Age crises of personality development. Crises of age periods

Chapter 2. Crises age periods human life

We enter different ages of our lives like newborns, with no experience behind us, no matter how old we are.

F. La Rochefoucauld

The problem of prevention and treatment of crisis conditions is one of the most relevant for modern psychiatry. Traditionally, this issue is considered from the standpoint of G. Selye's theory of stress. Much less attention is paid to age crises personality and existential problems of a person are practically not affected. Meanwhile, speaking about crisis conditions and their prevention, one cannot but touch upon the relationship between “I”, “ME” and “DEATH”, because without considering these relationships it is impossible to understand the genesis of post-traumatic stress disorders, suicidal behavior and other neurotic, stress-related and somatoform disorders.

Describing the psychological characteristics of a person in different periods of his life is an extremely complex and multifaceted task. In this chapter, the emphasis will be placed on the problems characteristic of certain periods of a person's life, which often underlie anxiety, fears, and other disorders that potentiate the development of crisis conditions, as well as on the age dynamics of the formation of fear of death.

The problem of understanding the origins of the emergence of a personality crisis and its age-related dynamics have been studied by many authors. Eric Erickson, the creator of the ego - personality theory, identified 8 stages of psychosocial development of the personality. He believed that each of them is accompanied by " crisis - a turning point in the life of an individual, which occurs as a result of reaching a certain level of psychological maturity and social requirements for the individual at this stage". Every psychosocial crisis comes with both positive and negative consequences. If the conflict is resolved, then the personality is enriched with new, positive qualities, if not resolved, symptoms and problems arise that may lead to the development of mental and behavioral disorders (E.N. Erikson, 1968).

Table 2. Stages of psychosocial development (according to Erickson)

At the first stage of psychosocial development(birth - 1 year) the first important psychological crisis is already possible, due to insufficient maternal care and rejection of the child. Maternal deprivation underlies "basal mistrust", which further potentiates the development of fear, suspicion, and affective disorders.

At the second stage of psychosocial development(1-3 years) psychological crisis is accompanied by the appearance of a sense of shame and doubt, which further potentiates the formation of self-doubt, anxious suspiciousness, fears, obsessive-compulsive symptom complex.

At the third stage of psychosocial development(3-6 years) psychological crisis is accompanied by the formation of feelings of guilt, abandonment and worthlessness, which can subsequently cause addictive behavior, impotence or frigidity, personality disorders.

The creator of the concept of birth trauma O. Rank (1952) said that anxiety accompanies a person from the moment of his birth and is due to the fear of death associated with the experience of separation of the fetus from the mother during birth. R. J. Kastenbaum (1981) noted that even very young children experience mental discomfort associated with death and often parents are not even aware of it. R. Furman (1964) held a different opinion, who insisted that only at the age of 2–3 years can the concept of death arise, since during this period elements of symbolic thinking and a primitive level of reality assessments appear.

M. H. Nagy (1948), having studied the writings and drawings of almost 4,000 children in Budapest, as well as conducting individual psychotherapeutic and diagnostic conversations with each of them, revealed that children under 5 years of age do not consider death as an ending, but as a dream or departure. Life and death for these children were not mutually exclusive. In subsequent research, she revealed a feature that struck her: children spoke of death as a separation, a kind of milestone. Research by M.C. McIntire (1972), carried out a quarter of a century later, confirmed the revealed feature: only 20% of 5–6 year old children think that their dead animals will come to life and only 30% of children of this age assume that dead animals have consciousness. Similar results were obtained by other researchers (J.E. Alexander, 1965; T.B. Hagglund, 1967; J. Hinton, 1967; S. Wolff, 1973).

B.M. Miller (1971) notes that for a preschool child, the concept of "death" is identified with the loss of a mother, and this is often the cause of their unconscious fears and anxiety. Fear of parental death in mentally healthy preschool children was observed in 53% of boys and 61% of girls. Fear of one's death was noted in 47% of boys and 70% of girls (A.I. Zakharov, 1988). Suicides in children under 5 years of age are rare, but in the last decade there has been a trend towards their growth.

Typically, memories serious illness, threatening death at this age, remain with the child for life and play a significant role in his future fate. So, one of the “great apostates” of the Viennese psychoanalytic school, psychiatrist, psychologist and psychotherapist Alfred Adler (1870–1937), the creator of individual psychology, wrote that at the age of 5 he almost died and in the future his decision to become a doctor, t i.e., a person struggling with death, was conditioned precisely by these memories. In addition, the experienced event was reflected in his scientific outlook. In the inability to control the timing of death or prevent it, he saw the deepest basis of an inferiority complex.

Children with excessive fears and anxiety associated with separation from significant loved ones, accompanied by inadequate fears of loneliness and separation, nightmares, social autism and recurrent somato-vegetative dysfunctions, need psychiatric consultation and treatment. The ICD-10 classifies this condition as Separation Anxiety Disorder. childhood» (F 93.0).

school-age children, or 4 stages according to E. Erickson(6–12 years old) acquire at school the knowledge and skills of interpersonal communication that determine their personal significance and dignity. The crisis of this age period is accompanied by the appearance of a feeling of inferiority or incompetence, most often correlated with the child's academic performance. In the future, these children may lose self-confidence, the ability to work effectively and maintain human contacts.

Psychological studies have shown that children of this age are interested in the problem of death and are already sufficiently prepared to talk about it. The word "dead" was included in the dictionary text, and this word was adequately perceived by the vast majority of children. Only 2 out of 91 children deliberately bypassed it. However, if children of 5.5–7.5 years old considered death unlikely for themselves, then at the age of 7.5–8.5 years they recognize its possibility for themselves personally, although the age of its supposed onset varied from “through several years up to 300 years.

