ADOLESCENCE

REPORTER:
JO ANN M. VELASCO
 ADOLESCENCE

The term ADOLESCENCE comes from the latin word

“adolescere” meaning “to grow” or “to grow to maturity”.
As it is used today, the term adolescence has a
broader meaning, It includes mental, emotional, and
social maturity as well as physical maturity.
According to Piaget [121] when he said :
“Psychologically , adolescence is the age when the
individual becomes integrated into the society of adults,
the age when the child no longer feels that he is below the
level of his elders but equal, at least in rights…. This
integration into adult society has many affective aspects
more or less linked with puberty ….. It also includes very
profound intellectual changes….These intellectual
transformations typical of the adolescents thinking enable
him not only to achieve his integration into the social
relationships of adults, which is in fact, the most general
characteristics of this period of development.”
 CHARACTERISTICS OF
ADOLESCENCE
 Adolescence is an important period
 Adolescence is a transitional period
 Adolescence is a period of change
 Adolescence is a problem age
 Adolescence is a time of search for
identity
 Adolescence is a dreaded age
 Adolescence is a time of unrealism
 Adolescence is the threshold of
adulthood.
 IDENTITY VS. ROLE CONFUSION
• Identity versus confusion is the fifth stage of ego
according to psychologist Erik Erikson's theory
of psychosocial development. This stage
occurs during adolescence between the ages
of approximately 12 and 18. During this stage,
adolescents explore their independence and
develop a sense of self.
• According to Erikson, people progress through
a series of stages as they grow and change
throughout life. During each stage, people
face a developmental conflict that must be
resolved to successfully develop the primary
virtue of that stage. He was interested in how
social interaction and relationships
affect development and growth.
 What Is Ego Identity?
• One of the main elements of Erikson's
psychosocial stage theory is the development
of ego identity. It is the conscious sense of self
that we develop through social interaction,
which is constantly changing due to new
experiences and information we acquire in
our daily interactions with others.
• During the identity versus confusion stage, the
conflict is centered on developing a personal
identity. Successfully completing this stage
leads to a strong sense of self that will remain
throughout life.
 A Closer Look at the Identity
vs. Confusion Stage
• Psychosocial Conflict: Identity Versus Confusion
• Major Question: "Who am I?"
• Basic Virtue: Fidelity
• Important Event(s): Social Relationships
• As they transition from childhood to adulthood,
teens may begin to feel confused or insecure
about themselves and how they fit into society. As
they seek to establish a sense of self, teens may
experiment with different roles, activities, and
behaviors. According to Erikson, this is important
to the process of forming a strong identity and
developing a sense of direction in life.
 Development During the Adolescent
Years
• Teen behavior often seems unpredictable and
impulsive, but all of this is part of the process of finding
a sense of personal identity. Parents and family
members continue to exert an influence on how teens
feel about themselves, but outside forces also become
particularly important during this time. Friends, social
groups, schoolmates, societal trends, and even popular
culture all play a role in shaping and forming an
identity.
• Those who receive proper encouragement and
reinforcement through personal exploration will
emerge from this stage with a strong sense of self
 and a feeling of independence and control.
Those who remain unsure of their beliefs and
desires will remain insecure and confused
about themselves and the future.
• Resolving the crisis at this stage of
development involves committing to a
particular identity. This might involve
committing to a career path, deciding what
social groups to associate with and even
developing a sense of personal style.
• Those who are successful develop fidelity, a
psychological virtue characterized by the
ability to relate to others and form genuine
relationships. This ability plays an important
role in the upcoming stage known as intimacy
vs. isolation.
• So, what happens to those who do not end up
successfully forming an identity at this point in
development? Kids who are not allowed to
explore and test out different identities might be
left with what Erikson referred to as role confusion.
These individuals are not sure who they are or
what they like. They tend to drift from one job or
relationship to another, never really sure what
they want to do with their lives. Instead of feeling
a sense of personal cohesiveness, they are left
feeling disappointed and confused about their
place in life.
 PHYSICAL CHANGES
DURING ADOLESCENCE
• Growth is far from complete at the end of
early adolescence. However, there is a
slackening of the pace of growth and
there is a more marked internal then
external development.
• Box8.1 gives important external and
internal bodily changes that takes place
during adolescence and the ages at
which these changes normally occur.
Box8.1
BODY CHANGES DURING ADOLESCENCE

