Development Stages in Middle and Late Adolescence PDF

QR CODE I.3 UNIT I, LESSON 3 Development Stages in Middle and Late Adolescence ELICIT What do you know about adolescence? ENGAGE What behavior usually characterizes the adolescent stage of development? Try to remember what your parents usually complain or praise about you. EXPLORE ADOL...

QR CODE I.3 UNIT I, LESSON 3 Development Stages in Middle and Late Adolescence ELICIT What do you know about adolescence? ENGAGE What behavior usually characterizes the adolescent stage of development? Try to remember what your parents usually complain or praise about you. EXPLORE ADOLESCENCE: BETWEEN CHILDHOOD AND ADULTHOOD Do you remember the feeling you had when you finally celebrated your 13th birthday, which symbolized your crossing over the developmental stage of childhood to teen-hood? There was probably some sadness, because you realized you were not a child anymore. You probably felt some excitement because suddenly you have strong needs and desires to be with people your age, make friends, and have fun without the presence of your family. You also must have felt afraid of the future. You also started to notice certain physical changes happening to your body—the growth of hair in the armpits and the pubic area, the increase in height, and for the males, the deepening of the voice. For females, it is the start of their menstruation period and the development of their breasts. These physical changes mark the onset of puberty, and the beginning of the adolescent stage of human development. As adolescents develop physically, they also develop cognitively, psychologically, socially, and spiritually. The ages during adolescence may be bracketed as follows (Corpuz, Lucas, Borabo, and Lucido 2010): Early adolescence – ages around 10 to 13 Middle adolescence – ages from 14 to 16 Late adolescence – ages from 17 to 20 American psychologists differ slightly with their age definitions of adolescence. Feist and Rosenberg (2012) pegged early adolescence at age 11 or 12, and late adolescence at about of age 18. Hence, in America, a child is usually out of the house by the 18 because this is the age of how they define young adulthood. This age definition of adolescence is not a cut-and-dried rule as some persons mature ahead of others, or some experience delayed maturity due to many factors like genetics, environment, or even economic conditions. ERIKSON’S EIGHT STAGES OF PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Erik Erikson’s eight stages of psychosocial development define each stage of human development with a crisis or a conflict. Each crisis or conflict either gets resolved or may be left unresolved, resulting in favorable or unfavorable outcomes. LESSON 3 DEVELOPMENT STAGES IN MIDDLE AND LATE ADOLESCENCE 1  In referring to these eight stages of development espoused by Erikson, it is important to know that the stages and their corresponding developmental crisis may overlap. For example, an adolescent who is experiencing identity issues may also be experiencing intimacy issues (young adulthood) or may still be struggling with inferiority (of school age), depending on whether or not they were able to resolve each stage crisis. CONFLICT OR INFLUENTIAL STAGE CRISIS TO BE POSSIBLE RESULTS FROM RESOLVING CONFLICT OR CRISIS FIGURE RESOLVED FAVORABLE RESULTS UNFAVORABLE RESULTS Being able to trust others Mistrusting others, Infancy Trust when the primary caregiver withdrawal, or (from birth to Parents versus (usually the mother) estrangement 18 months) Mistrust provides care, attention, and love Develops self-control and Compulsive self- physical skills, and sense restraint or compliance Autonomy of independence without Willfulness and defiance Early Childhood versus losing self-esteem Failure will result in (18 months to Parents Shame and Ability to cooperate and to feelings of shame and 3 years) Doubt express oneself doubt Develops feeling of autonomy Learns that being assertive, When using too much using power, and being power and control, purposeful can influence might experience Late Childhood Initiative Parents and their environment disapproval resulting in (Preschool) versus Teachers Develops sense of purpose lack of self- confidence (3–5 years) Guilt Starts to evaluate one’s and sense of guilt behavior Pessimism, fear of being wrongly judged Learns how to cope with Loss of hope, sense of the school environment being mediocre and its demands Develops feelings of Industry School Age Parents and Learns how to create, inferiority versus (6–12 years) Teachers develop, and manipulate Withdrawal from school Inferiority Develops a sense and peers of competence and perseverance Develops a sense of self Feeling of confusion, Identity and identity indecisiveness, and anti- Teachers and Adolescence versus Plans to actualize one’s social behavior Significant (12–20 years) Role abilities Weak sense of self Others Confusion Develops the ability to stay true to oneself 2 PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT  Develops a strong need Impersonal, weak to form intimate, loving relationships relationships with a group Avoidance of of people or with another relationship, career, or Young Intimacy person lifestyle commitments Adulthood Friends versus Develops strong May result in isolation (20–25 years) Isolation relationships and loneliness Learns commitment to work with another person or group Creates or nurtures things Self-indulgence, that will outlast them, self-concern, or either by having children or lack of interests and Generativity creating a positive