Dealing With The Challenges of Adolescence Stage

Dealing with the Challenges
of
Adolescence Stage
Sara Paretsky
“The hardest thing about adolescence
is that everything seems too big.
There's no way to get context or
perspective. Pain and joy without
limits. No one can live like that
forever, so experience finally comes
to our rescue. We come to know what
we can endure, and also that nothing
endures.”
Adam and
Leo
Adam is in deep trouble. He is a brilliant student but
rebels against school authorities and his parents. He
was
brought up in a religious family, but when his parents
split, he started engaging in risky activities. Although he
maintained good grades at first, his focus wavered, and
he
engaged in alcohol drinking, smoking, gambling, and
drugs. By the time he reached his third year in high
school, he became addicted to alcohol and gambling.
Adam is on the brink of not finishing his studies because
of his alcohol dependence and gambling addiction.
Leo is Adam’s classmate. The two of them share a lot of similarities in
physical looks and level of intelligence. Like Adam, Leo’s parents are
separated. However, unlike Adam, Leo turned to his friends and other
family members for guidance when his parents called it quits. He
focused on his studies and avoided activities that would lead him to
trouble. He joined school activities and community outreach
programs.
Gradually, Leo saw that there are other things to be thankful for. He
refused to dwell on the fact that he came from a broken family and
promised himself that when he becomes a husband and a father, he
will be supportive of his wife and children.
Adolescence is a chaotic stage. It is a stage full of contradictions. There is
the pull of being an emerging adult, with its increasing responsibilities and
independence, and at the same time, the pull of being a child with its
innocence and carefree attitude.
It is a time that a young person begins to guide himself/herself into the
world. As an adolescent, a young person begins to have a greater
understanding of how his surroundings work, and upon learning this,
he/she is baffled by possibilities and restrictions. In a world full of
contradictions, an adolescent learns to create his perceptions and applies
his/her gradually evolving value system. This makes this stage both a
wonderful and a frightening period in anyone’s life.
Essential
Questions
What are the challenges that you face and how can you manage
them?
What are the expectations placed upon you and how does you
feel about them?
How can you become a lovable and capable person?

Lesson 1: Setting the
Stage
Adolescence is a stage that prepares you for
adulthood. It is an exciting period since it allows you
to widen your experiences and expand your social
circle. At the
same time, it is also a frightening period since it is
the beginning of breaking away from childhood. The
transition from being a child to being an adult can
make you confused and at a loss as to how you can
handle the bumps of growing up.
A person must grow and experience
trials to attain maturity. This is a key
issue during adolescence, a stage
where individuals face various
challenges that help them develop a
deeper understanding of life.
Adolescence is a time when you
begin to learn that the world does not
always grant your desires, and this
often leads to personal growth.
During this stage, individuals encounter a
range of events and situations that test
their ability to adapt and survive. Many face
the challenge of proving themselves to
society and finding ways to contribute to
the betterment of their communities.
Adolescence marks the transition from
childhood to adulthood, a time when one
must start letting go of youthful
dependency and begin embracing adult
responsibilities.
Nature and Nurture in
Human Development
• Human development is shaped by the

combination of genes (nature) and environment
(nurture).
• Both influence your physical, emotional, and

psychological characteristics.
• Genes: The unique combination of genes contributes
to your individual characteristics.
• People have different gene combinations, leading to

unique traits.
Environmental Factors that shape
development:
• Family background
• Socio-economic status
• Parents’ educational attainment
• Family structure (intact or broken)
• Language and cultural influences
• Societal expectations
Self-Affirmation
Encouraging words have the power to uplift
someone’s spirits and brighten their day. When we
show support, it helps others feel that they are not
alone and that people are there to inspire them
during tough times. Life is full of challenges, and
receiving comfort can motivate a person to keep
going. However, the question arises: is relying on
others’ encouragement enough? Can a person find
the strength within themselves to stay motivated?
This lesson explores how we balance external
support with our own ability to lift our spirits and
keep trying, even when things are difficult.
Learn about
It!
A self-defeating attitude can
undermine your growth by constantly
reminding you of your flaws. Despite
your desire to improve, negative
beliefs can hinder your progress. The
question is: how can you overcome
this internal obstacle? Building and
maintaining self-confidence is a key
focus in understanding human
behavior. This lesson explores ways to
defeat self-doubt and enhance
personal growth.
Affirmations happen when there is a
need to reprogram the subconscious
mind. It is used to encourage you to
believe specific things about yourself
and the world around you.
Affirmations help you in attracting
positive things or objects. Some
examples of these things or objects
include attracting wealth, love, or
even happiness.
What is Self-Affirmation?
Self-affirmation is described as the
behavioral or cognitive events that
sustain,
strengthen and support the perception of
self-integrity (Steele, 1988, cited by
Schmeichel and Vohs in 2009).
The term self-affirmation is also defined as
the process of focusing on your most
important values. The values mentioned
are
based on the set of goals or people whom
you regard as very important.
Self-integrity
Self-integrity is your perception or belief that
you are virtuous, rightful, and is capable of
predicting and controlling outcomes.
Self-integrity is present in all cultures and
different points in history. There is a shared
belief in all cultures of what it means to be a
person with self-integrity.
Origins of Self-Affirmation
The experts in the field of
Psychology suggested that you
have personal regard and
that it is present as early as the
infancy stage.
Tony Greenwald said that the self is
totalitarian. It interprets events in a way that
it
complements its desires and needs. You tend
to believe that you can control the outcomes.
You like taking excessive credit for success.
However, you tend to deny responsibility
when
failure happens. Moreover, you are too
optimistic when predicting your success but
are not paying too much attention to your
incompetence. You refuse to learn new things
Self-Affirmation Theory
This theory was created by Claude Steele.

It asserts that the main goal of the self is
to protect its self-integrity. When the self-
integrity is in danger, you respond in a
way that the self-worth is restored. It
affects the cognitive, physical, and actual
behavior of a person.
Benefits of Self-Affirmation
•  It can protect you from the harmful effects of stress on problem-
solving.
•  It can reduce anxiety.
•  It makes you more receptive to your errors allowing you to correct
your mistakes.
•  It can make you become less defensive and focus more on the
things you value instead of always justifying your actions.
•  It can make you more open-minded to persuasive information and
less biased on evaluating political information or health risk warnings.
•  It can make you accept your defeat.
•  It can lessen discrimination.
•  It can lessen the adverse psychological effects of being the target
or focus of unpleasant stereotyping in schools.
Self-affirmation is believed to be a
significant influence in developing self-
confidence. However, it may not always
work for all people. A study was conducted
in 2009, and the results suggested that
people with low self-esteem who repeated a
positive self-affirmation statement like “I am
a lovable person” or who paid attention to
the truth in this statement felt worse. The
participants with high self-esteem felt better
but only in a limited degree.
Dr. Ronald Alexander, a
psychotherapist, and a book
author, offered an explanation
about this matter. He stressed
that if there is a deep-seated
contrary belief about your self,
positive thoughts will be blocked.
This is the reason why
affirmations do not work for some
people.

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Dealing with the Challenges

How can you become a lovable and capable person?

• Human development is shaped by the

• Both influence your physical, emotional, and

• People have different gene combinations, leading to

This theory was created by Claude Steele.

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