Freud's Psychosexual Development Stages

Sexual Development According to Life Stages

• Freud named the development process of the sexual instinct (libido) and continues throughout life as "psychosexual development."
• The id, ego, and superego are layers of the human mind that function on different planes, but are located together.
• The id is the starting point of pleasure-based desires and persistent basic energy, it it the basic/primitive self.
• The ids main source is the selfish satisfaction of needs, such as sexuality and hunger.
• The ego is the part that meets the ids wishes with reality and balances it with various defense mechanisms.
• An element that balances the id and superego while providing personal security and allowing requests of the id is the ego.
• Freud linked memory to the egos functions of testing reality, defense, information synthesis and intelligence later in life.
• The superego is an internalized symbol of the father figure and cultural mores, which are in conflict with the id, keeping taboos alive.
• Foundations of personality are laid in the first years of life, and are difficult to change.
• Freud divided psychosexual development into five orderly stages that cannot be separated by strict boundaries, each influencing the next.
• Sexual health is defined by these different periods:
  • Oral Period (0-1.5 years)
  • Anal Period (1.5-3 years)
  • Phallic Period (3-6 years)
  • Latent Period (6-11 years)
  • Genital Period (12-18 years)

Oral Period (0-1.5 years)

• Developments such as eating, speaking, toilet training occur; the child connects with the outside world mainly through the mouth.
• The baby satisfies libido orally, focusing on the mouth, lips, tongue, teeth, and jaw; focal point of arousal.
• Satisfied babies begin to develop trust; trusting babies establish similar relationships throughout life.
• First sexual stimulation occurs during bathing/diaper changes; pleasurable sensations are enjoyed through movement and pressure with contact to genitals.
• Babies accidentally touch genitals, attempting it gain to relive pleasurable sensation.
• Baby boys more easily touch their genitals vs baby girls because theirs are more hidden.

Anal Period (1.5-3 years)

• The source of libido satiety shifts from oral/feeding to breech/defecation processes with focus of arousal at the anus.
• Voluntary sphincter control allows rapid change from passive to active state.
• A period of separation from addiction/gaining independence, and struggle against parental control.
• Most distinctive feature of the anal period is child gaining ability to make voluntary movements.
• The child takes great pleasure in gaining control in opposite voluntary movements such as pick-throw, hold-release.
• The child gets pleasure from holding/releasing feces, gaining attention/rewards from environment by using stool how mother attracts, confronts judgements society.
• Shouting, getting angry, scolding, hitting their hands will not prevent undesirable behaviors.
• Trying to prevent undesirable behaviors might give the child a sens of guilt.
• Successfully terminating the anal period creates personal autonomy, independence, and ability to establish personal entrepreneurship.
• Mothers with rigid and pressured attitudes towards toilet training risk the child becoming very organized, feeling of self contempt, and stubbornness.

Phallic (Odipal) Period (3-6 years)

• Children begin perceiving the existence of themselves and the outside world as well as understand the two genders and attempt to discover the differences.
• Children get to know bodies more closely and develop positive/negative emotions towards their bodies.
• Pleasure zone focuses on the genitals and surrounding areas with high interest in sex; genitals are the focus of arousal.
• Genitals are talked about as the hands, feet, nose, eyes, and ears making veiled names not necessary.
• If the child thinks that it is known what I know, such as when thoughts and action are the same it can lead to them thinking if they though about something bad someone knows and now they are guilty and should be punished, this can lead to sexual dysfunction in childhood.
• The child feels a sexual affinity for parent of opposite sex, and tries to imitate same-sex parent as well as look nice to them.
• Sexual preference started with parents, changing direction based on daughters efforts to resemble mother and boys efforts to resemble father.
• The girl tries to win her father's favor by resembling her mother, and the boy tries to win his mother's favor, and is called the Oedipus or Electra Complex.

Oedipus Complex

• The boy approaches his mother with special love and enters a race of sorts with his father, whom even hates him from time to time.
• On one hand the boy loves father and wants to be like him but can also feel hate.
• This important conflict makes the boys penis gain importance not only as organ of pleasure but also self-sense
• To this end the penis is equivalent to the whole body
• Without a healthy resolution by 6, the Oedipus complex is suppressed.
• The 1st condition that influences its resolution is having parents that love each other and share that with the child.
• Respect for the love between the parents drives out the boy.
• The 2nd condition is a father whom establishes health communication with his son at a a level he can understand.
• The 3rd condition focuses on the presence of new and non-threatening prospective partners for the child.
• In cases where all of these traits align the son can find another connection instead of continuing his unnatural on with mother.
• The 4th condition involves family allowing detachments from the children.
• The 5th and final trait focuses on the child not having parent whom devaluates the sexual identity.

