This document discusses the developmental stages of youth from early adolescence through late teens. It describes the cognitive, social, emotional, and moral characteristics typical at each stage. In early adolescence (ages 12-14), youth experience rapid physical changes, seek acceptance from peers, and develop self-consciousness. Mid-adolescence (ages 15-18) involves further physical maturity, strong conformity to peers, mood swings, and developing independence from adults. The document stresses understanding youth development and meeting their needs appropriately at each stage.

1. Developmental Stages of Youth
and Meeting the Challenges

2. 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

3. • 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

4. 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.

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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.

11. 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

12. The Event Oriented: Cognitive Development
• Concrete operational thinker
• Logical ordered rules dependent on specific events
• Logic is linear
• Analogies must be explained

13. 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”

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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?

20. 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

21. 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

22. The Logically Oriented: Cognitive
• Consumed by newfound reasoning ability
• Ego-bound
• Use higher level thinking
• They are able to principalize

23. 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

24. 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

25. 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

26. 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.

27. • 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.

28. • 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.

29. • 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.

30. • 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.

31. • 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.

32. 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.

33. • 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.

34. • 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.

35. • 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.

36. • Mental Characteristics
• Can better understand moral principles.
• May have lengthy attention span.