Identity crisis. The youth identity crisis

During its development, each person repeatedly faces turning points, which can be accompanied by despair, resentment, helplessness, and sometimes anger. The causes of such states may be different, but the most common is the subjective perception of a situation in which people perceive the same events with different emotional colors.

Psychology of the crisis

The problem of finding a way out of the crisis in recent years has emerged as one of the leading places in the importance of psychology. Scientists not only search for causes and ways to prevent depression, but also develop ways to prepare a person for a drastic change in the status of personal life.

Depending on the circumstances with which stress is caused, the following types are distinguished:

1. The development crisis is the difficulties that are associated with the transition from one completed development cycle to the next.
2. A traumatic crisis can arise as a result of sudden intense events or as a result of the loss of physical health through illness or trauma.
3. The crisis of loss or separation - is manifested either after the death of a loved one, or when forced to part by part. This species is very stable and can last for many years. It often occurs in children whose parents are divorced. In the case of children experiencing the death of their relatives, the crisis can worsen because of reflections on their own mortality.

The duration and intensity of each crisis state depends on the individual strong-willed qualities of a person and the ways of his rehabilitation.

Age crises

The peculiarity of age-related disorders is that they have a short period and ensure a normal course of personal development.

Each of the stages is associated with a change in the principal activity of the subject.

1. The crisis of newborns is associated with the adaptation of the child to life outside the mother's body.
2. The crisis of 1 year is justified by the appearance of new needs for the baby and the increase in his capabilities.
3. The crisis of 3 years is due to the child's attempt to create a new kind of relationship with adults and to single out his own "I".
4. The crisis of 7 years is caused by the appearance of a new type of activity - studies, and the position of the schoolboy.
5. The pubertal crisis is justified by the process of puberty.
6. The crisis of 17 years, or the youthful identity crisis, arises from the need for independent solutions in connection with the transition to adulthood.
7. The crisis of 30 years appears in people who feel unrealized their life plan.
8. A crisis of 40 years is possible if problems that occurred during the previous tipping period were not solved.
9. The crisis of retirement arises because of the feeling of unclaimedness of a person with the preserved ability to work.

Human reaction to the crisis

Difficulties in any of the periods lead to a violation of the emotional sphere, which can trigger 3 types of reactions:

• The emergence of emotions such as indifference, anguish or indifference, which may indicate the emergence of a depressive state.
• The emergence of destructive feelings, such as aggression, anger and fault-finding.
• It is also possible to withdraw into oneself with the manifestation of feelings of uselessness, despair, emptiness.

This type of reaction was called loneliness.

Youthful period of development

Before analyzing the age period from 15 to 17 years, one should be convinced of the precise understanding of the term "identity". Youth and crisis are almost inseparable concepts, because the circumstances faced by a teenager in this period require the mastery of new activities and forms of reaction to situations.

Identity is the identification of oneself with national, religious, professional groups or people around them. Thus, the identity crisis, manifested in adolescence, means a decrease in either the integrity of the understanding of the surrounding world or its own social role.

Youth is characterized by increased self-control and self-regulation, which leads to vulnerability due to a critical assessment of one's own appearance or abilities. The main activity of this period is cognition of the surrounding world, and most importantly the new formation is the choice of a profession.

Identity crisis

For a deeper understanding of what an identity crisis is, it is necessary to consider what its manifestations are in the period of adolescence:

1. Fear of close communication with other people, self-isolation, the formation of only formal relationships.
2. Insecurity in their abilities, which manifests itself either in total rejection of study, or in excessive zeal for it.
3. Loss of harmony with time. It manifests itself in fear of the future, in the desire to live only in the present day or aspiration only in the forthcoming, without thinking about the present.
4. Absence of the ideal "I", which leads to the search for idols and their full copying.

Identity crisis

According to most psychologists, the crisis of adolescence is justified by the emergence of the philosophy of consciousness. During this period, any action is accompanied by a lot of meditations and doubts, which hinder the active activity.

Describing the identity crisis, Erickson noted that it is he who decides in the formation of personality.

Having found themselves under the influence of new social and biological factors, the young men determine their place in society, they choose their future profession. But not only their views change, others also rethink their attitude towards social groups. This is also justified by a significant change in the appearance and maturity of adolescents.

Only the identity crisis by Erikson can ensure the formation of an integral personality and create the basis for choosing a promising career in the future. If the corresponding conditions are not created for this period, a rejection effect may occur. It manifests itself in the manifestation of hostility even to a close social environment. At the same time, the identity crisis will cause anxiety, devastation and isolation from the real world for young people.

National identity

In each social group, during the last century, the crisis of national identity is increasingly manifested. The ethnos differentiates itself according to the national character, language, values and norms of the people. This crisis can be manifested as a separate individual, and the entire population of the country.

Among the main manifestations of the crisis of national identity, it should be noted that:

1. The historical past is not appreciated. The extreme form of this manifestation is mankurtizm - the denial of national symbols, faith and ideals.
2. Disappointment in the state values.
3. Thirst for violation of traditions.
4. Distrust of state power.

All of the above is caused by a number of reasons, such as the globalization of different spheres of life, the development of transport and technology, and the growth of migration flows.

As a result, the identity crisis leads to the denial of people from their ethnic roots, and also creates the conditions for the fragmentation of the nation into many identities (supranational, transnational, subnational)

The influence of the family on the formation of identity

The main guarantee of the formation of the youth's identity is the emergence of his independent position. An important role in this is played by the family.

Excessive custody, protection or care, unwillingness to give children freedom only exacerbates their identity crisis, resulting in psychological dependence. As a result of her appearance, young people:

• Constantly require attention in the form of approval or thanks; In the absence of praise, they focus on negative attention, attracting it through quarrels or oppositional behavior;
• Search for evidence of the correctness of their actions;
• Strive for bodily contacts in the form of touches and restraints.

With the development of dependence, children remain emotionally dependent on their parents, have a passive life position. It will be difficult for them to build their own family relationships in the future.

The support of a young man by his parents must be in separating him from the family and assuming the child full responsibility for his life.