Developmental Stages of Youth

and Meeting the Challenges

Adolescent Development • Youth ministry will never be effective unless you

understand the developmental stages of adolescent and what is required at each stage

• Most youth experience a time of discovery, identification, and consolidation about self, others, and the world

• The youth leader must be sensitive to the changes going through his young people or else he will forever be frustrated with them

• Although children differ in the rate at which they develop, the order of the stages does not vary. While it is extremely important to remember that every child is unique and special in his or her own right, some needs and interests are universal to all children to ensure successful development

BASIS HUMAN NEEDS:

• • Experience a positive self concept.

• • Experience success in what we attempt to do.

• • Become increasingly independent.

• • Develop and accept our own sex identity.

• • Give and receive attention.

• • Experience adventure.

• • Be accepted by people of different ages-peers as

well as those in authority.

Adolescent Development

• Youth development is more tumultuous than placid

• It is developmental not static

• It is very easy to describe the outward changes taking place in young people but it is an arduous task to appreciate the inward changes of reasoning, feeling, and interpreting life

Facets of Developmental Stages

• 1. Qualitative Growth

• Youth are constantly changing as they grow how they view life.

• The structure of thinking changes with growth

• The structure of relating socially, reasoning morally, and perceiving emotionally

Facets of Developmental Stages

• 2. Structured Wholes

• Adolescents explore, manipulate and seek to make sense of the world around them,

• Their minds are far from being passive receptors, they are constantly fitting things together and interpreting them

• Youth goes through moments of assimilation, equilibrium (trying to make things fit), and disequilibrium

Facets of Developmental Stages

• 3. Hierarchical Integration

• Young people process new information differently to adults—when new information is received it causes them to reorganize and redesign against the backdrop of what is already known

• A young person will first experience horizontal exploration before moving on to vertical integration—time must allowed for solidifying information

• Stage regression is often common among the young leading to inconsistencies in behavior

Facets of Developmental Stages

• 4. Invariant Sequence

• Young people must be allowed to go through the various stages of development

• Formal operational (abstract thinking) always follow concrete operational, which is then followed by propositional thinking

• Every youth leader must be mindful that no child can “skip” to adult maturity mentally or emotionally without the transformational route of adolescence

Facets of Developmental Stages

• Children develop at their own pace, and all characteristics will not be observed in all children at the same age or at the same stage of development.

• For each child, consider uniqueness, needs and interests. To do this, keep in mind the following two basic development principles:

• 1. Age is not a perfect predictor of maturity

• 2. Growth may proceed at different rates in various developmental areas within an individual child.

1. Stages of Development: The Event Oriented

• This constitute persons from late grade school (5-10) to two years of middle school (11-13)

• Event oriented

• Meaning is derived from tangible concrete elements

• They respond to active, participatory, imaginative, practical teaching

• Capable investigators

• Enjoy discovery of answers to faith

• Enjoy competitive activities with clear rules

• Abhor hypothetical (theoretical) teaching

The Event Oriented: Cognitive Development

• Concrete operational thinker

• Logical ordered rules dependent on specific events

• Logic is linear

• Analogies must be explained

The Event Oriented: Social Development

• Aware of differing roles of others but is limited in understanding what has been truly experienced

• He reads people from the perspective of “what people like us” experience

• Impartial spectators

• Become sensitive to what is “cool” and “uncool”

The Event Oriented: Emotional Development

• Recognize discrepancy between what is done and what is correct

• Self judgmental and a sense of guilt

• Here is where healthy and unhealthy patterns of guilt are developed

The Event Oriented: Moral Development

• Fair exchange of deals/consequences

• Highly attuned to developing correct answers

• Can be legalistic at this stage

• Coming to terms with faith and belief

2. Stages of Development: Relationally Oriented

• Late middle schools to the better part of high school (13-18)

• The world is understood, felt through relationships

• Respond well to thoughtful, winsome and provocative teaching

• It is here that a strong youth ministry can exert tremendous influence over lifestyle and beliefs

• Young people must be made to see, taste, touch, and smell Christ in the life of their leaders

Relationally Oriented: Cognitive Development

• Able to examine the hypothetical world

• Examine the relationship between hypothesis and data

• Utilize sophisticated deduction

• Form integrated wholes

• Adept at wrangling with four simultaneous perspectives

Relationally Oriented: Social Development

• Feel the perspective of others

• Preoccupied with physical and psychological changes hence there is the tendency to think that everyone is obsessed with their behavior and appearance

• Self-centered

Relationally Oriented: Emotional Development

• Analytically introspective

• Thinks about the whys and what ifs, and I wonder’s

• Produces a feeling of egocentrism

• Self-critical

• The questions being asked here are: whom am I? Who do I want to be?

