Stages of psychosexual development. Psychosexual development of children of three to five years

PSYCHOSEXUAL DEVELOPMENT Orthodox point of view: phallic stage Urethral eroticism. Some orthodox analysts place the urethral stage between the anal and the phallic. Fenichel (18) recognizes the importance of urethral eroticism, but within the limits

Psychosexual development The latent period is characterized by a relative decrease in infantile sexual interests and the emergence of new areas of activity and attitudes, the energy of new interests is still sexual in origin, but is realized to a large extent.

To begin with, our behavior is largely unconscious to us. For the most part, this is the experience that we received in early childhood or even infancy, reacting to some kind of irritants or stressful situations. This experience was included in the system of our responses and we continue to use it all our lives. And if we take into account that the first experience has the strongest emotional coloring, it becomes clear why this feeling continues to guide us at critical moments in our lives.

I think many have heard that Z. Freud attached great importance to the desire of a person to enjoy his body. He called this desire the libidinal instinct, and the very energy of desire - libido. Freud believed that each person is born with a certain amount of sexual energy (libido). Moreover, by sexual energy we will mean not only the desire to enjoy sex, but, in principle, to enjoy any of our bodily functions.

At different periods of life, this energy is most manifested in one zone of the body, which serves as the main source of pleasure. It was by the "place" of receiving pleasure that the stages of human development were named. All of them are associated with different erogenous zones, i.e. particularly sensitive areas of the body. These include eyes, ears, mouth, anus, mammary glands, genitals.

That. the psychological development of a person is largely determined by his biological logic of development. But individual traits and character traits will depend on how favorably or not this or that stage proceeded, in what social conditions it happened, what values ​​and attitudes were invested by parents at one or another stage of human development.

Freud identified 5 stages of psychosexual personality development.

1. The oral stage lasts from the moment of birth to one and a half years and takes the period of breastfeeding.

2. The anal stage lasts from one and a half to three years. This is the period when the child is most intensively potty trained and learns to control his sphintras (muscle rings) by mastering his excretory function.

3. phallic stage takes a period of three to six years, when interest in the opposite sex and awareness of the differences between the sexes come to the fore.

4. Latent stage lasts from six to twelve years, characterizing a period of calm in the human psyche, when not instinctive life comes to the fore, but knowledge of the world and building social contacts.

5. genital stage occurs during puberty. From this moment on, sexual energy begins to declare itself in full voice and a person

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finds new ways of getting pleasure, only partially available to him before. Against the background of this hormonal storm, the final formation of a person's personality takes place.

oral stage:

This is the period when the main task of a newly born little man is to ensure its existence by absorbing mother's milk. Babies receive purely physical pleasure from this vital nourishment. Thus, the mouth area becomes an instrument and source of physical and psychological pleasure. And sucking movements are fixed as a way to get pleasure.

The mouth is fixed as an important erogenous zone in adulthood. This manifests itself both in a sexual form (desire to cling to a partner’s chest) and in non-sexual forms of behavior: chewing sucking gum, sucking lollipops, sucking and chewing pen caps, smoking, biting nails, overeating, licking and chewing lips and other similar manipulations related to with a mouth.

Since at this time the baby is completely dependent on others, primarily on the mother, it is at this stage that the basic basic attitudes of the personality are laid, such as dependence - independence, a sense of trust in people and the world as a whole, a sense of having support in the environment. the world.

Since the baby does not separate himself from his mother, he initially perceives the mother's breast as part of himself. He sees himself as the center of the universe, whose desires must be instantly fulfilled. Over time, this passes, and the more adult child will transfer the psychological function that the mother's breast had for the baby to some part of his body. As a rule, it is the tongue or fingers that replace the original object of pleasure and a sense of security with a much more accessible one. In the future, a child who feels insecure, or who does not receive the motherly care he needs, will resort to complacency by sucking his own finger. As for adults: smokers begin to smoke one cigarette after another, gluttons overeat, sometimes without even feeling the taste of food, completely occupied with the process of absorption, well, some people “drown grief in wine” ...

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An important point for the further development of the child's psyche is the process of weaning. The earlier it passed, when the need for care, stability and support has not yet been fully satisfied, the more significant will be its consequences for the child's psyche. What is important here is not so much the time interval as such, but the child's subjective feeling of loss, the depth and strength of his grief. Ideally, children themselves gradually refuse to breastfeed, gradually switching to eating vegetable purees, etc. mixtures.

Now let's take a closer look at the personality types that are formed at this stage of development.

oral-passive a personality type is formed when the child received insufficient love and care from the mother, or when he received them beyond measure. Maternal love and care is manifested incl. in the amount of milk that a mother could give her child.

A person with this type of personality is characterized by a cheerful and optimistic disposition, he, as a rule, is tuned in to the best, tends not to notice difficulties, and is not ready to overcome them. He expects others to take care of himself maternally, naively believing that they will solve his problems. And when reality contradicts his expectations, he cannot understand how this happened, why it happened, and what to do now.

This is a very dependent personality type. He seeks constant approval of his behavior from those around him. In addition to being immature and passive, he is also extremely trusting and easily influenced by others. Unable to take good care of himself, he seeks to find a person or group who will take on this task, psychologically replacing his mother. Therefore, such people often become adherents of various sects, passive members of youth and not very movements, etc. communities.

Orally aggressive the personality type is formed when fixation occurs at the second stage of the oral stage of development, when the child has teeth. Now, with their help, he gets a more powerful tool for expressing his displeasure. When the mother does not immediately approach the child, is absent from the room for a long time, or is not fully focused on the feeding process, he may express his displeasure by biting the breast. Sometimes these bites are very painful, up to biting the mother's nipples to the point of blood.

Like a baby, an adult who is stuck at this stage of psychological development will bite others, but not with his teeth, but verbally. This will find its expression in love in arguments, sarcasm, constant hairpins and jokes. In general, this type is very characteristic

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excessive speech activity and the desire to assert themselves through their oratory skills. Such a person may start an argument for the sake of the argument itself, for the sake of simply demonstrating his own superiority.

Unlike the first, a pessimistic attitude will prevail in the character of this type. He is very cynical about everything that surrounds him. He will try to use other people solely to satisfy his own needs. In addition, it clearly expresses the desire to dominate, subjugating all those who cannot resist it.

Typology of personality according to Z. Freud. anal character.

The anal stage begins at about 18 months of age and lasts up to three years. During this period, the child learns to go to the toilet on his own. He derives great satisfaction from this control, as this is one of the first functions that requires him to be aware of his actions.

Freud was convinced that the way parents teach their child to use the toilet has an impact on his later personal development. All future forms of self-control and self-regulation originate in the anal stage. After all, now for the first time the child is so acutely confronted with the need to harmonize his natural desires with the requirements of society put forward in the person of his parents. Now he can and must choose whether to go along with his immediate desire or to submit to social restrictions and receive the desired approval of others.

Typology of personality. Anal stage of development: anal-retaining personality type is formed when parents are too rigid in the task of teaching a child to use the toilet. They may demand that he immediately go to the potty, otherwise his mother will have no time to do this later (or any other reason of your choice). This behavior causes natural resistance in the child, which is manifested in the fact that he begins to become constipated. If this situation continues some time then formed anal-retaining personality type.

He is characterized by extraordinary stubbornness, unwillingness to obey the requirements, even if they are logical, but on the contrary, the desire to insist on his own at all costs. Another characteristic feature of this type of personality is stinginess. A person carefully stores money, accumulating it and spending it with difficulty, just as he previously did not let out his inner “wealth”.

