PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT HANDOUT WEEK 4

CHALLENGES IN MIDDLE & LATE ADOLESCENCE

This chapter discusses the challenges particularly Filipino adolescent faces. Below is a list of
challenges normal adolescents encounter. The list is not exhaustive nor is definitive.

1. Attitudes and behavior toward sexuality and sexual relationships

Puberty drives the adolescent to experience surges of sexual desires, which often lead them to
experimentation and exploration.
Adolescents exploring their sexuality should be able to draw their limits in terms of sexual expressions,
and should be responsible enough to see the future results or consequences of their behaviours. Sexual
relationship is healthy when the adolescent sees this as part of a loving relationship and not a something that is
just for exploration or pleasure.
What is the proper way and healthy attitude toward sexuality and sexual relationships? The attitude of
being responsible for one’s actions is the guiding principle toward a healthy sexuality. Responsibility implies
dealing with one’s sexuality as part of establishing a healthy self-concept or self-identity. Being responsible also
implies that entering into relationships is all about genuine loving and caring for the other person, and not just to
satisfy one’s urges and needs which can lead to bigger problems like teenage pregnancies or sexually transmitted
diseases. Love is genuine when the intent is to help the other person develop his or her talents and potentials
according to personal values, and to encourage them to become a better person. Love is also based on respect
for the other person’s uniqueness, which means accepting and respecting that he or she is different from you; has
different set of priorities in life; different values that he or she gives more importance to; has a personal plan for
the future; and has different emotions and feelings, attitudes, thoughts likes and dislikes.

2. Academic concerns

Being responsible is called for when dealing with academic challenges. Be aware that academic grades
are not the only indicators of learning. Discipline, openness, perseverance, diligence, excellence, curiosity,
analytical and critical thinking, memory, understanding, cooperation and team work, respecting other people’s
opinions and beliefs, social interactions, leadership, and followership are some of the more important skills and
values that an adolescent student can also learn while in school. Aside from learning these skills, one also acquires
the knowledge while studying. Memorization and comprehension are necessary elements in obtaining
knowledge. Oftentimes, what is being tested in schools is the body of knowledge one acquires and absorbs, and
grades usually reflect this. However some schools are also aware that critical thinking and reasoning are equally
important and these are also tested and graded. This is the reason why grades are important, in spite of some
contrary belief that they do not accurately measure genuine learning. If one wishes to pursue academic excellence
and further studies, then grades are critical in achieving these goals.

3. Group belongingness

An adolescent wants to belong. While there is an urge to be independent and autonomous from his family
and parents, there is also an urge to seek a replacement of this support system, this time in the form of social
groupings such as school friends, memberships in organizations, and community. An adolescent with a low self-
esteem might be drawn toward organizations that promise camaraderie in the form of “walang iwanan,” “do or
die,” or “one for all and all for one,” kind of social support. However, there is a possibility that these types of
organizations whose objectives aim to help individuals develop themselves are better choices. An adolescent
should not be lured by organizations that promise “exclusivity” or “superiority,” often touting false courage
through strength in numbers. Avoiding organizations that adhere to violence and other anti-social behaviours is
a responsibility of the adolescent because he is responsible for his own welfare, his family, his friends, and his
school.

4. Health and Nutrition

A healthy mind and body is what every6 adolescent (and everybody else) should strive for. However,
adolescents, because of their growing bodies and brains, are gifted with so much energy that seems inexhaustible,
resulting in abuse of one’s body and mind. Lack of sleep and poor eating habits often result in disaster. Learn to
listen to your body.
 Dieting might work for some but the long term results are not commendable because more often than not, the
person returns eventually to his bad eating habits. Instead, embrace a healthy lifestyle for yourself.
Read books and take time to exercise. Better yet, embrace a sport that you enjoy playing, either by
yourself or with others.

5. Developing or Regaining Self-Esteem

Are you having difficulty acknowledging your strengths and positive traits? It seems easier for adolescents
to list down their weaknesses and challenges, and the list for this is more often than not, longer than the list of
their strengths.
Adolescents who are creating their self-identity should be objective and balanced when viewing
themselves. Being objective means seeing one’s self as having both strengths and weaknesses or having positive
and negative characteristics. Balancing how one sees oneself means to avoid over-emphasizing an aspect of one’s
identity to the detriment of another aspect. For example, being too negative by recognizing only one’s faults and
dwelling on them is neither healthy nor balanced. They have to learn to be gentler and kinder, and less demanding
in order for them to maintain a balance in their view of what and who they are.
Related to self-esteem is one’s perception of one’s body type. Adolescents at this stage are very self-
conscious, and often view themselves as unattractive, lacking the kind of physical look that is often dictated by
the advertising and the image business

The healthy thing for adolescents to do is to understand that there is such a thing a body types, and their genes
dictate each body type.
Accepting one’s body type is better than rejecting it when there is not much one can do (except plastic
surgery, liposuction, regular exercise, body building, etc) to alter this. In improving one’s image, consultants from
the image industry offer several options: finding out one’s color direction (either for fairer or darker skin or
anywhere-in-between complexions), accepting one’s body type and selecting the appropriate cuts and designs for
one’s clothing to improve the visual perception of one’s overall image, and celebrating one’s physical beauty as
one’s own and not dictated by the society or media.
Grooming is also an important aspect of an adolescent’s lifestyle, which can affect his self-esteem. Proper
grooming and self-care can help improve one’s feeling and attitude about oneself.