Relationally Oriented: Moral Development

• Highly defined picture of how the ideal person or good person should be

• Focus on expectations of family, community, church and God

• Qualities such as character, attitude, fidelity are given priority

• Good behavior means having good motives and feelings such love, trust and concern

3. Stages of Development: The Logically Oriented

• Late high school or early college university years

• Respond to sophisticated, ordered and weighty teachings

• Proficient in systematic thinking and synthetic manipulations

The Logically Oriented: Cognitive

• Consumed by newfound reasoning ability

• Ego-bound

• Use higher level thinking

• They are able to principalize

The Logically Oriented: Social

• Able to distinguish between relationships and convictions

• Significant others can now be extricated

• Excessive confidence in ability of the mind

• Interpret and judge the actions of others on the basis of organize belief system

The Logically Oriented: Emotional

• Critically reflect on one’s identity and outlook

• Finds coherence between self identity and worldview from inner reflection than from values derived

The Logically Oriented: Moral

• Reason about moral issues here

• Rigorous belief in the power of ideas

• Beliefs are shaken here if there is a perceived inconsistency between the real and ideal faith practice

Developmental Needs Ages 12-14

• Rapid changes in physical appearance may make new teens uncomfortable with their changing body images.

• Hands and feet grow first, creating a problem with clumsiness.

• Acne, voice changes, and unpredictable menstrual cycles all set up situations of great embarrassment. At the same time, slower developing teens may be uneasy about the lack of changes.

• But even without the outside physical changes of adolescence, social growth, changes in thinking, and emotional development may be occurring.

• General Characteristics

• Testing limits; a “know-it-all” attitude.

• Vulnerable; emotionally insecure; fear of rejection; mood swings.

• Identification with admired adults.

• Bodies going through physical changes that affect personal appearance.

• Physical Characteristics

• Good coordination of small muscles; interest in art, crafts, models, and music.

• Early maturers may be upset about their size—as their adult supporter, you can help by listening and explaining.

• Very concerned with their appearance; very self-conscious about their physical changes.

• May have bad diet and sleep habits and, as a result, low energy levels.

• Social Characteristics • Acceptance by friends becomes very important.

• Cliques start to develop.

• Team games become popular.

• Often have “crushes” on other people.

• Friends set the general rules of behavior.

• Feel a strong need to conform; dress and behave like their peers in order to “belong.”

• Very concerned with what others say and think about them.

• Have a tendency to try to manipulate others to get what they want.

• Interested in earning own money.

• Emotional Characteristics • Very sensitive to praise and recognition; feelings

are easily hurt. • Because friends are very important, can be

conflicts between adults’ rules and friends’ rules. • Caught between being a child and being an adult. • Loud behavior may hide their lack of self-

confidence. • Look at the world more objectively; look at adults

more subjectively, and are critical of them.

• Mental Characteristics

• Tend to be perfectionists; if they try to attempt too much, may feel frustrated.

• Want more independence but know they need guidance and support.

• May have lengthy attention span.

Developmental Needs of 15-18

• General

• Testing limits; a “know-it-all” attitude.

• Vulnerable; emotionally insecure; fear of rejection; mood swings.

• Identification with admired adults.

• Bodies going through physical changes that affect personal appearance.

• Physical Characteristics

• Very concerned with their appearance; very self-conscious about their physical changes.

• May have bad diet and sleep habits and, as a result, low energy levels.

• Often a rapid weight gain at beginning of adolescence; enormous appetite.

• Social Characteristics • Friends set the general rules of behavior. • Feel a strong need to conform; dress and

behave like their peers in order to “belong.” • Very concerned with what others say and

think about them. • Have a tendency to try to manipulate others

to get what they want. • Go to extremes; often appear to be unstable

emotionally while having a “know-it-all” attitude.

• Fear of ridicule and of being unpopular. • Strong identification with admired adults.

• Emotional Characteristics

• Very sensitive to praise and recognition; feelings are easily hurt.

• Caught between being a child and being an adult.

• Loud behavior may hide their lack of self-confidence.

• Look at the world more objectively; look at adults more subjectively, and are critical of them.

• Mental Characteristics

• Can better understand moral principles.

• May have lengthy attention span.