The age-related development of a person is considered in different ways, which determines the features of the periodization of age-related development:

• The order of life events;
• Human biological processes;
• Development in society;
• Ontogenesis of psychology.

The age periodization of a person combines the period from conception to physiological death.

Today there is no unified classification of the age periodization of human life, since it has constantly changed depending on time and cultural development.

The distribution of age periods occurs when certain important changes occur in the human body.

Stages of age periodization are periods between the boundaries of a certain age in the human development system.

Briefly defining age periodization, we can distinguish the following stages:

• The birth of man;
• Growing up, as well as the formation of certain physical and social functions;
• Development of these functions;
• Old age and decreased functioning of the body;
• Physical death.

Every person after birth goes through all life stages sequentially. These make up the life cycle.

It should be noted that the “passport” age does not always coincide with the social, biological and psychological.

What is age periodization?

Let's consider the main periods of a healthy person's life, which are distinguished by age periodization in psychology. The characteristics of age periods are based on psychological ontogenesis.

Age periodization from a psychological point of view

1. Prenatal segment, in which 3 stages are distinguished:

• Pre-embryonic. The duration is determined by two weeks, when fertilization occurs in the egg;
• Embryonic. The duration of the period is until the beginning of the third month of pregnancy. The period is characterized by the active development of internal organs.
• Fetal stage. Lasts from three months of pregnancy until the birth of the child. All vital organs are formed, which must function clearly and allow the fetus to survive after birth.

2. Childhood.

• From zero months to a year;
• Early childhood, which lasts from one to three years of age. Characterized by the manifestation of autonomy and independence; intensive development of speech skills.
• Preschool period is from three to six years old.

During this period, intensive development of the child occurs, the stage of social manifestations begins;

• School age of the younger group. From six to eleven years old, the child is actively involved in social life; intensive intellectual development occurs.

3. Adolescence.

• Teenage years.

A time of intense puberty, which lasts up to fifteen years. Significant changes occur in the functioning of body systems. Under their influence, the view of one’s own “I” and ideas about the surrounding reality change.

• Youth time.

The duration of the period is from sixteen to twenty-three years. From a biological point of view, the organism has become an adult. However, based on social development, this cannot be said. There is a desire to become independent and independent in the absence of social responsibility.

All important decisions related to later life are made at this time: the choice of life path, profession, self-determination, the formation of self-awareness and attitude towards self-development.

The transition from one age period to another involves the emergence of crises, those moments that are considered to be turning points. They occur due to changes in the physiology and psychology of a growing person. Crises are the most difficult stages of life's journey, which cause certain difficulties for the growing person himself, as well as the people who surround him. There are two types of turning points: small and large.

Small crises (1 and 7 years, youth crisis) appear with the emergence and development of skills and abilities that did not exist before, and the increasing role of independence.

Major crises (birth, three years, adolescence) are characterized by a complete restructuring of social and psychological relationships. This is a time of great change, which is accompanied by emotional outbursts, aggression, and disobedience.

4. Maturity.

• Youth. Lasts up to 33 years. A period of active personal relationships associated with building a family and having children. Development of professional activities. Time to assert yourself in all areas of life: sex, love, career.
• The crisis of thirty. By this time, many achieve what they strived for. There comes a turning point in life when a person begins to look for the meaning of life. Often disappointed in what he has. Strives to change his place of work, education, circle of acquaintances and friends. According to statistics, most divorces occur during this period.
• Stabilization period. From 35 to 45 years old, as a rule, people are satisfied with what they have achieved. They no longer want change, they want stability. Confidence in one’s own abilities comes, and success in one’s career is achieved. Most often, the state of health is consistently good. Family relationships are stabilizing.
• Decade of crisis (45 -55 years).

The first signs of approaching old age begin to appear: former beauty fades, well-being and health in general deteriorate.

Coldness appears in the family. Children, having become adults, lead an independent life, and alienation occurs in relationships with them. Fatigue and depressive moods are frequent companions of this age. Some try to find salvation in dreams of a new bright love (or make their dream come true). Others “burn” at work, ensuring a dizzying rise in their career.

• Period of balance. The age from 55 to 65 years is characterized by a gradual withdrawal from social life and work activity. This is a period of relative peace in all areas of life.

