Interpersonal Relations (IPR)
1943 at Bennington College in Vermont
An INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIP (often referred to as an
IPR) is the connection that exists between two or more
individuals. Observation, assessment, communication, and
evaluation skills serve as the foundation for an
interpersonal relationship. Development of any
interpersonal relationship requires the individual to have a
basic understanding of self and what that individual brings
to the relationship. The second most important skill is that
of communication, including both verbal and nonverbal
communication.
The relationship that nurses have with their patients is
considered the cornerstone of all other components of
nursing. Regardless of the patient’s health status—ranging
from well individuals living in the community to patients
who are critically or terminally ill—establishing a
nurse−patient relationship is one of the nurse’s primary
goals. It is this relationship that is reflected and integrated
into the plan of care for any patient of any age, culture, or
socioeconomic background.
The interpersonal relationship in nursing is often
considered to be the one-toone relationship between the
nurse and patient. However, the nurse also needs to
develop interpersonal relationships with the patient’s
family and key individuals in the patient’s environment.
Interpersonal relationships form the basis of nursing
interventions for psychiatricmental health nursing. To do
this, nurses must learn how to build the relationship and
develop the skills for enhancing the interaction among the
nurse, patient, family, and other important individuals in
the patient’s life.
Two prominent nursing theories that specifically address
the interpersonal relationship as the core concept are
described. These are the theories of Hildegard Peplau and
Joyce Travelbee. This discussion will focus on Hildergard
Peplau's contribution to Nursing: The Interpersonal
Relations Theory,published in 1952.
Hildegard Peplau
- Founder of psychiatricmental health nursing theory
and professional practice
- PSYCHIATRIC NURSE OF THE CENTURY (“Mother”
of psychiatric nursing)
- BORN: SEPT 01, 1909 at Pennsylvania
- EDUCATION:
• Pottstown Hospital, School of Nursing, (1931)
• Bachelor’s degree in interpersonal psychology in
- • Worked as staff nurse at Pennsylvania and at
New York City
- • Become the school nurse at Bennington College
in Vermont, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree
in interpersonal psychology
- • served in the Army Nurse Corps and was assigned
to the 312th Field Station Hospital from 1943-1945
in England, where the American School of Military
Psychiatry was located. She met and worked with
all the leading figures in British and American
psychiatry.
- • After the war, Peplau was at the table with many
of these same men as they worked to reshape the
mental health system in the United States through
the passage of the National Mental Health Act of
1946.
- WORKED TIRELESSLY TO ADVANCE NURSING
EDUCATION AND PRACTICE IN1930'S
- DIED: MARCH 7, 1999
➢ She is well known within the national and global nursing
communities, not only for her contributions to psychiatric
nursing but also for her activism throughout nursing.
➢ During her professional career, she served as president
of the American Nurses Association (ANA) and
subsequently, as the ANA executive director.
➢ he also served as a board member of the International
Council of Nurses (ICN).
➢ In 1997, she received the highest award from this
organization, the Christine Reimann Prize.
➢ Peplau was always a staunch supporter of professional
education for nurses and of specialization for post-basic
preparation. She was responsible for developing the first
master’s degree clinical nurse specialist psychiatric-mental
health nursing program at the Rutgers University School of
Nursing in New Jersey.
➢ Her fifty-year career in nursing left an unforgettable
mark on the field and the mentally challenged lives in the
United States. During the peak of her career, she became
the founder of modern psychiatric nursing, an innovative
educator, advocate for the mentally ill, proponent of
advanced education for nurses, Executive Director and
then President of the ANA, and prolific author.
INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS THEORY
• Known as "THERAPETIC RELATIONS"
• Professional interaction of the nurse to her client that
aimed towards the promotion and wellness and health of
the letter
• Essential part of the nursing care rendered to the health
consumers
• Gives emphasis to the dynamic of social interactions
between the nurse and the client
INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS THEORY
✓ Emphasized the nurse-client relationship as the
foundation of nursing practice.
✓ It emphasized the give-and-take of nurse-client
relationships that was seen by many as revolutionary.
Peplau went on to form an interpersonal model
emphasizing the need for a partnership between nurse and
client as opposed to the client passively receiving
treatment and the nurse passively acting out doctor’s
orders.
✓ The nursing model identifies four sequential phases in
the interpersonal relationship: orientation, identification,
exploitation, and resolution.
✓ It also includes seven nursing roles: Stranger role,
Resource role, Teaching role, Counseling role, Surrogate
role, Active leadership, and Technical expert role.