G.P. Koocher (1971) examined the representations of unbelieving children aged 6–15 regarding their supposed state after death. The spread of answers to the question “what will happen when you die?” was distributed as follows: 52% answered that they would be “buried”, 21% that they would “go to heaven”, “I will live even after death”, “I will be subjected to God's punishment", 19% "arrange a funeral", 7% thought that they would "fall asleep", 4% - "reincarnate", 3% - "cremated". Belief in the personal or universal immortality of the soul after death was found in 65% of believing children aged 8-12 (M.C.McIntire, 1972).

In children of primary school age, the prevalence of fear of the death of parents sharply increases (in 98% of boys and 97% of mentally healthy girls 9 years), which is already observed in almost all 15-year-old boys and 12-year-old girls. As for the fear of one's own death, at school age it occurs quite often (up to 50%), although less often in girls (D.N. Isaev, 1992).

At junior schoolchildren(mainly after 9 years) suicidal activity is already observed, which is most often caused not by serious mental illnesses, but by situational reactions, the source of which is, as a rule, intra-family conflicts.

Teenage years(12-18 years old), or fifth stage of psychosocial development, is traditionally considered the most vulnerable to stressful situations and to the occurrence of crises. E. Erickson singles out this age period as very important in psychosocial development and considers the development of an identity crisis or role shift, which manifests itself in three main areas of behavior, to be pathognomonic for it:

the problem of choosing a career;

choice of a reference group and membership in it (the reaction of grouping with peers according to A.E. Lichko);

the use of alcohol and drugs, which can temporarily relieve emotional stress and allow you to experience a sense of temporary overcoming of a lack of identity (E.N. Erikson, 1963).

The dominant questions of this age are: “Who am I?”, “How will I fit into the adult world?”, “Where am I going?” Teenagers are trying to build their own value system, often coming into conflict with the older generation, subverting their values. The classic example is the hippie movement.

The idea of death in adolescents as a universal and inevitable end of human life approaches that of adults. J. Piaget wrote that it is from the moment of comprehending the idea of death that the child becomes an agnostic, that is, he acquires a way of perceiving the world inherent in an adult. Although, while acknowledging "death for others" intellectually, they actually deny it to themselves on an emotional level. Adolescents are dominated by a romantic attitude towards death. Often they interpret it as a different way of being.

It is during adolescence that the peak of suicides, the peak of experiments with disturbing substances and other life-threatening activities occur. Moreover, adolescents, in the anamnesis of which thoughts of suicide were repeatedly noted, rejected thoughts of his death. Among 13–16 year olds, 20% believed in the preservation of consciousness after death, 60% believed in the existence of the soul, and only 20% believed in death as the cessation of physical and spiritual life.

This age is characterized by thoughts of suicide, as revenge for an insult, quarrels, lectures from teachers and parents. Thoughts like: “Here I will die in spite of you and see how you will suffer and regret that you were unfair to me” predominate.

Exploring mechanisms psychological protection with anxiety potentiated by thoughts of death, E.M. Pattison (1978) found that they are usually identical to those of adults from their immediate environment: intellectual, mature defense mechanisms are more often noted, although neurotic forms of defense were also noted in a number of cases.

A. Maurer (1966) conducted a survey of 700 high school students and the question "What comes to mind when you think about death?" revealed the following responses: awareness, rejection, curiosity, contempt and despair. As noted earlier, the vast majority of adolescents have a fear of their own death and the death of their parents.

In young age(or early maturity according to E. Erickson - 20-25 years old) young people are focused on getting a profession and creating a family. The main problem that may arise during this age period is self-absorption and avoidance of interpersonal relationships, which is the psychological basis for the emergence of feelings of loneliness, existential vacuum and social isolation. If the crisis is successfully overcome, then young people develop the ability to love, altruism, and a moral sense.

After adolescence, thoughts about death are less and less visited by young people, and they very rarely think about it. 90% of the students said that they rarely think about their own death, in personal terms, it is of little significance to them (J. Hinton, 1972).

The thoughts of modern domestic youth about death turned out to be unexpected. According to S.B. Borisov (1995), who studied female students of the Pedagogical Institute of the Moscow Region, 70% of the respondents in one form or another recognize the existence of the soul after physical death, of which 40% believe in reincarnation, i.e., the transmigration of the soul into another body. Only 9% of interviewees unequivocally reject the existence of the soul after death.

A few decades ago, it was believed that in adulthood a person does not have significant problems associated with personal development, and maturity was considered a time of achievement. However, the works of Levinson “The Seasons of Human Life”, Neugarten “Awareness of Mature Age”, Osherson “Sorrow for the Lost Self in the Middle of Life”, as well as changes in the structure of morbidity and mortality in this age period, forced researchers to take a different look at the psychology of maturity and call this period the "crisis of maturity".

In this age period, the needs of self-respect and self-actualization dominate (according to A. Maslow). The time has come to sum up the first results of what has been done in life. E. Erickson believes that this stage of personality development is also characterized by concern for the future well-being of mankind (otherwise, indifference and apathy, unwillingness to take care of others, self-absorption with one's own problems arise).

