The importance of childhood development is undeniable: it acts as a foundation for adult life. Erik Erikson believed that personality develops in a fixed order via eight phases of psychosocial development (Cherry, 2021). An individual goes through a psychological crisis at each level, which can have a beneficial or harmful impact on further personality development (Cherry, 2021). It may dictate the difficulty of growth in later years but does not deny the opportunity for positive change. Therefore, childhood development might not be considered more essential than adult development.
Even in adulthood, traumatic experiences may render the positive shift in younger years ineffective. Nevertheless, there are no permanent changes in personality in practice as everyone may grow and develop with enough support. Adults and children face different challenges, which can enable or restrain the development of identity (Cherry, 2021). Adulthood occurs in a more sophisticated manner than early childhood due to the complexity of human society.
In particular, while earlier stages of Erikson’s development focus on one’s self through the construction of trust, a sense of personal control, and a sense of pride, mature phases concentrate on something more complicated (Cherry, 2021). Adults need to produce things that will outlive them and evolve towards intricate experiences, such as building a family or a career (Cherry, 2021). Although childhood accomplishments can potentially influence adulthood development, people can change their personalities once they have achieved adolescence. For instance, Erikson’s theory describes how social interactions impact one’s identity across the whole lifespan (Cherry, 2021). Consequently, one can assume that while childhood growth matters, individuals can transform how they think, feel, and behave depending on who they interact with and the effects of social connections on the perception of challenges.
Reference
Cherry, K. (2021). Erik Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development. VeryWellMind. Web.