•Hildegard E. Peplau’s theory defined Nursing as “An
interpersonal process of therapeutic interactions between
an individual who is sick or in need of health services and a
nurse especially educated to recognize, respond to the
need for help.” It is a “maturing force and an educative
instrument” involving an interaction between two or more
individuals with a common goal.
•In nursing, this common goal provides the incentive for
the therapeutic process in which the nurse and patient
respect each other as individuals, both of them learning
and growing due to the interaction. An individual learns
when she or he selects stimuli in the environment and then
reacts to these stimuli.
✓ The environment also plays a key role in human
development. The environment included factors such as
culture, adult presence, economic status, and prenatal
environment, as well as the interactions between the
patient and the others, that is, family, parents, or nurse.
✓ Anxiety is another key component of Peplau’s theory.
Drawing on the work by Sullivan and his interpersonal
theory, she identified different levels of anxiety and their
effects on an individual. Peplau emphasized the need for
nurses to recognize anxiety and intervene accordingly to
improve the individual’s state.
✓ Peplau believed that the interpersonal competencies of
nurses are essential to assisting patients to regain health
and well-being. These interpersonal competencies are
based on the nurse’s ability to understand his or her own
behavior. Peplau stressed the need for nurses to be able to
feel within themselves the feelings that others are
communicating verbally or nonverbally. Most commonly,
these feelings are anxiety or panic. Nurses then integrate
this understanding and self-awareness to assist others in
identifying their problems.
ASSUMPTIONS
(1) Nurse and the patient can interact.
(2) Peplau emphasized that both the patient and nurse
mature as the result of the therapeutic interaction.
(3) Communication and interviewing skills remain
fundamental nursing tools. And lastly,
(4) Peplau believed that nurses must clearly understand
themselves to promote their client’s growth and avoid
limiting their choices to those that nurses value.
METAPARADIGM IN NURSING
• The theory explains nursing’s purpose is to help others
identify their felt difficulties and that nurses should apply
principles of human relations to the problems that arise at
all levels of experience.
FOUR MAJOR CONCEPTS:
PERSON
A man who is an organism that lives in an unstable balance
of a given system
A man as an organism that “strives in its own way to
reduce tension generated by needs.” The client is an
individual with a felt need.
HEALTH
Health is defined as “a word symbol that implies forward
movement of personality and other ongoing human
processes in the direction of creative, constructive,
productive, personal, and community living.” Peplau gave
importance on the belief that for one's health to be
achieved and maintained his needs must be met. These
needs are physiological demands and interpersonal
conditions.
ENVIRONMENT
Peplau does not directly address society/environment, she
does encourage the nurse to consider the patient’s culture
and mores when the patient adjusts to the hospital routine
The environment also plays a key role in human
development. It include factors such as culture, adult
presence, economic status, and prenatal environment, as
well as the interactions between the patient and the
others, that is, family, parents, or nurse.
NURSING
a “significant, therapeutic, interpersonal process between
two or more persons directed towards a therapeutic goal.”
which can be achieved by the nurse's deliberate actions
that occur along a sequence of phases
- She defines it as a “human relationship between an
individual who is sick, or in need of health services,
and a nurse specially educated to recognize and to
respond to the need for help.”
Phases of Therapeutic Nurse-Client
Relationship
can be viewed as separate entities, could overlap with each
other over the course of the nurse-patient interaction.
Each phase is unique and has distinguished contributions
on the outcome of the nurse-patient interaction.
IDENTIFICATION
● The nurse and patient explore the experience and the
needs of the patients
. ● The nurse assists the patients in re-orienting his feelings
and sustaining a constant positive
EXPLOITATION
● The patient derives the full value of the relationship as he
moves on from a dependent role to an independent one.
RESOLUTION
● The patients earn independence over his care as he
gradually puts aside old goals and formulates new ones.
Four Phases of the Therapeutic Nurse-
Patient Relationship
ORIENTATION
•Involves engaging the client in treatment, providing
explanations and information, and answering questions.
•Problem defining phase
•It starts when the client meets the nurse as a stranger.
•Defining the problem and deciding the type of service
needed
•Client seeks assistance, conveys needs, asks questions,
shares preconceptions and expectations of past
experiences.
•Nurse responds, explains roles to the client, identifies
problems, and uses available resources and services.
IDENTIFICATION
• Begins when the client works interdependently with the
nurse, expresses feelings, and begins to feel stronger.