change commitments Adulthood Community versus that benefits others Shallow involvement in (25–65 years) Stagnation Creativity, productivity, the world, pessimism feeling of usefulness and accomplishment, and concern for others Sense of fulfillment as one Sense of loss, contempt looks back in one’s life and for others develops feeling of wisdom May result in regret, Maturity Integrity Acceptance of worth and bitterness, and despair (65 years to Community versus uniqueness of one’s own death) Despair life Acceptance of the inevitability of death and transitioning Sources: https://www.verywellmind.com/erik-eriksons-stages-of-psychosocial-development-2795740 http://www.learn.ppdictionary.com/personality_development_4.htm ADOLESCENCE: IDENTITY VERSUS ROLE CONFUSION In the description for the adolescent stage, the crisis or conflict identified is that of identity and role confusion. What does this mean? Identity is the concept of an individual about himself or herself and is often referred to as “self-identity” that is influenced and molded by their external environment. These may include the manner by which they interact with people. For example, the youngest child, who is always treated as the “baby” of the family, will develop an identity of a child who needs to be taken care of. Identity is a self-belief of what the individual thinks and feels about himself. Roles oftentimes form part of this self-identity, such as birth order in the family, the nature of work, occupation or title, and academic and social standing. Identity is also influenced by how others perceive an individual. For example, the eldest child may develop an authoritative identity, the kuya or the ate whom their siblings look upon as the substitute parent when they are not around. LESSON 3 DEVELOPMENT STAGES IN MIDDLE AND LATE ADOLESCENCE 3  Role confusion is the negation of self-identity, in a sense that there is confusion over one’s self-concept or the absence or lack of such a concept. Role confusion affects an individual’s relationship with others, because there is no clear definition of what he or she is and how he or she relates to others. For example: the eldest child who is treated as the baby of the family will end up confused over his or her identity. When this eldest child who thinks he or she is still a baby will have difficulty dealing with other people who may expect him or her to behave and think like a panganay rather than a bunso. Self-identity is a complex concept that can be defined in many ways, but the influence of society provides us with a strong social identity. Self-Identity: Theory and Definition, a lesson transcript written by Sarah Lavoie and Jennifer Levitas posted at Study.com accessed on August 17, 2021 https://study.com/academy/lesson/self- identity-theory-definition-quiz.html The male identity and role are tackled by Justin Baldoni in this talk on redefining masculinity, how to be good men and good humans. The world wants to start a dialogue with men about redefining masculinity—to figure out ways to be not just good men, but also good humans. Why I’m Done Trying to Be Man Enough presented by Justin Baldoni at TEDWomen event on November 2017 at TED.com website accessed on August 17, 2021 https://www.ted.com/talks/justin_ baldoni_why_i_m_done_trying_to_be_man_enough CHANGES DURING ADOLESCENCE The adolescent’s physiological transitioning is very pronounced at this stage. Puberty kicks in and is fueled by the hormonal changes that are occurring and pushing the adolescent toward sexual maturation. At this stage, the brain also continues to develop. Cognitive growth among adolescents is usually marked by the way they are able to comprehend abstract concepts, such as freedom and human rights. Their beliefs about morality, religion, and politics are also starting to evolve. This is the stage when young men and women begin to ask questions about the status quo, about the way things happen, and usually counter questions or situations with a challenging question of, “why not?” Idealism is very prominent among adolescents, and so is their inclination toward becoming very self-conscious and egocentric. The reckless behavior of adolescents is sometimes attributed to the development of their brains, since their ability to make plans and see the consequences of their actions are not yet fully developed unlike in adults (Feist and Rosenberg 2012). Experimentation is a common activity among adolescents as they search for their identity. They want to be treated as adults, and they see adult behavior as something to emulate. Unfortunately, they also mimic negative behaviors, like smoking and drinking, which are perceived as marks of manhood in some cultures such as ours. Different clothing and fashion styles are often the most obvious ways used by adolescents in expressing their independence and in asserting their unique selves. They also search for social groups with 4 PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT whom they find common interests to further validate their chosen identity. In most high schools, various student organizations are being offered to students for them to choose from. Joining these organizations according to one’s interest is part of the adolescent’s continuing formation of self-identity. Socializing among male and female adolescents also occurs in this phase. In this digital era, online friendships abound—thanks to social networking sites and platforms. Online games are also popular among adolescents, partly due to the social aspect of the game and the need to develop abstract reasoning