Chapter 5

The Challenges of Middle and

Late Adolescence
Attitudes and behavior toward sexuality and sexual
relationships
Puberty drives the adolescent to experience surges of sexual desires,
which often lead them to experimentation and exploration. While this
is often healthy to engage in, there is the danger of losing control
over one's sexual drives which inevitably end up in lifetime of regrets.
Adolescents exploring their sexuality should be able to draw their
limits in terms of sexual expressions, and should be responsible
enough to see the future results or consequences of their behaviors.
Sexual relationship is healthy when the adolescent sees this as part
of a loving relationship and not as something that is just for
exploration or pleasure.
What is the proper and healthy attitude toward sexuality and sexual
relationships? The attitude of being
responsible for one's actions is the guiding principle toward a healthy
sexuality. Responsibility implies dealing with one's sexuality as part of
establishing a healthy self-concept or self-identity. Being responsible
also implies that entering into relationships is all about genuine loving
and caring for the other person, and not just to satisfy one's urges and
needs which can lead to transmitted diseases. Love is genuine when the
intent is to help the other person develop his or her talents and potentials
according to personal values, and to encourage them to become a better
person. Love is also based on respect for the other person's uniqueness,
which means accepting and respecting bigger problems like teenage
pregnancies or sexually transmitted diseases. Love is genuine when the
intent is to help the other person develop his or her talents and potentials
according to personal values, and to encourage them to become a better
person.
Love is also based on respect for the other person's uniqueness, which
means accepting and respecting that he or she is different from you; has
a different set of priorities in life; different values that he or she gives
more importance to; has a personal plan for the future; and has different
emotions and feelings, attitudes, thoughts, and likes and dislikes. The
adolescent is also prone to exploring pornography, which usually starts
out of curiosity. A research in the USA shows that people who are heavily
exposed to pornography tend to imitate what they watch and relive these
in their lives. Other form unhealthy attitudes toward the opposite sex or
toward the sexual partner, losing respect and love when performing
sexual acts with them, thinking a feeling that the act is merely a
mechanical behavior and devoid of intimacy and genuine affection in the
same way that these are portrayed in pornography.
Academic Concerns
The role of a student is the primary role of an adolescent who is still in
school. Although there are other roles he or she may take, being a student
takes primary importance. While many adolescents become problematic
with their academic studies, what is most important is the attitude that they
need to embrace when studying. What is the proper attitude a learner
should have Being responsible is called for when dealing with academic
challenges. Be aware that academic grades are not the only indicators of
learning. Discipline, openness, perseverance, diligence, excellence,
curiosity, analytical and critical thinking, memory, understanding,
cooperation and team work, respecting other people's opinions and beliefs,
social interactions, leadership, and followership are some of the more
important skills and values that an adolescent student can also learn while
in school. Aside from learning these skills, one also acquires the knowledge
while studying Memorization and comprehension are necessary elements in
obtaining knowledge. Oftentimes, what is being tested in schools is the
body of knowledge one
acquires and absorbs, and grades usually reflect this. However, some
schools are also aware that critical thinking and reasoning are equally
important and these are also tested and graded. This is the reason
why grades are important, in spite of some contrary belief that they
do not accurately measure genuine learning. If one wishes to pursue
academic excellence and further studies, then grades are critical in
achieving these goals.
Group Belongingness
An adolescent wants to belong. While there is an urge to be independent
and autonomous from his family and parents, there is also an urge to seek
are placement of this support system, this time in the form of social
groupings such as school friends, memberships in organizations, and
community. An adolescent with a low self-esteem might be drawn toward
organizations that promise camaraderie in the form of "walang iwanan,"
"door die," or "one for all and all for one" kind of social support. However,
there is a possibility that these types of organizations may be more
destructive than constructive. Healthy and wholesome organizations whose
objectives aim to help individuals develop themselves are better choices. An
adolescent should not be lured by organizations that promise "exclusivity” or
"superiority," often touting false courage through strength in their numbers.
Avoiding organizations that adhere to violence and other anti-social
behaviors is a responsibility of the adolescent because he is responsible for
his own welfare, his family, his friends and his school.
Health and Nutrition
• A healthy mind and body is what every
adolescence (and everybody else) should strive
for. However, adolescence, because of their
growing bodies and brains, are gifted with so much
energy that seems inexhaustible, resulting of
abuse of one’s body and mind. Lack of sleep and
poor eating habits often result in disaster. Learn to
listen to your body.
Developing or Regaining Self-
Esteem
• Are you having difficulty acknowledging your
strength and positive traits? Many experienced life
coaches and facilitators for personal growth often
observe how many adolescence, and even some
adults, when asked the question about what their
strengths are, would often get stumped by the
question and will take a long time before they
could create a list. It seem easier for them to list
down their weaknesses and challenges, and the
list for this is more often than not, longer than the
list of their strength.
Roles
• All human beings have roles to play in their lives.
Roles are part of one’s identity, such as being a
son or daughter to your parents, being a brother or
sister to your siblings, being a student in your
school, or a member of your organization. Although
these roles seem separate and different from each
other, adolescents must learn to integrate all these
roles and it should be clear that these roles are
related to the tasks expected of them by others.
Material Poverty
• There are many stories about school children and
adolescence students who live in far-flung areas
where infrastructure is not available and of those
who do not have much choice but to walk when
going to school. Some walks for hours, some cross
rivers and streams, and others go up the hills and
mountains, before they will able to reach their
school. Stories of students who could not go to
school because they do not have money for food
and transportation are usually exploited in movies
and television.
Parents Working Abroad
• Another social phenomenon experienced by
many Filipino families today linked to poverty
are parents who leave their families to work
abroad to support the needs of their families.
How many families are affected by this
phenomenon? What is the impact of an
absent parent on a child who is growing up
with only one parent, or even no parent at
home?
Career Choice
• The adolescence who is creating identity for
himself is faced with an urgent need to identify
what course to take in college and establish a
career path for the future. While many private
school provide career counseling and guidance
which involves testing and interviews. The
adolescent can be more proactive by accessing
many resource material found in the internet to
help him identify his capabilities and skills and a
wide choices of work that he can take.
Relationships
• Maintaining healthy relationships require a certain
level of maturity. An adolescent who is still in the
process of acquiring maturity may often find
maintaining relationships challenging.
Values and Beliefs
• As a typical adolescent what he believes in
or what values he upholds, and often you get
a shrug of the shoulder as a reply. As
discussed in the previous chapter, the
adolescent is still developing his cognitive
skill that he can se in thinking of abstract
concepts and asking critical question.
Other challenges
• There are many challenges facing adolescents,
and some may not even be aware that they are
experiencing them, like depression. There are
telltale signs of depression an adolescent should
be aware of. If you suspect that you are
experiencing depression, talk to your parents,
guardian, or school guidance counselor. Be open
about it. Experiencing depression is nothing to be
ashamed of. It happens even to the best of us
Three Filipino Adolescents
• Gregorio Del Pilar

• Edgar Jopson

• Efren Peñaflorida
Gregorio Del Pilar (“Goyong,” “Boy
General”)
• Gregorio del pilar was fondly called his family as “goyong”
and eventually referred to by his fellow revolutionaries as
“Boy General” for being the youngest ever to be
commissioned as such by the Filipino revolutionary forces
that fought the Spaniards and the Americans. Goyong
was born in bulacan on November 14, 1875. he
graduated from the ateneo municipal de manila with a
degree in Bachelor of arts.at the age of 20, he joined the
revolutionary forces against the Spaniards headed by
bonifacio. He was killed in the battle of tirad pass in ilocos
sur fighting the American colonialist forces. He died on
December 2, 1899 at the age of 24.
Edgar Jopson (“Edjop”)
• Edgar jopson was born on September 1, 1948, of
middle class parent who owned a small grocery
store in Sampaloc, Manila. He graduated as the
valedictorian of his high school class in ateneo. He
was an active high school student, joining
organizations such as Ateneo Chatechitical
Instruction League, Soliditary of Mary and the
Student Catholic Action.
Efren Peñaflorida (“Efren”)
• Started an organization called Dynamic Teen
Company comprised of his fellow students to keep
adolescents like him way from trouble when he
was 16 years old. The organization went into youth
awareness projects, talent and self-development
activities, and community services before it
eventually discovered a way to help poor children
who could not afford to go to school.
Defining Responsibilities and
Expectations
• In defining your responsibilities, your
self-identity should be made clear to
you. By defining your responsibilities,
your values should be clearly define too.
Your role in society should also be
defined in order for you to define your
responsibilities.