Module 4
Developmental
Stages in Middle
& Late
Adolescence

At the end of this module, I can:
 Classify various developmental tasks
according to the developmental stage.
 Evaluate one’s developmental in comparison
with persons of the same age group.
 List ways on how to become responsible
adolescents prepared for life

The Developmental Tasks in
Adolescence
Robert Havighurst – one of the pioneers in
human development studies.
 According to him, these developmental
tasks refer to the specific knowledge, skills,
attitudes, and functions that a person needs
to acquire and demonstrate at particular
periods in his/her life.
 These are guide to know what is expected of an
adolescent during this stage.

Havighurst identified six major stages in human
life covering birth to old age:
 Infancy & early childhood (Birth till 6
years old)
 Middle childhood (6–13 years old)
 Adolescence (13–18 years old)
 Early Adulthood (19–30 years old)
 Middle Age (30–60 years old)
 Later maturity (60 years old and over)

Adolescence is the period of transition
between childhood and adulthood. It
includes some big changes—to the
body, and to the way a young person
relates to the world.

Developmental Tasks during
Adolescence
1. Achieving new and more mature relations
with age mates of both sexes;
Adolescents learn through interacting with others in more adult
ways. Physical maturity plays an important role in peer relations.
2. Achieving a masculine or feminine social
role;
we need to encourage males to express their feelings and
encourage females to assert themselves more than they have in the
past.

3. Accepting one’s physique and using one’s
body effectively;
The time of the onset of puberty and the rate of body
changes for adolescents
4. Achieving emotional independence from
parents and other adults;
 Children derive strength from internalizing their parents' values and
attitudes
 parents and adolescents should set a curfew time. That curfew
extended as the adolescent matures.

5. Preparing for marriage and family life;
Sexual maturation is the basis for this developmental task. Achievement
of this developmental task is difficult because adolescents often confuse
sexual feelings with genuine intimacy.
6. Preparing for an economic career;
individual completes his/her education and gains some entry-level work
experience.
7. Acquiring a set of values and ethical system as a guide to
behavior-developing ideology;
Adolescents gain the ability to think abstractly and to visualize possible situations.
With these changes in thinking, the adolescent is able to develop his or her own
set of values and beliefs.
8. Desiring, accepting, and achieving socially responsible
behavior.
Adolescents and young adults become members of the larger community through
financial and emotional independence from parents, which in turn teaches them
the value of socially responsible behavior.

Three Stages of Adolescence Period
1. Early Adolescence happens when you
are 12–13 years old.
Primary developmental task involves:
 Adapting to biological and mental
development.

2. Middle Adolescence around 14 – 16 years old
The primary tasks of a teenager are:
 Achieving new and more mature relations with age mates
of both sexes,
 Achieving a masculine or feminine social role,
 Achieving emotional independence from your parents and
other adults.
Further, during the mid-adolescence stage, an adolescent is
becoming more adept in social settings and more capable of
establishing intimate relationships.
3. Late Adolescence roughly from 17–19 years old
At this stage, you should have already formed attitudes, learned
skills, and established relationships that will give you bases of
ascertaining what kind of a person you are or what kind of life you
want to lead.

Primary tasks includes:
 Planning and preparing for marriage and family life;
 Preparing for an economic career;
 Acquiring a set of values and an ethical system as a
guide to behavior or ideology;
 Desiring, accepting, and achieving socially
responsible behavior.
Growing up has never been easy. Adolescence is full of
of challenges because it is a stage of “becoming”
rather than of “being.”