that is built in these games. Oftentimes, adolescents are already online friends even before they could meet face-to- face. Sexual curiosity also happens in this stage. However, due to their underdeveloped cognitive and affective capacities and education of the matter, this curiosity sometimes ends up in disaster, such as teenage pregnancies and contracting sexually transmitted diseases. ADOLESCENCE AND SOCIAL BEHAVIOR Every culture has a representation of how their adolescent population behaved over the decades. For example, in the USA, the term “teenage rebellion” was popularized in the 1950s with the Beat movement at its forefront. Popular rebel teen stars, such as James Dean and writer Jack Kerouac became the icons of that era. Authentic Beat style as seen at the Co-Existence Bagel shop in San Francisco in the 1950s (photo from “The Beats” by Mike Evans) Right, hip style helped to sell products like Apache stockings. Local teenagers copied their American counterparts. It was the era of the “Lo’ Waist Gang,” where actors wore tight-fitting jeans and pompadour hairstyles slopped with pomade. “Lo’ Waist Gang“ “Rebel Without a Cause” Movie Poster Movie Poster LESSON 3 DEVELOPMENT STAGES IN MIDDLE AND LATE ADOLESCENCE 5  In the 1960s and 1970s, it was the hippie movement and flower power that became the trademark of the generation of adolescents and young adults. The use of psychedelic drugs and other hypnotic substances were popular; thus, supporting the theories about adolescence and the curiosity that they were going through. Social issues also became the popular themes of this era, with the anti-war movement against the war in Vietnam where the slogan “Make Love, Not War” became popular. The gathering at Woodstock in upstate New York where the hippies got together for three days amidst music, drugs, and sex, also became one of the enduring symbols that immortalized this generation. On the local scene, social and political activists, mostly high school and college students, were in the midst of the political turmoil that dominated the Philippines before and during martial law. Student Protesters Rock Festival scene in Antipolo, 1970 6 PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT  While there were activist students marching around the streets of Manila, other young Filipinos went up to the hills of Antipolo, Rizal to hold their own version of Woodstock, dubbed as the Antipolo Rock Festival held in 1970. Toward the new millennium, the new adolescents who were born from 1977 to 1994 became known as the Generation Y, popularly known as “millennials.” This generation was born in the midst of a great technology boom; hence, they were also the previous generation who were referred to as “digital immigrants,” having migrated from non-digital to digital technology (Schroer n.d.). The social lives of the millennials are driven by technology and their social interactions are dictated by their use of social media networks, mobile phones, and other gadgets. An interesting social phenomenon that took over the world in the last couple of years was the “selfie and groupie” phenomenon. People’s penchant to take their solo pictures, or in settings with interesting “Instagrammable” backgrounds, which also included taking pictures of food or drinks they are about to consume and uploading these to their social networking sites, continues to remain popular not just among young people but even among their elders. This phenomenon has cut across age boundaries creating an impact on the way people see themselves today. The use of Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, WhatsApp, and Reddit, six of the more popular social networking sites and apps, shows the way young and old alike live today, but more driven by the younger generations of millennials and Generation Z members. What may seem just an innocent and harmless preoccupation might be lethal to our mental health. The Psychological Cost of Posting Selfies by Renee Engeln, PhD posted on September 4, 2018 accessed on August 17, 2021 at Psychology Today website https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/ beauty-sick/201809/the-psychological-cost-posting-selfies Social media have become their outlet to express themselves, communicate with each other, and even meet new people. There are dangers in using social media though, such as a breach of one’s privacy, identity theft, financial frauds and scams, fake news, and even connecting with strangers whose motives may not be friendly. The development of the adolescent’s identity today is definitely being influenced and molded by technology. LESSON 3 DEVELOPMENT STAGES IN MIDDLE AND LATE ADOLESCENCE 7  The millennials were soon taken over by the next generation, popularly known as the “Generation Z,” those born between 1995 to 2012 (Schroer, n.d.). This latest group of young people are the most connected to the Internet who have lived most of their lives in a digital world, who are more aware of what is going on in the world, especially on global issues like climate change and environmental degradation. The poster person for this generation might as well be Greta Thunberg, popularly known as a climate activist, whose popularity started from the time she took to the Parliament in Stockholm in Sweden with a sign, “School Strike for Climate,” and eventually made it to the UN Climate Action Summit in New York on August, 2019 where she gave a moving speech to global leaders to do something about the climate. She was named TIME 2019 Person of the Year for her exemplary action. Greta also attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on January 21–24, 2020, together with about 3,000 participants in 117 countries, to put pressure on world leaders to commit to ending the global economy, which is based on the use of fossil fuel (crude oil extracted from underground). Thunberg slams climate change inaction as Davos awaits Trump posted on January 21, 2020 accessed on August 17, 2021 at the Manila Times website: https://www.manilatimes.net/2020/01/21/ news/latest-stories/thunberg-slams-climate-change-inaction-as-davos-awaits-trump/676276/ “At Davos, we will tell world leaders to abandon the fossil fuel economy” by Greta Thunberg posted on January 10, 2020 accessed on August 17, 2021 at the World Economic Forum website https:// www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/01/davos-abandon-fossil-fuel-economy-climate-change-greta- thunberg Find out who is attending this influential and very important meeting of world leaders in Switzerland: Who’s coming to Davos 2020, and everything else you need to know posted by Christopher Alessi on January 20, 2020 accessed on August 17, 2021 at the World Economic Forum website https://www. weforum.org/agenda/2020/01/davos-2020-who-is-coming-and-everything-you-need-to-know TIME 2019 Person of the Year written by by Charlotte Alter, Suyin Haynes, and Justin Worland posted at the TIME website accessed on August 17, 2021 https://time.com/person-of-the-year-2019- greta-thunberg/ Teen Climate Activist Greta Thunberg Named TIME’s Person of the Year published on December 12, 2019 accessed on August 17, 2021 at the Sydney Morning Herald website https://www.smh.com. au/world/north-america/teen-climate-activist-greta-thunberg-named-time-s-person-of-the-year- 20191212-p53j5k.html 8 PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT  The disarming case to act right now on climate change featuring Greta Thunberg at TEDxStockholm posted on November 12, 2018 accessed on August 17, 2021 at TED website https://www.ted.com/talks/ greta_thunberg_the_disarming_case_to_act_right_now_on_climate_change SKILLS AND TASKS APPROPRIATE FOR MIDDLE AND LATE ADOLESCENCE What do Filipino adolescents need to learn in terms of developmental tasks and skills in order for them to grow into well-rounded young adults? Let us first take a look at what American society more or less expects from their adolescents to learn, according to a study conducted by the Work-Life Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, titled “Raising Teens Project” (Simpson 2012). The study enumerated ten desirable developmental tasks every adolescent in America should develop: 1. Adjust to sexually maturing bodies and feelings. Being aware of the bodily changes happening, managing sexual feelings, and engaging in healthy sexual behaviors. Establishing sexual identity and developing skills for romantic and meaningful relationships are healthy results when adolescents learn to adjust to their own development. 2. Develop and apply abstract thinking skills. Effectively understand and coordinate abstract ideas, think out possibilities, try out theories, plan ahead, reflect on how and what they are thinking, and come out with their personal philosophies. An example here is creating their own theory/ies about certain issues, like fake news in social media. What do you think drives people and institutions to create and post fake news? 3. Develop and apply a new perspective on human relationships. Developing the capacity for compassion by learning how to put themselves in “somebody else’s shoes” in order to understand other people’s feelings and perspectives. Looking at relationships in different perspectives can develop learning how to resolve conflicts in relationships. For example, if a friend posts a negative comment about you on social media, how will you react to this? 4. Develop and apply new coping skills in areas such as decision-making, problem-solving, and conflict resolution. Adolescents acquire new thinking capabilities that will help them engage in more creative strategies for problem-solving, decision-making, and resolving conflict. They should be able to project toward the future and see the consequences of their decisions. These coping skills develop emotional intelligence by looking at situations more objectively rather than personally. 5. Identify meaningful moral standards, values, and belief systems. Because of their idealism, adolescents develop a more complex understanding of morality, justice, and compassion that leads to the formation of their own belief systems that will guide their decisions and behaviors. For example, what is your stand on the death penalty? What do you need to know before you can objectively and intelligently make a decision on this? What values are involved? 6. Understand and express more complex emotional experiences. Becoming more in touch with their emotions and seeing the complex variances among strong emotions and feelings, understanding the emotions and feelings of other persons, and learning how to detach themselves from emotional situations whenever the need arises. How can you detach yourself from a situation? For example, you have a friend who is very angry with you. This person is shouting invectives and insults at you. What do you do? One way of dealing with this is to ask some questions to yourself, such as, “What is making this person angry?” “Are this person’s perceptions of me valid and accurate?” “How do I feel about this?” “What is important to me and this person?” LESSON 3 DEVELOPMENT STAGES IN MIDDLE AND LATE ADOLESCENCE 9 7. Form friendships that are mutually close and supportive. Peer influence is very strong among adolescents and this should be able to steer an adolescent toward productive and positive relationships, behavior, and thinking. Learning how to trust others is an important task for an adolescent to develop. Do you have trust issues? How is this affecting how you relate to others? What do you need to do to address your trust issues? 