Lesson 1

Adolescence is the period of transition between childhood and adulthood. Children who are entering

adolescence are going through many changes (physical, intellectual, personality and social developmental).

Adolescence begins at puberty, which now occurs earlier, on average, than in the past. The end of adolescence

is tied to social and emotional factors and can be somewhat ambiguous (Cleveland Clinic, 2018). Adolescence is

divided into three stages: early (12-14 years), middle (15-17 years), and late (18-20years). Module 1 will focus on

knowing and understanding oneself during middle and late adolescence stages.

Middle Adolescent

The physical changes from puberty continue during the middle stage. Most male may have some voice cracking.

Some develop acne. For females, physical change is almost complete, and girls have regular period. This stage is

crucial for the middle adolescents for the following reasons:

1. They may start questioning and exploring their sexual identity which is stressful if they do not get

support from peers, family, or community. At the same time many teens become interested in romantic

and sexual relationships.

2. Many middle adolescents have more arguments with their parents as they struggle for more

independence. They may spend less time with their family and more time with friends. Peer pressure is

at peak during this time, and they are concerned about their looks

3. The brain continues to change and mature in this stage, but there are still many differences in how

a normal middle adolescent thinks compare to an adult. This is due to frontal lobes, the last area of the

brain to mature. The frontal lobes are responsible in coordinating complex decision making, impulse

control, and being able to consider multiple options and consequences. The development of a person will

be complete until a person reaches into his/her 20s. Middle adolescents are able to think abstractly and

consider the “big picture,” but they do not have enough ability to apply it in the moment. A student may

think that there is no problem skipping in a class since s/he can learn easily. Middle adolescents may be

able to apply the logic in avoiding risks in this situation, but strong emotions often continue to drive their

decisions due to impulses.

Late Adolescents

Late adolescence is the period of development in a person’s life from ages 18-24 wherein person becomes

a young adult. This is the hardest of the three periods of adolescence because of the significant changes that a

young adult experience. A high school student may say goodbye to some of his/her friends who will go to another

school or entering a career. In college the environment is totally different. Young adult may have to learn how to

live on their own for the first time, in a dorm with the same age of people. After graduating college some may

have found some person, they want to spend the rest of their life and start a family. All of this can happen in late

adolescence.

Young adults usually have more impulse control and able to see risks and reward accurately. They

reasoned logically for they already knew the reward of their actions. Instead of watching their favourite you tube

channel, they would choose to study for their finals. Teens entering early adulthood have a stronger sense of
their own identity now and can identify their own values. They may become more focused on the future and base

decisions on their hopes and ideals. Friendships and romantic relationships become more stable. They become

more emotionally and physically separated from their family.

The Course of Late Adolescence Development

Just like the other stages of adolescence, some changes are going on in a person's development during

late adolescence. Everything on your physical, social, emotional and intellectual levels is in flux. No wonder young

adults tend to be so stressed out!

Physical Changes

By the time a person has reached late adolescence, physical changes for the most part, have finally settled

down. By this time, the reproductive system of a young adult has fully matured, and capable of having a family

Social Changes

Adolescence is tough on the family for some reasons, mainly because the child's life no longer revolves

around his family and is instead widening to include friendships with their peers and even other adults, like a

teacher or coach. Eventually, friendships turn to romances, as the teen's emotions mature and he or she can fall

in love with another person.

Emotional Changes

While young adults, just like a young teen, may not be overly affectionate toward their parents and will

probably spend more time with friends, it's less of an act of rebellion and more an evolution of the natural state

of things. More so in early adolescence, but also present in late adolescence, is the constant struggle to balance

the safety and security of home with the unyielding desire to get out there into the wide open world and discover

life for themselves.

Intellectual Changes

Young adults have come to understand and embrace subtlety. In being able to see things from a different

perspective, they are better equipped to solve more complex problems, and get better at perceiving what others

may be thinking. However, because these tools are fairly new, they don't get good at practicing them. This is why

teens in late adolescence tend to act seemingly without thinking in certain situations.

Late Adolescence Milestones

Once the adolescents entered to being young adults, there are certain milestones that they should be

able to check.

Emotional Milestones

By now, young adults should be able to take pride in their work. They should be more emotionally stable,

care more about those around them, and have an improved sense of self.

Social Milestones

By now, people from this stage should be able to trust themselves to make the right decision when called

upon in a particular situation. The rebellious phase should have outgrown and can now enjoy time with parents

again.

Mental Milestones
By now, young adults should be able to set reasonable goals for themselves and plan a strategy that will

help them reach those goals. They should have a good idea, and a deeper connection to the issues that they will

become passionate about (e.g., pro-choice vs. pro-life, environmental activism, etc.).

As for physical changes, by this point, a girl, should have fully developed. A boy will continue to gain both

height and weight, as well as body hair and muscle mass. Sometimes girls beat the boys when it comes to how

fast they develop. Of course, it is important to understand that no two people are the same. So while these may

be the average age ranges for these milestones and developments to occur, what happens to one person at 18

years old may not happen for another until much later.

Lesson 2

Developing the Whole Person

Physiological Development

During adolescence there is a large degree of psychological growth as children make adjustments in their

personality due to the rapid physical and sexual development which are characteristic of this period of life.

Adolescents face ongoing conflict and difficulty adapting to the sudden upsurge of sexual and aggressive drives.

These changes cause unrest and confusion in the adolescents’ inner selves and in the way they perceive the

world.

What is Puberty?