Electra Complex

• Complex when a girl admires her father and shows jealousy towards her mother.
• Sexual and aggressive impulses vs security experienced with mother.
• Little girl has to both identify with her mother and distance herself from her.

Activated Sex Complexes

• Situations where complexes are activated include change in behaviour, marriage or if wife becomes pregnant or gives birth; without resolving the result is attachment issues.
• Effects might include the following for men:
  • Erectile dysfunction
  • Premature ejaculation
  • Sexual aversion
  • Sexual weakness
  • Fear or aversion to sexual activities or organs
  • Dyspareunia
  • Urinary incontinence
  • Anxiety

Latency Period (6-11 years)

• Period when the Oedipus complex is resolved and the sexual drive is inactive or silent.
• Sexual identity role and sexual roles combine, reinforcing the control of instinctive impulses and sexual silence.
• In the latent phase, pleasure is directed towards different objects rather than sexual objects, platonic love on the agenda.
• Admiring the opposite and or choosing a partner of the opposite sex is an important feature of this period

Genital Period (12-18 years)

• Child reaches physiological maturity hormones increase as does strength of sexual desires.
• The rapid change/development reveals impulses that were hidden previously.
• Puberty occurs as the genitals become the focus of arousal, experiencing physical and psychological changes during adolescence and this includes onset.
• Physical change/psychosocial change are observed.

Early Adolescence (11-15 years)

• Characterized by confusion/anxiety against rapid body changes, inability to keep up with change, foreignization of their own bodies, and decreased self esteem are dominant.

Middle Adolescence (14-17 years)

• Physical changes near completion, personality formation and autonomy main characteristics and intense emotions with goals, all influenced by peers with confusion.
• Acceptance replaces confusion through behavioural changes through sex, High-risk behaviors are observed.

Late Adolescence (16 - 20+ years)

• Individuality and plans for the future are the characteristics .
• Doubts about the physical changes disappear
• sexual identity developed through established thinking.

Female Sexuality in Adulthood

• The place and responsibilities of women in society change, there comes establishment of regular partner relations in a specific social and gendered role.
• Adulthood is when women become more engaged with experiences.

Adult Females

• In some cultures ones first sexual experiences usually occur on the first night of marriage during adulthood.
• If positive experiences are shared and had it leads to better pleasure over time which increases their positive view of it making them experience more pleasure.

During Pregnancy, woman might experience.

• Sexual life to will likely continue unless told otherwise.
• Sexual contact and other stimuli.
• Not something brought up by Dr. But need to be taken care of.
• Sexuality consists of many things.
• Sexual intercourse is not only of the ways.
• There is concern that is a unwelcome subject and that the intercourse has the.
• Ability to causes miscarriage which only occurs if already high risk.

Factors affecting sexuality during pregnancy

• Psychological aspects cause stress.
• Physical discomfort causes sleep problems.
• Many people make up various myths about intercourse during pregnancy.
• All of these may contribute by cultural issues.

Female & Puerperium

• Puerperium applies to what is common and should be taken care of.
• Timing and societies differ to different intercourse after birth.
• Some cultures say it has to happens at accepted 40 days in order to respect out religion.
• Its important for woman to help help make her comfortable.

During Puerperium, woman may feel.

• That she has hormonal changes.
• That she does not want intercourse.
• Experience problems with intercourse
• May lose desire.

Female & Infertillity

• This may effect marital views and happiness in life.
• A constant cycle that ends in failure
• May feel inadequate for not bringling light to the one there loving.
• Will only have thoughts of intercourse and and nothing of love-making.

For women with infertillity who try intercourse they may experience

• That the act is painfull
• Lack of ability to love one another
• Have a lot of psychological stress
• Most feel guilty and depressed.

For men with infertillity who try intercourse they may experience

• Lack of energy
• That they only need a intercourse to get the wife pregnant.
• Many often can not perform due the above.
• Makes them feel shared and quilty.

Both Female & Male are not just going through physical stress but their mental views will changed.

• Most questions that as sexual history effect the most is very disturbing.
• Make feel more alone.

Most problems that all face

• A cycle of failing.
• Many of them turn to taking it out on another partner.

Male Sexuallity

• Affect male production.
• Testicles can cause sexual frustration.
• Common found in men with with.
• Diagnostical confusion.

Undescended Testicle's

• The testicles normally are in the body and are inside