5. Old age.

There is a rethinking of one’s entire life, reflection on spirituality and a reassessment of actions. Review of the past years from the point of view of philosophy: whether life was wasted or was it rich and unique.

At this time, periods of crisis appear, associated with rethinking the life lived.

• Personal assessment that does not affect the professional sphere;
• Attitudes towards aging and the appearance of signs of obvious deterioration in health and appearance;
• Understanding and accepting death.

1) Thinking about its inevitability, a person initially feels horror from helplessness, since he cannot prevent this event.

2) Anger, which is poured out on all young and healthy people nearby. He comes with the realization that human life is coming to an end and nothing can be done about it.

3) An attempt to make a deal: with doctors or through repentance. A person “begs” for years of life by following all the doctor’s orders, self-medicating, or actively attending church.

4) Depression. The awareness of imminent death does not leave a person. He withdraws into himself, often cries, thinking about his family and friends whom he has to leave. There is a complete lack of social contacts.

5) Acceptance of death. Humble expectation of the inevitable end. A state when a person is already psychologically dead.

6) The onset of clinical death is characterized by complete cardiac arrest and cessation of breathing. Within 15-20 minutes a person can still be brought back to life.

7) Physiological death is associated with the cessation of all body functions.

The determination of this age periodization is associated with the physiological characteristics of the body, the level of mental development, as well as the basic behavioral characteristics of a person.

Philosophical concept of age periodization

Since ancient times, scientists in different countries have had their own idea of ​​the concept of age-related characteristics. Modern age periodization successfully uses the proposed models.

For example, in China it was believed that human life is divided into 7 periods, with the age from 60 to 70 years being considered the best. This time was called the spiritual flowering of man and the manifestation of his highest wisdom.

Hippocrates divided human life into 10 stages, each of which lasted 7 years. The record of time began at birth.

The division of the stages of life according to Pythagoras is very interesting. He believed that age periodization is similar to the seasons.

• Spring.

Beginning of life. The period of formation and development of personality. Passes from birth to 20 years.

• Summer. Young years from 20 to 40 years.

• Autumn. The best years of a person, the blossoming of creative potential. Lasts from 40 to 60 years.
• Winter is old age, which begins at 60 years of age.

Pythagoras believed that everything in human life is characterized by numbers that have magical properties.

The scientist assumed that the age periodization of development is the changing “seasons” of life, and man is part of natural life.

The basis of his age periodization and characteristics of periods is the idea of ​​eternal life through reincarnation and change.

Is age really that important?

Each of us is free to determine by what criteria to determine the age period in which he lives. After all, the concept of “age” is very relative.

Some people consider themselves young as long as they remain attractive and in good health. Often people try by all available means to prolong this outward manifestation of youth. And some even 80 lead an active lifestyle, attracting others with their optimism. As a rule, such people get sick very little, remaining active until old age.

Remember that age is determined by your state of mind, not by the numbers in your passport.

Based on a number of morphological, physiological and biochemical characteristics, the entire life course of a person can be divided into periods or stages. There are no clearly defined boundaries between these periods, and they are largely arbitrary, yet establishing approximate boundaries of these periods based on objective criteria is a very important task. Periodization was based on the maturation of the gonads and the intensity of body growth. Attempts have been made to classify age periods based on dental characteristics.

The degree of development of the central nervous system, in particular the cerebral cortex, was also put forward as a criterion. Based on this trait, the authors tried to move away from a purely biological trait and find a biological-social one. However, despite many approaches to the periodization of individual development, it was not possible to find the optimal general biological or sociobiological criterion on which it is based. Meanwhile, the problem of age periodization is considered one of the most relevant for the entire complex of sciences that study human development.

Age is a period of human development, characterized by a set of specific patterns of formation of the body and personality.

Passport age is the chronological age of an individual from the moment of birth to the end of life.

Biological age is characterized by growth, maturation and aging, as well as other biological indicators, i.e. biological age reflects the biological evolution of a person.

The psychological characteristic of age is a certain qualitatively unique stage of mental development of a person as an individual and as a person.

The age of cultural development is an indicator of cultural self-determination and self-development of an individual at each stage of his development, mastery of cultural rules and norms of behavior and activity relative to chronological age.