8. Establish key aspects of identity. Be encouraged to develop their own healthy self-concepts that reflect their uniqueness in relation to themselves, their families and friends, and with the bigger community. Your healthy self-concept is developed by knowing and acknowledging your strengths and challenges. For example, you see yourself as a loyal and forgiving person but with a short temper. How do you reconcile your strengths and weaknesses? 9. Meet the demands of increasingly mature roles and responsibilities. It is important for the emerging adult to acquire skills and knowledge that will provide him or her with meaningful careers and jobs and to live up to the expectations regarding commitment to family, community, and nation-building. One way of developing maturity and responsibility is by joining volunteer groups and/or school organizations. You can choose an organization that fits your interests and find out how you can contribute to its success. 10. Renegotiate relationships with adults in parenting roles. The adolescent stage sees the movement toward independence and autonomy. In our culture, we are not used to talking to our parents about the way they treat us in terms of being more independent. Some parents who are overprotective find it difficult to let go of their control over their children. Filipino adolescents should be able to communicate with their parents their need for a certain degree of independence as they mature to young adulthood. Now, let us examine the developmental tasks a Filipino adolescent needs to learn. Filipino authors Corpuz et al. (2010) in their book, Child and Adolescent Development, identified similar developmental tasks for Filipino adolescents. These are: 1. Developing occupational skills – skills that can help the adolescent develop responsibility as preparation for gainful employment ahead. 2. Self-reliance – the ability to identify their own skills and knowledge, capabilities, and resources to engage in meaningful activities and not rely too much on others. 3. Ability to manage their finances – be able to discern what is the difference between wants and needs, and be able to learn self-control when handling their finances. As early as possible, the adolescent should learn financial literacy through various means available to them. 4. Social responsibility – adolescents should be able to see beyond themselves, take into consideration the greater community around them, and see their role in improving and developing these communities, serving as change agents. 5. Mature work orientation – develop pride in what they do and raise standards of excellence in the quality of their work. 6. Personal responsibility – to be fully responsible for their own decisions and actions by owning them, become aware of the repercussions or results of the decisions that they make and be mature enough to own these results, and refrain from putting blame on others for the results of their decisions and actions. 7. Positive attitude toward work – in the book, The Prophet by the Lebanese poet, Kahlil Gibran, he wrote, “Work is love made visible.” Developing a healthy and positive attitude toward work means that we see work as an expression of our love for people who are important to us, including ourselves. One can learn new things and grow to become highly skilled, knowledgeable, and loving person if he or she sees work as a way toward self-improvement and as an expression of love for his or her significant others. 10 PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT  American Gen Z’ers are becoming more practical with their personal finances as they see their older friends struggle with debt. Why Generation Z Has A Totally Different Approach to Money by Jeff Desjardins posted on November 27, 2018 accessed on August 17, 2021 at World Economic Forum website https://www. visualcapitalist.com/why-gen-z-approaching-money-differently/ Other developmental tasks and skills a Filipino adolescent should acquire (Santos, R. R., 2016) are as follows: Be courageous to stand up and be different from your friends. The adolescent needs to feel that he or she belongs to a group. While this is important, belonging to a group does not necessarily mean losing one’s identity and just being another groupie who easily gets swayed or influenced to do things even if these are against your principles. This is especially effective when being offered to smoke a cigarette or to drink alcoholic beverages, or even to try out dangerous drugs. Being courageous means learning to say “NO” to what one thinks is going against his or her belief and values system even if this would mean rejection by the group. Develop your self-esteem. Learn to understand, accept, and appreciate oneself as a unique person. Avoiding comparison between you and other people is also a healthy way to develop self-esteem. Be true to yourself and avoid the tendency to please others. Adolescents find it difficult to assert their individuality or uniqueness because they are afraid others will not approve or like them, or will not allow them to become a member of a group. Conformity often occurs during this stage of development. By