Whether an individual grows up in a functional or a dysfunctional family has a lot of impact in the development of his personality. While functional families tend to raise people who are well-adjusted to their society, dysfunctional families tend to create interactions that do not allow their members to be well-adjusted. Dysfunctional families are those that do not have the necessary resources to deal with coexistence of its members in an affirmative and favorable way. This can lead to members becoming vulnerable to depression, anxiety and addiction.
On the other hand, when it comes to the growth of an individual, we can divide this into several periods: infancy (birth to 2 years old), early childhood (3 to 8 years old), middle childhood (9 to 11 years old), and adolescence (12 to 18 years old). The transition of middle childhood to adolescence can be a particularly difficult one. This is the case for several reasons. Changes in biology can be dramatic during this stage, and teenagers are judged harshly when the changes are out of step with social abilities or social expectations. Peer pressure is an important force during these years, which can lead to positive and negative consequences. While it can serve as guidance, it can also increase the pressure that children feel to grow up or become part of the adult society. Moral values also experience a transformation, as children begin to adopt the characteristics of the type of adult that they want to be.