The social characteristic of age is a reflection of the child’s inclusion in a certain system of social relations and the degree of his social maturity.

There are many schemes for dividing into age periods.

The classification of ages of life, according to Pythagoras, is as follows:

1. Formation period - 0-20 years (spring).

2. Young man - 20-40 years old (summer).

3. A person in the prime of life - 40-6Q years old (autumn).

4. Old and fading person - 60-80 years old (winter).

From Antiquity, the Middle Ages adopted reasoning about the stages of human life, which was most often divided into seven periods. Their characteristics could be found in Hippocrates, Philo of Judea, Galen and many others. In Orthodox countries, the text about the ages of man first became known through the writings of John Chrysostom. Here is how it is said in one of the books: “The first week is when a person is seven years old from his birth: attack of teeth, gentleness, meekness and lack of understanding, pranks in games and all the thoughts of a child...

The second week is when a person experiences two times seven from his birth, i.e. 14 years old, he comes into disintegration, characteristic of youth, and is overwhelmed, there is carnal lust, emission of semen and absurd violence... The third week is when a person happens three times seven, i.e. 21 years old, then he is a violent and rebellious young man, evil thoughts of fornication and drunkenness, and many other absurd riots often nest in his mind. But then, he begins to lightly listen to the meaning, comes to his senses and follows the teachings of his elders, imitating everything and succeeding in everything...”

Augustine also gives a brief description of the ages (childhood, adolescence, youth, masculinity, old age), but, unlike other authors, he speaks of the existence of “spiritual ages”, characteristic of people growing spiritually and developing their minds. These ages correspond “not to the number of years, but to (internal) success.” There are also divisions into two, three, four, five, six and even nine periods.

In our domestic science, the classification proposed by N.P. has been widespread for a long time. Gundobin.

This classification is based on some biological characteristics of a growing organism and distinguishes the following periods:

1. The period of intrauterine development.

2. Newborn period (2-3 weeks).

3. Infancy - up to 1 year.

4. Pre-school, toddler age - from 1 year to 3 years.

5. Preschool age - from 3 to 7 years.

6. The period of adolescence, or junior school age, is from 7 to 12 years.

7. Adolescence - from 12 to 15 years.

8. Senior school age - from 14 to 18 years for girls and from 15-16 years to 19-20 for boys.

L.S. Vygotsky distinguished three groups of periodization: according to external criteria, according to one and several signs of child development. The first group includes periodizations created according to the biogenetic principle, when the process of a child’s individual development is built in accordance with the main periods of biological evolution and historical development of mankind, or periodizations in which the stages of childhood coincide with the stages of the system of education and upbringing of children.

In the second group of periodizations, an internal criterion is used. This criterion becomes any one aspect of development, for example the development of bone tissue (P.P. Blonsky) or the development of childhood sexuality (Z. Freud). P.P. In his classification, Blonsky distinguished toothless childhood, deciduous childhood, permanently toothed childhood, prepubertal and pubertal periods.

In the third group of periodizations, periods of a child’s mental development are distinguished on the basis of significant and not isolated features of this development. This group includes the periodizations of L.S. Vygotsky and D. B. Elkonin. They use three criteria - the social situation of development, leading activity and central age-related neoplasm.

To understand the human life cycle, it is necessary to determine the sequential change in developmental states, the unidirectionality and irreversibility of life time, i.e. topological characteristics of this time. At the same time, one should take into account the duration of existence of an individual, determined by the total life expectancy of all individuals of a given species - a metric characteristic of the life cycle and its individual moments.

Both of these characteristics are presented, for example, in the following age periodization scheme:

Newborns 1-10 days

Infant 10 days - 1 year

Early childhood 1-2 years

First period of childhood 3-07 years

Second period of childhood:

8-12 years old for boys

8-11 years old for girls

Adolescence:

13-16 years old for boys

12-15 years old for girls

Youth age:

17-21 years for men

16-20 years for women

Average age:

first period:

22-35 years for men

21-35 years for women

second period:

36-60 years for men

36-55 years for women

Aged people:

61-75 years for men

55-75 years for women

Senile age:

74-90 years for both sexes

Long-Livers:

Over 90 years old

In anthropology and psychophysiology, pediatrics and gerontology, more special classifications of periods of growth and maturation, on the one hand, and involutionary periods, on the other, are more often used. They focus on objective signs of the beginning and end of each age period, the duration of which can vary significantly among different individuals.

