PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

Adolescence-Between Childhood and Adulthood

As adolescents develop physically, they also develop cognitively, psychologically, socially, and spiritually.
The ages during adolescence may be bracketed as follows (Corpus et al. 2010):
 Early adolescence – ages around 10 to 13
 Middle adolescence – ages from 14 to 16
 Late adolescence – ages from 17 to 20
Erik Erikson’s eight stages of personality 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. It is important to
know that the stages are borderless and flowing, not strictly fixed or definite.
Conflict or
Influential
Stages Crisis to be Possible results from Resolving Conflict or Crisis
Figure
resolved
Favorable Results Unfavorable Results
Infancy  Being able to trust others when primary  Mistrusting others, withdrawal or
Trust vs.
(from birth to Parents caregiver (usually the mother) provide estrangement
Mistrust
18 months) caring, attention, and love
 Develops self-control and physical skills,  Compulsive self-restraint or
Early and sense of independence without losing compliance
Autonomy vs.
childhood self-esteem • Willfulness and defiance
Parents Shame and
(18 months to 3 • Ability to cooperate and to express • Failure will result in feelings of
Doubt
years) oneself shame and doubt
• Develops feeling of autonomy
 Learns that being assertive, using power,  When using too much power and
and being purposeful can influence their control, might experience
Late Childhood
Parents and Initiative vs. environment disapproval resulting in lack of self.
(Pre-school)
Teachers Guilt • Develops sense of purpose confidence and sense of guilt
(3-5 years)
 Starts to evaluate one's behavior • Pessimism, fear of being wrongly
judged
 Learns how to cope with the school  Loss of hope, sense of being
environment and its demands mediocre
School Age Parents and Industry vs. • Learns how to create, develop, and • Develops feelings of inferiority
(6-12 years) Teachers Inferiority manipulate • Withdrawal from school and peers
• Develops a sense of competence and
perseverance
 Develops a sense of self and identity  Feeling of confusion,
Teachers and Identity vs.  Plans to actualize one's abilities indecisiveness, and anti-social
Adolescence
Significant Role  Develops the ability to stay true to oneself behavior
(12-20 years)
Others Confusion  Weak sense of self

 Develops a strong need to form intimate,  Impersonal, weak relationships

loving relationships with a group of • Avoidance of relation-ship, career,
Young people or with another person or lifestyle
Intimacy vs.
Adulthood Friends • Develops strong relationships  commitments
Isolation
(20-25 years)  Learns commitment to work and with • May result in isolation and
another person or group loneliness

 Creates or nurtures things that will outlast  Self-indulgence, self-concern, or

them, either by having children or lack of interests and commitments
creating a positive change that benefits • Shallow involvement in the world,
Adulthood Generativity
Community others. pessimism
(25-65 years) vs. Stagnation
• Creativity, productivity, feeling of
usefulness and accomplishment, and
concern for others
 Sense of fulfillment as one looks back in  Sense of loss, contempt for others
one's life and develops feeling of wisdom  May result in regret, bitterness and
Maturity
Integrity vs.  Acceptance of worth and uniqueness of despair
(65 years to Community
Despair one's own life
death)
• Acceptance of the inevitability of death
and transitioning

Changes During Adolescence

 Physiological transitioning
 At this stage, the brain also continues to develop
 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.
 Reckless behavior
 Experimentation is a common activity among adolescents as they search for their identity
 Unfortunately, they also mimic negative behaviors like smoking and drinking, which are perceived as marks of manhood in some
cultures like ours.
 Different clothing and fashion styles
 They also search for social groups with whom they find common interests to further validate their chosen identity
 Socializing among male and female adolescents
 Online games are also popular among adolescents
 Sexual experimentation also happens in this stage.

Developmental Tasks and Skills

The American culture 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. 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 the healthy results when adolescents learn to adjust to their own development.
2. Develop and apply abstract thinking skills - effectively understand and coordinate abstract ideas, thinking out possibilities,
trying out theories, planning ahead, reflecting on how and what they are thinking, and coming out with their own personal
philosophies.
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 in learning how to resolve conflicts in relationships.
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.
5. Identify meaningful moral standards, values, and belief systems - because of their idealism, adolescents develop more
complex understanding of morality, jus-tice, and compassion that leads. to the formation of their own belief systems that will guide
their decisions and behaviors.
6. Understand and express more complex emotional experiences - becoming more in touch with their emotions and see 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.
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
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.
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 with meaningful careers and jobs and to live up to the expectations regarding commitment to
family, com-munity, and nation-building.
10. Renegotiate relationships with adults in parenting roles - the adolescent stage sees the movement toward independence and
autonomy. In the Philippine setting, this is not as pronounced as with other western cultures.

Filipino adolescents should be able to communicate with their parents their need for a certain degree of independence as they
mature to young adulthood. Filipino authors Corpuz et al. (2010) in their book, Child and Adolescent Development, identified
similar developmental tasks a Filipino adolescent need to learn. These are:
1. Developing occupational skills - skills that can help the adolescent develop responsibility as a 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 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.
Here is an additional list of developmental tasks and skills a Filipino adolescent should acquire:
1. Being courageous in standing up and being different from your friends. The adolescent needs to feel he or she belongs to a
group. While this is important, belonging to a group does not necessarily mean losing one's identity and being guided by "mob rule,"
or what the majority does. 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.
2. Developing self-esteem. Learn to understand, accept, and appreciate oneself as a unique person. Avoiding comparisons between
you and other people is also a healthy way to develop self-esteem.
3. Being true to yourself and avoiding 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.
4. Learning how media and advertising are trying to influence your thinking and feelings. Understand that news is reported for a
reason, usually to serve the purpose of someone or some organization. Understand that advertising employed to sell consumer
products work on either fear or desires.
5. Becoming aware, critical, and being 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.
6. Embracing a healthy lifestyle. Becoming aware of your health and the food you eat, and engaging in sports and other physical
activities beneficial to vour well-being. Learn to relax.
7. Developing your spirituality. Finding what gives meaning to your life and to all the experiences you are going through.