Average age
There is the longest period in a person's life. It's called maturity.
Formally, two age ranges of maturity are distinguished:
- Maturity (first period) – 20 – 35 years;
- Maturity (second period): for men – 35 – 60 years;
- For women – 35 – 55 years old;
But, for some, this age is just numbers on a document, for others, it is an awareness of consistency and responsibility to oneself. Everyone approaches maturity differently.
Therefore, this stage varies over a fairly wide range: from 30 to 60-65 years. Maturity is determined by the life experience gained and the amount achieved by this period.
Levels of psychological maturity
Each person has a different degree of socialization: the number of contacts, the level of interaction, life values on the basis of which communication is based. This allows scientists to distinguish levels of maturity: low, high and medium. The main criteria include external and internal. The first includes the degree of mastery of the social competencies listed in the article.
The latter include traits that characterize personality: empathy, sociability, adequate self-esteem, responsibility, attentiveness, tolerance, etc.
The higher a person’s desire for self-knowledge and self-development, the faster he learns life lessons, developing responsibility and tolerance, the higher the level of maturity he has.
Benefits of middle age
Maturity is the most active and fruitful period in life and such a moment should not be missed. At this moment, a person fully reveals himself as an individual and as a person. The appearance is fully formed, and the psyche is prepared for most of life’s difficulties. The peak of intelligence development is reached in middle age.
Maturity is the time to fulfill all your dreams and decide on “great deeds.” A person strives to become the best in everything. Be a loyal friend, the best parent. Move high up the career ladder and become a reliable support for your family and friends. These desires certainly arise in an adult.
Mature age is different in that the personality does not have youthful maximalism. An adult thinks about his actions and understands a simple thing. No matter how hard you try, it’s impossible to be on time everywhere. Understands that often our capabilities do not coincide with our desires. And therefore, a mature person manages to do much more than a young, but “hot-headed” person.
In middle age, a person gets along better with other people. He knows how to admit his mistakes, listen to other people, and avoid unnecessary conflicts and altercations. Able to find common interests. A mature person does not try to prove anything if he believes he is right. When expressing a point of view, he argues for it with objective facts, in most cases from personal experience. In adulthood, it is easier to be in harmony with others, provided that you have had time to “grow up”.
Sociological scientists identify a general list of characteristics inherent in mature people:
- focus on the task at hand;
- tolerant behavior. Condescending attitude toward other people's shortcomings;
- independence from other people's opinions. An adult is not bound by the evaluative framework of other people;
- objective assessment of events occurring in life;
- constant reflection;
- a sense of belonging to society;
- stable moral views on life;
- periodically arising need for privacy;
- conscious making of important decisions;
- lack of youthful maximalism and restraint in behavior;
- understanding yourself and your desires.
But this does not mean that a mature personality is one that has reached its peak and stopped developing. A mature personality is a constantly developing system. An adult improves every day in everything he needs. Physically, spiritually, professionally – it doesn’t matter. This process does not end until old age. The best proverb for this period would be: “Live forever, learn forever!”
Early maturity
Its beginning coincides with the period of adolescence. The authors differ in determining the exact age limits, but the most common point of view is the position of V. Ginzburg. According to him, boys enter a period of psychological maturity from 16 to 24 years old; girls who grow up a little earlier - from 15 to 20 years old.
How is this stage characterized? A person is included in all types of social activity: he is endowed with legal and voting rights, creates a family, realizes himself professionally and learns economic responsibility. Having absorbed information about various social roles, a person begins to apply it to himself.
A. Tolstykh argues that during this period the beginning of the realization of emerging opportunities for self-development occurs. The main problem is often cited as the contradiction between isolation and closeness with others. At this time it is necessary:
- find harmony between reality and dreams;
- find a mentor;
- decide on a career;
- build a sphere of intimate and personal communication.
The main danger of middle age
If a person does not realize the significance of the moment of growing up, then stagnation will begin in some of these branches of development (if not in all directions). This is called psychological degradation of the individual. The person begins to feel sorry for himself. Gives free rein to whims and caprices.
What you need to do to avoid falling into “personal stagnation”:
- Give reasons and reveal your position to the person with whom you have a conflict. Don’t “put yourself in a pose”, don’t put on a mask of resentment;
- Overcome your fears and doubts. Remember: only you create boundaries for yourself. Which bar to jump over is up to you;
- Listen to yourself and your inner voice. Do not rely on the opinions of others in resolving issues related to personal problems;
- Be honest. Remember that lies tend to accumulate and then come back to you doubly;
- Don't be afraid that someone won't like you. Be yourself and always present yourself to people as you really are. Sooner or later the carnival ends and the masks have to be taken off;
- Be clear about your desires and soberly assess the possibilities. One without the other will create an imbalance in your inner world and negatively impact your daily life.
