Features of adolescence. Neoplasms of adolescence

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

The problems of adolescence seem so insignificant to adults, but the biggest problem for teenagers themselves. The famous Russian writer Ivan Turgenev identified the main causes of misunderstanding between generations in the novel "Fathers and Sons". Youthful maximalism, the desire for self-fulfillment, life plans are the main neoplasms of adolescence.

At what age does a child become a boy?

Researchers in the field of physiology and biology still do not agree on what time it starts. Some scientists say the following:

1. For boys this is 17-21 years old.
2. For girls - 16-20 years old.

At this moment, the child is formed into a personality, with self-awareness, capable of evaluating his own actions and actively developing physiologically. All of the above is called growing up.

Western scientists in the field of age morphology problems unite youth and adolescence. At that timethe young man is actively developing, his working capacity is growing and attempts are being made to self-realization.

Read more about periodization

Scientists have not agreed on a common opinion, which neoplasm corresponds to early youthful development, because they have not singled out its periods. Time frames are extremely blurred and differentiate differently across cultures and teachings.

Youthful period of growing up is considered to be different from adolescence, as it is already a passed stage of a person's life. There is also a periodization of different ages as maturity and youth. And on the basis of this, psychologists distinguish types of personalities, we will talk about this later.

In ancient cultures that have survived to this day, early adolescence occurs in connection with a mysterious ritual. It is common for a teenager to be tattooed or acted upon in public.

In the Middle Ages, the framework of youth was not highlighted. At that time, children grew up much faster than today, which is associated with the low level and quality of life of that time.

From a young age, children worked on the farm, so they helped their family survive. It was also customary to give birth to many children and not at all because of an active social policy to increase the population. And with a practical calculation, because the more children, the more workers, and the chances of survival of at least one of them increase dramatically.

In the Middle Ages, a young man could be called a man who did not get a wife and lives alone. social developmentadolescence is variable and has several upper limits.

According to some reports, the period of growing up begins at 11 years old and ends at 21. And other researchers in this field argue that adolescence ends at 22 or 23 years old. How easy it is to replace, there is no exact opinion on this matter.

Youth is also divided into early (this is the period of study in 10-11 grades) and late, which begins after graduation from school and the beginning of studies in higher educational institutions. Within the historical framework, youth is differentiated in different ways. We mature later than our ancestors. This is due to accelerated acceleration and long training in educational institutions.

The concept of a young man in the book of Jean-Jacques Rousseau

The discovery of the concept of "youth" is attributed to Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who was born in 1762 at the dawn of the development of individualism. In those years, the ideas of self-improvement, personality actualization and confrontation against existing customs and the order of things were actively promoted.

Neoplasms corresponding to the early youthful age of that time are described in Rousseau's book "Emil, or On Education". After its release, the society started talking about the romanticization of a person, about the importance of feelings and emotions. In it, youth is presented as a rebirth of the individual, the age of passions and rash decisions. In general, everything is in the spirit of sentimentalism.

Features of age

Physical development of an individual is completed on average by the age of 21. At this point, growth stops, the reproductive system no longer toleratesreformation, and before us appears a new member of the "adult" society.

In psychological terms, the neoplasm of early adolescence is presented as almost the final development of the personality. Before this, the individual suffers many inconveniences in the form of frequent mood swings and the inability to choose a single point of view for himself. As well as strengthening the role of self-determination and increasing individuality, up to a state of reasonable egoism.

During this period, the personality is actively formed. A worldview is created, goals, objectives and positions on various issues (social, political, moral) appear. If nothing hinders the development of a person, then the result is a socially mature person.

During the development of a young man, the need for guardianship decreases. Parents no longer act as the main authority, and attempts are made for financial or any other independence.

Preference in group communication is replaced by the desire for strong individual contacts. The individual does not lose contact with the societies relevant to him, however, their number is sharply reduced, and selectivity appears in the choice of the circle of communication.

Growth and development

The physical and puberty of an individual makes adolescence the most interesting and at the same time one of the most difficult periods in life. As noted, yesterday's teenager strives for independence in all sorts of areas. The individual seeks to expand the boundaries of consciousness and asks himself questions of a cognitive nature:

• “Who am I? What am I?”.
• "What am I worth? What am Ican I?”.
• "What do I like?".

A person strives to realize himself as a person, using social roles. In adolescence, the individual perceives himself as a person who interacts with his own kind. An understanding begins to form that everyone performs some kind of social function.

At this moment, he begins to play a certain role, which is more preferable for him, and the desire to know his own body is also rapidly developing. Each social role imposes duties and responsibilities on him.

A person develops self-esteem, rethinks past values and actively checks ("what am I worth?"). This is expressed in senseless bravado, ostentatious courage, vulnerability, sensitivity and other conditions.

