Chapter 4: The Challenges of the Middle
for older adolescents. Risky driving habits such as
and Late Adolescence
Module 9: ADOLESCENCE
ADOLESCENCE HEALTH
 ADOLESCENCE is critical stage in the adaption of
behaviors relevant to health. Many of the factors
linked to poor health habits and early death in the
adult years begin during adolescence.
 The early formation of healthy behaviourial patterns
such us eating foods low in fat and cholesterol and
engaging in regular exercise not only has immediate
health benefits but contributes to the delay or
prevention of major causes of premature disability
and mortality in adulthood-heart disease, stroke,
diabetes and cancer.
RISK-TAKING BEHAVIOUR
 One type of health-compromising behavior that
increases in adolescence is risk-taking . For example,
the beginning in early adolescence , individuals seek
experiences that create high intensity feelings,
adolescents like intensity, excitement, and arousal.
 They are vulnerable to a lot of challenges around
them like risk behaviors such as reckless driving , use
and abuse of drugs, alcohol, sexual exploration ,
depression and suicide.
LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH
Module 10: Dating and Sexual Behaviors
 The three leading causes of death in adolescence are
DATING BEHAVIORS
accidents, homicide and suicide. (Gould, 2001).
 More than half of all deaths in Adolescents ages 10-
19 are due to accidents.
 There are top causes of death in Adolescents
TOP 10 CAUSES OF DEATH IN ADOLESCENTS
RESEARCH SHOWS THAT PURPOSES OF PAGLABAS
AMONG YOUNG INDIVIDUALS:
 Accidents are most involve motor vehicles, especially
speeding, tailgating and driving under the influence
of alcohol or other drugs.
 Homicide is the second leading cause of death in
adolescence ( National Center for Health Statistics,
2004). Especially high among African-American
male adolescents, who are three times more likely to
be killed by gun than by natural causes. ( Simons,
Finlay and Yang, 1991)
 Suicide accounts for 6 percent of the 10-14 age
group, a rate of 1.3 per 100,000 people. In the 15-19
age group , suicide accounts for 12 percent of deaths
or 9 per 100,000 people. Since the 1950’s the
adolescents suicide rate has tripled.
 Substance use. Adolescents also increased their
substance consumption from alcohol, cigarette, and
illegal drugs.
 Alcohol the legal drinking age and the minimum
age by which a person is allowed to purchase tobacco
is 18 years old in the Philippines.
 Cigarette smoking ones adolescents begin to smoke
cigarettes.
 Drugs use adolescent drug use increased from 6% in
1994 to 11% in 2002.
 Dating is a term that link with romantic and sexual
connotations. It is not seen as salient stage in the
process of building a romantic relationship among
Filipino adolescents, especially in rural areas. Most
adolescents prefer to use the term lumalabas which
roughly translate to going out together.
 Recreation
 Companionship
 Status grading
 Socialization for personal and social growth
 Sexual experimentation and satisfaction
  Partner selection
 Intimacy
 Places where adolescents frequently go at this stage
are malls, food establishments, movie houses, cafes,
plazas, churches etc.
 Research on dating among adolescents in the
philippines identified gender differences in the values
of male and female’s place on the practice of dating.
Males perceive dating as a means “satisfies sexual
desires”.
 Most males consider having relationships sources of
“ experience” “fun” and “pleasure”.
 Females on the other hand, consider “going to
steady” to assess their future partners in marriage.
SEXUAL BEHAVIORS
 Adolescents engaged in a rather consistent
progression of sexual behaviors (DeLamater &
MacCorquodale, 1979). Kissing usually comes first,
then necking, followed by petting. Next comes
intercourse, or, in some cases, oral sex, which has
increased.
 Filipino adolescent females also report that they had
sex with their boyfriends to be able to keep them in
their relationship.
 Is a normal activity necessary for procreation, but it
involves considerable risks if appropriate safeguards
are not taken (Kelly, 2004). There are two kinds of
risks that youth encounter: unintended/unwanted
pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.
 Gay and lesbian youth who do not experiment with
heterosexual intercourse are spared the risk of
pregnancy, but, like their heterosexual peers, they still
face the risk of sexually transmitted infections.
Risk Factors for Sexual Problems
 There are several risk factors encountered by
adolescents when they become sexually active earlier
in their life. Some adolescents engage in sex at early
ages (before age 16) and experience a number of
partners over time (Cavanaugh, 2004)
 Early sexual activity also is linked with other risky
behaviors such as excessive drinking, drug use,
delinquency, and school-related problems (Dryfoos,
1990)
 In addition, adolescents who live in low- income
neighborhoods often are more sexually active and
have higher adolescent pregnancy rates than
adolescents who live in more affluent circumstances.
Sexually transmitted Infections (STIs)
 Are infection that can be caught or passed on when
you have unprotected sex or close sexual contact with
another person who already has an STI using a
condom for all types of sex is the best way to avoid
STIs and HIV.
 Vaccines can prevent certain STIs like genital warts
and hepatitis B. Reducing the number of sexual
partners you have and not mixing ALCOHOL,
DRUGS and SEX also mean you're less likely to get
infected.
 STIs should not be diagnosed yourself by looking at
pictures because symptoms vary from person to
person. Only a healthy care professional cab diagnose
an STIs. Find out more here about different STIs,
their symptoms, testing and treatment option and how
to protect yourself from them.
ADOLESCENCE PREGNANCY
 Is pregnancy in a female under the age of 20.
Pregnancy can occur with sexual intercourse after the
start of ovulation, which can be before the first
MENSTRUAL PERIOD (menarche) but usually
occurs after the onset of period. It is usually take
place around the age of 12 or 13.
SEXUAL VIOLENCE
 Adolescents also experience violence in intimate
partnerships. Several studies have noted that, more
often than not, females are the ones coerced and
violated by their sexual partners.
 The different physical forms of violence that females
experience in intimate relationships include being
slapped, dragged, spat on, drugged, punched,
slammed, pushed/shoved, gripped tightly, slashed
with a knife, kicked, chocked, chained, pinched,
threatened. Thrown things at, and pulled by the hair.
 They also go through other forms of violence like
physical, psychological and economic abuse: rape,
neglect, economic control, and being berated and
humiliated. Prostitute young females have also
experienced all these types of abuses from their male
customers.

