ADOLESCENCE

Physical Changes

• Adolescence is a time for intense physical changes, hormone activity, growth, etc…

• These physical changes are coupled with emotional, intellectual, social, and spiritual changes

Emotional

• Mood swings (happy to sad, feeling smart to dumb)

• Sulking• Need for privacy• Short tempers• Very self-conscious• Overly sensitive

Intellectual/Cognitive Changes

• Better able to think through problems and see the consequences and different points of view or actions

• Think about what might be instead of what is • More advanced and complicated material in

school• Identity Formation

Social Changes

• Emotional distance from parents as questioning parent’s authority

• Peer friendships• Loyalty and intimacy. • Intimate friendships provide emotional

support, understanding, information and advice, increase self-esteem and help teens to be themselves.

Spiritual Changes(Changing relationship with God)

• Looks for objective information about religious persons and practices

• Look for things to make sense personally• Begin to doubt/question basic ideas• Growth in understanding self as spiritual

There are Three Crucial Tasks to Adolescence

TASK 1 – Develop a deepening capacity for friendship

• Relate to social changes of adolescent• Look for intimacy – sharing who you really are

(spirit)• Importance of friends for advice, support, etc.• Learn qualities you want in friend, skills in

friendship (communication, etc.)

Task 2 – Develop Healthy Sexual Identity

• Accept oneself, develop self-esteem• Relate to others with respect, caring, trust• Not possessive or controlling• Communication is important• Respect own and others’ bodies

Task 3 – Develop more mature parent-child relationship

• Increasing independence• Increasing responsibility• Growing communication– Two-way– More equal sharing, exchange ideas

At the heart of all tasks is capacity for friendship

• Need skills in communicating, sharing to complete other two tasks

• These are CRUCIAL – – Goal is to be whole and healthy, to be the person

God is calling each of us to be– Need the skills in friendship to have more mature

parent-child relationship– Marriage – characterizes a healthy sexual

relationship; depends on deep friendship