UNIT 1: SELF

DEVELOPMENT
Lesson 4: The Challenges of Middle and Late
Adolescence
 Major challenges that
adolescent faces:
 Self-esteem
 Physical Appearance
 Group belongingness
 Relationships
 Sexuality and sexual relationships
 Academic concerns
 Choosing the right course and career path
 Socio-emotional changes
Self-esteem
 Self-esteem is about believing in oneself, having
confidence in one’s own value as a person, and
seeing oneself in a positive way.
 Low self-esteem means that a person does not
regard him/herself in a favorable way (unworthy,
insignificant, or unimportant).
If you have low self-esteem, repeat
these 6 phrases:
1. “I AM NOT THE THINGS I DON’T OWN …”
2. “I AM GRATEFUL FOR WHAT I HAVE …”
3. “I AM INTERESTED IN MYSELF …”
4. “I DON’T PUT UP WITH MISTREATMENT FROM
OTHERS …”
5. “I AM AWARE OF MY RESPONSE TO CERTAIN
STRESSFUL SITUATIONS …”
6. “I DON’T TAKE MYSELF TOO SERIOUSLY …”
Physical Appearance
 Physical appearance is the first thing other people
notice about a person.
Physical Appearance
 Take care of your body by eating healthy,
exercising, and getting the right amount of sleep.
 Accept one’s flaws and be satisfied with your body.
Some people are not fortunate enough to have
complete body parts.
Physical Appearance
 In relation to this, skin problems like pimples and
acne and hair problems often develop in the
teenage years due to increased hormone
production.
 Consult a dermatologist on self-care and proper
grooming to help improve one’s sense of self-
attractiveness.

“confidently beautiful with a heart”

Group Belongingness
 Adolescents strongly feel the need to find a group
to belong to and fit well in.
 Meet new and different people since there is
always something new to learn and experience.
 Do not be wary of peer pressure, one does not
have to prove anything to anyone.
Relationships

 Relationships require a person to be emotionally

mature – to be rational in thought and behavior.
 Maintaining a relationship with one’s parents may
be difficult because parents usually have different
perspective from an adolescent.
Relationships

 Relating with peers and one’s barkada is easier as

adolescents share the same concerns, issues, and
complaints.
 Through time, friendships are negatively affected
by jealousy, tactless criticism, disloyalty,
backbiting, and rejection. Friendship is easy to
establish but challenging to maintain them.
Relationships

 Romantic relationships also start to develop during

this stage. Such relationships are highly intense
and emotional and people do not usually think with
reason and objectivity.
Relationships
 People change a lot which can put a relationship
on the rocks.
 It is wise to sense when a relationship has become
unhealthy and no longer worth saving.
 If people involved are willing to still work it out,
then there is a possibility of saving the relationship.
Sexuality and sexual
relationships
 During these adolescent years, one’s hormones
become vary active and awaken strong sexual
passions.

 Teens tend to lose control over their sexual drive

and engage in risky sexual practices such as
unprotected sex, which may lead to unwanted
pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.
Sexuality and sexual
relationships
 Be responsible and accountable for one’s actions
is the guiding principle toward a healthy sexuality.

 Genuine love or infatuation? – “If I am not willing to

be physical with this person, would he/she still
want to pursue our romantic relationship?”
Sexuality and sexual
relationships
 In relation to sexuality, all teenagers may also be
curious about pornography, especially now that it is
easily accessible.
 A US study shows that people who are exposed to
this tend to imitate and relive things they watch.
 One may start to see sexual activity as a
“mechanical behavior” witout any real love or
emotion.
Academic concerns
 It can be easy to get distracted by other things that
may divert one’s attention from fulfilling his/her
academic obligations.

 Postponing completion of your academic

requirements will only prolong your agony.

 “fear of failure”
Academic concerns
 Too much anxiety – hinder a person from doing
his/her best
 Too little anxiety – inhibits a person’s performance

 Failure is a normal part of learning.

 Good grades can give one a slight edge over the

others, but one’s character and attitude leaves a
mark to people.
Choosing the right course and
career path
 One’s career choice will have a direct impact on
his/her future and even help guide its course.

 Consider your strengths, capabilities, skills, and

most importantly your interests, the things you find
exciting, and the things you are passionate about.
Choosing the right course and
career path
 These choices take time and reflection.

 You can visit your career and guidance counselor,

or access a number of free online measures in
order to identify your capabilities and skills.
Socio-Emotional Challenges
 Psychological challenges also afflict both male and
female adolescents.

 Socio-emotional struggles: anxiety, depression,

bipolar disorders, trauma, eating disorders,
substance abuse, and attention deficit and
hyperactivity disorder.
SELF AWARENESS
AND MEETING
LIFE CHALLENGES
Psychoanalytic
Theory
 To be able to face challenges
and deal with them more
effectively, one needs to know
how to behave under such
trying circumstance.

 Psychoanalytic theory
(espoused by Sigmund Freud)
presents different approaches
for people to understand
themselves.
Psychoanalytic Theory
 Freud proposed that the mind can be viewed as an
energy system which is divided into three levels of
awareness.
a. Conscious level
b. Subconscious or Preconscious level
c. Unconscious level
Psychoanalytic Theory
 Conscious Level
In this level, it holds all the things that we are
aware of. It contains the thoughts that we are
currently aware of but we deal with only a tiny
percentage of all the information stored in our mind.
Psychoanalytic Theory
 Subconscious or Preconscious level
This level carries the mental elements that
are not conscious, but which we can be aware if we
choose to attend to them.
It holds the information that are easily
removable.
Psychoanalytic Theory
 Unconscious level
This level bears all our drives and instincts
that are repressed, and therefore, are difficult to
retrieve.
The unconscious holds the vast majority of
thoughts. The material stored in this level are not
easily accessible but it is responsible for much of
our everyday behavior.
Psychoanalytic Theory
 Freud also proposed that human behavior results
from the interaction of the three provinces of the
Mind:
a) the “it” or id
b) the “I” or ego
c) the “over-I” or superego
Psychoanalytic Theory
 These three provinces are often not at peace with
one another and creates conflict.
 A person with a healthy and mature personality
will have a strong ego that controls both the
desires of the id or the superego and monitors
each area’s control over the personality.
Psychoanalytic Theory
 Id – Pleasure Man

 Superego – Moral Man

 Ego – Decision Maker

DEFENSE
MECHANISMS
Defense Mechanism
 The mind then can be considered a battlefield
among its three provinces. For the ego to manage
and survive, it uses defense mechanisms as a
temporary solution.
e.g. DENIAL