Psychosexual Development

Psychosexual Development is an important aspect of personality formation, including sexual and behavioral maturation. It is a process that begins in early childhood and continues throughout a person's life. Gender identification, sexual behavior, and mate choice are the three main areas of psychosexual development.

The understanding of psychosexual development was proposed by the famous Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. He proposed the concept of sequential development, which includes oral, anal, phallic and genital stages.

The oral stage is the first stage of psychosexual development, which begins at birth and lasts until approximately two years of age. In this stage, the baby gets satisfaction from sucking the mother's breast and other objects around him. This helps develop a child's sense of satisfaction and confidence in the world.

The anal stage begins around the age of two and continues until the age of three or four. In this stage, the child finds pleasure in controlling his body and discovering the ability to control his bowel movements and urination. During this period, the child also begins to realize that his behavior affects others.

The phallic stage begins around the age of three or four years and continues until the age of six or seven. At this stage, the child begins to realize that he has differences in the genitals, and that these differences matter. During this period, the child also begins to become aware of his sexuality, which can manifest itself in the form of fantasies and games.

The genital stage begins around the age of seven and continues until adolescence. At this stage, the child begins to become aware of his sexual desires and begins to look for ways to satisfy them. During this period, the child also begins to seek more intimate relationships with other people.

Psychosexual development is an important aspect of personality development and can influence many aspects of life, such as relationships, behavior and emotions. Understanding this process can help parents and educators in raising children and adolescents, and can also help people understand themselves and their needs.

The psychosexual process can be described as follows: a child develops bodily needs in childhood, and later they are expressed through behavior. This developmental pattern can vary from person to person and may differ between genders and cultures. Belonging to one or another stage of psychosexual development is not constant, since everything depends on many social, biological and cultural factors. Human development progresses from one stage to another, and this process is never completely completed as people continue to grow, change and evolve.

There are three main areas of psychosexual maturity, in addition to the physical and social maturation of the individual: puberty, behavioral maturation and the sexual choice phase. Typically, the psychosexual process focuses on changes in sexual behavior and the reproductive process, although we can talk about absolutely any aspect of sexual life. All this can contribute to the formation of human sexuality as a whole.

It is important to understand that in a psychoanalytic context, psychosexual development

**Psychosexual development** is a process that begins at birth and continues throughout a person’s life, determining his behavior, emotions and feelings. In this context, puberty is one of the most important aspects of psychosexual development, which affects all aspects of life.

**Gender identification,** gender self-determination and sexual behavior are three main factors in the development of psychosexuality. At each stage of life, a person goes through various developmental stages related to his sexual needs and preferences. - Oral stage: First 18 months of life. The baby is focused on the mother's breast and sucking, and this need may continue for several years after birth. This stage is also associated with the erogenous zone of the mouth, which can later develop into the homo-anal zone (also called the latent stage). - Anal stage: From 1 year to 3 years. The child learns to control his bowel movements and feces, which contributes to the development of his independence and independence from his parents. This stage is also associated with "attachment" or attachment to the mother, which helps the child form bonds with other people. - Phallic stage: 3–6 years. An era associated with the sexual development of a child. Most often accompanied by erection and ejaculation or masturbation. The phallic period involves looking at peers, the desire to break into “adulthood” and establishing relationships with the opposite sex. The child gets the opportunity to imitate the behavior of his parents, as well as observe and experiment with the behavior patterns of surrounding adults. - Genital stage: From early adulthood to the end of high school. This is the most stable and long-term stage of psychosexual maturation, from adolescence to puberty. During this period, sexual competence is mainly determined by the position of the adolescent's reproductive organs and their function. The transition between different ages and groups is associated with the gradual accumulation of life experience in the everyday practical sphere. Despite the relative stability, the physical and psychological adaptation of each human individual to a lifestyle can change in different cases and under the influence of various factors. It is not easy to track the individual characteristics of psychosexual dynamics, since the sexual reality of people is in many respects universal. The development of psychosexual maturity for an individual is an important factor in the emergence of humanistic and personal values, influencing the motivation to start a family and choose a profession.

Psychosexual evolution is the process by which a person acquires sexual maturity and the skills to successfully fulfill his or her needs. This development occurs sequentially and includes several stages that must be completed in order to reach maturity and function fully in their role in society.

The sequence of stages of psychosexual evolution was originally described by Sigmund Freud and later became known as the Freudian triad. In this theory, human development is viewed as a process of achieving a balance between feelings for parents and the formation of self-identity.

The first stage of psychosexual development is called oral. It covers the period from birth to approximately 2 years. During this period, the child is deeply dependent on his parents and uses his mouth mainly to obtain satisfaction from the breast or nipple. This is also where the response to emotional contact is formed through the use of the body to achieve satisfaction and love. Sexual desire develops, but it is still limited by the child's internal needs. At this stage, active personality formation has not yet appeared.

After the oral stage comes the anal stage, which lasts until about 4 years of age. The child begins to understand that his body can influence the world around him