In pediatrics, for example, the following periodization of development is widely used:

1) intrauterine period;

2) neonatal period;

3) period of breastfeeding;

4) period of milk teeth;

5) period of adolescence;

6) period of puberty.

When using age periodization in practice, it should be borne in mind that the chronological framework of a person’s age and his morphological and psychophysiological characteristics are largely determined by social factors.

A number of authors consider the classification of D.B. to be more advanced. Bromley (1966, England). She views human life as a set of five cycles: uterine (pregnancy stage), childhood, adolescence, adulthood and aging. Each of these cycles consists of a number of stages, characterized by age dates (taking into account variability) and general developmental features.

The first cycle consists of four stages:

1) zygote (fertilized egg);

2) embryo (early stage of biological development);

3) fetus (late stage of biological development);

4) the moment of birth (change of life in the internal environment of the mother’s body to life in the external environment).

From this moment, development is determined by age (from birth) and is characterized by a change in methods of orientation, behavior and communication in the external environment.

The second cycle - childhood - consists of three stages, covering 11-13 years of life.

The first of these, infancy (from birth to 18 months of life), is characterized by many important developmental features. It is during this period that the child acquires basic skills of movement, perception and manipulation, and he develops a sensorimotor circuit that regulates behavior. Non-verbal communication develops very intensively, with the help of which the initial socialization of the individual is carried out. The child’s complete dependence on adults, especially on the mother, is of particular importance for initial socialization, the formation of communication needs and attachments, and the accumulation of communication experience necessary for further development.

The second stage of childhood (from 18 months to 5 years) - preschool childhood - is characterized by the development of perceptual, mnemonic and elementary thought processes (pre-operational ideas), complex manipulations and actions with things, and the accumulation of experience in behavior in various life situations. This stage is characterized by the intensive development of speech and the formation of verbal connections in the process of communication. However, along with them, earlier, non-verbal means of communication are also used (expressive forms of behavior: facial expressions, gestures, posture, intonation). Family and other social relationships in the immediate environment are gradually strengthened.

The third stage of childhood is early school childhood - from 5 to 11 or 13 years. This stage is characterized by the assimilation of culture through education, the development of the symbolic principle in thinking and behavior, the assimilation of specific grouping operations, etc. In many respects, this stage is crucial for the socialization of the individual, since it is carried out not only empirically, through the accumulation of behavioral experience in social environment, but also rationally, by mastering the foundations of morality and regulating connections on these foundations.

The cycle of adolescence consists of two stages:

1) puberty - high school childhood (early adolescence), lasting from 11-13 to 15 years.

2) late adolescence (15-21 years). Starting from this cycle, Bromley characterizes the development of certain shifts in personality, its status, roles, positions in society. At the same time, she tries to note the most important psychophysiological changes of the individual in different periods of life.

The first stage of adolescence is characterized by the intensive development of secondary sexual characteristics and productive functions, somatic development and neuropsychic maturation. During this period, a system of formal operations and logical structures is formed that increase the level of mental activity. Very significant; changes occur in social development: begins to act; a system of limited legal liability, new social roles and positions are being mastered. Behavior is focused on adult norms of behavior, and claims to adulthood are distinguished by many motives of behavior at this age.

The second stage of adolescence is the completion of the main phase of biological development, further education and vocational training, mastery of certain professional roles, and the beginning of an independent working and economic life. The transition from dependence (economic, legal, moral) to independence from parents is of decisive importance. It is this transition, acutely experienced by individual boys and girls, that, according to Bromley, explains the fact in social statistics that the peak of antisocial behavior occurs precisely in these years.

The cycle of adulthood consists of four stages:

1) early adulthood (21-25 years old);

2) middle adulthood (25-40 years);

3) late adulthood (40-55 years);

4) pre-retirement age (55-65 years), which is transitional to the old age cycle.

Early adulthood is mastery of the role of an adult, legal maturity, voting rights, economic responsibility - in general, full inclusion in all types of social activity of one's country. At this stage, one’s own family is formed and one’s own way of life is built: marriage, the birth of the first child, establishing a circle of acquaintances related to common work. At work, professional roles are mastered, professional training continues, and skill improvement begins.