In addition, this type of personality is distinguished by methodicalness, scrupulousness and punctuality. A person of this type tends to arrange and arrange according to

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shelves of the event and objects surrounding it. He does not tolerate disorder and confusion, and also experiences great stress in a situation of uncertainty. Often he is prone to analysis and makes decisions only after carefully weighing the pros and cons. In a calm state, he is absolutely incapable of spontaneous actions. But even being excited, he is able to restrain his impulses for a long time.

Anal Ejector type is another form of protest against overly intense potty training. This type is less common and has traits such as being destructive and impulsive. These tendencies can be limited only to verbal forms, manifested in the desire to mess up, crap any idea, smear a person on the wall, but they can also be expressed in physical violence against people.

This type is characterized by sadistic cruelty, the desire to hurt another person. In their love relationships, these people perceive the object of their passion as an object that they seek to possess. In this case, the reciprocal desire of the object to approach is taken into account very little. This type is also characterized by a rather high level of anxiety, which makes him constantly stay in a defensive position. And since the best defense for him is an attack, he is inclined to strike preemptively, arguing his behavior by the fact that the person himself provoked it. Thus, husbands of this type often beat their wives, seeing even in their submissive behavior a hidden form of challenge to themselves.

In order for this stage of development to be most favorable for the child, parents should take a more balanced position, encouraging the child to learn new behavior, but in no case forcing him. They need to encourage and praise the child for regular bowel movements, allowing him to control this process for the most part. Such a position not only forms the feeling of “I can” in the baby, but also contributes to the development of positive self-esteem, and also creates conditions for the development of creative abilities.

Typology of personality according to Z. Freud. phallic character.

Between the ages of three and six, a child's interests shift to a new area, the genital area. During the phallic stage, children can look at and explore their genitals, show interest in matters related to sexual relations. Although their ideas about adult sexuality are usually vague, erroneous, and highly inaccurate, Freud believed that most children understand the essence of sexual relations.

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clearer than parents suggest. Based on what they saw on TV, on some phrases of their parents or on the explanations of other children, they draw a “primary” scene.

Normally, psychologically, boys identify themselves with their father, and girls with their mother. Accordingly, they experience a love-erotic attraction to the parent of the opposite sex, which for them is the ideal and ultimate dream. So, every child, whether boy or girl, wants to take possession of the object of his love, secretly wanting to supplant the other parent in order to take his place. The child can demonstrate his desire both explicitly and in a hidden form. After all, on the one hand, he loves both parents, and on the other hand, he is afraid of the punishment that the parent, whom he wants to force out of this kind of love triangle, can apply. If parents, taking an adult position, allow events to develop in their own way, then sooner or later the child will give up the dream of taking the place of a parent of the same sex next to the “best” dad or mom. Now he will console himself with the thought that, when he grows up, he will find himself a life partner “as good” as his dad / mom.

If for some reason the development of the child did not go according to a given scenario, then he will experience various personality deviations. Thus, a boy who identifies himself with his mother, and not with his father, as it should be in the norm, will grow up more passive and feminine than his brothers, although I will say right away that this does not mean at all that such character traits will be accompanied by a homosexual orientation.

If the mother herself, with whom he associates himself, has masculine character traits, dominating the father, then both a feminine-passive and a more masculine type of man is possible, depending on which part of the mother’s personality will be more identify as a boy.

It should be noted that a parent of the same sex plays an important role in raising a child, since it is he who is traditionally more strict with his child. While a parent of the opposite sex, as a rule, tends to be more loyal to the child, limiting him less and forgiving him pranks. This is especially true, of course, for mothers raising sons. After all, traditionally men are engaged in raising children to a much lesser extent.

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A large role in the subsequent development and formation of the girl as a woman is played by the figure of the father. A loyal and little forbidding father contributes to the formation of a more feminine character in her than a strict and rude one. In the latter case, there is a great chance of identifying the girl with her father and developing a courageously cruel character in her. In addition, by the way her father treated her, the girl formed expectations about how other men should treat her. Growing up, she expects the same behavior from her chosen one. And even if she did not like the behavior of her father who beat her, she may unconsciously desire to see a strong and powerful man next to her, rejecting and despising those who are more gentle in dealing with her.

Phallic character:

Men with fixation at this stage of development are characterized by very impudent, boastful and reckless behavior. They seem to be trying to prove to themselves and the world that they are worth something. Therefore, they are very prone to all sorts of adventures, bravado, spectacular deeds. Often such men strive for success at any cost, but when they achieve it, they cannot enjoy it. Having just taken this height, they already see another, which they have not yet conquered, and which they certainly need to conquer.

This type of man seeks to draw attention to his person, especially to his masculinity. It is simply vital for them to prove to everyone that they are real men. To do this, they can choose one of the most direct and obvious ways - the conquest of as many women as possible. At the same time, the woman herself, as such, may not even be interested in them. They are driven to action by the opportunity to show their power over her. Such a man must constantly prove to himself and others that no woman can resist him. But, as soon as the desired goal is achieved, he immediately loses his interest in the woman, I switch all my energy to winning a new trophy.

Women who have not gone through this stage of development unfavorably are very apt to place an excessive bet on their external attractiveness and ability to seduce. Those. in principle, they do the same thing that I wrote about men, but only in the female version. They can also collect men who have not resisted their charm, seeing in this a clear proof of their own exclusivity and superiority over their rivals. Very often, for such women, it is the “busy” man that becomes the challenge. They can go to a variety of tricks and tricks to force him to give up, and immediately after that leave him as unnecessary.

Such women are characterized by very promiscuity. After all, they perceive their readiness for sex as a kind of hidden weapon. But at

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Outwardly, such a woman may not at all look like an insidious seductress or a dissolute person. Often she can seem quite naive and even innocent, looking at the world with wide eyes full of adoration. But behind this attractive shell may be hiding a ruthless bounty hunter...

But in women with fixation at this stage, it can occur completely different personality type, if instead of taking on the female role, the lady begins to fight with men for primacy, trying to prove that she is no worse than the stronger sex. Such women behave assertively and self-confidently. They also constantly try to prove their superiority over men, often trying to humiliate them, show their failure and incompetence. This desire can take various forms: jokes, criticisms, advice, reproaches like "I told you ...", hints, sexual coldness, assault. Anything can be used to make it clear how bad a man is, and

how good she is against his background (always right).

Latent stage

We continue to consider the stages of the psychosexual development of children, and today one of the calmest stages, the latent one, is next in line.

In the interval from 6-7 years to the onset of adolescence, the child's libido is directed outside through sublimation (reorientation to social activity). During this period, the child is interested in various intellectual activities, sports, communication with peers. The latent period can be seen as a time of preparation for adulthood, which will come in the last psychosexual stage.

IN In the personality of the child, such structures as ego and superego appear. What it is? If we recall the main provisions of Freud's theory of the structure of personality, then we can imagine a certain scheme:

The superego is a system of norms, values, in other words, the human conscience. It is formed when the child interacts with significant figures, primarily with parents.

Ego - responsible for direct contact with the outside world. It is perception, thinking, learning.

The id is our drives, instinctive, innate, unconscious aspirations.

Thus, by the age of 6-7 years, the child has already formed all those personality traits and response options that he will use throughout his life. And during the latent period there is a "honing" and strengthening of his views, beliefs, worldview. During this period, the sexual instinct is supposedly dormant.

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genital stage

After the end of the latent stage, which continues until puberty, sexual and aggressive urges begin to recover, and with them interest in the opposite sex and an increasing awareness of this interest. The initial phase of the Genital stage (the period lasting from maturity to death) is characterized by biochemical and physiological changes in the body. The result of these changes is the increase in excitability and increased sexual activity characteristic of adolescents.