•Selection of appropriate professional assistance
•Patient begins to have a feeling of belonging and a
capability of dealing with the problem, which decreases the
feeling of helplessness and hopelessness.
EXPLOITATION
• Here, the client makes full use of the services offered.
•In the exploitation phase, the client makes full use of the
services offered.
•Use of professional assistance for problem solving
alternatives
•Advantages of services are used based on the needs and
interests of the patients.
•The individual feels like an integral part of the helping
environment.
•They may make minor requests or attention ngetting
techniques.
•The principles of interview techniques must be used to
explore, understand and adequately deal with the
underlying problem.
•Patient may fluctuate on independence.
•Nurse must be aware of the various phases of
communication.
•Nurse aids the patient in exploiting all avenues of help,
and progress is made towards the final step.
RESOLUTION
• client no longer needs professional services and gives up
dependent behavior. The relationship ends.
• The client no longer needs professional services and gives
up dependent behavior. The relationship ends.
•Termination of professional relationship
•The patient’s needs have already been met by the
collaborative effect of patient and nurse.
•Now they need to terminate their therapeutic relationship
and dissolve the links between them.
•Sometimes may be difficult for both as psychological
dependence persists.
•The patient drifts away and breaks the nurse’s bond, and
a healthier emotional balance is demonstrated, and both
become mature individuals.
NURSING ROLES
These roles are appropriately being used by the nurses in
different nursing situations and phase of Interpersonal
Relationships.
STRANGER - offering the client the same acceptance and
courtesy that the nurse would respond to any stranger;
nurse attempts to know the patient better, treat the
patient with utmost courtesy, includes acceptance of the
patient as a person due respect over his individuality
RESOURCE PERSON - nurse provides specific answers to
patients queries within a larger context which include
health information.
TEACHER - helping the client to learn formally or
informally; nurse assumes this role as he/she gives much
importance in helping the patient understand the
therapeutic plan. The nurse must develop her discussion
around the interest of the patient.
LEADER - offering direction to the client or group; the nurse
as a leader must act in behalf of the patient's best interest
and at the same time enable him/her to make decisions
over his his or her own care.
SURROGATE - serving as a substitute for another such as a
parent or a sibling; patient's dependency for his care gives
the nurse a surrogate role. temporary role
COUNCILOR - promoting experiences leading to health for
the client such as expression of feelings nurse becomes the
listener and someone who gives empathic advice.
TECHNICAL EXPERT - providing physical care for the patient
and operates equipment.
ANXIETY
✓the initial response to a psychic threat
Mild anxiety is a positive state of heightened awareness
and sharpened senses, allowing the person to learn new
behaviors and solve problems. The person can take in all
available stimuli (perceptual field).
Moderate anxiety involves a decreased perceptual field
(focus on the immediate task only); the person can learn a
new behavior or solve problems only with assistance.
Another person can redirect the person to the task
Severe anxiety involves feelings of dread and terror. The
person cannot be redirected to a task; he or she focuses
only on scattered details and has physiologic symptoms of
tachycardia, diaphoresis, and chest pain
Panic anxiety can involve loss of rational thought,
delusions, hallucinations, and complete physical immobility
and muteness. The person may bolt and run aimlessly,
often exposing himself or herself to injury
Interpersonal Theory and Nursing Process
Peplau’s Interpersonal Relations
Theory and
the Nursing
Process are
sequential
and focus on
the
therapeutic
relationship
by using problem Solving techniques for the nurse and
patient to collaborate on to meet the patient’s needs. Both
use observation communication and recording as basic
tools utilized by nursing.
JOYCE TRAVELBEE'S
Human to Human Relationship Model
As a nurse we have the responsibility towards our patient,
• we must have a good interaction and working
relationship with them,
• NOT ONLY focus on the physical defects, difficulties and
illness, but focus as well on their total wellbeing
(emotionally, psychologically, spiritually)
• as care providers, we must be able to assess the person
as a whole, not just mainly focusing in each problem that
they verbalize or share.
Rapport
• The client shows trust and confidence in the nurse.
• A positive and healthy relationship
• The nurse and the sick person are relating as human
being to human being.
• Described as nursing interventions that lessens the
patient's suffering.
The Theorist
• Born in 1926
• Psychiatric Nurse, Educator and Writer
• Completed her Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing
Education at Louisiana State University in 1956
• Master Degree from Yale University in 1959
• Started Doctoral Program in 1973, but not able to finish
because she died on that year at the age of 47
• 1952, Psychiatric Nursing Instructor at Depaul Hospital
Affiliate School, New Orleans.