developing one’s self-esteem, the need for approval from others becomes less. Learn how media and advertising influence your thinking and feelings. Understand that news is reported for a reason: to ultimately serve the purpose of someone or some organization to further their interests. News is employed for many reasons, such as manipulating public opinion toward a certain end. Always ask questions to dig into the motives of those who are behind the news. Understand, too, that advertising effectively sells consumer products, because oftentimes it uses either fear or psychological desires to influence and direct people’s buying behavior. Be aware, critical, and involved with social issues. Ask questions and speak up whenever possible to address social issues, such as poverty and corruption. Let our leaders know how you think and feel about our society, and learn to suggest solutions in improving our lives. Embrace a healthy lifestyle. Be aware of your health and the food that you eat, and engage in sports and other physical activities beneficial to your well-being. Learn to relax. Develop your spirituality. Find what gives meaning to your life and to all the experiences you are going through. Increase your financial literacy. This is a skill that many Filipinos need to acquire, especially adolescents who are just about to enter adult life. Financial literacy is about understanding the value of money and how this is acquired. In creating money, many factors are involved: time, talent, energy, skills, creativity, and connections, are just a few of these factors. It is important for adolescents to understand that the money that their parents give to them are hard-earned and has a corresponding value in terms of personal sacrifice. LESSON 3 DEVELOPMENT STAGES IN MIDDLE AND LATE ADOLESCENCE 11  Which of these skills and tasks have you learned and acquired? What other developmental tasks and skills do you think you need to develop and learn? Feel free to add on to the lists given above. EXPLAIN What changes happen during adolescence? Which of these changes are you experiencing now? What changes have you experienced? Go online and watch the video: The Mysterious Workings of the Adolescent Brain by Sarah Jayne Blakemore delivered at TEDGlobal 2012 posted on June 2012 accessed on August 17, 2021 at TED.com website (Refer to Activity 4 of the Exercises.) https://www.ted.com/talks/sarah_jayne_blakemore_the_ mysterious_workings_of_the_adolescent_brain How young people are turning the tide against corruption posted by Blair Glencorse on February 22, 2019 accessed on August 17, 2021 at World Economic Forum website https://www.weforum.org/ agenda/2019/02/how-young-people-are-turning-the-tide-against-corruption/ ELABORATE Examine your thoughts and behavior and explain how these are affected by the changes happening to your physical body and to your brain development. Which developmental task and skill do you want to develop for yourself? How will you develop them? What other factors, aside from those that were discussed, do you think influence or determine self- identity or self-concept? EVALUATE PRACTICE YOUR OBSERVATION SKILLS: Observe the patterns of thoughts and behaviors of some of your peers. What do you notice about them? What developmental tasks and skills do you think they need to learn in order for them to grow as persons and as young adults? (Refer to Activity 5 of the Exercises.) 12 PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXTEND List ways on how you can become a more responsible adolescent and develop into responsible adults and better persons. Share your list with 10 other friends who will share their own list with you. Look at their lists and provide them with feedback on what you think are doable and what are not. Discuss these with them. As a group, come up with a list of common responsibilities and choose one common responsibility you can do for your community for a group project. Create a Project Plan and share it with your classmates. (Refer to Activity 6 of the Exercises.) Puberty involves the physical changes that happen during the adolescent stage. During puberty, the adolescent body matures sexually. Cognitive development also happens during adolescence as the brain continues to grow and develop. New cognitive skills develop, such as reasoning, abstract thinking, and increased intelligence. Social development happens during adolescence when adolescents desire for more autonomy and independence from their families; and as their friends and peers become their primary influence, taking over the previous roles their parents had. Idealism and experimentation are hallmarks of the adolescence stage. Beliefs and values are formed at this stage, sometimes even questioning the existing and accepted social norms. With puberty, the adolescent also goes into the experimentation of their bodies, exploring their sexuality, as well as substances, such as alcoholic drinks or drugs, which may result in addiction or crime when left uncontrolled. There are certain developmental tasks and skills adolescents have to learn and imbibe so that they can prepare themselves for adulthood. These tasks and skills are important, because it helps the adolescent grow in maturity and responsibility. Self-identity or self-concept evolves from an individual’s own set of beliefs and values system, in the roles he or she has identified for himself or herself, the responsibilities he or she recognizes and owns, and the expectations others have on him or her. LESSON 3 DEVELOPMENT STAGES IN MIDDLE AND LATE ADOLESCENCE 13