According to Freud's theory, all individuals go through early adolescence through a "homosexual" period. A new explosion of sexual energy of a teenager is directed at a person of the same sex with him (for example, at a teacher, classmate, neighbor). This phenomenon may not be pronounced, more often it is limited by the fact that adolescents prefer to communicate with their peers of the same sex. However, gradually the partner of the opposite sex becomes the object of libido energy, and courtship begins.

genital character is the ideal personality type in psychoanalytic theory. This is a mature and responsible person in social and sexual relations. Freud was convinced that in order to form an ideal genital character, a person must take an active role in solving life problems, abandon the passivity inherent in early childhood, when love, security, physical comfort - in fact, all forms of satisfaction, were easily given. and nothing was required in return.

Summarizing information on all the stages of psychosexual development already considered, we can draw the following conclusions: lack of attention or overprotection at the first, oral stage of psychosexual development leads to passivity or cynicism as a character trait. Fixation at the anal stage - to stubbornness, stinginess, cruelty. Unresolved problems of the Oedipus complex provoke a tendency to promiscuous love affairs, neurotic behavior patterns, frigidity or impotence. Lack of understanding in the Genital period - the inability to take responsibility and passivity in one's own life.

Psychosexual development can be affected by many negative factors - hereditary, biological, psychological, social, microenvironment (the immediate environment of a person).

In the mental and sexual development of a person, critical periods are of great importance, during which sensitivity to various factors increases.

In intrauterine life, the critical period is the gestation period from 6 to 32 weeks. At this time, sexual differentiation occurs - the sex glands and genital organs develop, as well as brain structures responsible for sexual behavior.

Negative effects on the fetus during the critical period, for example, the mother taking hormonal and certain drugs (testosterone, progestins, reserpine), stress, fetal asphyxia, impaired uteroplacental circulation, can cause various disturbances in the development of the embryo.

If the aforementioned factors negatively affect the fetus, then a violation of the sexual differentiation of the brain may occur. The degree of its severity may be different.

With a severe degree of violation of the sexual differentiation of the brain, a girl is born with female genital organs, and outwardly she looks like a girl, but from childhood, from the age of 3-4, she considers herself a boy. She acts like boys, wears boys clothes, demands that everyone, including her parents, consider her a boy, and as she gets older, she hates her female genitals and demands that she be changed sex - hormonally and surgically, and also changed her gender in all official documents. This violation is considered sexual perversion and is called transsexualism. There is no sexual attraction to men, such women are attracted to women, couples are created, and in “marriage” with a woman they play a male role.

With an average degree of violation of the sexual differentiation of the brain, a woman does not consider herself a man, does not seek to change her gender to male, but wears male clothes and wants to be perceived as a man and behave like a man. This is also a sexual perversion and is called transvestism. Most often, such women experience sexual attraction to women.

With a mild degree of violation of the sexual differentiation of the brain, a woman outwardly looks like a woman, but she dresses emphatically strictly, wears strict hairstyles, does not like cosmetics, jewelry and other female tricks in order to look more attractive. Some of these women prefer prestigious male professions and male society, where they are on an equal footing with men. They cannot stand the courtship of men and treat them in a purely comradely manner. They have no femininity, no softness, no flexibility. The character is dominated by "male" traits, sometimes in an exaggerated form - decisiveness, uncompromisingness, straightforwardness. Sexual attraction to men is absent or reduced. Many of them remain single. If they get married, then marriage with an ordinary man may fall apart, since a man does not tolerate such traits in his wife. They get along only with feminine men, and in marriage they change roles. This violation is called the transformation of gender-role behavior. Some of these women demand full equality in the rights of men and women and become fanatical feminists.

The following age periods are considered critical periods for the development of sexuality and the occurrence of sexual disorders: 2-4 years, 7-8 years, 12-15 years, 16-24 years.

The main direction in the development of the human psyche is the transition from the lower to the higher.

In the process of child development, there is a transition from the satisfaction of biological needs (for food, sleep) and primitive emotions of pleasure and displeasure to higher emotions, social ideas and social consciousness are formed, a correct assessment of one's abilities is formed.

This pattern is also characteristic of psychosexual development. In the process of becoming sexuality, the biological determinism (predestination) of the sex role (male or female) is influenced by social factors. The hormonal background determines the intensity of manifestations of sexuality.

Violation of the pace of psychosexual development affects the entire future life of a person. In the process of individual development, sexual self-awareness, gender role and psychosexual orientations are formed.

Sexual identity is a feeling of being a representative of one sex or another. With the right sexual self-awareness, a woman feels like a woman, a man feels like a man. Sexual identity is violated in transsexualism.

A gender role is a socio-psychological role inherent in a particular sex. Gender-role behavior is behavior inherent in a particular gender. Normally, a woman behaves like a woman and plays a female gender role in society and in relationships with the opposite sex, a man, accordingly, plays a male role. Violation of gender-role behavior is observed during transvestism and transformation of gender-role behavior, when a woman plays a male sexual role, and a man plays a female one.

Psychosexual orientation is the orientation of sexual attraction to a certain gender. Normally, this is a heterosexual orientation, that is, attraction directed to the opposite sex - a woman is attracted to men, a man is attracted to women. With homosexual orientation, sexual attraction is directed to members of the same sex - a woman is sexually attracted to women, a man is sexually attracted to men.

The psychosexual development of a person begins from the first months of life. Leading domestic sexologists G.S. Vasilchenko, V.M. Maslov, I.L. Botneva distinguish 3 stages of the formation of psychosexual development:

The formation of sexual consciousness (1-7 years) is largely determined by the sexual differentiation of the brain in the period of intrauterine development.

The conditions of upbringing also influence the development of sexual self-awareness. In the process of its development, the child begins to realize his belonging to a certain gender (male or female), realizes the irreversibility of his gender, distinguishes the sex of those around him. After this period, it is already difficult to change the sexual identity of the child.

The child's psyche develops, speech is formed, the child learns to compare and contrast various objects and their images, distinguishes himself from the surrounding world (self-consciousness). Emotional reactions prevail over rational ones. This ensures the selectivity of attachments and communication of the child.

Children's curiosity is aimed at finding out the reasons for the birth of children, studying their body and sexual characteristics, the structure of their genitals and organs of the opposite sex. Children play "doctor" while they undress and look at each other's bodies. Half of the boys and girls play "doctor" separately.

The child determines the gender of the people around him by all signs of gender - appearance, clothing and its accessories, the structure of the body and genital organs.

The environment of the child in this period is limited to parents, relatives and a small circle of peers. The strongest attachment the child experiences to the mother.

Psychiatrists believe that contact with the mother is essential for a child from 6-7 months to 3 years. It is she who spends most of the time with the child and serves as a source of stimulation for him of all his senses - vision, hearing, touch and others, which contributes to the development of certain brain structures.

Attachment to the mother lays the foundation for future relationships with others. Deprivation of the mother in this period subsequently leads to various mental disorders - limiting the ability to normal relationships with others, responding to strangers with fear and aggression. Such children grow up cruel, irritable, prone to impulsive behavior, illegible in the choice of friends, treat comrades superficially, their quality of thinking is impaired.

But a lot depends on heredity, and on how the child developed in the prenatal period and early childhood. With many negative influences, the so-called organic brain damage develops. All together creates a certain basis of the child's psyche, which psychiatrists call "soil".

Children with healthy "soil", even left without a mother and raised by foster parents, if they are surrounded by caress, care and attention of adults, can grow up as harmonious personalities. And children with pathological “soil”, even with a living mother, can have various mental disorders, including sexual ones, especially with improper upbringing.