D. B. Bromley characterizes middle adulthood as follows: years of “peak”, or optimum, intellectual achievements, consolidation of social and professional roles by type of service, accumulation of relatively permanent material resources and social connections, leadership in various types of activities and seniority in age among many employees and acquaintances, a slight decline in some physical and mental functions, manifested at maximum activity.

Late maturity has as its main features the continued establishment of special (by occupation) and social roles with the dominance of some of them and the weakening of others, the departure of children from the family and a change in lifestyle in connection with this, menopause, and a further decline in physical and mental functions. According to many experimental data, the midpoint of this stage of development is between 45-50 years.

Pre-retirement age is characterized by a more obvious decline in physical and mental functions, and a further weakening of sexual functions and interests. At the same time, these are the “peak” years for the most general social achievements - position in society, power and authority, partial exemption from occupations and selection of the most interesting social affairs for the individual. No less significant is the change in overall motivation in connection with preparation for the upcoming retirement lifestyle, anticipation of old age and resistance to its onset.

The aging cycle consists of three stages:

1) “retirement” (“retirement”, 65-70 years);

2) old age (70 years or more);

3) the last stage of decrepitude, painful old age and death (maximum - about 110 years in England and Western Europe).

The first of these stages is characterized by increased impressionability (susceptibility) to violations of the life stereotype, an increasing need for communication, an intensified sense of kinship and attachment to loved ones; release from official roles and public affairs or the continuation of some kind of activity in order to maintain authority and power; adaptation to new living conditions without constant and intense activities; deterioration of physical and mental condition.

Old age: complete unemployment in society, absence of any roles other than family ones, growing social isolation, gradual reduction in the circle of close people, especially among peers, physical and mental insufficiency.

The last stage - decrepitude, painful old age - is characterized by an increase in the phenomena of senility in behavior and the mental sphere, the final violation of biological functions, chronic painful conditions, and death.

The classification of ages according to the psychophysiological characteristics of development thus includes the following chain of phase transformations of the human life cycle: infancy, early childhood, childhood, adolescence, adolescence, youth, middle age, elderly, old, elderly (senility). The identification of adolescence and youth as special periods separated by the period of youth is dictated by the presence of new psychophysiological characteristics for development.

Periodization of childhood V.V. Zenkovsky is based on a philosophical understanding of the totality of various signs of age (psychological, related to socialization, etc.). The author identified three periods: childhood, adolescence and adolescence, and childhood, in turn, divided into early and second.

If in “early” childhood (after 1 year to 5-6.5 years) - the metaphysics of childhood - the foundations of the personal are laid and there is an initial indistinction between the subjective and objective world, then in “second” childhood there is a strict separation of the inner world and the outer world. Adolescence is associated with sexual maturation and with the adolescent’s turn to the inner world. In youth, the basis for the correct relationship between the inner and outer world is formed. Thus, childhood is the thesis, adolescence is the antithesis, and youth is the synthesis.

L.S. Vygotsky believed that the age periodization of a person should be considered in the context of his cultural and historical affiliation.

In his opinion, a child’s development consists of stable critical periods. The basic principles of dividing child development into separate ages are neoplasms, critical ages, etc. Age periodization, according to Vygotsky, is presented as follows: neonatal crisis; infancy (2 months - 1 year); crisis 1 year; early childhood; crisis 3 years; preschool age (3-7 years); crisis 7 years; school age; crisis 13 years; puberty (14-18 years); crisis 17 years.

Vygotsky’s concept became the basis for a number of ideas in which activity is the basis of an independent direction. Thus, the theory of activity arose (A.N. Leontiev and others), which is currently being developed by many authors.

Age periodization within the framework of the activity approach of D. B. Elkonin is expressed in the natural change and dominance of two spheres of activity in the period between birth and adolescence: motivational-need and cognitive functions, as well as operational and technical capabilities.

He identified periods: from 0 to 1 year - direct emotional communication between the baby and adults; from 1 to 3 years - object-manipulative activity, when the child learns how to operate with objects; 3-5 years - role-playing game, typical for preschoolers; 7-11 years old - educational activities of younger schoolchildren; 11-13 years old - socially useful activities of adolescents; 13/14-16/17 years - adolescence, which is characterized by professional and educational activities. Thus, each age has its own social development situation, leading activity.

