Youthology

Youthology , the topic we are dealing with

, is basically derived from the word
youth.

Youth is the period between childhood and adulthood, described as the period of physical
and psychological development from the onset of puberty to maturity and early
adulthood. Definitions of the specific age range that constitutes youth vary. An
individual's actual maturity may not correspond to their chronological age, as immature
individuals exist at all ages.

Around the world the terms "youth", "adolescent", "teenager", and "young person" are
interchanged, often meaning the same thing, occasionally differentiated. Youth generally
refers to a time of life that is neither childhood nor adulthood, but rather somewhere in-
between.[1] Youth also identifies a particular mindset of attitude, as in "He is very
youthful". The term youth is also related to being young.[2]

"This world demands the qualities of youth: not a

time of life but a state of mind, a temper of the
will, a quality of imagination, a predominance of
courage over timidity, of the appetite for
adventure over the life of ease." - Robert
Kennedy[3]
……………………………This certainly means that the
world requires young people who are not just
young because they fall under that age range..or
rather they are not differentiated due to the
age factor,but they want youths having an
unimaginable presence of mind, akiller instinct to
 achieve their desired goals in life. They need
young brains and efforts that leads to the
progress of this world, the courage to fight
against any hurdle they come across…that is , to
make impossible..possible..nd finally, choose a
right and a constructive life inspite of however
difficult the path may be!!!!!!
Youth is an alternative word to the scientifically-oriented adolescent and the common
terms of teen and teenager. Another common title for youth is young person or young
people.[4]

well after knowing what exactly youth is and what is expected out of them, I’m sure we all are
aware that today’s youth or rather the future of the world , fail to match the level of
expectations!!! y is it so??? it is due to many problems and major distractions in their lives. it is
mainly due to the instability of minds…..

ERIKSON’S THEORY further explains the psychological development at all

ages …including the psychology of youths..

youths normally lie under the psychological stage of identity vs. confusion ………

• during adolescence , children are exploring their independence and developing a sense of
self.
those who receive proper and appropriate encouragement and reinforcement through
•
personal exploration , will emerge from the stage with a strong sense of self and feeling of
independence & control . those who remain unsure of their beliefs & desires will be
insecure & confused about themselves and the future…..!!!

Erikson's stages of psychosocial

development
The stages
Infancy: Trust vs. Mistrust (0 to 1 year)

• Psychosocial Crisis: Trust vs. Mistrust

• Virtue: Hope

Toddler: Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt (2 to 3 years)

• Psychosocial Crisis: Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt

• Virtue: Will

Preschool: Initiative vs. Guilt (4 to 6 years)

• Psychosocial Crisis: Initiative vs. Guilt

• Virtue: Purpose
• Related Elements in Society: ideal prototypes/roles

Childhood: Industry vs. Inferiority (7 to 12 years)

• Psychosocial Crisis: Industry vs. Inferiority

• Main Question: "Am I successful or worthless?"
• Virtue: Competence
• Related Elements in Society: division of labor

Adolescence: Identity vs. Role Confusion (15 to 25 years)

• Psychosocial Crisis: Identity vs. Role Confusion

• Main Question: "Who am I?"
• Ego quality: Fidelity
• Related Elements in Society: ideology

The adolescent is newly concerned with how he or she appears to others. Superego
identity is the accrued confidence that the outer sameness and continuity prepared in the
future are matched by the sameness and continuity of one's meaning for oneself, as
evidenced in the promise of a career. The ability to settle on a school or occupational
identity is pleasant. In later stages of Adolescence, the child develops a sense of sexual
identity.

As they make the transition from childhood to adulthood, adolescents ponder the roles
they will play in the adult world. Initially, they are apt to experience some role confusion-
mixed ideas and feelings about the specific ways in which they will fit into society- and
may experiment with a variety of behaviors and activities (e.g. tinkering with cars, baby-
sitting for neighbors, affiliating with certain political or religious groups). Eventually,
Erikson proposed, most adolescents achieve a sense of identity regarding who they are
and where their lives are headed.

Young Adulthood: Intimacy vs. Isolation (26 to 37 years)

• Main Question: "Am I loved and wanted?" or "Shall I share my life with someone
or live alone?"
• Ego quality: Love
• Related Elements in Society: patterns of cooperation (often marriage)

result.

Middle Adulthood: Generativity vs. Stagnation (38 to 65 years)

• Psychosocial Crisis: Generativity vs. Stagnation

• Virtue: Care
• Related Elements in Society: parenting, educating, or other productive social
involvement

Central tasks of Middle Adulthood

• Express love through more than sexual contacts.

• Maintain healthy life patterns.
• Develop a sense of unity with mate.
• Help growing and grown children to be responsible adults.
• Relinquish central role in lives of grown children.
• Accept children's mates and friends.
• Create a comfortable home.
• Be proud of accomplishments of self and mate/spouse.
• Reverse roles with aging parents.
• Achieve mature, civic and social responsibility.
• Adjust to physical changes of middle age.
• Use leisure time creatively.
• Love for others

Senior: Integrity vs. Despair (65 years onwards)

• Psychosocial Crisis: Integrity vs. Despair

• Virtue: Wisdom

As we grow older and become senior citizens we tend to slow down our productivity and
explore life as a retired person. It is during this time that we contemplate our
accomplishments and are able to develop integrity if we see ourselves as leading a
successful life. If we see our life as unproductive, feel about past, or feel that we did not
accomplish our life goals, we become dissatisfied with life and develop despair, often
leading to depression and hopelessness

Value of the theory

One value of this theory is that it illuminated why individuals who had been thwarted in
the healthy resolution of early phases (such as in learning healthy levels of trust and
autonomy in toddlerhood) had such difficulty with the crises that came in adulthood.
More importantly, it did so in a way that provided answers for practical application. It
raised new potential for therapists and their patients to identify key issues and skills that
required addressing. But at the same time, it yielded a guide or yardstick that could be
used to assess teaching and child rearing practices in terms of their ability to nurture and
facilitate healthy emotional and cognitive development.

"Every adult, whether he is a follower or a leader, a member of a mass or of an elite, was

once a child. He was once small. A sense of smallness forms a substratum in his mind,
ineradicably. His triumphs will be measured against this smallness, his defeats will
substantiate it. The questions as to who is bigger and who can do or not do this or that,
and to whom—these questions fill the adult's inner life far beyond the necessities and the
desirabilities which he understands and for which he plans." - Erik H. Erikson (1902–
1994), U.S. psychoanalyst. Childhood and Society, ch. 11 (1950).

youths normally lie under the psychological stage of identity

vs. confusion ………

• during adolescence , children are exploring their

independence and developing a sense of self.

• those who receive proper and appropriate encouragement

and reinforcement through personal exploration , will

emerge from the stage with a strong sense of self and

feeling of independence & control . those who remain

unsure of their beliefs & desires will be insecure &

confused about themselves and the future…..!!!