In the modern civilized world, there are no such people who at least once in their lives have not come across the concept of an age crisis. Let us consider this question in more detail in our article.
The crisis of a person’s psychological development is most often defined as a transition period in the formation of a personality portrait; it is a kind of leap from one stage of personal development to another.
What is a crisis in psychology?
Despite the variety and variety of forms of expression, all age-related crises have similar psychological and social features.
Those. contrary to popular opinion, the concept of “crisis” is not at all synonymous with the concept of “problem”. He is not something out of the ordinary. This is not a painful phenomenon at all.
In the works of the famous psychologist L.S. Vygotsky attached great importance to the study of crisis ages of children. He regarded them as a natural and inalienable process of child development, which is precisely the alternation of periods of stability and periods of crisis. He considered the crisis as a conflict of contradictions between the already existing social, physical, psychological and cultural functions of a person and what a person faces again.
Thus, the age crisis is a kind of contradiction between existing characteristics and newly acquired ones. These contradictions can concern anything: motivational qualities and abilities, self-knowledge, introspection, etc. At each critical period of a person’s development, he undergoes a restructuring of social development.
Crisis duration
The duration of age-related crises is short-lived, normally it takes several months to find harmony between the old and the new, in special cases a year or more. It is impossible to clearly identify the day and even the month of the beginning and end of the crisis period. The boundaries are blurred and are often not recognized by either the person himself or his environment. The peak itself usually occurs in the middle of a critical period. At this time, close people can notice a change in behavior, traits such as some aggressiveness, a drop in performance, a loss of interest, conflicts with others appear. The picture of behavior and the inner world of a person acquires negative traits. There are constant contradictions between needs and opportunities, between increased physical abilities and the desire to realize them, between spiritual needs and the possibilities of their realization. All these new features and transformations of the inner world often have a transient nature, at the end of the crisis they are transformed into something more harmonized and closer to reality.
Symptoms of crises
All crisis periods have similar symptoms and proceed according to the general laws of development.
Despite the naturalness of the existence of crises of age development, one cannot underestimate their importance and seriousness, because the age crisis is a rather difficult period in the life of both a child and an adult. In such periods, a kind of personality breakdown occurs, which causes a person many difficulties and inconveniences both in the inner world and in society. There is a certain prerequisite that determines how harmoniously a person will survive the crisis period: by the time of the next critical age, it is desirable that all the features of psychological and physiological neoplasms of the previous development period are clearly formed. At the stage of the age crisis, not only psychological, but also biological changes occur in the body. Such changes, as we noted above, are a source of the difficulties of interaction and mutual understanding both with others and with oneself up to the complete loss thereof. It is for this reason that such critical age periods are called pre-pathology, i.e. they are within the normal range, but balancing on the verge of going beyond it.
Based on elementary knowledge of the characteristics of the physical and social development of a person, it is possible to determine with almost accuracy the age at which a person is faced with contradictions in himself and in society. You can also analyze and work out the maximum possible number of options for resolving or at least amortizing the conflicts that arise.
Classification of crisis periods
So, we will consider the main crises of age development.
The crisis of the newborn. The moment of birth is a very stressful situation for a child. There is a complete change in the environment, the human body passes from the environment of intrauterine existence to a heterogeneous environment of the world, and there is a separation from the mother. This is the first severe psychological stress, even trauma caused by the destruction of the physical connection with the mother. The transition to a new quality - an autonomous organism - is abrupt and unexpected. If, before birth, the child remained as if part of the maternal organism, now it is an absolutely separate, psychologically and physically, personality. Due to a possible protracted and complex birth process, age-related crises in children can be complicated.
One year crisis
The essence of this crisis lies in the contradictions that arise between the already existing physical and mental skills, skills and capabilities of a growing person that characterize him as an autonomous organism, and still a strong need for close communication, interaction with his mother. In the passage of this critical period, the first steps of the child's socialization play a huge role, for example, his interaction with close relatives, brothers, sisters, grandmothers. An age crisis of 1 year is not always.