• Later in Also taught at Charity Hospital School of Nursing
in Louisiana State University, New York University and the
University of Mississippi.
• 1970, the Project Director of Graduate Education at
Louisiana State University School of Nursing until her
death.
Theoretical Sources
• Ida Jean Orlando, her instructor—“The nurse is
responsible for helping the patient avoid and alleviate the
distress of unmet needs.” The nurse and patient interrelate
with each other.
• Viktor Frankl, a survivor of Auschwitz and other Nazi
concentration camps— proposed the theory of logotherapy
in which a patient is actually confronted with and
reoriented toward the meaning of his life.
How is a Human-to-Human relationship developed?
• Human-to-human relationships begin with the original
encounter and then progress through stages of emerging
identities, developing feelings of empathy, and later
feelings of sympathy.(5 phases)
• Nurse and patient attain a RAPPORT in the final stage.
For meeting the goals of nursing, it is a prerequisite to
achieving a genuine human-to- human relationships.
ASSUMPTIONS
• One of Travelbee's assumption is that: nursing is fulfilled
by means of human-to-human relationship.
• She defined nursing as “an interpersonal process
whereby the professional nurse practitioner assists an
individual, family or community to prevent or cope with
experience or illness and suffering, and if necessary, to find
meaning in these experiences”
• Inspired by being a psychiatric nurse, she struggles for a
“Humanistic Revolution” in nursing, with devotion on
caring and compassion for patients.
• She expressed that achieving the goal of nursing
necessitates a genuine human-to-human relationship,
which can only be established by an interaction process,
this process is further divided into five phases.
5 Interactional Phases of Human-to-Human
Relationship Model:
Original Encounter or Inaugural Meeting
Emotional knowledge colors impressions and perceptions
of both nurse and patient during initial encounters. The
task is “to break the bond of categorization in order to
perceive the human being in the patient” and vice versa.
Patients are the same human beings as us and families;
only, that they need other human beings specifically nurses
and doctors for maintaining health.
Emerging Identities or Visibility of Personal Identities
Tasks
in 2nd phase include separating oneself and one’s
experiences from others AND recognizing the differing
qualities that each possess, transcending roles by
separating self and experiences from one another – not
using oneself to judge others. The nurse nor the patient is
not to stereotype the other as having a particular vexatious
characteristic as this is not facilitative to building a
relationship. Tasks include and avoiding “using oneself as a
yardstick”by which to evaluate others.
Empathy
This phase involves sharing another’s psychological state
but standing apart and not sharing feelings. It is
characterized “by the ability to predict the behavior of
another”.
Sympathy
Sharing, feeling and experiencing what others are feeling
and experiencing is accomplished. This phase demonstrates
emotional involvement and discredits objectivity as
dehumanizing. The task of the nurse is to translate
sympathy into helpful nursing actions. Sympathy happens
when the nurse wants to lessen the cause of the patient’s
suffering. It goes beyond empathy. “When one
sympathizes, one is involved but not incapacitated by the
involvement.” The nurse should use a disciplined
intellectual approach together with therapeutic use of self
to make helpful nursing actions.
Rapport
Rapport is described as nursing interventions that lessens
the patient’s suffering. The nurse and the sick person are
relating as human being to human being. The sick person
shows trust and confidence in the nurse. “A nurse is able to
establish rapport because she possesses the necessary
knowledge and skills required to assist ill persons, and
because she is able to perceive, respond to, and appreciate
the uniqueness of the ill human being.”
HUMAN TO HUMAN RELATIONSHIP MODEL
•the means through which the purpose of nursing if
fulfilled
• interpersonal connections facilitates the progress of a
patient, a family, or a community in preventing or coping
with an illness or with suffering in ways that could lead to
finding meaning with the experience.
• There are 7 major concepts in this theory
7 BASIC CONCEPTS
1. Suffering, which is “an experience that varies in
intensity, duration and depth…a feeling of unease, ranging
from mild, transient mental, physical or mental discomfort
to extreme pain….”
2. Meaning, which is the reason attributed to a person
3. Nursing, which helps a person find meaning in the
experience of illness and suffering; has a responsibility to
help people and their families find meaning; and the
nurse’s spiritual and ethical choices, and perceptions of
illness and suffering, which are crucial to help patients find
meaning.
4. Hope, which is a faith that can and will be a change that
would bring something better with it.
