PERDEV

• Adolescence is often described as a period of "storm and stress," where teenagers experience emotional ups and downs
• Examples of emotional changes in adolescence:

  • Easily getting excited in certain situations, like giggling when seeing a crush
  • Feeling joy when receiving a gadget from parents
  • Feeling upset when asked to stop playing a game
  • Easily getting depressed when requests are not granted
  • Emotions becoming overwhelming in complicated situations
• Most adolescents are emotionally unstable from time to time, even though some experience the storm and stress period
• Teenagers use material possessions as status symbols according to Hurlock (1982)
• As adolescents approach the end of this developmental stage, emotional stability is gradually attained
• Emotional patterns in adolescence differ from those in childhood, with adolescents gaining more control over expressing emotions
• Indicators of emotional maturity:

  • Should be achieved by the end of adolescence
  • Knowing how to express emotions in a socially acceptable manner
  • Facing difficult situations with critical thinking before being emotionally carried away
  • Becoming less reactive to provocations and emotionally heated situations
  • Reflecting moods that do not swing from one emotion to another
  • Realizing lessons can be learned from each difficult experience, gaining important life skills from each obstacle conquered
• Social pressures and demands add to the stress and storm of the adolescence years
• During adolescence, you need to make social adjustments to overcome challenges
• Your attitude, speech, interests, appearance, and behavior are heavily influenced by your peers as you spend more time outside your home in your teenage years
• Peer acceptance becomes very important during adolescence
• As you go through adolescence, you may prefer fewer friends and intimate relationships
• During adolescence, you become curious about relationships with the opposite sex and experience physical attraction to them
• In adolescence, you begin to look for a relationship wherein you are comfortable sharing your feelings and experiences
• If not handled well, your need for belongingness during adolescence may lead to conforming to the standards of your peers without considering the consequences
• Peer pressure is commonly experienced during adolescence, where there is an expectation that you comply with the norms of your peer group
• Peer pressure is shown when you are easily influenced by others
• It is important during adolescence to choose your friends wisely to avoid negative peer pressure influences
• Early adolescence is characterized by bias regarding the members of the opposite sex
• As adolescents progress through the years, their social insight improves, making them more capable of judging members of the opposite sex objectively
• Increased social participation leads to improved social competence, manifested by the ability to carry on conversations, behave properly in front of people, and have confidence to share talents
• Choosing a leader who is admired and respected by others is important for teenagers as they want someone who is a good reflection of their peer group
• To successfully make social adjustments, individuals need to enhance their social skills to be comfortable in social settings
• Tips for social adjustment include:

  • Carry yourself gracefully in front of others
  • Enjoy the company of your peers
  • Learn to clarify your boundaries to maintain self-reliance
• Developmental tasks in adolescence are specific knowledge, skills, attitudes, and functions that a person needs to acquire and demonstrate at particular periods in life
• Robert Havighurst defined developmental tasks as essential for coping with challenges and preparing for the next developmental stage
• Teenagers master developmental tasks in a sequential order during three stages of adolescence: early adolescence, middle adolescence, and late adolescence
• Primary developmental task in early adolescence (12-13 y/o) involves adapting to biological and mental development
• Adolescents need to accept their physique and learn to use their body effectively
• Accepting that one is already sexually capable of reproduction is crucial in early adolescence
• Understanding that hormonal changes increase sexual desire is part of growth, but it doesn't mean one has to succumb to it
• Being comfortable with one's appearance and accepting the physical changes leads to less emotional tension and better handling of challenges in early adolescence
• Primary tasks of a teenager in middle adolescence (14-16 y/o) include:

  • Achieving new and more mature relations with age mates of both sexes
  • Becoming more adept in settings and more capable of establishing intimate relationships
  • Enjoying school more because of friends and seeking their support to solve problems
  • Learning to conform to social demands without sacrificing own identity
• During middle adolescence, teenagers may experience attraction to another person, have crushes, and find dating a fun activity
• An important developmental task during middle adolescence is learning to handle heterosexual relationships, dating, and sexuality, as teenage pregnancies are becoming more common
• Another task during middle adolescence is achieving a masculine or feminine social role and emotional independence from parents and other adults
• • Your mastery of these tasks suggest that you need to be physically self- reliant and psychologically independent from your parents, which is not that easy. 
  • Still, you need to put away your childish ways and start doing things by yourself. However, you need not be shy to ask for help with things that you cannot do by yourself.
  • Being self-reliant and independent does not happen overnight; you need the support of significant persons in your life to be so.
  • Mastering this developmental task means hard work and patience; yet, you have to always remember that you can do it!
• Late adolescence (17 y/o) is a stage where individuals should have already formed attitudes, learned skills, and established relationships to ascertain the kind of person they are and the life they want to lead
• In late adolescence, individuals should focus on planning and preparing for marriage and family life, preparing for an economic career, acquiring a set of values and an ethical system, and desiring and achieving socially responsible behavior
• Adolescence is full of challenges as it is a stage of "becoming" rather than of "being," requiring individuals to maintain a positive attitude towards the changes they go through and to convert difficulties into opportunities to learn and grow