At this time of life, the frequency of depression, suicide, neuroses, and dependent forms of behavior increases. The death of peers prompts reflection on the finiteness of one's own life. According to various psychological and sociological studies, the topic of death is relevant for 30%–70% of people of this age. Unbelieving forty-year-olds understand death as the end of life, its finale, but even they consider themselves "a little more immortal than others." This period is also characterized by a sense of disappointment in a professional career and family life. This is due to the fact that, as a rule, if the set goals are not realized by the time of maturity, then they are already hardly achievable.

What if they are implemented?

A person enters the second half of life and his previous life experience is not always suitable for solving the problems of this time.

The problem of 40-year-old K.G. Jung devoted his report "Life Frontier" (1984), in which he advocated the creation of "higher schools for forty-year-olds that would prepare them for the future life," because a person cannot live the second half of life according to the same program as the first. As a comparison of the psychological changes that occur in different periods of life in the human soul, he compares it with the movement of the sun, referring to the sun “animated by human feeling and endowed with momentary human consciousness. In the morning it emerges from the night sea of the unconscious, illuminating the wide, colorful world, and the higher it rises in the firmament, the farther it spreads its rays. In this expansion of its sphere of influence, connected with the rising, the sun will see its purpose and see its highest goal in rising as high as possible.

With this conviction, the sun reaches an unforeseen midday height - unforeseen because, because of its one-time individual existence, it could not know in advance its own climax. Sunset begins at twelve o'clock. It represents the inversion of all the values and ideals of the morning. The sun becomes inconsistent. It seems to remove its rays. Light and heat decrease until complete extinction.

Aged people (late maturity stage according to E. Erickson). Studies of gerontologists have established that physical and mental aging depends on the personality characteristics of a person and how he lived his life. G. Ruffin (1967) conditionally distinguishes three types of old age: "happy", "unhappy" and "psychopathological". Yu.I. Polishchuk (1994) randomly examined 75 people aged 73 to 92 years. According to the results of the studies, this group was dominated by persons whose condition was qualified as "unhappy old age" - 71%; 21% were persons with the so-called "psychopathological old age" and 8% experienced a "happy old age".

"Happy" old age occurs in harmonious individuals with a strong balanced type of higher nervous activity, engaged in long time intellectual labor and did not leave this occupation even after retirement. The psychological state of these people is characterized by vital asthenia, contemplation, a tendency to remember, peace, wise enlightenment and a philosophical attitude towards death. E. Erickson (1968, 1982) believed that “only one who somehow took care of affairs and people, who experienced triumphs and defeats in life, who was an inspiration to others and put forward ideas - only in that one can gradually mature fruits of previous stages. He believed that only in old age does true maturity come and called this period "late maturity." “The wisdom of old age is aware of the relativity of all knowledge acquired by a person throughout his life in one historical period. Wisdom is the awareness of the unconditional significance of life itself in the face of death itself. Many outstanding personalities created their best works in old age.

Titian wrote The Battle of Leranto when he was 98 years old and created his best works after 80 years. Michelangelo completed his sculptural composition in the church of St. Peter in Rome in his ninth decade of life. The great naturalist Humboldt worked on his work Cosmos until the age of 90, Goethe created the immortal Faust at the age of 80, at the same age Verdi wrote Falstaff. At 71, Galileo Galilei discovered the rotation of the Earth around the Sun. The Descent of Man and Sexual Selection was written by Darwin when he was in his 60s.

Creative personalities who lived to a ripe old age.

Gorgias (c. 483–375 BC), others - Greek. orator, sophist - 108

Chevy Michel Eugene (1786–1889), French chemist - 102

Abbot Charles Greeley (1871–1973), Amer. astrophysicist - 101

Garcia Manuel Patricio (1805–1906), Spanish singer and teacher - 101

Lyudkevich Stanislav Filippovich (1879–1979), Ukrainian composer - 100

Druzhinin Nikolai Mikhailovich (1886–1986), owl. historian - 100

Fontenelle Bernard Le Bovier de (1657–1757), French philosopher - 99

Menendez Pidal Ramon (1869–1968), Spanish philologist and historian - 99

Halle Johann Gottfried (1812–1910), German. astronomer - 98

Rockefeller John Davidson (1839-1937), American. industrialist - 98

Chagall Marc (1887-1985), French painter - 97

Yablochkina Alexandra Alexandrovna (1866–1964), Russian Soviet actress - 97

Konenkov Sergei Timofeevich (1874–1971), Russian. owls. sculptor - 97

Russell Bertrand (1872–1970), English philosopher - 97

Rubinstein Artur (1886–1982), Polish - Amer. pianist - 96

Fleming John Ambrose (1849–1945) physicist - 95

Speransky Georgy Nesterovich (1673–1969), Russian. owls. pediatrician - 95

Antonio Stradivari (1643–1737), Italian. violin maker - 94

Shaw George Bernard (1856–1950) writer - 94

Petipa Marius (1818–1910), French, choreographer and teacher - 92

Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), Spanish artist - 92

Benois Alexander Nikolaevich (1870–1960), Russian painter - 90

"Unhappy old age" often occurs in individuals with traits of anxious suspiciousness, sensitivity, and the presence of somatic diseases. These individuals are characterized by a loss of the meaning of life, a feeling of loneliness, helplessness and constant thoughts about death, as about "getting rid of suffering." They have frequent suicidal thoughts, suicidal acts and recourse to euthanasia methods are possible.

The old age of the world-famous psychotherapist Z. Freud, who lived for 83 years, can serve as an illustration.