Six important characteristics of hope are:
- dependence on other people
- future orientation
- escape routes
- the desire to complete a task or have an experience
- confidence that others will be there when needed
- acknowledgment of fears and moving forward towards its
goal.
5. Communication, which is “a strict necessity for good
nursing care.”
6. Self-therapy, which is the ability to use one’s own
personality consciously and in full awareness in an attempt
to establish relatedness and to structure nursing
interventions. This refers to the nurse’s presence physically
and psychologically.
7. Targeted intellectual approach (that is also
systematic) by the nurse toward the patient’s situation;
METAPARADIGM IN NURSING
PERSON
• both nurse and patient are human beings, a human being
is unique irreplaceable individual who is in continuous
process of becoming, evolving and changing.
HEALTH
• health is subjective and objective
Subjective Health - is an individually defined state of well
being in accord with selfappraisal of physical-emotional-
spiritual status.
Objective Health - is an absence of discernible disease,
disability of defect as measured by physical examination,
laboratory tests and assessment by spiritual director or
psychological counselor.

ENVIRONMENT
• not clearly defined by Travelbee's theory.

• She defined human conditions and life experiences

encountered by all men as sufferings, hope, pain and
illness.

NURSING
• an interpersonal process whereby the professional nurse
practitioner assists an individual, family or community to
prevent or cope with experience or illness and suffering,
and if necessary to find meaning in these experiences.

The Self and Its Social Agencies
Human development is largely influenced by membership
in crucial social groups that shape various aspects of the
self; from belief systems, values orientation, and behaviors.
An individual is born into a family and toward the end of
his or her life, he or she is evaluated in the context of his or
her contribution to the society, the quality of his or her
social relationships, and how he or she has touched lives of
people whom he or she has directly encountered.
At the beginning of life, one already belongs to a social
group: his or her family. It is the most pervading influential
social group that impacts the self in its entire course of
development. The views one holds about the world, values
upheld in making choices and decisions, and the habits and
persistent behavior one carries have been formed in the
context of one's family and home environment. Parents are
one's first teachers; from a very early age, it is from them
that one creates initial impressions of the world beyond his
or her home, and the first barometer in determining which
acts are good and rewarded and those that are
unacceptable, for which one is reprimanded and punished.
As one's family grows, his or her siblings become his or her
first friends and playmates. Relationships with siblings
harness one's socialization skills, particularly in play
moments and quarrels which help shape one's conflict
resolution skills that he or she can carry throughout his or
her life. These consistent family experiences are crucial in
shaping of one's social self.
Next to family, schools and the general academic
environment form a significant part of the social self.
Worldviews expand as one gets exposed to more people in
different social learning environments. Knowledge and
social skills gained from mentors, relatives, and peers
contribute to how the social self is harnessed. The
information gleaned from books, lectures of mentors, and
insights from classmates are assimilated and imbibed
consequently in the inner recesses of the self. One's
knowledge of the world is shaped by collaborative learning
conditions, as one is exposed to the insights of his or her
learning peers. Values of social harmony, emotional
sensitivity to the needs of other people, and behavior with
regard to the personal spaces of others in the environment
are just some learning insights that are inculcated in one's
social self. Roughly, about a third of people's lives are spent
as students in educational institutions. The experiences an
individual gains in an academic environment shape his or
her social self as he or she embarks on the next stages of
development.
Aside from one's family and school environments,
communities also shape one's social self to a large extent.
From an anthropological and sociological perspective, one's
cultural beliefs and practices are influenced by what
communities and societies dictate. Values such as respect
for the elderly, persistence and dedication for tasks, and
love for one's country are often the products of communal
settings one belongs to and societal expectations imposed
on him or her. Specific practices such as attending worship,
avoiding conflict and strife with others, taking part in
rituals and ceremonies such as weddings, baptisms, and
other religious activities, are embedded in one's social self
as communities and the society have developed shared
meanings with regard to these milestones. Religion,
politics, media, education, and the government are all
social institutions that directly impact one's social self. The
social self inevitably changes as one accommodates and
eventually assimilates beliefs promoted by the society as
he or she thinks, appreciates, and behaves according to
standards set by micro and macrosystems.
Culture
According to Edward Tylor (1871), "culture is the complex
whole which includes knowledge, belief, law, art, moral,
custom, and other capabilities and habits acquired by man
as a member of society." Based on this definition, one can
conclude that culturé has a great impact on a human being,
and this is manifested in his or her thoughts, behaviors,
and expression. However, culture is highly relative; it varies
in terms of geographical, traditional, and individual
contexts. A dominant characteristic of culture is that it is
socially transmitted and learned by groups of people,
bound by ethnicity, geography, and personal orientations.
