A map of how we grow, mature, and find meaning through the stages of life.
We all understand that a 7-year-old and a 40-year-old differ greatly in how they understand the world, and in their skills and knowledge. Many theories describe stages of psychological development in both children and adults. While several well-known models focus on early development, my interest is mainly in adult development.
Many researchers have worked to create scales that help identify a personโs developmental stage. This can be useful for understanding how we make decisions and how we respond to lifeโs challenges and transitions. ๐ ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ข ๐ข๐ค๐ณ๐ฐ๐ด๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ช๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ช๐ด ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ข๐ญ: ๐ช๐ง ๐ข ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐จ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ด๐ถ๐ง๐ง๐ช๐ค๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ญ๐บ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐จ๐ณ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ, ๐ช๐ต ๐ช๐ด ๐ฅ๐ช๐ง๐ง๐ช๐ค๐ถ๐ญ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ ๐ง๐ถ๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐น๐ต ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ.
๐๐๐ซ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ ๐ โ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ฅ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ญ๐ญ๐๐๐ก๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ
In childhood and adolescence, the main needs are safety, care, and attachment. A child depends on others for food, shelter, and emotional security.
๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐๐ฎ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ ๐ โ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฏ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ง๐๐ฌ๐๐ฅ๐
As a young adult, the focus shifts to independence and achievement. There is a strong drive to prove oneself, compete, and find a place in the world. Separation from parents and authority figures often happens here, along with a belief in oneโs limitless potential and less awareness of limitations.
๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ ๐ โ ๐๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ง๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ
With some stability in career and material life, attention turns to relationships, family, and community. People develop intimate relationships, build families, and take responsibility for others. Social roles and belonging become important.
๐๐๐ฅ๐-๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ ๐ โ ๐ข๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ, ๐ฆ๐๐๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ , ๐๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ง๐๐ซ ๐๐ข๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง
This stage is often a turning point and can feel turbulent. A more mature adult begins to ask deeper questions such as ๐๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐? ๐๐ฉ๐บ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ? ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ญ๐ช๐ง๐ฆ? These are questions about identity and purpose, not just goals. People reach this stage at different times, and some much later in life.
Here, a person starts to rely more on an internal sense of direction than on external expectations. They question their beliefs and inherited norms, and begin defining what is true and right for themselves. There is a stronger ability to set boundaries, hold personal values, and make decisions guided by an inner compass.
Emotional responsibility also grows. A person becomes clearer about their feelings and works to manage them. They can understand othersโ perspectives without losing their own, creating healthier and more balanced relationships.At its core, this stage is about consciously shaping your beliefs, identity, and relationships. You begin to define yourself and your worldview from the inside out, rather than adopting them from others.
๐๐๐ฅ๐-๐๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ณ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ ๐ โ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ง๐โ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก
A smaller percentage of people reach this stage. There is no need for approval or proving oneself. Actions are guided by values and a desire to contribute. People focus on making a meaningful difference and acting in alignment with their true self and in connection with others.
๐๐๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ ๐ โ ๐๐๐๐๐ฉ๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐๐ ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง
The final stage centers on reflection and acceptance. A person looks back on their life with a sense of completion, integrating their experiences and accepting their life path as it is.