Formation of a stereotype of sex-role behavior (7-13 years old) - that is, behavior that corresponds (or does not correspond) to the sex of a person.

In this period, there is a choice of a gender role (male or female), which corresponds to the mental and physical characteristics of the child and the ideals of the concept of masculinity (masculinity - that is, traits inherent in the male sex) and femininity (femininity - that is, traits inherent in the female sex ).

There is a socialization of the child - that is, awareness of himself as a member of society and the assimilation of moral and ethical norms of behavior accepted in society, a collective consciousness is formed in him. The child learns to communicate with peers.

Emotional reactions develop and improve, the prevailing mood is formed, character is formed. This age is characterized by insufficient development of the will, impulsive behavior (acts committed without prior deliberation, impulsively), curiosity, gullibility, the desire to imitate adults and peers. Abstract-logical thinking begins to develop, the child begins to formulate concepts.

Parents and their relationships become the object of close attention of the child and an example to follow. Interpersonal relationships and individual traits of parents are perceived by the child as a model of masculinity and femininity, an example of gender relations.

This implies the importance of a normal family microclimate, emotional relationships between parents and their correct behavior. Parents educate the child more not with words, but with their own example. Therefore, it is not enough to tell and explain to the child how he should behave correctly if the parents themselves behave differently.

The formation of the appropriate gender role in the child largely depends on the correct gender-role behavior of the parents. If the mother is feminine, soft, emotional, affectionate, and the father is strong, resolute, courageous, then the child develops a correct idea of ​​the sexual role and behavior. If the mother is domineering, despotic, stingy with emotions, and the father is soft, submissive, affectionate, then the daughter may develop masculine behavior - that is, the acquisition of some traits inherent in the male sex, and the son - feminine - that is, traits female behaviors.

The gender role chosen by the child is fixed in games - girls with the correct gender role play "girlish" games - dolls, "classics", jump ropes and others, in games "in the family" they choose the role of "wife", "bride", "daughter" , the boys choose respectively "boyish" games - "Cossacks-robbers", "to war", "king of the hill", "to terrorists" and play a "male", dominant role.

In their games, children unconsciously copy the stereotype of their parents' behavior - the "husband" reads the newspaper or watches TV, the "wife" cooks dinner, if their parents behave like this at home.

An imitation of sexual intercourse is also possible if the children spied it somewhere or heard about it from their peers. At the same time, boys with the correct sex-role behavior play the role of "man", and girls - "women".

In a school where children are clearly divided by gender and opposed to each other, their correct gender role and gender-role behavior are consolidated. The requirements for masculinity and femininity are increasing, compromises in the choice of a sexual role are excluded.

Formation of psychosexual orientations (12-26 years). The previous two stages proceed on a relatively stable hormonal background of the child. During the formation of sexuality, the endocrine system begins to function intensively, primarily the sex glands. In parallel, the nervous system develops, individual characteristics of temperament and character - a personality is formed.

In adolescence, the child seeks to get rid of the dogmas and stereotypes of behavior imposed on him by his parents, strives for independence, self-affirmation, independence (emancipation). The authority and influence of parents is reduced.

A teenager lays the foundations of his own worldview, changes his views on his position in the family and in society, behavior.

The main manifestations of behavior are imitation of peers and other adults, whom the teenager considers his ideal (imitation reaction), the desire to communicate mainly with peers in a company, group (reaction of grouping with peers).

The behavior of a teenager is determined by group norms. Everything that other peers from the teenage group will do, the teenager will do the same.

Psychiatrists consider this stage - identification with a group of peers and submission to it - a normal, necessary stage in the socialization of a teenager.

The psyche of a teenager is extremely vulnerable and unstable. It bizarrely intertwines hypersensitivity and excitability, imbalance, irritability, shyness, bashfulness and bravado, arrogance, swagger, the desire for independence and refusal to recognize authorities, the need for self-affirmation and self-expression, the desire to seem like an adult and suggestibility, susceptibility to other people's influence (often negative than positive).

If a teenager has a positive role model in the person of an older person, then he becomes his friend, and the teenager copies the stereotype of his behavior.

If a teenager does not have mutual understanding and normal interpersonal contacts with his parents, and there is no positive role model in the team, then he receives all information and communication only in a group of peers.

The group can be formed on a territorial basis - guys from the same yard, or in a school class, or by interests.

The formation of the idea of ​​masculinity in boys or femininity in girls also occurs under the influence of peers.

The development of sexuality in adolescence largely depends on the influence of the social circle. If any of the peers have sexual deviations (deviations), then this expression of sexuality can be adopted by other members of the teenage company.

The increase in the influence of members of the teenage group, along with the secrecy of adolescents, creates the basis for deviant (deviating) manifestations of sexuality - group masturbation (masturbation), early sexual activity, promiscuity and even sexual perversion. This takes especially rough forms in the absence of proper sex education.

At this stage, the formation of psychosexual orientation takes place. Psychosexual orientation determines the subsequent choice of the object of sexual attraction - a person, an animal or a fetish (an object in the presence of which a person experiences sexual arousal). Individual characteristics are added - gender (male or female), behavior, appearance, physique.

Sexual attraction (libido) is conditionally divided into 3 stages - platonic, erotic and sexual. In the process of the formation of libido (up to 13 years), information is first accumulated about the existence of sexes and gender role, the characteristics of sexual behavior, its external manifestations and essence. This information is processed in the mind of the child in accordance with his individual characteristics, upbringing and the norms of behavior of his immediate environment.

In the pubertal period (12-18 years), this information is fixed, sex-role behavior is formed, sexual desire is realized.

Platonic libido (attraction) is first manifested by "childish love" and a desire for spiritual communication, and then its realization. It manifests itself in the fact that a teenage girl wants to be close to the object of love, for example, to sit at the same desk with him, go to school together, cook lessons together, walk on the street.

Platonic attraction can be accompanied by erotic fantasy, a desire to be alone, to touch someone you like. It can be manifested by dreams of your idol and even severe moral suffering due to unrequited love.

Platonic libido is considered complete if the girl seeks to somehow realize it and attract the attention of the object of love - she writes notes, declares her love, tries to spend her free time with the one she is in love with. Girls flirt with boys, trying to get their attention and please them.

If there is no realization of platonic love, then it can remain not only unrequited, but also unnoticed.

Everything related to platonic love can play a significant role in the life of a teenage girl and occupy all her thoughts and free time.

This is a very important stage of psychosexual development. Here the girl learns to attract the attention of the person she is in love with, and communicate not only with her peers and adults, but also with the object of love.

The normal formation of sexual desire is characterized by naivety and instability of hobbies with the object of love, a change of loves and ideals, which adults can mistakenly regard as frivolity and even “licentiousness”. The daughter is in love with a school teacher, then forgets him and falls in love with a high school student, then a friend of her father, then a classmate.

A daughter's platonic love for her parents can seem inexplicable, excessive, or even disturbing. Parents are frightened by the emotional manifestations of falling in love, they begin to say that it is too early for a girl to fall in love, and even worse, they forbid her to meet the boy she is in love with.

However, falling in love and often changing the object of love are completely natural for adolescence. It's like learning, "playing", searching by trial and error for those preferences in sexual orientation, which in the future will characterize sexual desire.

The greater the choice in the period of the formation of sexuality, the easier it will be adaptation (adaptation) in the future. Sexologists believe that constancy, "eternal love since school", unrequited love lasting for years is an indicator of the difficulty of sexual adaptation and a narrow range of acceptability, a "frozen choice".

With the transition of libido from the platonic to the erotic stage, a teenage girl develops an interest in the intimate side of the relationship between the sexes, erotic literature, and photographs of erotic content. In works of fiction, they like the description of scenes of a date and declarations of love, they excite the imagination and encourage erotic fantasies.

