THEN VS.

NOW: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

ON TEEANAGE PERSONALITY
AND ATTITUDES
UM LOGO HERE
A Research Paper Presented to
Prof. Izza Aima Montederamos
as Final Requirements
in English 201 (8:00 9:00AM)
Researchers:
Kim Shin
Wang Yeo
Kim Sun
Ji Eun Tak

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Foremost, the researchers extend their intense gratitude and sincere thanks to the
Almighty God for giving them guidance, wisdom, and strength.

Deepest gratitude is extended also to Prof. Izza Aima Montederamos for her exemplary
guidance, valuable feedback and constant encouragement throughout the duration of this
research study making. Her valuable suggestions were of immense help to the researchers.
Without her, this study would not be realized.

Great appreciation is felt to Ms. Queenie for imparting her knowledge and ideas about the
study. And for letting the researchers use her resources as their references.

To their family, friends, and classmates who never fail to support them both morally and
financially, for being thoughtful and very caring to them and for the spiritual guidance
throughout this endeavor. Muchos gratias!

The Researchers

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Pages
Title Page

Acknowledgment

ii

Table of Contents

iii

CHAPTER
I THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING
Background of the Study
Statement of the Problem
Significance of Study
II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES
Related Literature
Related Studies

References

CHAPTER I
THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING

Background of the Study

Teen years are periods of intense growth and development, not only physically but
morally and intellectually (Xiuzher, 2009). It is a time of misperception and upheaval for most
families considering that teens become the societys rebels and insurgents, which is very evident
today. Adults, being more experienced, habitually express their negative perceptions towards
this. They consequently compare themselves to them when they were still like their age and
condemn themselves about how badly these generations behave nowadays (Stoeva, 2012).
Conversely, a teenager growing up prior to the end of World War II was forced to take
life more seriously. Males were expected to join the services or to go out get a job, help support
his family or a new bride. Women were expected to meet a man, marry and have children.
College was for a select few. Teens had limited freedom, not much economic power and little
influence in decisions made by the older generation. They acted responsibly without demanding
freedom as payment (History of Rock: Teenagers, 2013).
Beginning in the late 1970s, the world and the people in it began to changeand fast.
Teens today are different. They study, work, write, and interact with each other in ways that are
very different from the ways of teenagers before. They read blogs rather than newspapers. They
often meet each other online before they meet in person. And with todays booming economy,
parents could now help their children achieve more than they themselves had before. As a result,
teens today had more time to themselves to be social and form peer bonds. They began to have
more fun and became less serious than prior generations. Gradually, teens became more private,
secretive, clannish, sullen, defensive and at times disrespectful. Years later, this behavior would
be recognized as the "generation gap" that had grown out of their new affluence and parental
indulgences (Regozhin et al., 2011).

Furthermore, statistics show that number of teenage pregnancy in the Philippines had
been rising up for years and it has become the most problem of the parents. And most parents
dont know how to handle it since Filipino families have maintained its conservative view about
sexuality and do not really discuss it (Health Publications, 2014).
Notwithstanding, growing up can be very upsetting to adolescents as they learn to adjust
their changing bodies and the different ways of understanding the world of the fully-grown. But
this is also the time to nurture the youth into the distinct individuals they are likely to be.
Assessing and examining teens personality traits can help parents decide what is typical and
acceptable for this age, and what might signal a need for professional assistance in helping the
child (Teens Psychology, 2013).
With this, the researchers aim to distinguish the personality of teenagers before and the
teenagers at present. This study primarily deals with the rapid change of teenagers and their
personality from time to time, and focuses between two generations of teenagers observed under
the same existing conditions. Thus, this targets to find means of understanding the gradual
change that is currently happening to our teenage society and identify the things that are behind
the trigger.

Statement of the Problem

This study seeks to find out the differences of todays teens from early generation based
on personality. Specifically, it aims to answer the following:
a. What are the practices of todays teenagers as opposed to the teens of yesteryears?
b. What are the things that affect the change of personality of teenagers then and now?

c. What could be the relative personality changes with response to outside influences?

Significance of the Study

Studying about the teenagers personality before and now is vital. With this, we can learn
more about how personalities could adapt or change to certain conditions. Thus, researchers have
seen to it that this study will be beneficial to the following:
Teenagers. It will help them to assess and evaluate themselves about how they respond to
different situations that would lead them to becoming emotionally and socially efficient.
Parents. It could give them better understanding as to why their teenage children are
acting such and how could they handle them in a rational way.
School Administrators. The schools faculty and staffs will know how to guide the
youth in respond to some certain conditions since young people spend more time in school.
Society. This study could give people a better perspective of how personality exactly
works and what determines certain aspects of teenagers personality regardless of the time period
they are in.

CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter presents the related literature and studies after the detailed and in-depth
search done by the researchers. Presented in this chapter are the overview of teenage

personalities, summary of research that has been published related to the topic and definition of
important terms for better comprehension of the study.

Related Literature
Personality
Levine (2009) defined personality as the configuration of characteristics and ways of
behaving which described an individuals and unique adjustment to his environment. It includes
characteristics that are important in a person's adjustment and maintenance of self-respect. It is a
particular pattern of behavior and thinking prevailing across time and situations that
differentiates one person from another.
Personality structure refers to the persistent unique features that give coherence to a
personality. A personality structure arises through the roles that culture assigns to a person and
through individual references. Personality is determined by characteristics and qualities of the
individual that act as stimuli for other people - physique, hair color, complexion, mannerisms,
friendliness and the like (Gaerlan et. al, 2010).

Behavior
Behavior is the variety of actions and characteristics made by individuals, organisms and
systems. It is defined as a way in which one acts or conducts oneself, especially toward others.
Saul McLeod (2007) believed that mans behavior is determined by the environment.

Furthermore, human behavior is affected by personality traits, the situation and the interaction
between personality and situation. How one perceives or defines a situation is a critical factor of
behavior.
Thus, McLeod (2007) further stated that as teens begin to assert their independence, some
common behavior problems can begin to arise. While misbehavior like cheating, talking
back and lying may not seem like much to handle, they can escalate quickly by aiding trouble
teen behaviors like teen drug use or open defiance and violence leaving your teen out of control
and you feeling helpless.

Social Tyranny
Social change is one of the big changes that young teenager encounters in this day
according to. They become independent individuals, at least in their own. Teens turn away from
family and childhood and begin to strike out in the world as new independent individuals, at least
in their own minds. This leaves them feeling extremely vulnerable. In order to feel good about
themselves and in order to feel self-confident, they need the security of being socially successful.
Hyperion (2004) believed that everyone wants to be accepted by peers, even as children, but as
teenagers this acceptance takes on a life or death quality. Their highs and lows, their sense of
security, is completely dependent upon their relationships with friends.
Personal Appearance
Nowadays, one of the biggest issues that teenagers face is their personal appearance and
girls are tortured by it. They invariably find fault with it. Girls are extremely self-conscious that

they feel that they are ugly and unattractive. One reason is that in girls, their sexuality is focused
inwards on themselves, and this makes them obsessed with their own appearance. Second, they
compare their selves to other woman who look beautiful and attractive that the see in a
commercial and they think that is how a woman is supposed to be. Their obsession with
appearance can result in one of several psychological eating disorders. These disorders are
serious and can even be fatal (Winston, 2011).

Related Studies
In the study entitled Teenagers Then and Now by Paulette Duncan (2010), she stated that
teenage nowadays are influenced by the presence of drugs inside the campus and peer pressure.
Further, she recognized that sexual activity was a determinant of their personalities and indeed a
problem, given the AIDS epidemic and geometrically increasing number of young girls
becoming parents. The current availability of guns and the proliferation of violence is a matter of
constant concern for Duncan. She is painfully aware that violence and death have touched almost
every family. Students who do not show up for class on any given day are as likely to be dead as
to have the flu. And the classroom is no longer a safe haven from the all too often fatal violence.
Duncan also knows that there is tremendous pressure on teenagers to become involved in the
violence and drug abuse. She also pointed out that teenagers before doesnt involve themselves
in gangs and violence. Duncan concluded that personalities of teens then and now differ because
of drugs and vehemence.
On Mobile Moans by Michelle OKeeffe (2009), technology became an issue of why
teenagers of today are becoming so irresponsible. Teenagers now are extremely attached to their

phones and would never dream of going anywhere without their mobile. In her study, it revealed
the toughest challenge was when the boys - who were lashing out at their parents and getting
kicked out of school - had their mobiles taken off them. While those teens before who had just
little knowledge on smart phones are just
According to Suniya Luthar (2009) on her study of Teens Personality through
Generations, privileged teens may be more self-centered and depressed than ever before
since society is increasingly becoming narcissistic. They have their own obstacles to overcome.
On top of perfectionism, teens often can't deal with situations that don't go their way, perhaps
because their parents protected them from disappointments earlier in life, Levine says. In fact,
teens who indicated that their parents overemphasized their accomplishments were most likely to
be depressed or anxious and use drugs.
Social Media is another factor affecting youth personalities. Teens use social media to
present themselves to the world, revealing personal details and insights into their lives. Golbeck
(2009) stated how some of this information can be utilized to improve the teens experiences
with interfaces and with one another. Personality has been shown to be relevant to many types of
interactions; it has been shown to be useful in predicting job satisfaction, professional and
romantic relationship success, and even preference for different interfaces. In her paper, she
presented a method by which a teens personality can be accurately predicted through the
publicly available information on their Facebook profile. She then discusses the implications this
has for social media design, interface design, and broader domains.