What is youth: definition, age limits

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

When thinking about what youth is, romantic songs, poems of poets, dates under the moon, high hopes and unlimited possibilities immediately come to mind. However, this is just the outer shell. Youth is quite an interesting and difficult period for psychologists to study.

What is youth: definition

Youth is the stage of a person's physical maturation and personality development that lies between childhood and adulthood. From the point of view of psychology, this is a transition from the dependence inherent in a child to the independence and responsibility inherent in mature people. From the point of view of physiology, physical and puberty is completed at this moment. Also, the achievement of social maturity is characterized by such a concept as "youth" or "youth". Age limits are determined by the interval from 14 to 18 years, if we are talking about domestic psychology. Foreign experts believe that youth begins at the age of 16.

Approaches to youth

"What is youth?" is one of the oldest questions psychologists have ever asked. Despite the huge amount of theoretical developments and practical research, this problem is stillremains relevant. It can be viewed in terms of the following approaches:

• Biogenetic theory draws attention to physiological as well as socio-psychological aspects. This refers to the process of maturation of the body and personality, which occurs in certain stages, which are universal. This theory, in its own way, determines the point at which people can be classified as "youth". Age limits - the beginning of puberty (12 years) and until full maturity (25 years), a person is considered young, prone to romanticism.
• Sociogenetic theory explains the meaning of youth in terms of the place a person occupies in the structure of society. There is a close connection between the natural formation of personality and the properties of the environment. At a young age, the formation of a worldview, behavioral characteristics, as well as a social circle takes place. At the same time, the age limits are not specified, as they are purely individual.
• The psychogenetic approach draws attention to psychological processes. This direction focuses on emotions that determine behavioral characteristics. At each new stage, the personality acquires new properties that were absent before. Youth is the fifth stage. it is at this moment that a person realizes his individuality and uniqueness.
• An integrated approach simultaneously takes into account all factors (domestic psychologists are guided by it) when defining the concept of "youth". Age is measured as the period from the onset of puberty to the endpersonality formation.

Leading Activities

Any period in a person's life is associated with some kind of activity. What is youth? This is, first of all, the choice of a further life path, in which professional self-determination occupies a special place. Thus, the choice of future occupation becomes the central problem of adolescence.

Given the need to acquire a profession, young age is accompanied by continuous learning. At the same time, it becomes more profound and conscious than at an earlier age. It is characterized by the following features:

• wide and deep perception of educational material, aimed at the formation of future professional knowledge;
• in addition to the passive perception of information, the individual resorts to an active and independent search for it.

Social motives of adolescence

Childhood, youth, maturity - each of the periods of a person's life is characterized by certain motives that determine his activity. Young people are full of aspirations and hopes for the future. In this regard, they are guided by the following factors:

• belief in the need for continuous development, which is achieved through continued learning;
• professional self-determination caused by the need to prepare for further independent living;
• social motivation driven by the desire to benefit others.

Factors for choosing a future profession

Given that the young man inyouth must choose a future occupation, psychologists pay great attention to motives. So, the main selection factors are the following:

• social - prestige and the opportunity to take a worthy place in society;
• personal - the presence of qualities and traits of character necessary for a particular profession;
• material - the ability to provide yourself and your family with a decent existence.

Main issues

A period of youth is characterized by a mass of life-giving problems. The years of a young person's life are made up of many key questions, the main of which are the following:

• preliminary choice of future profession, which consists of life position, abilities and priority area of knowledge;
• commitment to the values that define social consciousness, as well as interpersonal relationships;
• growth of social activity, which is not a banal interest, but the desire to take a direct part in events;
• shaping a worldview on fundamental issues;
• expansion of the sphere of interests, as well as vital requests, which leads to the need for more material resources;
• social orientation of the individual, which implies the search for one's place in society;
• search for an answer to the question about the meaning of life and the purpose of a person in it.

Shaping the personality of a young man

A young person at a certain moment takes the path of becoming self-consciousness, which is inextricablyassociated with the formation of the so-called "I". It occurs along the following lines:

• formation of a different attitude to the emotional sphere (feelings become not just a reaction to external events, but personal characteristics);
• awareness of the irreversible passage of time (this fact makes a young person think more seriously about his future and making an individual life plan);
• formation of a holistic view of not only your body and internal structure, but also moral, strong-willed and intellectual qualities.

Interpersonal relationships

During adolescence, a young person begins to reconsider relationships with others, in particular with peers. So, they are divided into two categories - friends and comrades. The former are the closest, those that have earned devotion and respect. With all the other peers, young people build comradely relations that imply polite treatment, mutual respect and mutual assistance.

The tactics of communication and building relationships with peers are built largely on the basis of future well-being (both psychological and physical). The most interesting and "useful" people remain in the social circle. The rest find themselves in a kind of emotional isolation. However, often youthful friendships are idealized and illusory.

Also for a young age, the emergence of such a deep feeling as love is characteristic. This is associated not only with the completion of puberty, but also withthe desire to have a close person with whom you can share problems and joyful events. A beloved person is a kind of ideal both in terms of personal and external qualities.

Youth in the modern world

What is youth? This is a dynamic category and is not permanent. Over time, with the development of society, it changes significantly. So, in connection with the rapidly growing acceleration, youth comes much earlier. But social maturity comes a little later. This is partly due to the fact that modern parents take care of children for much longer.

As in any other time, young people tend to work in order to independently provide themselves with money. Nevertheless, the current trend is that young men do not want to do "dirty work", which brings little income and determines a low social status. There is a tendency to desire to get everything at once.

Conclusions

Youth is the most beautiful time in a person's life. It is associated not only with romantic feelings and dreams, but also with great opportunities in terms of organizing your future. Research and recommendations from psychologists help guide young people in the right direction and push them to make the right decisions.