Authenticity
From ancient Greek the word is translated as “genuine” and echoes the concept of “congruence.” We are talking about the adequacy and consistency of the elements. In this context, it is comparable to the word “originality” and is one of the most important indicators of the psychological maturity of an individual.
The phenomenon is described by the American scientist D. Bugental, who includes the following points:
- awareness of the present;
- freedom of choice here and now;
- awareness of one's own responsibility for this choice.
An authentic person is sincere in his immediate manifestations and in his behavior in general. He does not pretend to be knowledgeable, in love or pleased in response to the expectations of others. Many strive to play roles, putting on masks and wasting energy on demonstrating a decent external facade without solving internal problems. In response, they also receive insincerity, making it difficult to decipher the real attitude of other people towards themselves.
An authentic personality spends time solving problems that arise, without hiding behind someone else's mask. She is capable of showing flexibility in any situation.
Psychology of midlife crisis
Maturity is also distinguished by the presence of an unpleasant psychological period. It's called a midlife crisis. This concept is not entirely scientific, but psychologists use it to classify this phenomenon.
Midlife crisis (thirty) - manifests itself in the need to radically change your life. A person begins to become disillusioned with himself and the world around him. Even among close and familiar people. Disturbances in the functioning of the nervous system begin.
It occurs differently in the female and male halves. Women more often complain about family and career. They go to two extremes. Career women dream of a family, and those who decided early on to create a home want to try an “independent and free life.” Mental disorders appear: insomnia, depression, melancholy, and so on.
Men have similar experiences, but they are more likely to get down to business than women. Often, a man over thirty can suddenly change jobs or refuse to communicate with many friends. It costs him nothing to radically change his lifestyle and social circle. If a man feels that he is “bound” by people or circumstances, he often decides to take decisive action.
The degree of experience of this process is completely different. From mild depression and anxiety to a manic desire to change your life at any cost. The degree of development of mental disorders depends on the individual characteristics of the individual.
It is possible to overcome these crisis difficulties. Look at yourself and the surrounding reality with the objective gaze of an adult. Without rose-colored glasses. And then you will understand what to change first in your life, and what is already working properly.
Learn more about all the problems of a midlife crisis in the video:
Psychological maturity: concept
There is no single approach to defining what it is. The only thing that is indisputable is the statement that we can talk about maturity in the period when a person is at the peak of his intellectual, physical and spiritual abilities. Its maturation occurs gradually and marks the transition:
- from subordination to elders in the family - to equality;
- from dependence to independence;
- from the simplest set of reactions to external influences - to a diverse behavioral repertoire;
- from a carefree life - to awareness of one’s responsibility for events;
- from primitive hobbies to more complex interests.
A person’s impulsive actions are replaced by deliberate steps, building a long-term perspective based on previous experience. It is the latter that can force a person to give up immediate achievements in the name of obtaining more serious benefits in the future. What periods of psychological maturity do scientists identify?
The body of a mature person
Having touched on the psychology and personal characteristics of maturity, let us remember the physiological side of this period.
At maturity, the human body reaches its peak of development. Appearance and basic facial features are fully formed. Hormonal processes are stabilized. But depending on the human phenotype and certain physiological characteristics of each individual, changes in the body may differ.
So, someone becomes more fat deposits throughout the body or in certain areas of it. Someone, on the contrary, gains muscle mass and builds a body that they never thought of at a young age. Some people start to turn grey, while others' hair may change color. In this age period, a lot is possible and there is something to be surprised about.
Don't forget that you fill your life with meaning and determine your inner age. What difference does it make to you 30 or 40 if you have aspirations and desires? The only difference is that in adulthood there are many more opportunities and resources for their implementation. So don’t miss the chance and move forward to new achievements!
Late maturity
The psychological maturity of an individual is associated with retirement, so its age limits are flexible. There are three most important points that allow us to talk about a new, independent stage in the development of the individual:
- change of activity;
- survival;
- preservation of values and the basic content of life.
It is important for a person to overcome the feeling of unnecessary anxiety, emptiness, and excessive self-focus. This is achieved through:
- active involvement in social, family and community relationships;
- the emergence of tolerance in relationships with other people;
- emotional stability;
- accepting a real and not a desired picture of the world;
- abilities for self-knowledge and the formation of an established system of values.
Scientists note: one of the most important moments of psychological maturity in old age is the correct feeling of one’s age, overcoming the contradictions of a person’s spiritual, biological and psychological capabilities.
