Formation of personality psychological maturity and adulthood crises

Abstract

IntroductionAdulthood is the largest developmental period of a human lifespan. It includes the transition to a profession, the development of social and professional roles, the building of an active professional life, the formation of a family and the raising of children. Additionally, this period is associated with mentoring, wisdom, intergen- erational relationships and the dismissal from or ending of ones professional life. An understanding of the developmental principals, factors and characteristics involved in personality formation during different periods of adulthood is crucial for the development of social and psychological career development programs, family support programs, and psychological counseling and for the understanding of the mechanisms of human development. In our study, we assumed that psychological maturity could be one of the phenomena that indicate adult personality development (Golovey, 2012a). There are current studies that have attempted to identify the psychological content associated with the notion of adult personality development (Sukhobskaja (2002), Sergienko (2007), Nartova-Bochaver (2007), Kharlamenkova (2007)). In approaching this concept, the authors discuss the main characteristics of psychological maturity, noting the complexity and ambiguity of the definition of maturity in general and personality maturity in particular (Portnova, 2008; Shlyapnikova, 2010). Researchers have attempted to define the content of this concept in the context of personality potential such that personality potential is considered a characteristic of personality maturity (Leontiev, 2011). Some researchers have assumed that the main criterion of psychological maturity is personality self-determination, i.e., the ability to act in relative freedom of the given conditions (both external and internal) or in spite of the conditions (Abulkhanova-Slavskaya, 1999; Leontiev, 2011; Sergienko, 2007). Consistent with other researchers, we consider the psychological maturity of personality to be a complex phenomenon consisting of several criteria.By analyzing existing approaches, we found a lack of clarity with respect to the definitions of psychological maturity and its criteria. Thus, we aimed to determine the most universal and significant characteristics to operationalize this phenomenon. From a generalized perspective, psychological maturity could be considered as the integration of two aspects: individual psychological (intrapersonal) and social psychological (interpersonal). Based on theoretical analysis, most recognized criteria of the psychological maturity of personality are represented below (Dermanova, Manukyan, 2012):1. Responsibility (E. Fromm, E. Ericson, A.A. Rean, A.G. Asmolov, C. Rogers, S.K. Nartova-Bochaver).2. Reflexiveness, awareness (G. Allport, A. Maslow, C. Rogers, N.E. Kharlamenkova, K.A. Abulkhanova-Slavskaya, R.M. Shamionov, G.S. Sukhobskaya).3. Self-development (A. Maslow, C. Rogers, A.A. Rean, K.A. Abulkhanova-Slavskaya, A.L. Zhuravlev).4. Self-acceptance and self-respect (G. Allport, C. Rogers, N.E. Kharlamenkova, R. Kassel).5. Autonomy (C. Rogers, F. Peris, L.I. Bozhovich, J. Loevinger, S.K. Nartova- Bochaver, D.A. Leontiev).6. Viability (B.G. Ananiev, C. Rogers, G. Allport, D.A. Leontiev).7. Self-management and life organization (B.G. Ananiev, E.F. Rybalko, G.S. Sukhobskaya, A.G. Asmolov, K.A. Abulkhanova-Slavskaya, R.M. Shamionov).8. Integrity and congruence (C. Rogers, B.G. Ananiev, N.E. Kharlamenkova, J. Loevinger, C.G. Jung, E. Ericson).9. Width of social network (G. Allport, B.G. Ananiev, D.A. Leontiev).10. Tolerance, moral consciousness, humanistic values (G. Allport, A.A. Rean, G.S. Sukhobskaya, L. Kohlberg, A.A. Derkach, A.A. Bodalev, A.G. Asmolov, N.E. Kharlamenkova, A.L. Zhuravlev, R.M. Shamionov).11. Positive social relations (H. Sullivan, G. Allport, Z. Freud, E. Fromm, E. Ericson, C. …