In the last decades of his life, Z. Freud revised many of the postulates of the theory of psychoanalysis he created and put forward the hypothesis that became fundamental in his later works that the basis of mental processes is the dichotomy of two powerful forces: the instinct of love (Eros) and the instinct of death (Thanatos). The majority of followers and students did not support his new views on the fundamental role of Thanatos in human life and explained the turn in the Teacher's worldview with intellectual fading and sharpened personality traits. Z. Freud experienced an acute feeling of loneliness and misunderstanding.

The situation was aggravated by the changed political situation: in 1933, fascism came to power in Germany, the ideologists of which did not recognize the teachings of Freud. His books were burned in Germany, and a few years later 4 of his sisters were killed in the ovens of a concentration camp. Shortly before Freud's death, in 1938, the Nazis occupied Austria, confiscating his publishing house and library, property and passport. Freud became a prisoner of the ghetto. And only thanks to a ransom of 100 thousand shillings, which was paid for him by his patient and follower Princess Marie Bonaparte, his family was able to emigrate to England.

Mortally ill with cancer, having lost his relatives and students, Freud also lost his homeland. In England, despite an enthusiastic reception, his condition worsened. On September 23, 1939, at his request, the attending physician gave him 2 injections, which ended his life.

"Psychopathological old age" is manifested by age-organic disorders, depression, hypochondria, psychopathic, neurosis-like, psychoorganic disorders, senile dementia. Very often, such patients have a fear of being in a nursing home.

Studies of 1,000 Chicagoans revealed the relevance of the topic of death for almost all elderly people, although the issues of finance, politics, etc. were no less significant for them. People of this age are philosophical about death and tend to perceive it on an emotional level more as a long sleep than as a source of suffering. Sociological studies have revealed that in 70% of the elderly, thoughts about death related to preparation for it (28% - made a will; 25% - have already prepared some funeral accessories and half have already discussed their death with the closest heirs (J. Hinton, 1972).

These data obtained from a sociological survey of older people in the United States contrast with the results of similar studies of residents of the UK, where the majority of the respondents avoided this topic and answered the questions as follows: “I try to think as little as possible about death and dying”, “I try to switch to other topics”, etc.

In the experiences associated with death, not only age, but also gender differentiation is quite clearly manifested.

K.W.Back (1974), investigating the age and gender dynamics of the experience of time using R. Knapp's method, presented the researched along with "metaphors of time" and "metaphors of death". As a result of the study, he came to the conclusion that men relate to death with greater rejection than women: this topic evokes in them associations imbued with fear and disgust. In women, the “Harlequin complex” is described, in which death seems mysterious and even attractive in some ways.

A different picture of the psychological attitude towards death was obtained 20 years later.

The National Agency for the Development of Science and Space Research of France studied the problem of thanatology based on the materials of a sociological study of more than 20 thousand French people. The data obtained were published in one of the issues of "Regards sur I'actualite" (1993) - the official publication of the French State Documentation Center, which publishes statistical materials and reports on the most important problems for the country.

The results obtained showed that thoughts about death are especially relevant for people aged 35–44, and in all age groups, women more often think about the end of life, which is clearly reflected in Table 3.

Table3. Distribution of the frequency of occurrence of thoughts about death by age and gender (in %).

In women, thoughts about death are most often accompanied by fear and anxiety, men treat this problem more balanced and rationally, and in a third of cases they are completely indifferent. Attitudes towards death in men and women are shown in Table 4.

Table 4. Distribution of thoughts about attitudes towards death by gender (in%).

The subjects, who reacted to the problem of death with indifference or calmness, explained this by the fact that, in their opinion, there are more terrible conditions than death (Table 5)

Table 5

Of course, thoughts of death gave rise to conscious and unconscious fear. Therefore, the most universal desire for all the tested was a quick departure from life. 90% of the respondents answered that they would like to die in their sleep, avoiding suffering.

In conclusion, it should be noted that when developing preventive and rehabilitation programs for people with neurotic, stress-related and somatoform disorders, along with the clinical and psychopathological characteristics of patients, it should be taken into account that in each age period of a person’s life, crisis states are possible, which are based on specific for psychological problems and frustrated needs of this age group.

In addition, the development of a personality crisis is determined by cultural, socio-economic, religious factors, and is also associated with the gender of the individual, his family traditions and personal experience. It should be especially noted that for productive psychocorrectional work with these patients (especially with suicides, people with post-traumatic stress disorder) requires specific knowledge in the field of thanatology (its psychological and psychiatric aspect). Very often, acute and/or chronic stresses potentiate and aggravate the development of an age-related personality crisis and lead to dramatic consequences, the prevention of which is one of the main tasks of psychiatry.

From the book Psychology author Krylov Albert Alexandrovich

Chapter 22. CRISES AND CONFLICTS IN HUMAN LIFE § 22.1. CRITICAL LIFE SITUATIONS: STRESS, CONFLICT, CRISIS In everyday life, a person deals with a variety of situations. At work and at home, at a party and at a concert - during the day we move from one situation to another,

From the book The Power of the Strongest. Bushido of the Superman. Principles and Practice author Shlakhter Vadim Vadimovich

Chapter 6. Inhibition of negative age-related changes The most important topic is the inhibition of negative age-related changes. Know, friends: if you do not want to change negatively over the years, you can not change negatively over the years. You can keep the state of youth. Why

From the book Psychology: Cheat Sheet author author unknown

From the book Overcome Life Crisis. Divorce, job loss, death of loved ones… There is a way out! author Liss Max

Developmental and life-changing crises We know that puberty is a biological process of becoming, a transition from a child to a young person. The positive experiences that we collect and analyze during this period can be usefully applied in similar situations.