To further understand the nature of culture and its
influences on oneself, the following models illustrate how
culture functions in relation to one's social self.
Bioecological Systems Theory
Urie Bronfenbrenner's (1935) Bioecological Systems of
Development explains an individual's social development,
using biological, environmental, and ecological lenses. The
theory explains the bidirectional influence of individual
systems to each other and posits five specific systems that
shape an individual's sense of self. These systems are as
follows:
1. Microsystem. This system refers to the institutions and
social groups that the individual has direct contact and
interaction with, including families, peers, schools, religious
institutions, and the immediate community.
2. Mesosystem. This system refers to the interconnections
among aspects of the microsystems affecting the
individual. Pragmatic examples of this would include
parent-teacher associations (PTA), parent and peer
connections, and community relations, among others.
3. Exosystem. This system refers to the social setting that
an individual has no direct interaction with but
nevertheless affects his or her development. An example of
this could be the work setting of one's parents where a
major company decision that results in the loss of job of
either parent will have a significant impact to the child.
4. Macrosystem. This system encompasses the larger
cultural context in which the individual resides in. A
cultural context may include the socioeconomic status of
his or her country, issues of ethnicity, societal values
embraced by
social institutions, cultural beliefs and practices handed
down from generation to generation, and how all these
affect an individual's behavior and opportunities in the
society. An example of a macrosystem would be the
Philippines as a third-world country where there is a notion
that life can be better when one works abroad. Acceptable
values which are defined by the society that are handed
down from generation to generation is inexplicably
imbibed by the individual.
5. Chromosystems. This system focuses on patterns of
environmental
events, including
sociohistorical
events from a
specific to a with goals matching one's individual needs. This is evident
general context.
For example, one's graduation from college would entail
changes in his or her social self as he or she is expected to
work to help his or her be 7 family and contribute to the
society. Social events which push forth active citizenship
also influences the social self in 3 error a very vital way.
Individualism-Collectivism Model
Another model that highlights the impact of culture to the
self is the Individualism Collectivism model proposed by
Hazel Rose Markus and Shinobu Kitayama (1991).
According to the model, individualism as an orientation
focuses on one's individual attributes and personal
distinctiveness. People who are individualistic are observed
to be competitive and self-reliant. They are likely to be
independent in achieving their personal interests rather
than becoming dependent on a group. On the other hand,
the collectivist orientation values relationships and
harmony People who are collectivistic prioritize interests to
maintain healthy relationships They are likely to be
adaptive to other people, and cooperative in group tasks.
The Philippine society is traditionally perceived to be a
collectivist one because of the idea that Asian nations
adhere to a collectivist mindset. In the context of
collectivism, collective interests are prioritized over
personal ones and the functionality of relationships is
maintained through practices that would benefit everyone.
For example, choosing a career that would fulfill the
expectations of the entire family and being non-
confrontational with thoughts and beliefs that are opposed
to what the group accepts are some aspects of collectivism.
In the Philippine context, practices like staying in one's
family home, attending mass or going to places of worship
in groups and even the inappropriate practice of sharing
the achievements of others just because they are a relative
or even simply because they are also Filipinos showcase a
collectivist mindset.
Veering away from tradition, the Filipinos are no longer
tightly bound to strongly collectivist practices. Due to the
rise of globalization and the influence of different nations
with individualistic mindsets, the Filipino society also
adapts perspectives leaning to the individualist orientation.
Many Filipinos strive to be independent and self-reliant,
in behaviors that break away from the collectivist outlook:
moving out of one's parent's house after graduation,
choosing a career based on one's personal inclinations, and
the like. Although these oppose the traditional mindset of
always adhering to what others ask of an individual, these
behavior show the capacity of an individual to think for
himself or herself.
Notions of individualism and collectivism show how the self
is directly influenced by the society and its standards. Being
part of social groups impacts one's thoughts and values and
also affects one's social behavior.
I vs. Me
One's behavior when he or she is alone differs from his or
her behavior when he or she is with others. Different
situations trigger particular behaviors because of differing
social expectations. In being alone, one does not need to
keep up appearances, which is different when there are
others observing. This is what Herbert Mead (1934) posited
in his theory of the social self. He posited that the self is
divided into two parts: the "I" which is known as the
unsocialized self, and the "Me" which is known as the
"socialized" self.