Not knowing how you should be naturally causes emotional instability. Moral principles are just being formed, and the young man is striving for maturity and is impatient in choosing. For this, he pays with a correlated self-esteem, from underestimated to prohibitively overestimated. One day he can be cheerful and cheerful, and the next - withdrawn and unsociable.

Favorable conditions for the formation of a young man

Early adolescence is actively developing in democratic countries, where individualism, participation in politics and the development of one's own country are encouraged. For example, in the United States of America, teenagers have all the necessary preferences. The manifestation of initiative is encouraged by the state, which activelycreates a favorable environment for personal development and the most "soft" transition to emotional maturity.

In such countries, young men are treated with full rights, and their opinion is often taken into account. It is vital for teenagers to know that they are respected and treated well. When entrusted with important tasks, such as planning or management, they try to prove themselves. In this way, teenagers learn about their tendencies and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses.

In the USSR, the life of young men was somewhat infringed upon by the party, freedom of choice was limited by the state. And when trying to go beyond and test himself in a new way, the teenager was often subjected to harsh criticism from parents and teachers. This formed a dependence on public opinion, and, accordingly, the individual's self-esteem was correlated with what others would think of him.

A skilled teacher does not order the student to perform this or that action, but skillfully leads him to the need to perform it. In this case, the teenager will think that the decision was made by him. Due to low salaries, and this is a problem for the entire CIS, teachers lose their motivation to innovate and apply new teaching methods. And because of the additional written load in the form of filling out unnecessary forms, reports that no one reads, the teacher's motivation is reduced to a critical level.

Relationships

Communication in adolescence is narrower than it used to be. If a teenager did not particularly strive to limit communication, thenthe young man is more selective in this regard. Since the connection with the parents is almost lost, the individual begins to replenish it through communication with others.

Psychologist M. E. Litvak distinguished three stages of social interaction:

• Child (infantile, irresponsible).
• Adult (rational person).
• Parent (preacher, guardian).

During the period of growing up, a teenager tries on various masks and prefers the position of a parent in communication with the younger ones, which makes relations with brothers or sisters worsen.

Despite the need for independence, some teenagers who were raised by authoritarian parents try not to leave them and maintain respect for them throughout their lives. It is impossible to consider this positively, even from the position of a parent.

The individual who depends on the opinion of the parents remains in the position of the child and does not seek to take responsibility. And in world practice there are many cases when, at first glance, adults who, by definition, must take responsibility, cannot do this.

Roles in adolescence can be distributed unevenly, which is caused by the social stratification of society. And contacts between individuals from different groups are practically reduced to a minimum. This is not because of the high self-esteem of one of them, but because of the difference in worldview, social status, etc.

Relationship between a man and a woman

According to statistics, in the United States of America, the sex life of youngpeople starts before the age of 18. In the countries of the post-Soviet space, at this age, a teenager only tries the possibilities of his body for the first time. Although trends say otherwise, the generation that was born in the early 20th century is more likely to have early sexual relations.

This leads to pregnancy, infection with dangerous sexual diseases and low social responsibility. Usually these are sexual contacts with unfamiliar people, while the teenager is intoxicated.

US authorities are spending heavily to prevent the spread of HIV infection, using all administrative resources. Religious adepts are also involved in the promotion of safer sex. In schools, young Americans are taught about contraceptives, sex toys and sexual abstinence.

In the CIS, things are still deplorable, in St. Petersburg alone, the number of HIV-infected people is 1% of all residents of the city. And every year their figure is growing. At the moment, HIV treatment is not possible, in order to maintain a normal life, the state purchases or produces drugs that can contain the infection.

And this is not all the problems of adolescence in the sexual sphere. Accessibility for some causes envy in others. And in order to somehow compensate for this, the individual resorts to watching candid videos. Frequent viewing of such content is addictive, and the attitude towards girls changes from "interested" to "inert".

Behavior problems

Researchers of behavioral problems in adolescents talk about 20% of negative variations in an individual's behavior. What is caused by strong emotional fluctuations from one extreme to another, asceticism, avoiding problems in a fantasy world, refusal to realize intentions, problems with sexual development, or vice versa, an active sex life.

An important feature of adolescence is the formation of personality associated with socialization. And depending on the group of communication that the individual chooses, the behavioral model he builds changes, adjusting to the interests of the association of teenagers.

Emotional instability stems from the inability to identify one's own "I". Also, due to external stimuli of the psyche of a teenager, a misunderstanding between a parent and a child can act as a catalyst.

The life of most teenagers is monotonous, and it is not subject to frequent changes. The appearance of something new in his area of attention causes uncertainty in actions and attitude to the situation, due to the banal ignorance of what to do.

