Developmental Task and Challenges of Adolescence
Adolescence is a stage in a young person’s life in which they move from dependency on their parents to independence, autonomy, and maturity. The young person begins to move from the family as their major social system to his/her peers as a more appealing social group that might influence his/her adulthood and independence.
Undeniably, biological, cognitive, psychological, social, moral, and spiritual changes could be both exciting and daunting for these may affect one’s independence and perspectives in life. Consequently, oftentimes, it is the members of the family who take notice of these changes in patterns and behaviors.
Here is the list of the most common challenges that adolescents experience:
Biological Challenges
Adolescence begins with the first well-defined maturation event called puberty. Included in the biological challenges are the changes that occur due to the release of the sexual hormones that affect emotions. Mood changes can increase which can have an impact on relationships both at home with parents and siblings and peers at school.
Cognitive Challenges
Piaget, in his Theory of Social Development, believed that adolescence is the time when young people develop cognitively from “concrete operations” to “formal operations”, so they are able to deal with ideas, concepts, and abstract theories.
Cognitive Challenges
It takes time to develop confidence using these newly acquired skills, and they may make mistakes in judgment. Learning through success and failure is part of the learning process for the adolescent.
Cognitive Challenges
Adolescents are egocentric. They can become self-conscious thinking they are being watched by others, and at other times they behave as if they were on a center stage and perform for a non-existent audience. For example, acting like a music idol, singing their favorites songs in their room with all the accompanying dance steps.
Psychological Challenges
The notable psychological challenge that the adolescent must cope with is moving from childhood to adulthood. A new person is emerging, thus, rules will change, and more responsibilities will be placed on him/her, so a certain standard of behavior is now required to be maintained. Accountability is becoming an expectation from both parental and legal concepts.
Psychological Challenges
As adolescents continue their journey of self-discovery, they continually adjust to new experiences, even biologically and socially. This can be both stressful and anxiety-provoking.
Psychological Challenges
It, therefore, is not surprising that adolescents can have a decreased tolerance for change; hence, it becomes increasingly more difficult for them to modulate their behaviors which are sometimes displayed by inappropriate mood swings and angry outbursts.
Health Issues of adolescence:
Health Issues of adolescence:
Eating disturbances may include inadequate or excessive food intake which can ultimately damage an individual’s well-being. The most common forms of eating disorders are the following.
Types of Eating Disorders:
1. Anorexia Nervosa
Teenagers with anorexia may take extreme measures to avoid eating and to control the quantity and quality of the foods they eat. They may become abnormally thin and still talk about feeling fat. They typically continue to strict diet even at very unhealthy weights because they have a distorted image of their body.
2. Bulimia Nervosa
Teenagers with bulimia nervosa typically ‘binge and purge’ by engaging in uncontrollable episodes of overeating (bingeing) usually followed by compensatory behavior such as:
2. Bulimia Nervosa
purging through vomiting, use of laxatives, enemas, fasting, or excessive exercise. Eating binges may occur as often as several times a day but are most common in the evening and night hours.
Mental Health Disorder
Anxiety disorders are a group of mental disorders characterized by significant feelings of anxiety and fear. Anxiety is a worry about future events, and fear is a reaction to current events. These feelings may cause physical symptoms, such as a fast heart rate and shakiness.
Mental Health Disorder
The development of emotional or behavioral symptoms in response to identifiable stressors that occur within 3 months of the onset of the stressors. Here, low mood, tearfulness, or feelings of hopelessness are predominant.
Mental Health Disorder
Mental Health Disorder
Mental Health Disorder
Definitions of the symptom complex known as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) differ, but severe problems with concentration or attention and/or hyperactivity are estimated to affect adolescents. Six times as many boys as girls are affected.
Mental Health Disorder
School phobia, also called school refusal, is defined as a persistent and irrational fear of going to school. It must be distinguished from a mere dislike of school that is related to issues such as a new teacher, a difficult examination, the class bully, lack of confidence, or having to undress for a gym class.
Mental Health Disorder
School phobia, also called school refusal, is defined as a persistent and irrational fear of going to school. It must be distinguished from a mere dislike of school that is related to issues
Mental Health Disorder
such as a new teacher, a difficult examination, the class bully, lack of confidence, or having to undress for a gym class. The phobic adolescent shows an irrational fear of school and may show marked anxiety symptoms when in or near the school.
Mental Health Disorder
Learning abilities encompasses disorders that affect the way individuals with normal or above normal intelligence receive, store, organize, retrieve, and use information. Problems included dyslexia and other specific learning problems.
Mental Health Disorder
involving reading, spelling, writing, reasoning, and mathematics. Undiagnosed learning disabilities are a common but manageable cause of young people deciding to leave school at the earliest opportunity.
Social Issues
Sexual abuse is a sexual behavior, or a sexual act forced upon a woman, man, or child without their consent. Sexual abuse includes abuse by another man, woman, or child. Sexual abuse in childhood may result in problems of depression and low self-esteem, as well as in sexual difficulties,
Social Issues
either avoidance of sexual contact or, on the other hand, promiscuity or prostitution. Sexual abuse in children is regarded by the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the major public health problems.
Social Issues
Many communities are plagued with problems of substance abuse among youth. Some children start smoking or chewing tobacco at an early age, aided by easy access to tobacco products. Many of our youth, with limited supervision or few positive alternatives, drink too much beer and liquor.
Social Issues
Other youth, influenced by their peers, use other illegal drugs. Our youth suffer from substance abuse in familiar ways: diminished health, compromised school performance, and reduced opportunities for development. Our communities also bear a heavy burden for adolescent substance abuse.
Social Issues
Adolescents spend a significant amount of time in viewing and interacting with electronic devices in the form of TV, radio, cellphone, and computers. Mass media activate and reinforce attitude and contribute significantly in the formation of new attitudes and will continue to affect children's cognitive and social development.
Social Issues
This constant noise is associated with negative mental health outcomes in younger generations who have grown up with the chatter. In an article by Dr. Shamard Charles (2012), he summarized that “recent studies have shown that more social media use is associated with increased reported symptoms of social anxiety, social isolation, and feelings of loneliness.”
Social Issues
Another effect of social media is an intense feeling of isolation. It is easy to think that checking on what friends are posting on Facebook will lead to a greater sense of connectedness, but studies have shown that it’s actually the opposite.