Diocesan Schools of Urdaneta

St. Philomena’s Academy

Pozorrubio, Pangasinan

Reviewer in Personal Development

Topic: Developmental Tasks and Challenges of Adolescence

Objective:
After going through this reviewer, you are expected to:
• Discuss developmental tasks and challenges being experienced during adolescence EsP-PD11/12DS-Ic-3.1

Adolescence
- period of development that begins at puberty and ends at emerging adulthood.
- Puberty stage - there are changes that occur in the body of a child
These changes during puberty that everyone naturally go through mostly resulted to your being self-conscious
and being overly emotional. Sometimes, you would want to be accepted and be “in”, but at times, you would
want to be just left alone. These adjustments are part of developmental changes during adolescence stage
-- the time when a child transitions in terms of physiology and cognition to fulfil a new role as an emerging adult.
- Adolescence is a crucial stage because this is the time when teens start defining themselves. Remember,
however, that each adolescent’s experiences, individual changes, and growth vary.

Life is full of challenges. Nonetheless, what matters is how you manage and overcome the challenges that you
encounter in your life. This may be difficult, but learning to accept these difficulties may lead you in the right
directions. Your thoughts, feelings, and behavior toward a situation are reflection of yourself as a person. Moreover,
dealing with circumstances makes you become a better individual.

Developmental Challenges of Adolescence

According to World Health Organization (WHO), adolescence is a period of life with specific health and
development needs and rights. It is also a time to develop knowledge and skills, learn to manage emotions and
relationship, and acquire attributes and abilities that will be important for enjoying the adolescent years and assuming
adult roles.

Development - process of growing or changing into a more advance, larger and stronger form
Challenges - something that needs great mental or physical effort in order to be done successfully and therefore
tests a person's ability

The challenges that adolescents are facing occur during the development of his/her biological, cognitive, and
physiological, spiritual and moral aspects.

Early Adolescence Middle Adolescence Late Adolescence

(Age: 10 -13) (Age: 14 – 17) (Age:18- 24)
Biological/Physical Developmental Development of body Transition as the young
Challenges changes and the shape person consolidates his
beginning of puberty as Physical changes from identity and comes to
indicated by growth puberty continue grips with his future
spurt.

(Growth spurt is the period

where the adolescent
experience rapid growth in
height and weight)

Psychological/Cognitive Concrete thinking, but The concrete thinking, Complex abstract

Challenges early moral concepts. but early moral thinking; identification of
(Concrete thinking – concepts; progression difference between law
thinking that focuses on the of sexual identity and morality.
physical world and development. (Abstract thinking – higher
immediate experiences. The awakening of order thinking. It is the
Analyze what they can see, heterosexuality ability to consider things
 hear, smell, and touch.) beyond what we observe
Development of sexual physically)
identity Feeling himself/herself
Possible of sexual a completer and more
preferences; peer separate person
interest Development of
personal identity
Social Challenges Start of strong peer The preliminary interest Form and maintain truly
identification. and approach towards intimate relationships
His group activities are the opposite sex usually with others whose
primarily with members takes place. beliefs, ideals, and
of his own sex. The awakening of motives he can see and
heterosexuality that respect as clearly as he
often disrupts previous does his own
peer groupings and Development of
intimate friendships vocational capability
and financial
independence’
Behavioral Challenges His behavior may This is the stage when He/She is more able to
temporarily show a adolescent rebellion be selective and
disorganized, erratic starts. discriminating in his
quality along with a Period of irritability, relationships
decreased willingness wide mood swings, and
to accommodate the rapidly changing
expectations of his feelings.
parents and others
Wide mood swings and
periodic bouts of feeling
ill-treated and unloved
may dominate his
emotional life.
Source: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-349-81464-0_2

Developmental Tasks of Adolescence

In Erik Erikson’s theory on Psychosocial Development specifically Identity vs Role Confusion, adolescents ages
12 – 18 years old would try to explore and figure out their own identity and try to fit in with social interactions at the same
time. According to Erikson, an adolescent’s main task is developing a sense of self. Adolescents struggle with questions
“Who am I?” and “What do I want to do with my life?”
As an adolescent who is entering the stage of adulthood, you are responsible for your own being. Accepting
yourself and ensuring your body’s physical health help you build stronger personality and sense of identity. Likewise,
building a strong relationship with your family and showing affection and respect to others can improve interactions with
them. Establishing social responsibility, moreover, develops personal and moral values to guide you on how to react to
social issues.
Entering adulthood is undeniably a big challenge. At this stage of your life, your family, your school, and your
community contribute to prepare you in this life-changing task. You should, in turn, need to be emotionally prepared since
you would need to choose people whom you think would help you fulfill these tasks in order for you to reach you goals in
life.

A professor named Robert J. Havighurst of the University of Chicago proposed that stages in human
development and it specify as well tasks for adolescence. He identified Developmental Tasks of Normal Adolescence
associated with the adolescent transition.
Activity: Read and answer the following
1. What are the implications of the developmental tasks to you as a student?
a.
b.
c.
2. Give at least three significant roles of adolescence in the society.
a.
b.
c.
3. Make a list of your skills that would help you in dealing with things when you enter adult life.
a.
b.
c.
4. Explain: “Challenges help us to face the reality”

Self-Assessment: Reflect, assess and determine how often you practice what the statements say. Rate yourself
according to the following scale. Check the appropriate columns that corresponds to your answer.
Scoring Guide:
40-50 -Demonstrates competency accurately, dependably, and independently.
20-39- Demonstrates competency accurately and dependably in most situations with minimal guidance
10-19- Demonstrates competency accurately and dependably in most situation but needs supervision from adult
1-9- Demonstrates competency inconsistently. Needs guidance and supervision from adult.