Stima de sine și dezvoltarea psihoemoțională și neurobiologică a tânărului adult

Abstract

Many research studies on the theme of psychological and emotional development focus on the relationship between one set of sociological variables or events recorded/remembered at one point in the life course (childhood, youth, adulthood) with another set of variables measured at one point in time later in middle age or old age. Other studies look at the neurobiological changes that take place during each stage of growth and the manifest reactions and behaviors specific for each stage of development. The present paper reviews such approaches by way of comparing the findings of varied studies and highlighting the key results of some of the most recent research from the fields of psychology and neuroscience. It is argued that in order to understand the self-esteem and the overall wellbeing of youth, one needs to understand what actually happens in the brain from structural and functional points of view, which only neuroscience and neuropsychology research can reveal. The emphasis of this article is placed on the particular features characterizing the young adults, keeping in mind the 20–30/35 age group theorized by Erikson, and the changes that the brain undergoes with the passage of time from adolescence towards the mid-30s.