right or wrong
– understanding of how actions affect others
– basis of awareness of concequences of
actions
 Building Blocks of
Responsibility (Feiden, 1991)
3. Knowing right from wrong
– abiding with what is right and avoiding what
is wrong
– facing the consequences of one's actions
4. Developing good judgment
– decisions rooted to integrity and strong
personal values
– not easily swayed to do things
– know the effects of one's actions
 Activity
• Read the article entitled “A Stanford dean
on adult skills every 18-year-old should
have” (PDF file uploaded to the Links and
Articles page of our google site)
• In your journal, discuss which skills you
have already developed and illustrate with
examples.