Of great importance in a positive resolution is also the emotional connection with the mother and her attitude towards the child. This is the first child guide in an unfamiliar world. And the result of a child entering a new stage of development depends on how she feels the child’s behavior and competently interacts with him.
The result of resolving a crisis of one year is usually a child’s behavioral development that allows him to achieve an elementary semantic understanding of his actions. This is the so-called need response. This experience is achieved experimentally as a result of daily interaction with the closest adults.
The crisis of three years
What other age-related crises are there in children?
They do not have clear boundaries. Three years is an approximate age. Someone this crisis overtakes already in 2 years, someone - in 3,5.
This is the age of "I myself." At this stage, there is a sharp and active awareness of one's self as an individual person, autonomous not only from the family, but also from others, peers, relatives, etc. A sharp exacerbation of personal and social contradictions is developing. Independent objective action is still weakly formed, but linguistic and behavioral-mental development undergoes a huge leap forward. Roughly speaking, the child wants to do a lot himself, but is not yet capable of self-discipline or self-control, does not possess many skills of independent activity. The famous author of psychological research, DB Elkonin calls this age crisis in children in psychology a crisis of social relations, as a result of which there is an active separation of the child from microsocium. The inner self of the child is actively forming, while there is no conscious understanding of the social structure of role relationships in the family and microsocium. The child does not understand the complexity of the structure of social actions, substantive everyday actions. In a word, the logic of the child’s world order is visible, but incomprehensible. At the same time, the activity of one's self is growing, the social role of which is still incomprehensible to the child. The crisis of three years helps to survive the active involvement of the child in role-playing games, with simple examples of which it is easier for him to realize the role-playing behavior of different participants in the surrounding society. For example, games in mothers and daughters, in a store, a doctor's appointment.
The crisis is 6-7 years old
The crisis of 7 years in developmental psychology is described as the most striking.
It is characterized by a contradiction between the social need to learn (and this is not necessarily an educational activity as such) and the desire to enter into life with its real social relations. There is personal insecurity, anxiety, which is already caused by sufficient experience of self-control and self-management of their own behavior, but in conditions of game activity.
According to developmental psychology, a child’s crisis of 7 years can occur in different ways.
At this stage, the social formation of the personality is already underway, the child learns to build relationships with peers, teachers, parents and other participants in the microsocium. Parental mediation is increasingly being minimized. A crisis has the property of being resolved as soon as the establishment and recognition of personal characteristics in relations with others in the school, at home, in the yard occurs. This marks the beginning of the formation of personal socialization of a growing person. Parents should be able to survive the age crisis of children of 7 years.
The crisis of adolescence
If earlier age-related crises had fairly clear boundaries, varying within a year, then at this stage everything is more than individual. 11-12 - 14-15 years on average. It can flow quickly, maybe slowly. The boundaries of this crisis are most blurred, it can be both earlier and later and proceed both faster and slower.
All these age-related variations in adolescent crisis periods depend on the level and pace of the physical and psychological development of each adolescent. At this stage of development, a hormonal surge occurs - a complete hormonal and endocrine restructuring of the body. As a result of this evolution of the body, it becomes difficult for a teenager to realize and cope with his emotional and volitional spheres in the conditions of rather strict socio-cultural requirements for the personality of a teenage schoolchild according to this age. The system of social relations is becoming more complicated, self-awareness, reflection processes are activated. Against the background of a hormonal surge, all this forms a symbiosis of complex psychological reactions in the consciousness of a growing person.
This is also a very strong personality crisis.
At this age, there is an active formation and awareness of gender, this is the so-called psychological gender. All the growing social needs of adolescents are realized in a wide variety of social activities aimed at the development and updating of personal, creative, psychological needs and abilities of a person.
An important role here is played by the organization of the collective activity of adolescents, the involvement of children in various institutions of social organization, the actualization of abilities, activities aimed at developing creative abilities, the collective organization of adolescent activity, the organization of creative activity, artistic creation, sportsmanship, the development and implementation of musical talents .