According to Mead, the "I" is who an individual really is. It
is one's opinion of himself or herself as a whole. The "I" is
manifested when one acts naturally for his or her own
motivations and not because of others. On the other hand,
the "Me" is the awareness of how others expect one to
behave. This is also known as the social self. This part of
the self, according to Mead, is the careful and the
conscious. When you know that there are people staring at
you, you are likely to take note of what others would think
about you, and thus adjust your behavior according to
what you think is acceptable to others. Based on Mead's
model, the state of the actual self is achieved when the "I"
and "Me" become congruent. These different models
present ideas on the process of the self's social
development. It is important to note that culture plays an
important role in one's social development. Studying these
models helps in understanding oneself and other people. It
is not ideal, however, to generalize a certain culture based
on these models. Individual differences should always be
considered and respect should always be fostered among
one another.
The Socio-biological Aspects of the Self
A vital aspect of one's identity is the sexual self,
encompassing the biological, physical, emotional, and
social domains. While i is initially rooted in the
distinguishing physical attributes found in men (penis) and
women (vagina), bodily transformations and the
development of secondary sexual characteristics during
adolescence also trigger the physiological responses,
leading to beliefs and behavior associated with sex. During
the this stage, sexual curiosity is often at its peak, with
adolescents engaging in sexual activity as influenced by
biological and socio-cultural factors. Further, the gender
orientation of the adolescent may manifest at this stage.
Thus, it is important for a person to be aware of his or her
sexuality, thoughts, and behavior, in order to make
responsible choices concerning one's sexual self.
The Biology of Sex
At birth, the sexual genital (penis for males and vagina for
females) is a biological feature that distinguishes males
from females. Moreover, during puberty, observable
changes in the human body also known as secondary
sexual characteristics begin. For males, the changes include
the growth of facial and bodily hair, emergence of adam's
apple, deepening of the voice, and muscle development. In
the Philippines, the practice of circumcision is considered a
rite of passage to adulthood among young men. For
females, the onset of menstruation, and noticeable
changes in the hips, breast, and skin underlie the sexual
changes during this developmental stage. Aside from these
observable developments in males and females, the
release of hormones (testosterone for males and estrogen
for females) triggers physiological changes in the
reproductive system. Thus, at this stage, males and females
start to become capable of procreation; males start
producing sperm while females begin producing eggs.
When physiological changes are B triggered within the
adolescent's reproductive system, he or she is likely to
experience sexual urges, become more sensitive to sexual
stimuli, and feel sexual arousal. Arousal may be exhibited
through penile erection in men and vaginal lubrication or
wetness in women. If sexual arousal is satisfied through
sexual intercourse, orgasm would be reached. The
refractory period, or the period of rest after orgasm, is
likely to be longer in men. Thus, women can achieve
multiple orgasms due to a shorter refractory period. These
bodily sensations are normal and typical in any sexual
activity since they are triggered by hormones produced
within the body. These physiological sensations are part of
the sexual response cycle, which includes four phases:
excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution. Completing
the cycle leads to sexual satisfaction.
Humans are likely to engage in sexual activities to satisfy
sexual urges. However, the kind of sexual activities they
engage in may vary. During the adolescence stage, it is
common to watch and read pornographic materials,
engage in kissing and petting, and perform masturbation,
or the act of stimulating one's genitals for sexual pleasure.
Medical professionals have cited the health benefits of
masturbation, including stress relief, better sleep,
improved self- esteem, and enhanced body image. Further,
masturbation is a better alternative to sexual intercourse,
which may result in pregnancy and acquiring sexually
transmitted diseases.
A person should be aware of his or her sexuality and sexual
attributes in order to make responsible decisions.
Adolescents need to realize the importance of having
informed choices. Engaging in sexual activities may result in
consequences that adolescents may not be ready for:
pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
Sexual Identity and Gender Orientation
At birth, one's sexuality depends on his or her physical
features and genitals. Most of the time, one's sexuality and
gender orientation correspond with each other. However,
biological sex and gender orientation are two different
things. Biological sex is one's assignment upon birth and is
dependent on physical features. On the other hand, gender
is an identity that is learned and embraced by the
individual. It goes beyond biological domains and is both a
personal and social construct. As a social construct, gender
comprises the socially created roles, personality traits,
attitudes, behaviors, and values attributed to men and
women. It also includes the relative power and influence of
each, indicating that gender is relational and refers not
simply to women or men but to the relationship between
them. Thus, gender is anchored on societal beliefs and
norms.