6. Roles

All human beings have roles to play in their lives. Roles are part of one’s identity, such as being a son or
daughter to your parents, being a brother or sister to your siblings, being a student in your school, or a member
of your organization. Although these roles seem separate and different from each other, adolescents must learn
to integrate all these roles and it should be clear that these roles and it should be clear that these roles are related
to the tasks expected of them by others. When there is a discrepancy between one’s self-identity and the roles
that one play, then confusion arises. For example, an adolescent, who is a student, has studying as his priority.
However, this adolescent being the eldest in his family may also be required by his parents to take care of his
younger siblings and may be asked to work after school to help in providing for the family. A healthy adolescent
whose self-identity is clear and whose roles re integrated will understand and accept the situation.

7. Material Poverty

There are many stories about school children and adolescent students who live in far-flung areas where
infrastructure is not available and of those who do not have much choice but to walk when going to school. Some
walk for hours, some cross rivers and streams, and others go up the hills and mountains, before they will be able
to reach their school.

8. Parents Working Abroad

How can an adolescent minimize the impact of parent’s absence? First of all, there must be recognition
of the emotions and feelings brought about by the situation. Sadness, loneliness, and thoughts of being
abandoned are often experienced by adolescents in this given situation.
Those who react in a more positive way will see their situation as a consequence of the socio-economic
needs of their family to survive and have better lives. They see their parents who work abroad as offering so much
sacrifice for their welfare. Another positive reaction is to turn the unpleasant situation into an opportunity and
 challenge for growth and improvement to achieve higher and greater results in whatever they do. An example of
this is getting good grades and learning desirable qualities like discipline and hard work.

9. Career Choice

The adolescent who is creating identity for himself is faced with an urgent need to identify what course
to take in college and establish a career path for the future. While many private schools provide career counseling
and guidance which involves testing and interviews, the adolescent can be more proactive by accessing many
resource materials found in the internet to help him identify his capabilities and skills and the wide choices of
work that he can take. When finding the right career, adolescents need to know what their interests are, what
things they find exciting and challenging, and what their skills are. It has often been said that in pursuing a career,
look at what you love to do and are passionate about, and the money will just follow.
But there is a word of caution: be ready to make sacrifices before you can attain the kind of wealth and
fame that may come in doing what you love to do.

10. Relationships

Maintaining healthy relationships require a certain level of maturity. An adolescent who is still in the
process of acquiring maturity may often find maintaining relationships challenging.
At home, a female adolescent who desires autonomy and independence will encounter more parental
objections. When this happens, relationships at home are strained, and the adolescent who does not see the real
purpose of why her parents are restricting her will react negatively to such restrictions. What is important is for
the adolescent to understand that her parents are concerned for her safety and well-being, and for the values her
parents uphold, and restricting her may be a way of showing that they care for her.
Among friends, adolescent can be more relaxed. This is the stage when friendships develop easily and
frequently. Healthy friendships are necessary for adolescent’s social development, but the challenge in
maintaining them are also equally challenging. Rumors can easily destroy friendly relationships.
Romantic relationships are inevitable and equally challenging to an adolescent. When emotions are
involved, it is often difficult to be objective, and many adolescents are still developing their skills in understanding
their emotions. Breakups in romantic relationships occur very frequently among adolescents because of
immaturity. However, experiences such as break-ups are positive ways to grow toward emotional maturity.
There are some relationships that end in conflict. An adolescent can learn to understand and deal with
conflict by accepting there is conflict that exists between him and another person, and to understand what is
causing the conflict.

11. Values and Beliefs

Ask a typical adolescent what he believes in or values he upholds, and often you get a shrug of the shoulders as a
reply. As discussed in the previous chapter, the adolescent is still developing his cognitive skill that he can use in
thinking of abstract concepts and asking critical questions. However, if the question was rephrased to something
like, “What will you fight for?” Adolescents have a quick answer, and this is usually their family or loved ones. If
this is the case, what universal human value do adolescents uphold? It can be relationship and/or family. Ask
another question like what they believe in, and often the answer is something related to their religious belief.
Though this may not necessarily be incorrect, belief is not just limited to religious matters, but also to human
needs like a safe and clean environment.
The adolescent is hereby invited to ask themselves these questions in order to find out what are important
to them and to their lives? “What will I fight against?” or “What can i not afford to lose?” or “What can I not live
without?” You can commit your answers by writing them in your journal.