During the teen years, adolescents grow in size, sexual maturity, emotional development, and thinking capacity.

The developmental changes during adolescence rival those of infancy and early
childhood. Research indicates that the human brain does not reach full maturity until at least the mid 20s.

Most milestones occur gradually, with frustrating starts and stops along the way. Each task depends on others to be fully accomplished, and all are part of underlying developmental forces propelling
adolescents toward maturity.

In addition, many researchers see human development as a lifelong process, with parents developing alongside their adolescents.

The Ten Tasks of Adolescence

TASK 1: Teens are faced with adjusting to bodies that as much as double in size and that acquire
sexual characteristics, as well as learning to manage the accompanying biological
Adjust to sexually maturing changes and sexual feelings and to engage in healthy sexual behaviors. Their task also
bodies and feelings includes establishing a sexual identity and developing the skills for romantic relationships.

TASK 2: Teens typically undergo profound changes in their way of thinking during adolescence,
allowing them more effectively to understand and coordinate abstract ideas, to think
Develop and apply abstract about possibilities, to try out hypotheses, to think ahead, to think about thinking, and to
thinking skills construct philosophies.

TASK 3: Teens typically acquire a powerful new ability to understand human relationships, in
Develop and apply a more which, having learned to “put themselves in another person’s shoes,” they learn to take
complex level of perspective into account both their perspective and another person’s at the same time, and to use this
taking new ability in resolving problems and conflicts in relationships.

TASK 4:
Develop and apply new Related to all these dramatic shifts, teens are involved in acquiring new abilities to think
about and plan for the future, to engage in more sophisticated strategies for decision
coping skills (e.g. decision making, problem solving, and conflict resolution, and to moderate their risk taking to
making, problem solving, serve goals rather than jeopardize them.
conflict resolution)

TASK 5: Building on these changes and resulting skills, teens typically develop a more complex
Identify meaningful understanding of moral behavior and underlying principles of justice and care,
moral standards, values, questioning beliefs from childhood and adopting more personally meaningful values,
and belief systems religious views, and belief systems to guide their decisions and behavior.

TASK 6:
Understand and express Also related to these changes are shifts for teens toward an ability to identify and
communicate more complex emotions, to understand the emotions of others in more
more complex emotional sophisticated ways, and to think about emotions in abstract ways.
experiences

TASK 7: Although youngsters typically have friends throughout childhood, teens generally develop
peer relationships that play much more powerful roles in providing support and
Form friendships that are
connection in their lives. They tend to shift from friendships based largely on the sharing
mutually close and of interests and activities to those based on the sharing of ideas and feelings, with the
supportive development of mutual trust and understanding.

Identity formation is in a sense a lifelong process, but crucial aspects of identity are
TASK 8: typically forged at adolescence, including developing an identity that reflects a sense of
individuality as well as connection to valued people and groups. Another part of this task
Establish key aspects of is developing a positive identity around gender, physical attributes, sexuality, and
identity ethnicity and, if appropriate, having been adopted, as well as sensitivity to the diversity of
groups that make up American society.

TASK 9: Teens gradually take on the roles that will be expected of them in adulthood, learning to
Meet the demands of acquire the skills and manage the multiple demands that will allow them to move into the
increasingly mature roles labor market, as well as to meet expectations regarding commitment to family,
and responsibilities community, and citizenship.

Although the task of adolescence has sometimes been described as “separating” from
TASK 10: parents and other caregivers, it is more widely seen now as adults and teens working
Renegotiate relationships together to negotiate a change in the relationship that accommodates a balance of
with adults in parenting roles autonomy and ongoing connection, with the emphasis on each depending in part on the
family’s ethnic background.

Source: Simpson AR (2001). Raising teens: A synthesis or research and a foundation for action.
Center for Health Communication, Harvard School of Public Health
(www.hsph.harvard.edu/chc/parenting/raising.html)

Konopka Institute for Best Practices in Adolescent Health