From the book Russian children don't spit at all author Pokusaeva Olesya Vladimirovna

Stages of development of children and their intellectual capabilities. Description of age crises of 1 year, 3 years and 6-7 years. How to survive childhood age crises. How to develop the talents and abilities of children We often left the child with our grandmother. She used to work in

From the book Heal Your Heart! by Hay Louise

Chapter 4 Departure loved one Everyone experiences losses, but the death of a loved one cannot be compared with anything in terms of the emptiness and sadness that remains after it. We do not stop studying the meaning of death because it is paramount to understanding the meaning

From the book Psychology of Adulthood author Ilyin Evgeny Pavlovich

3.2. Crises of adult life G. Kraig (2000) considers two models of age - the transition model and the crisis model. The transition model assumes that changes in life are planned in advance and therefore a person is able to cope with them. The crisis model is the opposite. At

From the book Work and Personality [Workaholism, Perfectionism, Laziness] author Ilyin Evgeny Pavlovich

Chapter 1. Work and labor in human life

From the book How to Raise a Son. A book for sane parents author Surzhenko Leonid Anatolievich

From the book The Seven Deadly Sins of Parenthood. The main mistakes of education that can affect the future life of a child author Ryzhenko Irina

A chapter on the importance of adequate self-esteem in the life of every person As babies, we "swallow" our parents and then spend most of our lives trying to "digest" them. We absorb our parents as a whole, from their genes to their judgments. We consume them

From the book Psychology and Pedagogy. Crib author Rezepov Ildar Shamilevich

MAIN MECHANISMS OF CHANGE OF AGE PERIODS OF DEVELOPMENT The age period is determined by the relationship between the level of development of relations with others and the level of development of knowledge, methods, abilities. Changing the relationship between these two different sides of the development process

From the book Crisis Test. Odyssey to overcome author Titarenko Tatyana Mikhailovna

Chapter 2 Early childhood crises in adult life ...People are not born biologically, but only by passing the way do they become or do not become people. M.K.

From the book Antistress in the big city author Tsarenko Natalia

Non-normative crises in the life of a child, teenager, youth Non-normative crises, not associated with the transition from one age to another, are most often experienced by children from complex, problematic families. They suffer from loneliness, their uselessness. Adults emotionally

From the book 90 days on the road to happiness the author Vasyukova Julia

Crises of family life - how to determine the measure of fatality? As respected Lev Nikolayevich said a long time ago, all unhappy families are unhappy in their own way. And he was right. Indeed, almost everyone goes through the so-called "crises of family life", but few

From the author's book

Chapter 3. The role of needs in a person's life

From the author's book

Chapter 4. The role of needs in human life. Continuation In this chapter, we will continue to talk about the rest of the needs that you have, so that you can understand how you are doing with the satisfaction of these needs. We have already found out that it is impossible to be happy

Describing the psychological characteristics of a person in different periods of his life is an extremely complex and multifaceted task. In this article, the emphasis will be placed on the problems characteristic of certain periods of a person's life, which often underlie anxiety, fears, and other disorders that potentiate the development of crisis conditions, as well as on the age dynamics of the formation of fear of death.

The problem of understanding the origins of the emergence of a personality crisis and its age-related dynamics have been studied by many authors. Eric Erickson, the creator of the ego-theory of personality, identified 8 stages of psychosocial development of the personality. He believed that each of them is accompanied by a "crisis - a turning point in the life of the individual, which occurs as a result of reaching a certain level of psychological maturity and social requirements for the individual at this stage." Every psychosocial crisis comes with both positive and negative consequences. If the conflict is resolved, then the personality is enriched with new, positive qualities, if not resolved, symptoms and problems arise that may lead to the development of mental and behavioral disorders (E.N. Erikson, 1968).

At the first stage of psychosocial development (birth - 1 year), the first important psychological crisis is already possible, due to insufficient maternal care and rejection of the child. Maternal deprivation underlies “basal distrust”, which further potentiates the development of fear, suspicion, and affective disorders.

At the second stage of psychosocial development (1-3 years), the psychological crisis is accompanied by the appearance of a feeling of shame and doubt, which further potentiates the formation of self-doubt, anxious suspiciousness, fears, and an obsessive-compulsive symptom complex.

At the third stage of psychosocial development (3-6 years), the psychological crisis is accompanied by the formation of feelings of guilt, abandonment and worthlessness, which subsequently can cause dependent behavior, impotence or frigidity, personality disorders.

B.M. Miller (1971) notes that for a preschool child, the concept of “death” is identified with the loss of a mother, and this is often the cause of their unconscious fears and anxiety. Fear of death of parents in mentally healthy preschoolers was observed in 53% of boys and 61% of girls. Fear of one's death was noted in 47% of boys and 70% of girls (A.I. Zakharov, 1988). Suicides in children under 5 years of age are rare, but in the last decade there has been a trend towards their growth.

As a rule, memories of a serious illness that threatens to be fatal at this age remain with the child for life and play a significant role in his future fate. Thus, one of the “great apostates” of the Viennese psychoanalytic school, psychiatrist, psychologist and psychotherapist Alfred Adler (1870 – 1937), the creator of individual psychology, wrote that at the age of 5 he almost died and in the future his decision to become a doctor , i.e. a person struggling with death was conditioned precisely by these memories. In addition, the experienced event was reflected in his scientific outlook. In the inability to control the timing of death or prevent it, he saw the deepest basis of an inferiority complex.

Children of school age, or stages 4 according to E. Erickson (6-12 years old) acquire knowledge and skills of interpersonal communication at school, which determine their personal significance and dignity. The crisis of this age period is accompanied by the appearance of a feeling of inferiority or incompetence, most often correlated with the child's academic performance. In the future, these children may lose self-confidence, the ability to work effectively and maintain human contacts.

Psychological studies have shown that children of this age are interested in the problem of death and are already sufficiently prepared to talk about it. The word “dead” was included in the dictionary text, and this word was adequately perceived by the overwhelming majority of children. Only 2 out of 91 children deliberately bypassed it. However, if children of 5.5–7.5 years old considered death unlikely for themselves, then at the age of 7.5–8.5 years they recognize its possibility for themselves personally, although the age of its supposed onset varied from “through several years up to 300 years”.

G.P. Koocher (1971) examined the representations of unbelieving children aged 6–15 regarding their supposed state after death. The spread of answers to the question “what will happen when you die?” was distributed as follows: 52% answered that they would be “buried”, 21% that they would “go to heaven”, “I will live even after death”, “I will be subjected to God's punishment”, 19% “arrange a funeral”, 7% thought that they would “fall asleep”, 4% - “reincarnate”, 3% - “cremate”. Belief in the personal or universal immortality of the soul after death was found in 65% of believing children aged 8-12 (M.C.McIntire, 1972).

Adolescence (12-18 years), or the fifth stage of psychosocial development, is traditionally considered the most vulnerable to stressful situations and to the emergence of crises. E. Erickson singles out this age period as very important in psychosocial development and considers the development of an identity crisis or role shift, which manifests itself in three main areas of behavior, to be pathognomonic for it:
the problem of choosing a career;
choice of a reference group and membership in it (the reaction of grouping with peers according to A.E. Lichko);
the use of alcohol and drugs, which can temporarily relieve emotional stress and allow you to experience a sense of temporary overcoming of a lack of identity (E.N. Erikson, 1963).

It is during adolescence that the peak of suicides, the peak of experiments with mind-disturbing substances and other life-threatening activities occur. Moreover, adolescents, in the anamnesis of which thoughts of suicide were repeatedly noted, rejected thoughts of his death. Among 13–16 year olds, 20% believed in the preservation of consciousness after death, 60% believed in the existence of the soul, and only 20% believed in death as the cessation of physical and spiritual life.

In youth (or early maturity according to E. Erickson - 20–25 years old), young people are oriented towards obtaining a profession and creating a family. The main problem that may arise during this age period is self-absorption and avoidance of interpersonal relationships, which is the psychological basis for the emergence of feelings of loneliness, existential vacuum and social isolation. If the crisis is successfully overcome, then young people develop the ability to love, altruism, and a moral sense.

At this time of life, the frequency of depression, suicide, neuroses, and dependent forms of behavior increases. The death of peers prompts reflection on the finiteness of one's own life. According to various psychological and sociological studies, the topic of death is relevant for 30%–70% of people of this age. Unbelieving forty-year-olds understand death as the end of life, its finale, but even they consider themselves
"a little more immortal than others." This period is also characterized by a sense of disappointment in professional career and family life. This is due to the fact that, as a rule, if the set goals are not realized by the time of maturity, then they are already hardly achievable.

What if they are implemented?

A person enters the second half of life and his previous life experience is not always suitable for solving the problems of this time.

The problem of 40-year-old K.G. Jung dedicated his report "Life Frontier" (1984), in which he advocated the creation of "higher schools for forty-year-olds that would prepare them for the future life," because a person cannot live the second half of life according to the same program as the first. As a comparison of the psychological changes that occur in different periods of life in the human soul, he compares it with the movement of the sun, referring to the sun “animated by human feeling and endowed with momentary human consciousness. In the morning it emerges from the night sea of the unconscious, illuminating the wide, colorful world, and the higher it rises in the firmament, the farther it spreads its rays. In this expansion of its sphere of influence, connected with the rising, the sun will see its purpose and see its highest goal in rising as high as possible.

Elderly people (stage of late maturity according to E. Erickson). Studies of gerontologists have established that physical and mental aging depends on the personality characteristics of a person and how he lived his life. G. Ruffin (1967) conditionally distinguishes three types of old age: “happy”, “unhappy” and “psychopathological”. Yu.I. Polishchuk (1994) randomly examined 75 people aged 73 to 92 years. According to the research results, this group was dominated by persons whose condition was qualified as “unhappy old age” - 71%; 21% were persons with so-called “psychopathological old age” and 8% experienced “happy old age”.

“Happy” old age occurs in harmonious individuals with a strong balanced type of higher nervous activity, who have been engaged in intellectual work for a long time and have not left this occupation even after retirement. The psychological state of these people is characterized by vital asthenia, contemplation, a tendency to remember, peace, wise enlightenment and a philosophical attitude towards death. E. Erickson (1968, 1982) believed that “only for someone who somehow took care of affairs and people, who experienced triumphs and defeats in life, who was an inspiration to others and put forward ideas - only he can gradually mature fruits of previous stages. He believed that only in old age does true maturity come and called this period "late maturity." “The wisdom of old age is aware of the relativity of all knowledge acquired by a person throughout his life in one historical period. Wisdom is the awareness of the unconditional significance of life itself in the face of death itself.” Many outstanding personalities created their best works in old age.

“Psychopathological old age” is manifested by age-related organic disorders, depression, hypochondria, psychopathic, neurosis-like, psychoorganic disorders, senile dementia. Very often, such patients have a fear of being in a nursing home.

Crises of age development are phenomena that every person faces in life. They are manifested in the transformation of people's attitudes to the surrounding reality, psychological changes in connection with development and improvement at a certain age stage.