It is the correct organization of social pedagogical activity that is of great importance for the successful resolution of teenage crises
Consider the other age-related crises in psychology.
The crisis of early youth
This type of crisis is the result of the transition from childhood to adulthood, a person plunges into the world of real social relations. An active search begins for his place in life and society. This is a well-known "search for yourself."
It is multifaceted and includes the choice of professional activity, the formation of a person's social maturation. This is a difficult period.
A favorable outcome of the crisis involves the introduction of the subject of the crisis into social institutions, there is a conscious perception of the socio-cultural, moral, spiritual norms of society. The formation of personal priorities of their own formation.
If something goes wrong in going through this crisis stage, then the search for self is delayed and takes a dead end. Professional self-determination does not occur, there are no priorities for personal development. This stumbles upon the fact that a person does not receive a positive response from society either. There are no educational opportunities, the implementation of skills in the field of a potential profession.
Thus, at this stage, the positive experience of social and personal self-affirmation is very important.
The crisis of interpersonal relationships
It is at this age stage (20-23 years) that the beginning of a family or near-family life, the formation of the first serious relationship, often occurs.
Early youth is characterized by a desire to organize their own lives, streamline their lifestyle, find a partner, start a real adult professional activity, and strive for intimate and friendly relations with other people. The age crisis of 7 years of family life is still far ahead.
The psychological content of this stage of age development implies a willingness to such relationships. But the conscious avoidance of contacts that require intimacy often leads to the isolation and loneliness of a young man. Instead of developing and realizing oneself in harmonious relations, a desire may arise to prevent anyone else from entering your world, a peculiar lengthening of the distance with the opposite sex and people potentially open to friendly relations may arise.
This can cause psychopathies, pathological conditions that do not allow a person to fully adapt in society.
There are other features of age-related crises.
The crisis of social maturity
This is the age of 30-35 years. The assessment of life roles is underway: in family, professional, personal, social life. This age crisis in psychology manifests itself more smoothly compared to the rest.
Middle age crisis
This occurs in 40-42 years, but can begin at 35 and at 45 years.
If the previous crisis stages of adulthood are few people familiar and aware of, then everyone knows about a midlife crisis practically from their own experience.
Psychologists conducted a lot of research on this topic, because it is this age of a person that many people compare in complexity with adolescent. It is in this age period that a person first seriously thinks about the eternity of earthly existence, there is an awareness of passport age and outgoing youth.
After passing this critical period, life can change dramatically.
The basis of the midlife crisis, according to psychologists, is the contradiction between how and in what form the person’s personal potential was realized and what the person really wanted. This is actually an experience of the state of dissatisfaction and poor realization of life attitudes, values, desires that took place in youth, early youth and even go back to adolescence.
A radical reappraisal of values is taking place, in simple terms.
A positive way to resolve the crisis is manifested in the acceptance and positive awareness of the past and chosen life arrangement, starting from the lifestyle, profession and ending with the choice of life partner and the organization of family values. But, unfortunately, for many this crisis period is difficult to experience and has a negative orientation and social outcomes. This is a revaluation crisis . He (the person) actually experiences his entire journey as a personal drama, realizes the incorrectness of his life choice. Such drama can spill over into anything. As they say, a person, as it were, becomes completely different. This happens abruptly and without reason for others.
What other periods of age-related crises are there?
Retirement Age Crisis
On average, occurs in 50-60 years. At the age of 50-60, there is a rethinking of the concept of life and the concept of death. This crisis has no clear boundaries and pronounced characteristics. Often people of this age are aware of their life experience, subject it to careful analysis and are ready to share it with others, but sometimes in a very intrusive form. The last age crisis of a person (description) is given below.
Old age crisis
Usually occurs in 65 years and older. At this age, an assessment of one’s own life is carried out, an analysis of the years lived.
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So, we have provided a detailed description of age-related crises.