Gender roles refer to societal expectations of how men and
women should act. Everyone has a basic idea of gender
roles: men are assumed to be strong and dominant while
women are perceived to be submissive and demure. Aside
from the problems with these assumptions, gender and
biological sex are not always the same. A person may have
been born a man but assumes "womanly" traits while a
woman may behave like a "man." This is an aspect of
sexual orientation, which manifests itself in relationships. A
guy who is attracted to girls is considered heterosexual
while someone who is attracted to the same sex is called a
homosexual.
Sexual identity and gender orientation underlie one's
concept of self. A person expresses his or her sexuality
through individuality; one's beliefs and behavioral lifestyle
are based on his or her own perception of sexuality.
However, while gender orientation and sexual identity are
deemed to be social constructs, it is important to highlight
one's self-expression and moreover, become responsible in
doing so. This responsibility also applies to expressing one's
beliefs about sex, gender, and behavior. It should be noted
that one's behavior in various situations entails
consequences. An individual needs to realize the effects of
such actions and how one can regulate his or her own
behavior, including his or her sexual behavior.
The Consequences of Sexual Choice
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation, is the
reproductive act in which the male organ (penis) enters the
female's reproductive tract (vagina). Adolescent couples
who engage in sexual intercourse are usually overwhelmed
by the sensations they feel during the act. In addition, most
teenagers who have sex with their partners often
rationalize the act by claiming that they "love each other"
and are "ready to be committed to each other." However,
if the woman is fertile during the time of intercourse,
pregnancy is likely to occur and it lasts approximately nine
months before the birth of the child. Having a child entails
a big responsibility and should not merely be a
consequence of an impulsive moment. Physical risks to
having an early pregnancy may impact an adolescent's
development, including miscarriage, emotional stress, and
health risks to both mother and infant. Further, early
pregnancy may result in the mother dropping out of
school, alienation, and other similar social disruptions.
Pregnancy does not only affect females; males are also
burdened by the responsibility of caring for a new child and
his partner, and may also face the same problems as the
female.
Aside from pregnancy, another consequence of impulsive
and careless sexual intercourse is the risk of acquiring
sexually- transmitted diseases (STDs). While most of them
can be treated and cured, STDs may have long-term
consequences to one's health. These diseases are passed
through the exchange of body fluids or genital contact.
Among the common STDs are syphilis, gonorrhea,
chlamydia, and genital warts. Symptoms include a burning
sensation during urination, warts and sores in the genital
and mouth areas, pus, abnormal and smelly discharge,
genital irritation, and painful bowel movements. Treatment
may entail medication and in some cases, surgery.
However, there are cases when these diseases may affect
one's reproductive functions and worse, may lead to death.
- Respect for one's body. It means taking care of one's
body and avoiding activities that undermine one's worth
and respect.
- Maturity in thoughts and deeds. It refers to being
objective, rational, and calm, instead of being swept by
one's emotions.
- Being guided by one's personal beliefs and core values.
Everyone, especially an adolescent, should always be
grounded by his or her personal principles and self-worth.
- Being future-oriented. Instead of focusing on the present,
a Person should always weigh his or her present actions
with possible consequences in the future. Sexual pleasure
might be overwhelming at the moment but always focus on
what it will entail in the future.

The most alarming sexually transmitted disease is the

acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) caused by
the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). It can be
transmitted by contact between broken skin, wounds, or
mucous membranes and HIV- infected blood or blood-
contaminated body fluids. Usually, it spreads through
unprotected sexual contact with an infected person, as well
as through pregnancy, breastfeeding, sharing injecting
equipment, or contaminated blood transfusion. Untreated,
HIV can lead to AIDS, Which compromises the immune
system and puts the person at risk Of illness and death. In
is early stages, HIV has no symptoms, Once the illness has
progressed, the infected person may develop fever, rashes
and sores, In its final stage, a person with AlDS may suffer
from a variety of illnesses including pneumonia and cancer.
At moment, there remains no cure for HIV and AIDS.

How does one acquire a sexually transmitted disease? STDs

are prevalent among individuals who engage in
unprotected sex with multiple partners. Irresponsible
sexual behavior often results in dire consequences that
have significant impact on people's lives and Futures. Aside
from health risks, STDs may also ruin relationships, create a
negative stigma against the person, and risk other aspects
of one's social life.

Thus, it is important that everyone makes responsible

decisions with regard to sexuality and sexual behavior.
Responsible sexual behavior entails the following: