THE CHALLENGES

OF MIDDLE AND
LATE ADOLESCENCE
1.) Attitudes and Behavior Toward Sexual
Relationship- Puberty drives the adolescent
to experience surges of sexual desires,
which often lead them to experimentation.

2.) Academic Concerns- The role of the

student is the primary role of an adolescent
who is still in school.
3.) 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 replacement of this support system,
this time in the form of social groupings
such as school friends, memberships in
organizations, and community.
4.) Health and Nutrition- A healthy mind and
body is what every adolescent (and everybody
else) should strive for.

5.) Developing or Regaining Self-Esteem- Related

to self-esteem is one’s perception of one’s body
type. Adolescent at this stage are very self-
conscious, and often view themselves as
unattractive, lacking the kind of physical look
that is often dictated by the advertising and the
image business.
6.) 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.

7.) Material Poverty- 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.
8.) Parents and 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.

9.) Career Choice- The adolescent 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.
10.) Relationship- 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.

11.) Values and Beliefs- Ask a typical adolescent

what he believes in or what values he upholds, and
often you get a shrug of the shoulders as a reply.
But for some adolescent, if you ask them another
question like what they believe in, and often the
answer is something related to their religious belief.
12.) Other Challenges- There are many other
challenges facing adolescents, and some
may not even be aware that they are
experiencing them, like depression.