Girls' fantasies most often have a romantic content - a beautiful stranger or a famous film actor falls in love with her, he dies of love and stands idle for hours under her windows hoping to see her silhouette, writes love messages to her with passionate declarations of love, and then takes her to a beautiful country .

Girls are more prone to fantasizing than boys, and at the same time, it is more difficult for them to realize their attraction. Therefore, if erotic fantasies are not realized, later, when they are already adults, they often have deviations in psychosexual development.

The realization of erotic libido is possible, but most often without orgasm. But there may also be options with an orgasm, for example, petting (rubbing the sexual organs of two partners in clothes with the onset of sexual discharge) or masturbation - a surrogate form of sexual activity with an autoerotic orientation (sexual attraction is directed at oneself) or masturbation is accompanied by erotic fantasizing, in which there is an object of attraction, or there may be deviations from normal sexuality.

If such forms of realization of erotic attraction, accompanied by orgasm, are practiced for a long time, then there may be a delay in the formation of libido. With a long delay in the formation of attraction, there may be a fixation on such distorted forms of its implementation and, as a result, various sexual deviations (deviations) and perversions.

Sexopathologists believe that the less time passes between the beginning of fantasizing and its realization, the more harmonious the formation of attraction. Conversely, the longer the realization of fantasies and dreams is delayed, the more pretentious and difficult they become.

This can manifest itself in homosexual attraction, in mutual masturbation with peers of the same sex and other sexual deviations and perversions.

The realization of sexual attraction may be associated with a specific situation. For example, during punishment, a teenage girl experiences an orgasm, and masochism can form. So, one girl experienced excitement and orgasm when her father bent over his knee and spanked her on the buttocks, the other - when punished with a belt.

As long as the libido is not realized in sexual intimacy, there is a possibility of deviation from normal psychosexual development.

If attraction (libido) is not correctly realized, then all the difficulties and self-doubt inherent in the period of platonic and erotic libido will be transferred to later stages. There may be difficulties in communicating with persons of the opposite sex due to lack of attraction or its distortion.

Social isolation, and first of all, from peers, leads to a distortion of sexual behavior, a violation of the realization of attraction.

If parents raise their daughter with a tight rein, fearing unwanted contacts with boys, then this will inevitably affect her psychosexual development. They deprive the girl of an important stage in the development of libido, and its development is inhibited. Further dynamics depend on the characteristics of the personality (character) of the girl and the type of nervous system.

If a girl has a weak type of nervous system, then being isolated from her peers and deprived of the possibility of normal communication with them, she can grow up timid, shy, shy.

She does not know how to behave with boys, and later with young men and men, she does not know how to accept courtship, she is lost and embarrassed when a young man or a man turns to her, she can reject their courtship, and even more so manifestations of eroticism - attempts to hug or kiss. This can be misunderstood by young men, such girls are given the nickname "touchy" or "breakers", and subsequently no one will look after them.

The development of their libido has not reached its final, sexual stage, so they do not experience sexual attraction. Many of them remain single, but even if they get married, they can remain sexually cold.

Their attitude towards sex depends on the first sexual experience. If their first partner is patient and gentle, then in time the libido can develop and reach the sexual stage. But since there are not so many such attentive and affectionate men in life, such women have much more chances to remain sexually cold.

They may simply be indifferent to sex, and if the first man or husband behaved like a "rude animal", then they experience an irresistible disgust for sex.

If a girl has a strong type of nervous system, then in the future, when she becomes an adult, and her parents no longer control her so strictly, she can treat young men the way she treated her peers in childhood. She will be with young men and men on an equal footing, she will have purely friendly relations with them, they will consider her theirs, a good friend and comrade, but they will fall in love with her friends, even less beautiful and less intelligent, but who behave like this with men as they expect from them.

She may have many friends among young men and men, but they will not look after her, because women who are too easy to communicate and behave “in a familiar way” are much less attractive to men than women with the whole arsenal of female coquetry and all kinds of pure feminine tricks.

Sexual attraction becomes mature only after some period of regular sexual activity.

All stages of psychosexual development are interconnected. There is also continuity in the stages of this process. At each of the stages of the formation of sexual development, there are the makings of the next. If any stage falls out, then this distorts the course of subsequent stages, and in general this affects the entire sexuality of a person.

If the early stages of normal psychosexual development are absent or violated, then there are gross violations, deformation of sexuality, which affect the core of the personality.

If negative factors affect a person's personality already at the final stages of the development of sexuality, then this leads to a milder pathology, which in psychiatry is called "marginal" disorders - that is, as if standing on the edge between the norm and pathology.

Biological and social factors play a significant role in the development of sexuality, which is part of the mental development of a person. Their ratio changes over time.

In the process of individual development of a person, leading domestic sexologists distinguish six main periods in the development of sexuality:

1. Parapubertal period (1-7 years), during which sexual self-awareness is formed (1st stage of psychosexual development).

2. Prepubertal period (7-13 years), characterized by the choice and stereotype of gender-role behavior (2nd stage of psychosexual development).

3. The pubertal period (12-18 years) is the most rapid in the sexual development of the body, during which puberty and the formation of the platonic, erotic and initial phases of sexual desire - libido (the first 2 stages of the 3rd stage of psychosexual development) occur.

4. Transitional period of the formation of sexuality (16-26 years), characterized by the onset of sexual activity, masturbation, a combination of sexual excesses with periods of abstinence (the last stage of the 3rd stage of psychosexual development with the completion of the formation of sexual desire).

5. The period of mature sexuality (26-55 years), characterized by a regular sexual life with a regular partner.

6. Involutionary period (51-75 years) - a decrease in sexual activity and a weakening of interest in the sexual sphere, a decrease in sexual desire to the level of the erotic, and then the platonic stages.

Sexual pathology can manifest itself both as a deviation from the normal course of sexual activity, and as a disorder of any of the constituent elements of sexual function.

Delayed psychosexual development

Delay is one of the most common disorders of psychosexual development. It manifests itself in the fact that the timing of the formation of sexuality lags behind the age of the child.

Various reasons causing disorders of psychosexual development are most fully studied by the leading domestic sexologists V.M. Maslov, I.L. Botneva and G.S. Vasilchenko. The reasons for delayed psychosexual development are as follows.

Somatogenic (from the word "soma" - body) delays are associated with a lag in sexual development. They are the deepest and most difficult to correct. One of the reasons is a violation of the function of the endocrine system.

In severe disorders, for example, with congenital underdevelopment of the gonads, asexuality is possible - the complete loss of sexual components in the mental development of the individual.

Psychogenic delays are caused by disturbances in the formation of the psyche, for example, with a general lag in mental development, or they can be isolated, and the remaining components of the psyche develop in a timely manner.

Delays in psychosexual development may be in patients with psychopathy and pathocharacterological personality development. Shyness, shyness, resentment, impressionability, weakness of motives, characteristic of some patients with psychopathy, lead to a violation of the ability to communicate. Along with this, the instability of emotional reactions, a tendency to fantasize and weakness of the will contribute to the formation and consolidation of substitutive and surrogate forms of sexual activity, which patients with psychopathy cannot realize in other, normal forms, due to the peculiarities of their personality.

As a result, sexual desire is deformed, and in patients with psychopathy, various sexual perversions are frequent.

Sociogenic delays are caused by incorrect sexual education by parents and teachers, who consider everything connected with sexual relations base, dirty, vicious, and imposing the same attitude on children.