Most often, age crises are characterized by negative changes that manifest themselves in stress and depression.

Most people successfully cope with these stages in life, reaching a new, more productive level of development. However, in some cases, you may need the help of a specialist who will help you cope with the causes and consequences of stressful situations.

Definition Specifics

The opinions of psychologists on the nature of age-related crises are diametrically divided.

Some believe that crisis periods are a necessary component of physiological and psychological changes. Without them, personality development will not be able to occur, because throughout the life path a person changes his system of values, his outlook on society and himself.

Other psychologists claim that the emergence of crises in a person's life is associated with mental disorders. That is, the manifestations of these stages are classified as psychological diseases that must be treated.

In any case, you need to understand that the time of the onset of the age crisis and the severity of its manifestation are individual for each person, although psychologists distinguish conditional age limits.

The well-known psychologist and pedagogue L. S. Vygotsky argued that crisis periods are not only a normal and natural state of a person, due to changes in physical and psychological factors, but also a very useful phenomenon, with the help of which a person can move to a new round of his development. With their help, a person develops in himself volitional qualities character, expands personal and social horizons. However, the teacher emphasizes that such an impact on the personality will occur if the behavior of others has a competent pedagogical and psychological approach.

If a person is ready for changes, then there will be no problems with the psychological state. However, people often feel sorry for themselves, not wanting to change anything in their lives. In this case, we can say that they themselves provoke the onset of such depressive states, from which only a specialist will help to get out.

Manifestation traits

It is necessary to clearly understand that periods of crisis are stages in a person's life, when not only character traits are formed, but also important, often life-changing decisions are made. After all, the word "crisis" is translated from Greek as "fork in the road." A person chooses his life path, environment, interests.

Changes in the minds of people take place against the backdrop of the usual way of life. What begins to happen to a person is at first incomprehensible to him and frightening. A constant feeling of discomfort haunts, makes it impossible to feel confident in the future. The feeling that you need to change something in life and change yourself does not leave.

At this time, there are constant conflict situations with relatives, friends and colleagues. A person expresses dissatisfaction with everything that surrounds him. This happens because of internal throwing, unwillingness to accept reality, the search for ideal solutions.

During a crisis, it is important for a person to find the only right decision that will help him change for the better. Otherwise, he cannot do without the help of a specialist.

All development crises are characterized by the following provisions:

The crisis period causes complex psychological changes to which every person is subject. This must be accepted, using all the available potential to get out of the current situation;
The changes that have appeared in consciousness are not the end, but the beginning of a new path. All the accumulated contradictions over a certain period of time come out and require a solution;
There is a way out of any situation, you just need to make an effort to realize your hidden potential;
Having correctly “survived” a turning point, a person becomes stronger, more confident and more interesting. He gains self-confidence, develops a comfortable lifestyle.

Various crises in humans are based not only on physiological changes associated with age. Critical stages can occur for various reasons related to personal life, professional activity or health status. These are personal crises. Several factors influence their appearance:

Physical or psychological trauma;
Formation of personal qualities and character;
The impact of others: peers, adults, any important people for a person;
The desire to achieve the ideal in all areas of activity;
Sudden changes in a person's habitual course of life.

During a critical period, a person always faces a certain choice, which he must realize and accept. The success of a person's future life will depend on the correctness of this choice.

Characteristics

Psychologists identify "natural" turning points that occur upon reaching a certain age in all people.

Crises and age-related changes are closely related. Of particular importance are the critical stages in childhood and adolescence. At this time, there is an intensive formation of personal qualities, character traits and attitudes towards the surrounding reality. That is why most age-related turning points occur in childhood.

Basically, any transitional stage in children does not last long, with a competent approach of adults it takes only a few months. It is also impossible to clearly define the time frame, since the physical and psychological capabilities of babies are different.

Children are characterized by drastic changes in attitude towards others and themselves.

External changes are manifested in disobedience, the manifestation of aggressive behavior, whims.

In adolescence, a protest against an established way of life can be expressed by an addiction to bad habits, a decrease in interest in educational activities, and a focus on one problem that does not carry anything important.

An important feature of the critical stages is the emergence of new character traits that indicate the attitude towards society and the surrounding reality. It should be noted that such neoplasms are temporary and after a short time they change to other, deeper and more stable ones.

Distinctive features

A person who is at the stage of a turning point in life always stands out from the environment. There are several signs that can be used to characterize the onset of a crisis.

An absent look. People are constantly immersed in themselves, they may not notice others, not hear the questions being asked;
Sudden change in mood. Moreover, this sign is especially pronounced in adolescence, when boys and girls have not yet learned to control their emotions. In adulthood, people find it easier to control mood swings, but here, too, everything is very individual.
Consciously or unconsciously, a person skips meals, sleeps poorly, sees nightmares that do not allow to sleep.
An overabundance of emotion. Experiencing a turning point, people fall into two extremes: they either see everything in negative colors, or they put on rose-colored glasses, developing violent activity in all directions.

Regardless of the age at which a certain turning point in life occurs, others should not suppress its manifestations. A person must go through this period in order to learn certain lessons from it, otherwise psychological disorders cannot be avoided.

In order to help your loved ones survive developmental crises, you need to know their approximate age limits and the specifics of their manifestation.

Consider the main turning points associated with the maturation of the individual.

The birth

Taking the first breath, the newborn, unlike the parents, does not experience the joy of his birth. The first feeling that visits him is fear of a new unknown world, where everything is so different from what he experienced before in the womb.