A.V. Zaporozhets also attached special importance in development to leading activities in which the child’s relationships with people and objective activities typical for a given stage of development are realized: infancy (up to 1 year), early childhood (1-3 years), preschool age (3-7 years ), primary school age (7-12 years), adolescence (11-15 years), early adolescence (14-18 years). At the same time, Zaporozhets pointed out that such a periodization of age is devoid of truly scientific justification, since it is empirical and not conceptual in nature. Thus, in works reflecting the activity principle, the features of biological development are not disclosed.

Age periodization, according to A.V. Petrovsky, correlates with personality development. In the most general form, the development of a person’s personality can be represented as a process of entering a new social environment and integrating into it. Personality is formed in groups hierarchically located at the stages of ontogenesis.

Taking this into account, Petrovsky identified the following age stages of personality functioning: early childhood (preschool) age (0-3 years), kindergarten childhood (3-7 years), junior school age (7-11 years), middle school age (11-15 years), senior school age (15-18 years). The author adheres to the point of view that the unity of ideas about the formation of personality and the fundamental similarity of the variants of the social situation of development in a particular culture determine the typical psychological characteristics of children, adolescents or young men within the framework of school age, i.e. as a kind of standards.

The critical periods of childhood, accepted in modern science, are assessed by the authors differently:

a) as an indicator of the reflection of the body’s adaptation during the period of maturation (meaning puberty crisis), for example, E. Erikson’s idea of ​​a “normal crisis”;

6) as a “disease” of development, deviation from the norm (L.S. Vygotsky, L.I. Bozhovich, G.E. Sukhareva, P.K. Ushakov, V.V. Kovalev, I.Yu. Kulagina, etc. );

c) as an optional symptom of the transition from one stable age to another (A.N. Leontyev).

The main manifestations of any critical period are signs that are opposite to the signs of stable, or stable, age periods, namely: inability to educate, sensitivity (slight vulnerability, vulnerability), imbalance. At the same time, there are signs indicating a combination of creation and destruction, i.e. the coexistence of both positive and negative traits is possible (P.P. Blonsky, L.S. Vygotsky, K.N. Polivanova).

Difficulty in education, which takes on various, sometimes ugly forms, is one of the most important consequences of crisis periods. Children begin to study worse, they lose interest in classes, and conflicts with others are possible. As they say, the child becomes “problematic.” It is this important feature of crisis periods that attracts the attention of teachers, psychologists and psychiatrists and requires special treatment.

In addition to being difficult to educate, a crisis can be indicated by the so-called easy-to-educate (K.N. Polivanova), although such “easy-to-educate” is significant only if it reflects “a change in behavior, its new forms, unusual reactions to educational influences” (K.N. . Polivanova).

The presence of signs indicating combinations of manifestations of creation and destruction is expressed (according to L.S. Vygotsky) in the replacement of the old situation with the development of a new one. Thus, during the transition period among adolescents, there is a clear process of the withering away of children’s interests and the formation of new ones. Since a person’s entire life is a series of intervals where there is a change from one situation to another, in each specific case it is necessary to clearly understand what stage of development we are talking about and how the interests (and, as a consequence, the behavior) of the child change.

Various signs of a crisis are due to the influence of a number of factors, and determining which is more important is difficult, and sometimes simply impossible. Such factors are the biological restructuring of the body, the process of socialization and others, such as disease. Overcoming a crisis means moving development forward to a higher level in the next biological and psychological age.

To denote mental age-related phenomena, different terms are used in the specialized literature: neoplasm, age-related functions, etc. L.S. Vygotsky proposed using the term neoplasm, which is “a new type of personality structure and its activity, those mental and social changes that first arise at a given age stage and which in the most important and fundamental way determine the child’s consciousness, his attitude to the environment, his internal and external life, the entire course of his development in a given period.” In his opinion, neoplasms can be used as a criterion for dividing development into separate ages.

Features of the course of the first age crisis (2-4 years). Vygotsky distinguishes five main psychological signs of the first age crisis: negativism, stubbornness, obstinacy, self-will and a jealous attitude towards other children.