The child can be harmoniously developed, however, constant guardianship and control, the prohibition of communication with any of the peers and the imposition of a different circle of communication, and even complete isolation from peers, a negative attitude towards any manifestations of the child’s sexuality, natural for his age, punishment and other cruel "educational" measures - distort the stages of the child's psychosexual development and deform his personality.

The main core of the psychosexual disorder delay, on which other sexual disorders are subsequently strung, are difficulties in communication (communication) and behavioral disorders caused by improper upbringing.

At the stage when a child of 2-4 years old shows a natural and normal for his age curiosity for his body and the body of his peers, such parents regard this as "licentiousness" and severely punish him for it. In the same way, some parents react to the child's desire to communicate with children of the opposite sex, and to his first childhood love.

Prohibitions on communication with peers of the opposite sex leads to the fact that the child does not develop communication skills and normal behavior with members of the opposite sex. Due to improper upbringing, the formation of sexuality lags behind its normal timing - this is called asynchrony of psychosexual development.

In the first two stages of psychosexual development, his delay does not attract the attention of parents. These children have less or no curiosity related to gender. They do not play sex role-playing games (“mother-daughter”, “family”, “doctor”). But at the same time, the child does not have stages 1 and 2 of psychosexual development. The children themselves, of course, do not realize this, and parents consider the lack of interest in gender issues evidence of good education. Violations become more pronounced only in the pubertal period.

Sometimes such girls begin to play sex role-playing games, characteristic of 5-7-year-old children, as early as adolescence. The girl communicates with younger children and enthusiastically plays dolls and other games with them, which she “did not finish” in a timely manner.

But adolescence is characterized by a different hormonal background and greater awareness of gender issues. The coincidence of such belated games with high hormonal activity can lead to a surrogate form of libido realization and the development of homosexual attraction.

For example, a psychosexually retarded teenage girl does not pay attention to boys, only plays with younger girls, cuddles, strokes, kisses and caresses them, and adults may perceive this as the fact that she loves children and, in particular, her little ones. girlfriends. But this attraction to the representatives of the same sex, which is not yet sexual, coinciding with the development of the hormonal system of a teenage girl, can be fixed, in the future an interest is formed only in the female sex and homosexuality (lesbianism) develops.

At the stage of formation of psychosexual orientations, sexual desire may linger at the platonic or erotic stage. The sexual stage of libido is not formed. This is one of the reasons for the disorder of sexual desire and sexual coldness in women.

Many women who are not sexually attracted to men and indifferent to sex have been wrongly brought up since childhood. Parents suppressed any manifestation of their daughter's interest in boys, kept them locked up if the girl was just talking or playing with a peer, suspiciously controlling her underwear in search of "traces" of sexual contacts, severely punishing for the slightest deviation from the norms of behavior prescribed by parents.

Women more than men suffer from the excessive control of educators and parents at all stages of psychosexual development. Brought up by domineering parents under harsh conditions of prohibition and intimidation, when parents inspired their daughters that sex before marriage is a "shame for life", girls are afraid of any contact with members of the opposite sex. Even with a normal hormonal background, such women do not form a sexual desire, and they are disgusted with sexual intercourse.

Clinical example

Zinaida N. Higher education. Prosecutor's Investigator. Single. Have no children.

Born in an intelligent family, parents are lawyers by education. Her brother is 4 years older than her.

From childhood, she was distinguished by an independent character, harshness in her statements, did not reckon with authorities, did not like to obey. She could tell the teacher that she was bored in the lesson or she said “common truths and teaches dogmas”, get up and leave the class.

Because of this, parents were called to school more than once, usually the father went. He was a prosecutor, by nature he was severe and even merciless, which was also manifested in his work. He told the teachers in a mentoring tone, not listening to their objections and reproaches against his daughter, that they should teach children to think and not deprive them of initiative, and not drive outdated dogmas into their heads.

In the same spirit, he raised his daughter and son. He welcomed his daughter's extraordinary thinking and saw nothing wrong with it. He inspired her that a person, regardless of his gender, should learn to think and analyze, and not blindly accept on faith what they say, but with which she internally disagrees. She must have her own opinion on everything, and it must be defended at all costs. Softness and subordination, in his opinion, are unacceptable. If the daughter is going to follow in the footsteps of her parents and become a lawyer, she must get rid of emotions and third-party influences and be guided only by law and conscience.

Mother also approved of this upbringing. She worked as a judge for most of her life and was also distinguished by her independence of judgment and could not stand it when her superiors tried to put pressure on her.

Zinaida respected both and considered their views and behavior as a standard and an example to follow.

In relation to communication with boys, her parents brought her up quite strictly. They did not object to companionship, but her father strictly told her that she should keep them at a distance, not allowing any "liberties". She had to be at home no later than 8 pm, all her contacts with the boys were controlled. She was allowed to go to the cinema or visit only with her brother.

She was not forbidden to communicate with girls, but Zinaida had no desire to be friends with them, sometimes she didn’t even have anything to talk about with her peers - they were worried about completely different problems - appearance, love, attention of high school boys. Zinaida was not interested in all this, and classmates tried to avoid her, as she could make fun of their hobbies.

Already from the eighth grade, many girls began to use cosmetics, and if teachers scolded them for this, they hid the cosmetics, and after school they put on makeup in the toilet. Zinaida did not use cosmetics. Firstly, this would have caused the disapproval of her parents, and secondly, she herself had no such desire. Her peers went to dances and discos, and Zinaida read books on jurisprudence, which her father recommended to her.

At school, no one tried to look after her, because classmates were afraid of her caustic language and the desire to tell the whole truth in her eyes. No one wanted to become a laughing stock by trying to court her.

Other girls themselves flirted with high school students, ran during breaks to other floors where there were high school classes, and spun in the corridor, trying to attract attention. Zinaida condemned them and called them "flip-tails."

She had several friends in the yard with whom she grew up since childhood, her parents knew them well and did not forbid her daughter to spend time with them. With them, she was on an equal footing, the relationship was purely comradely.

Zinaida graduated from school with good results, but in the social sciences she had "triples" - in this way she was punished for overly categorical and free statements. But this did not bother her, she considered teachers limited and "blinded".

She entered the law school, studied well. One of her fellow students tried to court her, but she strictly put him in his place, and he quickly retreated. Nobody cared for her anymore. She had good, even relations with fellow students, but purely friendly.

Even in her youth, she wore a strict hairstyle - her hair was slicked back, twisted into a bun - exactly the same as her mother wore. She did not wear jeans, like other students, all her skirts were to the middle of the calf, and the same strict blouses without any decorations, ruffles, bows - a strict turn-down collar or stand-up collar. White top, black bottom - that was the style of her clothes.

When she came to class one day in a semi-male shirt with a dark tie, one of her fellow students said that she looked like an SS woman. Since then, the nickname "SS" stuck to her for life.

Zinaida graduated from the institute and could get a prestigious, calm and well-paid job - in a legal consultation or in the bar - her parents' connections could help her, but she said she wanted to be an investigator. And she became an investigator of the prosecutor's office, as she always achieved her goal.

She was the only female investigator. She was meticulous and demanding in her work. She mercilessly drove the inspectors of the criminal investigation department, demanding the fulfillment of her orders, all the male inspectors groaned from her and no one wanted to work with her.

Zinaida could speak at the meeting and talk about the shortcomings of everyone, about who was seen in a state of intoxication, who is negligent in their duties, who is mediocre and lazy.

She firmly sought the dismissal of a negligent employee if she believed that, due to his professional or moral qualities, this person did not have the right to work in law enforcement agencies.

Zinaida was a crystal-clear honest person and no one ever doubted it. When one of the suspects offended by her tried to settle scores with Zinaida and wrote a complaint, saying that she allegedly extorted a bribe from him, and he was forced to give it, the management did not even analyze this statement and did not give it a go, although another employee in a similar situation, proceedings would inevitably threaten.