CONTRACEPTIVE KNOWLEDGE AND USE
 The 2008 NDHS found that knowledge of
contraceptive methods was high among young
women, with 96.3% of 15-19 year olds and 99.2% of
20-24 year olds having heard of any modern method
of contraception.
 Among all female adolescents aged 15-19 currently
using contraception (3.1% of the Total respondents),
withdrawal was the most common method (41.9%)
followed by the pill, which was the most commonly
used modern method (29%). Among currently
married female adolescents aged 15-19 withdrawal
was also the most commonly used method (9.8%)
followed by the pill (8.6%).
WHAT CAUSES DELINQUENCY?
 Many causes have been proposed, including heredity,
identity problems, community influences, and family
family experiences.
 Erik Erikson (1968), for example, believes that
adolescents whose development has restricted them
from an acceptable social roles or made them feel
that they cannot measure up to the demands placed
on them may choose a negative identity.
MODULE 11: Relating Challenges Among
Adolescence
FRIENDSHIP
 The emotions or conduct of friends; the state of being
friends
 Is a relationship of mutual affection between people.
 Friendship is a stronger form of interpersonal bond
than an association.
HARRY STACK SULLIVAN (1953)
 He was the most influential theorist to discuss the
importance of adolescence of adolescent friendships,
and his ideas have withstood the test of the time.
 He argued that there is a dramatic increase in the
psychological importance and intimacy of close
friends during early adolescence.
 Sullivan contented that friends also play important
roles in shaping children’s and adolescents’ well-
being and development.
 He argued that all people have a number of basic
social needs, including the need for tenderness
(secure attachment), playful companionship, social
acceptance, intimacy, and sexual relations.
 Developmentally, friends become increasingly
depended on to satisfy these needs during
adolescence; thus, the ups and downs of experiences
with friends increasingly shape adolescents’ state of
well-being (Berndt, 2002)
 In particular, Sullivan argued that the need for
intimacy intensifies during early adolescence,
motivating teenagers to seek out close friends.
 Adolescence also says they depend more on friends
than on parents to satisfy their needs for
companionship, reassurance of worth, and intimacy.
PEER GROUP
 Peer - one belonging to the same societal group
especially based on age, grade, or status.
 Conformity to peer pressure in adolescence can be
positive or negative.
 Teenagers engage in all sorts of negative conformity
behavior- use seedy language, steal, vandalize, and
make fun of parents and teachers.
 However, a great deal of peer conformity is not
negative and consists of the desire to be involved in
the peer world.
 They want to spend large amounts of time with
members of a clique. Pro social activities as well, as
when clubs raise money for worthy causes.
 Young adolescents conform more to peer standards
than children do investigators have found that,
around the eighth and ninth grades, conformity to
peers - especially to their antisocial standards – peeks
(Leventhal,1994)
CLIQUES AND CROWD
 Cliques and crowd assume more important roles in
the lives of adolescents that children (Brown, 2003,
2004).
CLIQUES
  Are small groups that range from 2 to about 12
individuals and average about 5 to 6 individuals.

CROWDS

 Are the larger group structure than cliques.

Adolescents are usually members of a crowd based
on reputation and may or may not spend much time
together.

PARENTING RELATIONSHIP

 It is impossible to discuss adolescents relationship

with their parents without talking about parent-
adolescent conflict (Laursen & Collins, 2009).

GENERATIONAL GAP

 Systematic studies of teenagers and their parents find

that they usually have surprisingly similar beliefs
about such things as the importance of hard work,
educational and occupational ambitions, and the
personal characteristics and attributes that they feel
are important and desirable ( Knafo & Schwartz,
2003).

PARENTS-ADOLESCENCE CONFLICT

 If parents and teenagers typically don’t argue over

'big' issues, what do they fight about small issues like
curfews, leisure time activities, clothing, and the
cleanliness of their rooms ( Laursen & DeLay, 2011;
Martin, Bascoe, & Davies, 2011).

 A study of adolescents in the People's Republic of

China and Hong Kong, for example, found that the
most common sources of conflict between
adolescents and parents were everyday issues, such
as time spent on schoolwork, household chores, and
choice of friends (Yau & Smetana, 2003).