Bright light, loud sounds, cold - all this causes severe psychological discomfort in the baby. The umbilical cord is cut off, which provided a reliable connection with the mother. The fight for life begins.

The beginning of the way

The first attempts to move independently, the sounds that begin to form into words, the desire to touch and taste everything. The child develops conscious desires that stand out more and more clearly against the background of reflex needs. A slow and painful, often unconscious first separation from the mother begins.

This condition is painful because the baby still really needs her help and support, both physically and psychologically. However, the desire to explore the world is getting stronger. This is the first internal contradiction and causes a conflict of personality.

Third year

One of the most emotionally difficult turning points in the development of a small person. Physical development is proceeding at a rapid pace, the baby wants to do everything himself. However, he does not always succeed.

Personality begins to form, separation of oneself from parents and peers. The desire to show independence, to express one's position is expressed in violent protests against the established way of life. Protests are manifested in whims, disobedience, aggression.

Adults must be patient, because their behavior largely determines what kind of personality their baby will grow up, how he will relate to the environment and what kind of relationship he will have in society. After all, the requirements of the baby are due to his unconscious needs and desires, which he still cannot understand.

It is important for parents to develop a certain strategy of behavior, with the help of which they can show all the diversity of the surrounding reality and teach the baby to use all life's opportunities from the positive side.

School realities

This transitional period is not as pronounced emotionally as in three-year-olds. However, children experience severe discomfort when entering school, because their usual way of life is changing, the demands made by adults are increasing.

It is important for parents to support the kids during this period, because this is the time for the formation of children's self-esteem. Not only the academic performance of schoolchildren depends on the competent approach of teachers, but also their relationships with peers, self-confidence and their actions.

The formation of personality during this period is very intensive. Teachers and peers become people who influence the formation of the character of children, because kids spend most of their time at school.

If, for some reason, the child did not develop relationships in the school society, parents must fill this vacuum, show ways out of deadlock situations, and teach them how to resolve controversial and conflict situations.

Almost adults

At this time, the formation of personality occurs under the influence of the opinion of society: for a teenager it is very important what people who are significant to him will say about his actions.

The manifestation of negativism, aggression, the desire for independence at any cost are signs of a transitional age crisis.

The influence of the authority of parents depends on their competent position. If adults become friends for matured children, able to understand, help and guide, and not condemn, then this will help to avoid conflict situations at home.

It largely depends on the parents how quickly this difficult, but very important period for the formation of personality will pass.

life definition

After leaving school, when hormonal passions have already subsided, young people face a number of new important problems. It is necessary to decide on the choice of a future profession, a further life path, setting goals.

Young people are already consciously planning their future adult lives. Modern realities provide a huge selection of different paths, and they are desperately trying to find their own, only they need and important. At the same time, they are often mistaken, taking for the only correct option the one that their parents gave them. The payoff for this mistake will be a protracted midlife crisis.

Crisis of thirty

It would seem that this time should become reliable and stable for a determined personality. However, it is at this time that a person begins to think about the correctness of the choice made in his youth, clearly sees and can analyze the mistakes made.

For some, these years will be best time in life, because, having managed to analyze everything that does not suit them, people will be able to achieve great heights in their careers and personal development. Others will begin inactive introspection, which will lead to depression and a complete rejection of further self-improvement.

closer to forty

Perhaps the most difficult period for an already formed personality.

A person comes to the realization that half of his life has already been lived, and much of what he wanted could not be realized.

Family, career, familiar environment seems like an unnecessary ballast that interferes with "free swimming".

It is during this period that most families are destroyed, people change their profession, social circle and addictions.

Men most often try to realize themselves in love pleasures, women - in introspection. People are trying to somehow change their usual way of life, being careful not to have time to do important, in their opinion, things.

Retirement

Age of analysis, comprehension of past years. As soon as a person approaches the retirement milestone, there is a clear realization of an immutable truth: life is coming to an end, former youth cannot be returned.

Many people, especially those who have no relatives or for some reason have developed a bad relationship with them, fall into a depressive state, acutely feeling their loneliness.

This is the moment in life when the support of relatives is vital. It is important for older people to know that they are needed and useful.

It is very pleasing that recently in our country there has been a tendency to increase the number of people who have learned to enjoy their old age. After all, now they have a lot of free time, there are no obligations to adult children, and they can live in their own pleasure, doing what they love, for which there was no time in any way on working days.

All crises out of spite

If in childhood, parents help to survive turning points in the formation of a personality, then in adulthood, a person has to cope with problems on his own.

Psychologists have developed tips that will help you learn from any crisis situation, become better, and not wallow in depression.

Learn to find joy in simple things. Happiness is made up of little things.
Learn to relax and enjoy being alone with yourself.
Physical activity can kill any depression. Take up dancing, yoga or just jogging in the morning. energizing and Have a good mood you are provided.
Do in your free time only what brings you pleasure.
Love yourself. Make it a rule to praise yourself for any little things, raise self-esteem by any means.
Don't suppress your emotions. If you feel like crying, don't hold back. Thus, you can get rid of the burden of accumulated negative emotions.
Communicate as much as possible, do not withdraw into yourself. If you feel that any communication makes you uncomfortable, seek help from a specialist.

From all that has been said above, it is obvious that age-related crises are characteristic of every person without exception. But how these turning points will pass depends on the adult generation, which was able to provide the necessary support in time, directing them on the right path.

The more correct was the approach of parents to crises in childhood, the easier it will be for a person to pass the turning points in life in his mature years.