EXTERNAL CHANGES
 Height
- The average girl reaches her mature height
between the ages of seventeen and
eighteen and the average boy, a year or so
later. Boys and girls who were immunized and
who, as a result , suffered from more illnesses
that tended to stunt their growth.
 Weight
-Weight changes follow a timetable similar to
that for height changes, with weight now
distributed over areas of the body where
previously there was little or no fat
 Body Proportions
-The various parts of the body gradually
come into proportion. For example , the
trunk broadens and lengthens , and thus
the limbs no longer seem too long.
 Sex organs
-Both male and female sex organs reach
their mature size in late adolescence, but
are not mature in function until several
years later.
 Secondary Sex Characteristics
-The major secondary sex characteristics
are at a mature level of development by
late adolescence.
INTERNAL CHANGES
 Digestive system
-The stomach becomes longer and less tubular, the
intestines grow in length and circumference, the
muscles in the stomach and intestinal walls
become thicker and stronger , the liver increases
in weight and the esophagus becomes longer.
 Circulatory System
-the heart grows rapidly during adolescence; by the
age of seventeen or eighteen ; it is twelve times
as heavy as it was a birth. The length and
thickness of the walls of the blood vessels increase
and reach a mature level when the heart does.
 Respiratory System
-the lung capacity of girls is almost at a mature level
at age seventeen ; boys reach this level at
several years later.
 Endocrine System
-The increased activity of the gonads at
puberty results in a temporary imbalance
of the whole endocrine system in early
adolescence . The sex glands develop
rapidly and become functional, though
they do not reach their mature size until
late adolescence or early adulthood.
 Body tissues
-The skeleton stops growing at an
average age of eighteen . Tissues , other
than bone, continue to develop after the
bones have reached their mature size.
This is especially true of muscle tissue.
 VARIATIONS IN PHYSICAL CHANGES

• Sex differences are especially apparent even

though boys start their growth spurt later than
girls, their growth continues longer , with the
result that ,at maturity, they are usually taller
than girls.
• Individual differences are also influenced by
age of maturing.
EFFECTS OF PHYSICAL CHANGES
• Physical changes slow down , the
awkwardness of puberty and early
adolescence generally disappear.
CONCERN ABOUT PHYSICAL CHANGES
• Few adolescents experience body-cathexis or
satisfaction with their bodies.
• Dion et al. have explained why satisfaction
with the physical changes that takes place as
children’s bodies are transformed into adult
bodies is important. According to him, “A
person’s physical appearance , along with his
sexual identity is the personal characteristic
most obvious and accessible to others in
social interactions.”
• Concern about normalcy, for example,
will persist until the physical changes on
the surface of the body have been
completed and adolescents can be sure
that their bodies conform to the norms for
their set of groups.
• Awareness of social reactions to different
body builds leads to concern in
adolescents whose changing bodies fail
to conform to the culturally approved
standards.
• For many girls menstruation is a serious
concern.
• Acne and other skin eruptions are a
source of concern to both boys and girls.
 GRADE OF ACNE
100
PERCENTAGE OF YOUTHS BOTHERED

90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
I II III IV
Examples of Celebrities
in Adolescence Stage
 Kim Yoo Jung-Korean actress
(19 years old)

Famous locally and internationally. She is also known for

starring in a korean drama “Love in the Moonlight”.
Darren Espanto-Filipino-Canadian singer
(17 years old)

He is a well known young Filipino singer. He has several

albums despite of his very young age.
Current Social
Issues in Teens
 Social Media and Computer
Games Addiction
• Filipino millennials are now fond of using
technologies that they spent most of their
time with social medias, like in Twitter,
Facebook and others because of this they
are vulnerable with malicious intent and
dangerous people whom they might
encounter online. Other than social medias
they are also fond of computer games that
some of them are now very addicted in to it
that they neglect their studies.
 Teenage Pregnancy
Teenage pregnancy significantly impacts an
adolescent’s education, as well as the goals
they have set for themselves. Parental
involvement is sometimes overlooked by the
teen while deciding if abortion is the right
choice. Most teenagers have access to obtain
an abortion without their parents’ permission
because some states consider a pregnant teen
an adult. When states consider a pregnant
adolescent an adult, the teen has the authority
to make their own decisions.
This teenage pregnancy issue is a tremendous
problem.
 HIV cases among teens
• The Department of Health in Central Visayas
reported an upward trend in cases of human
immunodeficiency virus infection and
acquired immune deficiency syndrome
(HIV/AIDS) among the youngsters, specifically
between ages 15 and 24.
• Based from monthly registry, local health
authorities has observed an increase of
HIV/AIDS cases among adolescents and
young adults here in the region in recent
years.