The Stages of Personality Development of Youth

Every person is distinctive in terms of their behavior, which makes them unique. The development of organized patterns of behaviors and attitudes is recognizable soon after birth, known as personality development. It’s determined in terms of the following components:

Character
We learn from experience. On that account, your cognitive, emotional, and behavioral patterns determine how you think, feel, and behave. Even though your characteristics evolve throughout your lifecycle, the inborn traits and early experiences often tend to linger on.

Environment
Environmental factors that shape an individual’s personality are referred to as ‘nurture.’ If a parent can comprehend how the child reacts in a given situation, they can predict issues that are problematic for their child and prepare them to tackle them better if they reoccur. In some cases, parents can also decide to remove the child from the situation altogether.

Temperament
Genetical traits often determine the child’s outlook on approaching the world, as they control the nervous system’s development that reflects onto their behavior. Due to its dependency on genetic factors, it can be referred to as the ‘nature’ of an individual.

The following stages in the human lifecycle influence personality development:

1. Infancy
The first two years of the life of a baby define trust. A nurtured baby develops a sense of trust and security, while a poorly handled one becomes insecure and gets a gist of mistrust.

2. Toddlerhood
Children may begin to express their temperament between months 18 to 48 (i.e., 1 ½ to 4 years), including negativism, tantrums, and stubbornness, but a well-parented child may also display strains of self-confidence.

3. Preschool
From 3 years to the time a child is enrolled in a formal school, the stage is called play age, during which a child learns to use their imagination and explore their fantasy while cooperating with our children or leading them during active play. In case the child is unable to join any groups, they become fearful and harbor feelings of guilt.

4. School-age
During this stage, the child masters formal skills such as communicating with peers as per rules, structured play, and learning intellectual skills such as reading, writing, arithmetic. This stage concludes at junior high school, but each year the level of self-discipline must increase gradually. A child in doubt will be left to feel inferior to progressive learning.

5. Adolescence
From 13 to 14 years of age, a child’s maturity begins to develop in terms of self-certainty. Even though children may establish sex identity later in life, they can seek role models and generate their own rules to accomplish targets.

Youth With A Future is a non-profit organization that aims to increase the urban youth’s capacity for unfolding their full potential for success in leadership, professional, and personality development. We conduct workshops, classes, and conferences for mentoring and networking. Contact us for more information regarding our programs, scholarship, internship, or volunteering opportunities.