Professor Robert Havighurst of the University of Chicago contributed a lot to the concept of developmental tasks with regards to the adolescents hence he is taken to be the father of developmental task in psychology (J.B.Dusek, 1977). According to Havighurst a successful achievement of developmental task lead to the individuals happiness and to success with later tasks, while failure leads to unhappiness, maladjustments, increased anxiety and difficulty with their tasks Robert Havighurst identified the following developmental tasks associated with the adolescent’s transition (Denton, 2008).
1. The adolescent must adjust to a new physical sense of self. At no other time since birth does an individual undergo such rapid and profound physical changes as during early adolescence. Puberty is marked by sudden rapid growth in height and weight. The effect of this rapid change is that the young adolescent often becomes focused on his or her …show more content…
The adolescent must develop a personal sense of identity. Prior to adolescence, one's identity is an extension of one's parents. During adolescence, a young person begins to recognize her or his uniqueness and separation from parents. As such, one must restructure the answer to the question "What does it mean to be me?" or "Who am I?"
6. The adolescent must establish adult vocational goals. As part of the process of establishing a personal identity, adolescents are expected to identify what are their adult vocational goals and how they intend to achieve those goals.
7. The adolescent must establish emotional and psychological independence from his or her parents. Childhood is marked by strong dependence on one's parents. Yet, to be an adult implies a sense of independence, of autonomy, of being one's own person. In an attempt to assert their need for independence and individuality, adolescents may respond with what appears to be hostility and lack of cooperation.
8. The adolescent must develop stable and productive peer relationships. Although peer interaction is not unique to adolescence, the degree to which an adolescent is able to make friends and have an accepting peer group is a major indicator of how well the adolescent will successfully adjust in other areas of social and psychological