Puberty refers to the physiological changes that the adolescent undergoes in order to reach sexual

maturity. It is best characterized as the gradual onset of mature reproductive hormonal activity, triggered by the

central nervous system, mainly the hypothalamus and pituitary gland. Most people look at puberty in three

distinct stages railed the pre-pubescent, pubescent, and post pubescent. The prepubescent stage includes the

first evidence of sexual maturation—primary sexual characteristics—and terminates at the first appearance of

pubic hair. During this stage, reproduction is virtually impossible. During the pubescent stage the growth spurt

begins to accelerate, males experience their first emission of semen usually in the form of “wet dreams,” and

menarche occurs in the females. The post pubescent stage is characterized by the deceleration of growth spurt,

completion of both primary and sexual characteristics, and fertility is possible.

Cognitive Development

Cognitive development is the progression of thinking from the way a child does to the way an adult does.

3 main areas of cognitive development occur during adolescence.

First, adolescents develop more advanced reasoning skills, including the ability to explore a full range of

possibilities inherent in a situation, think hypothetically (contrary-fact situations), and use a logical thought

process.

Second, adolescents develop the ability to think abstractly. Adolescents move from being concrete

thinkers, who think of things that they have direct contact with or knowledge about, to abstract thinkers, who

can imagine things not seen or experienced. This allows adolescents to have the capacity to love, think about

spirituality, and participate in more advanced mathematics. Youth who remain at the level of a concrete thinker
focus largely on physically present or real objects in problem solving and, as a result, may present with difficulty

or frustration with schoolwork as they transition throughout high school.

Adolescents may also experience a personal fable as a result of being able to think more abstractly. The personal

fable is built on the fact that if the imaginary audience (peers) is watching and thinking about the adolescent,

then the adolescent must be special or different. Several studies have found that adolescents perceive more risk

in certain areas than adults but that being aware of the risks fails to stop adolescents from participating in
risktaking behavior.

Third, the formal operational thinking characteristic of adolescence enables adolescents to think about

thinking or meta-cognition. This characteristic allows youth to develop the capacity to think about what they are

feeling and how others perceive them. This thought process, combined with rapid emotional and physical changes

that occur during puberty, causes most youth to think that everyone is thinking not just about what they are

thinking about but about the youth themselves (imaginary audience).

The imaginary audience can be detrimental to youth obtaining clinical care and services. For example,

youth with chronic illnesses may hide or deny their illnesses for fear that the imaginary audience (peers) may learn
about their condition or to prove to the audience that the condition does not exist. It is important to

remember that the audience is very real to the adolescent.

Psychosocial Development

The psychosocial development that occurs during this period can be characterized as developmental tasks

that emphasize development of autonomy, the establishment of identity, and future orientation.

The first area of adolescent development—establishment of autonomy—occurs when the adolescent

strives to become emotionally and economically independent from parents. This struggle begins during early

adolescence (ages 12-14 years), which is characterized by forming same-sex peer groups, with decreasing interest

in family activities and parental advice. During this time, adolescents are concerned with how they appear to

others. The peer group, which is typically same-sex, is often idealized and has a strong influence on the

adolescent’s development. As a result, adolescents may use clothing, hairstyles, language, and other accessories

to fit in with their peers. Similarly, adolescents who do not identify with any peers may have significant

psychological difficulties during this period. Adolescents become less preoccupied with their bodily changes as

they approach the end of puberty. The adolescent’s attention shifts s from being focused on self to adopting the

codes and values of larger peer, parental, or adult groups.

During middle adolescence (ages 15-17 years), the peer group becomes a mixed-sex peer group and assumes a

primary social role for the adolescent. Adolescents begin to have short, intense “love” relationships, while looking

for the “ideal” partner. It is not uncommon for adolescents to have crushes on adults during this stage. Family

conflict is likely to be at its peak. As adolescents’ independent functioning increases, adolescents may examine

their personal experiences, relate their experience to others, and develop a concern for others.

By late adolescence (ages 18-21 years), adolescents have developed a separate identity from parents.

Simultaneously, adolescents may move away from their peer group and strive to achieve adult status. Adolescent

conflict with parents may very well decline during this stage. As adolescents begin to enter more permanent

relationships, they establish responsible behavior and their personal value system matures.
Spiritual Development

Spiritual beliefs are closely related to the moral and ethical portion of the self-concept and must be

considered as part of the child’s basic needs assessment. Children need to have meaning, purpose and hope in

their lives. Also, the need for confession and forgiveness is present even in very young children. Extending beyond

religion, spiritual affects the whole person: mind, body and spirit.

Adolescence and Adult

Adolescents become more skeptical and begin to compare the religious standards of their parents with

those of others. They attempt to determine which to adopt and incorporate in their own set of values. They also

begin to compare religious standards with the scientific view point. It is a time of searching rather than reaching

Adolescents are uncertain about many religious ideas but will not achieve profound insights until late

adolescence period or early childhood

Social Development

Adolescents will begin to form many different types of relationships, and many of their relationships will

become more deeply involved and more emotionally intimate. During children's younger years, their social

sphere included their family, a few friends, a couple teachers, and perhaps a coach or other adult mentor. But

during adolescence, teens' social networks greatly expand to include many more people, and many different

types of relationships. Therefore, adolescent social development involves a dramatic change in the quantity and

quality of social relationships. Younger children will often use the word "friend" to refer to any other child whom

they happen to know. However, as children mature and become adolescent they begin to differentiate friends

from acquaintances, indicating a more mature understanding of the qualitatively different ways to know another

person. Likewise, youth develop the capacity to form closer, more intimate relationships with others. They also

begin to form romantic attachments; and, as the desire for a romantic relationship increases, youth may begin to

question their sexual orientation and gender identity.