Subordinates and colleagues quietly hated her, and her superiors respected and appreciated her. All the most complex cases, and even those that had not been investigated by other employees for years, were trusted to Zinaida. She could stay up in her office well after midnight, working with documents, since they could not be taken home.

There were no men in her life, she remained a virgin. Over time, she began to despise all men, as she believed that the vast majority of them were drunkards, womanizers, loafers and mediocrity. She also treated the authorities without respect, considering everyone toadies and opportunists. Although there were good professionals among her colleagues, her contempt and hatred of men did not allow her to be objective. The only man she respected was her father. He died of a heart attack at the age of 65. Zinaida considered him a representative of the "old guard", disinterested and honest people, and did not consider modern men worthy of her attention.

When treating delayed psychosexual development, sex therapists work out with the patient a model of behavior that is acceptable for a normal sexual life - platonic courtship, the erotic stage and its implementation.

The process of teaching an adequate model of behavior is designed to ensure that the patient "catch up" what was missed with the wrong education. The doctor trains her to find a suitable partner. The search criteria are individual attractiveness and character traits of a man. The ultimate goal of treating a patient with delayed psychosexual development is the selection of a permanent partner to whom the patient adapts.

But it is not easy for women with delayed psychosexual development and lack of sexual desire to find a partner, even guided by the recommendations of a sexopathologist. They cannot afford to actively seek out a partner because of their social status and their subservient role as a woman as a partner.

It is difficult for a woman to cross over a psychological barrier due to fears that her activity may be misunderstood.

But even if a woman overcomes her doubts and takes the initiative herself, the active role still belongs to a man. He may reject her, considering her unattractive, and this may lead to the formation or aggravation of an inferiority complex.

Or the man may misinterpret her behavior and force the transition into sexual intimacy. In this case, she will have to take part in sexual intercourse without experiencing sexual attraction. If her psychosexual development is delayed at the stage of platonic attraction, then even caresses will be unpleasant for her, and even more so, sexual intercourse will only cause her disgust.

If this bad experience is repeated, then the woman's sexual arousal before intercourse fades, and then the arousal fades already at the stage of caresses, as she anxiously expects that caresses will soon turn into sexual intercourse, which disgusts her.

When such a woman marries, it turns into a real torture for her, and she goes to the matrimonial bed like a chopping block. She seeks all sorts of excuses to avoid intimacy with her husband, up to quarrels and tears. Because of this, interpersonal relationships with her husband are disrupted.

And if the partners have a psychological alienation, then even a sex therapist can do little to help such a married couple.

If the psychosexual development of a woman has not reached maturity, sex therapists recommend changing the stereotype of intimate relationships with transfer to previous stages. A sex therapist finds out the reason for the delay in psychosexual development and teaches a woman to make a conscious choice of a partner. If a woman has a high level of claims and requirements for a partner, then sex therapists correct this as well.

Sometimes such women are advised to find a partner who also has a delayed formation of libido at the platonic stage. Sexologists teach a woman to keep a partner from forcing a relationship at the optimal stage for her, not allowing the transition to the next one until she herself has a need for it.

The main goal of psychotherapy is the awakening of a woman's sexuality and the rejection of the passive acceptance of a stereotype of behavior imposed by a partner.

Thus, a sex therapist is not only a psychotherapist, but also an educator, making up for the shortcomings of education and repeating the distorted or missed stages of a person's psychosexual development.

Premature psychosexual development

Premature psychosexual development is the early formation of sexuality, ahead of average age norms and puberty.

Its causes, as with delayed psychosexual development, are somatic, mental and microsocial factors.

Somatic causes are congenital or occurred in early childhood damage to the deep structures of the brain, which is manifested by a decrease in the threshold of excitability of the nervous structures that provide orgasm. This is a somatogenic variant of premature psychosexual development.

Regardless of its causes, the early awakening of sexuality and its further development are possible only with constant reinforcement with orgasm, or at least pleasant sensations. If sexual interest is untimely provoked by something, and is not further reinforced by orgasm, then it quickly fades away, and in the future, normal psychosexual development is possible.

Various mental pathologies can also participate in the development of premature psychosexual development, in particular, the so-called "nuclear" psychopathy and schizophrenia (see the chapter "Psychology and Psychopathology"). These diseases are often accompanied by a disorder of drives, disorders in the emotional and volitional spheres.

Due to mental disorders, it is possible to fix the girl's interest in the sexual sphere. Even in the period of curiosity associated with sex, the study of the genitals becomes emotionally significant for the child and acquires a truly sexual coloring. Any form of sexual activity is accompanied by pleasant sensations or even an orgasm. Most often, sexual activity finds a way out in surrogate forms (masturbation, petting), since at this age a child cannot realize sexual activity in any other way.

With premature somatic (bodily) puberty, psychosexual and mental development, although accelerated, is insignificant.

With a psychogenic variant of premature psychosexual development, sexual desire is ahead of other manifestations of sexuality. Attraction manifests itself already at the stage of formation of sexual consciousness, that is, up to 7 years. At 5-10 years old, a child may already have sexual fantasies. Early sexual fantasies most often cannot be adequately realized.

Prematurely formed libido (sexual desire) entails various options for sexual activity. Most often, sexuality is expressed in surrogate forms - imitation of sexual intercourse, masturbation, petting - since it is impossible to realize it in other ways in childhood.

The growth of mental disorders in the process of further development of the child can lead to a communication disorder (ability to communicate). As a result, the realization of sexual desire becomes almost impossible. But some children strive for sexual intimacy, but it does not bring them that pleasure, as with surrogate forms of sexual activity.

If at the same time the child has difficulty communicating due to a mental disorder, then this can lead to a delay in the formation of sexual desire at one of the stages. Despite the early appearance of sexual interest, sexual desire does not reach maturity, and its development may stop at the erotic stage. The realization of sexual desire in a normal way can become almost impossible.

At this age, emotional reactions prevail over rational ones. Therefore, the implementation of these trends occurs without deliberation and delay. Sexual deviations (deviations) and a distorted orientation of sexual desire are possible, which can lead to sexual perversions. A stereotype can form, which is firmly fused with the core of the personality, persists throughout life and is practically untreatable.

The sociogenic causes of premature psychosexual development include the awakening and formation of sexuality as a result of even a single, but most often methodical and prolonged molestation and seduction of a girl by adolescents and adults.

Child seducers are most often those who cannot realize their sexual desire in normal ways - this sexual perversion is called pedophilia, it is described in the appropriate section.

Adolescents force a girl into sexual contact through threats, intimidation, and sometimes through physical violence.

Adult pedophile molesters act differently. They deliberately corrupt the girl, methodically guiding her at an accelerated pace through all the stages of the formation of sexuality. Using the child's curiosity, at first they tell the girl about sexual life, show erotic and pornographic photographs, and show pornographic films.

In pedophiles, in addition to sexual attraction to children, there are other sexual perversions. With a combination of their own tastes and preferred perverted mode of sexual gratification, adult pedophiles promote these forms of sexual relations.

After the child has an interest in sexual issues, pedophiles move from information to its practical implementation - they demonstrate their genitals and look at the girl's genitals, impose erotic actions on the child, imitate sexual contacts. With the help of this, they achieve the “voluntary” consent of the girl, who, of course, is not able to really comprehend the full meaning of what is being done to her and the consequences of corruption and seduction. After that, pedophiles begin sexual activity with the child.

Sociogenic variants of premature psychosexual development are characterized by a more consistent development of sexuality than with somatogenic and psychogenic ones.