Suicides

The rapid social, political and economic development and the increase in the number of preferences for adolescents do not cause a general feeling of happiness among young people. According to official US statistics, the number of voluntary deaths among teenagers tripled between 1955 and 1985.

In adolescence and youth, the individual seeks to know himself, and in case of failure, he chooses the easiest way to get rid of problems. Cause of death in the 1990s"suicide" overtook accidents and took "honorable" second place.

And at the same time, most of the young men could not successfully end their lives and actually doomed themselves to permanent visits to psychologists in rehabilitation centers. There were difficulties in finding a job, employers did not want to see employees with mental instability in the staff.

According to statistics, girls are more prone to suicidal thoughts. However, guys are more efficient, they are four times more likely to commit suicide. Psychologists of adolescence identify three reasons why a teenager wants to lay hands on himself:

1. Frequent depression caused by hormonal imbalance or individual weakness.
2. The problem of fathers and children, when parents do not accept effective methods of raising their child, but rely on school, college, friends, etc.
3. Hopelessness in the family.

Which neoplasm corresponds to early adolescence?

The first signs of development begin in the 10th and 11th grades. A person seeks to know himself through the awareness of others. Pretentiousness in relation to life, as a rule, decreases. Professions are chosen more realistic, rather than fantastic and unrealizable in a given period of time.

Personality actualization becomes the main priority of a teenager. The search for the meaning of life, the cherished goal to which one must strive, also begins. With a more conscious approach to oneself, the individual has needs for intellectual and social development.

But notevery teenager goes through a period of growing up, with accompanying negative emotions. Their development occurs gradually, and then they easily integrate with the environment. In the novel "An Ordinary Story" by Ivan Goncharov, the main character was a typical romantic, waiting for "sincere outpourings" from all. Some teenagers do not feel the need for such frank actions, they are more rational and practical.

Despite the favorable course of youth, the above described individuals have a number of shortcomings. As a rule, they do not prove their point of view and have friendly relations with parents and teachers. This leads to the passivity of the individual, little enthusiasm for what is happening. The main indicator of success for them is personal authority and the opinion of others.

Their calm in the emotional sphere does not contribute to personal development. Many psychologists argue that the formation of personality is possible only through moral suffering. Having got rid of them, a completely new person appears before society. He is characterized by a creative approach to business, flexibility of thinking, high social intelligence and the desire to take responsibility for his life.

There was a third option for the formation of personality. In this case, the neoplasm of adolescence is self-regulation, which controls emotional processes. Usually such a teenager defines his goal early and follows it. He acts as an authority among peers, is characterized as disciplined and balanced. However, this type is incapablerelax, the palette of his emotions is limited.

Adult attitudes

Another distinctive feature of adolescence is communication with wiser people. The teenager believes that through dialogue with an adult, he will receive important information. This trend is actively developing in high school.

As noted earlier, the young man seeks to confine himself to his parents in order to gain independence. However, when growing up, the individual understands the importance of family contacts. And they perform at a fundamentally new level, when two personalities with formed views meet. In adults, the young man sees a "standard", that is, who he wants to be in the future.

Although relations with adults are friendly, they do not reach familiarity. The older generation acts as a kind of repository of valuable information, from where teenagers draw the necessary information. And irrelevant data is discarded.

Youthful maximalism

The search for the ideal is a journey through the throes. A teenager wants to see in himself incompatible qualities or has an absolutely unrealistic idea of \u200b\u200bother people. He singles out the more successful as an absolute to which one must strive. However, he may not have the necessary qualities, and his personal growth will stop.

The personality of adolescence desires all the best and all that is less perplexing to him. In self-confident people, this is expressed in the pursuit of the most beautiful girl, the best clothes, etc.during this period, teenagers tend to be uncompromising towards themselves, follow the principles of "all or nothing".

However, maximalism has significant advantages. It acts as a starting platform for career growth. The teenager believes that he can do almost everything, and strives for this with enviable persistence, without being distracted by details.

Maximalists easily make a career under authoritarian regimes, such as in the Third Reich or the Soviet Union. The period of rule of the dictators Stalin and Hitler was characterized by uncompromising and intransigence.

The young man considers his point of view to be the only correct one, in which maximalism spurs him on. It also gives determination to the individual in polemical disputes with teachers or peers. It is almost impossible to convince such a person, but his views change over time.

Such personalities are selfish and arrogant, and the lack of life experience is compensated by "sound" reasoning about life. It seems to such a teenager that he has known life and no one has the right to teach him. He is capable of acting as a teacher himself.

As a teenager grows older, he forgets about his "correct" beliefs and more and more realizes how wrong he was. The period of attempting to realize oneself begins with the transition to a special form of growth - psychological maturity.