With this option, psychosexual development begins with erotic influences imposed by the seducer. The erotic actions of the molester after a certain period of time cause pleasure in the girl. And only later does the gradual formation of sexual desire occur.

Erotic actions in the sociogenic variant of premature psychosexual development are carried out in a form close to adequate, that is, with a partner, and not in a surrogate, as in sociogenic and psychogenic variants.

In the future, sexual desire does not linger and develops to sexual libido. This explains the high independent activity of the girl in the search for objects to satisfy her sexual desire.

Clinical example.

VM Maslov with co-authors gives a clinical example of a six-and-a-half-year-old girl who was brought by her mother in connection with the early manifestation of sexuality. The girl was her adopted daughter and was taken from the maternity hospital at the age of 7 days.

She was born from a primiparous young healthy woman, not married. The husband of the foster mother of the girl considered her his daughter, as his wife imitated pregnancy.

According to the adoptive mother, the father was very attached to his daughter, bathed her, caressed her and played with her. Playing with her, he put her on the genital area, while his trousers were often unbuttoned. At the age of 1 year, the girl asked her mother for the first time to touch her genitals “like a folder”.

From the age of 3, she began to willingly remain alone with her father, tried to drive her mother away, got angry if she did not leave them alone. At 3-4 years old, the mother noticed that the girl was holding the toy close to her, squeezing her hips and experiencing an orgasm at the same time. Sometimes an orgasm was observed in a dream.

As a result of inquiries and observations, the mother found out that the father systematically persuaded the child to oral-genital contacts, to which the girl willingly agreed. The marriage was annulled and a criminal case was opened. The girl still had an attraction to her father, but she became animated even in the presence of some men and tried to attract their attention to herself. Experienced an orgasm while masturbating several times a day.

The difference between sociogenic and psychogenic precocious puberty is manifested in the fact that in the first variant, sexual activity is first imposed on the child from the outside by someone older in age, who uses it to realize his perverted attraction, and only then libido is formed, and in the second variant , with mental disorders - first there is sexual desire, and only then sexual activity.

With any variant of premature psychosexual development, children become the initiators of various games - “to the doctor”, “to the family”, if at the same time it is possible to examine the genitals or feel touched by their genitals, manipulate them, imitate various forms of sexual activity.

In ordinary children, these games reflect children's curiosity and are a normal stage in the psychosexual development of the child, and with the premature formation of sexuality, they take on a truly erotic and even sexual character, and children show great interest, preferring these games to all others.

To realize a precocious libido, such children sometimes seek out teenagers and adults with a perversion of sexual desire, who willingly enter into intimate relationships.

I will give one more clinical example of V.M. Maslov with co-authors from the manual “Private sexopathology”, since in my practice I have not observed such patients.

Clinical example.

A 10-year-old girl was brought by her father, who noted masturbation and sexual intercourse with teenagers in his daughter. In addition, every night she wakes up 2-3 times due to orgasm.

The girl was born postmature, later developed normally. The mother before her birth had two sons from another husband.

From early childhood, the girl was a witness to the intimate relationship of her mother. From the age of 4, she has had oral-genital contact with her mother's partner. At the same age, intimate relationships began with older brothers. The brothers threatened to kill her if she refused to have sex with them or told anyone about it, and the girl went for any form of sexual activity that was forced on her: fellatio, intercourse "per anum" (through the anus), intercourse with incomplete (due to soreness) insertion of the penis into the vagina. Soon, despite the pain, an orgasm began to occur. I started drinking alcohol at the age of 6-8.

When the girl was 10 years old, her mother was convicted of a criminal offense, and she went to live with her father's family. At the new school, I was actively looking for partners for 14-16 years. I met with them during lessons (specially asked to go to the toilet) or occasionally at home when there were no adults. Her brothers also came to her house. The girl tried to involve her peer friend in sexual contacts with teenagers.

At home, all means were fought against masturbation and sexual activity of the girl. To "distract" her, they make her vacuum the carpets for a long time. The father beats, burns her hands over the fire, so that she does not masturbate. The girl is afraid of punishment, she cries, but she cannot help herself.

Sexologists believe that early pre-pubertal masturbation (that is, before adolescence) in both boys and girls should be regarded as one of the manifestations of premature psychosexual development.

Parents should not ignore masturbation in children 8-10 years old, as it may be due to the corrupting influence of adolescents or adults or mental disorders. In both cases, reinforcement of masturbation with orgasm is possible only as a result of lowering the excitability thresholds of the nervous structures that provide ejaculation and orgasm, so such children must be examined by a sexologist.

With premature psychosexual development, an accelerated onset of puberty is also observed, since the genital organs are stimulated and the analyzers of many sense organs (vision, touch, hearing) are affected, irritation signals are sent to the brain, which causes the acceleration of puberty.

Premature psychosexual development can disturb children with paroxysmal deterioration in general well-being, combined with specific sensations (sometimes painful) in the genitals. But the children themselves usually do not complain.

The hypersexuality of a child is usually noticed by parents or educators who are concerned that his sexuality manifests itself very early and is not “corrected” by educational measures.

Some parents in their "pedagogical" measures are extremely cruel, as can be seen from one of the above examples, when the father burned the girl's hands with fire.

In no case should you punish, scold, and even more so, beat a child. The girl will become secretive, intimidated, and her mental state may become even more aggravated. Many children are not able to cope with their hypersexuality on their own. The child does not yet understand that this is bad, since the satisfaction of the girl's sexual desire is pleasant, and dissatisfaction, on the contrary, causes mental discomfort and unpleasant sensations. At this age, the girl is not able to understand the consequences of the realization of an early-formed libido in the form of surrogate forms or sexual intercourse. And with a mental illness, all the more so, she is not able to understand the consequences of the realization of sexual desire.

You can't blame a child for early masturbation. If a girl from early childhood was corrupted and seduced by teenagers or adults, and her sexual activity is imposed on her from the outside, then what is she to blame for, being at such an age when she does not understand at all what the elders are doing to her? The authority of elders for children is of great importance. Parents should find out who had such an influence on the child.

And if a girl is sick with a mental illness, then all the more so she cannot be punished, she needs to be treated.

In any case, if a child's premature sexuality is detected, a sexologist or a child psychiatrist should be consulted.

In the treatment of such children, sex therapists treat the underlying disease if the premature psychosocial development has a psychogenic cause, and also use various methods of treatment aimed at increasing the excitability threshold of the nervous structures that provide orgasm.

In addition, sex therapists conduct family psychotherapy. Its task is to form in parents a benevolent and gentle attitude towards the child with an unconditional rejection of the previous cruel "educational" measures. Such a girl is sick, and that is how she should be treated.

The softer and more benevolent the parents, the more frank the girl, and the easier it is to foresee her actions and prevent her actions.

The child requires constant individual supervision, but this does not mean that it needs to be isolated from peers. Control over her actions should be delicate, but effective. This is also taught by sex therapists. In some cases, they recommend the conscious, under appropriate supervision, the introduction of the child into the formed play groups of children.

Most importantly, parents should be aware that manifestations of premature psychosexual development can and should be treated. You can not start this violation until the child has a stable stereotype of a surrogate realization of sexual desire or it takes perverted forms.

If the direction of sexual attraction becomes distorted and is fixed in perverse tendencies (sexual perversions), then the prognosis may be unfavorable.

Microsocially conditioned variants of premature psychosexual development (molestation and seduction of a child by elders) are more favorable in terms of treatment and prognosis. However, the very seduction of a child, the early sexual activity of a girl, combined with the cruelty and punishment of parents, even in children without mental illness, can lead to personality deformation and antisocial forms of behavior.