Negativism is a behavior in which a child does not want to do something just because an adult suggested it, i.e. This is the child’s reaction not to the content of the proposal made, but to the proposal itself. According to Vygotsky, “negativism forces the child to act contrary to his affective desire.”

Stubbornness is the behavior of a child in which he insists on something not because he really wants it, but because he demanded it (L.S. Vygotsky).

Obstinacy, unlike negativism, is impersonal and rather directed against the norms of education; is characterized by bias.

Self-will, reflecting a tendency towards independence, is another sign of crisis. Its timely establishment is important, since lack of independence is typical of infantilism.

Features of the course of the second age (childhood) crisis. II age (children's) crisis (6-7 years) - the period of the birth of the social “I” (L.I. Bozhovich) - coincides in time with the beginning of schooling. With the loss of interest in play as an activity, a child at this age begins to form a new activity - educational.

The most important indicator of this crisis period is the child’s readiness or unpreparedness for school, since it is at this age that the formation of the biological basis of such readiness refers, namely: the maturation of the most complex frontal areas (A.R. Luria) and the strengthening of the processes of inhibition of the cerebral cortex over the instinctive and emotional reactions (N.Y. Krasnogorsky).

Features of the course of pubertal crisis. The puberty period occurs at the age of 11-20 years and is characterized by rapid morphofunctional changes, especially pronounced in the genital area (the beginning of the functioning of the gonads). Distinct psychological characteristics of adolescents are often called the “teenage complex.”

It is now generally accepted that the pubertal crisis is heterogeneous in its structure (S. Bühler, O. Cro, M. Tramer, L.S. Vygotsky, A.E. Lichko, E. Kretschmer, etc.). There are different gradations of pubertal age. Usually, two phases of this period are distinguished (S. Bühler, M. Tramer, etc.): negative (11-15 years) and positive (16-20 years), which have both common and distinctive features. In addition, the so-called III phase is distinguished (post-pubertal - E. E. Sukhareva), which is practically devoid of the general features of the critical period and is interpreted as a stable age (post-critical phase - L. S. Vygotsky).

The general features of the pubertal crisis period are conditionally combined into five groups of signs:

a) clearly expressed affective instability, which determines all the behavior of adolescents - “pubertal mood lability” (M. Tramer);

b) the inconsistency of certain aspects of the mental makeup of adolescents;

c) the orientation of mental activity to the outside world, the desire to expand contacts (L.I. Bozhovich and others);

d) signs of maturation of drives;

e) various behavioral disorders (deviant behavior) in the form of anti-disciplinary, antisocial, delinquent (illegal) and auto-aggressive (A.G. Ambrumova, Lya. Zhezlova, V.V. Kovalev, etc.) behavior. This is stated as one or another degree of violation of social adaptation.

Along with the general symptoms, each phase of the pubertal crisis has its own special features. The negative phase (denial phase - V.E. Smirnov; negativistic - V. Vilinger; protest, against fathers - E. Kretschmer, G. Nissen) is characterized by the predominance of unstable mood, increased excitability, the desire for independence, protest against elders (A Vallon, etc.). The positive phase (philosophical - M. Tramer; leading intellectual excitement - V.E. Smirnov) is characterized by a pronounced desire for creativity, growth of self-awareness, transformation of drives into interests (L.S. Vygotsky).

L.I. Bozhovich, studying the age-related characteristics of personality development together with her colleagues, came to the conclusion that the formation of a child’s personality is determined by the ratio of the place that he occupies in the system of human relationships available to him (hence, the corresponding requirements for him), and those psychological characteristics that he has already formed as a result of his previous experiences.

It is from this relationship that the child’s internal position arises, i.e. that system of needs and aspirations (subjectively represented in the corresponding experiences), which, refracting and mediating the influences of the environment, becomes the direct driving force for the development of new mental qualities. Bozhovich believed that these provisions are valid not only for understanding the conditions for the formation of the individual characteristics of a child’s personality, but also for understanding the driving forces of the age-related development of children and the reasons that determine the typical features of their age-related psychological appearance.

Thus, human development is conditioned (determined):

Internal contradictions and psychophysiological characteristics;

Social development situation;

Type of leading activity;

The measure of his own activity in the process of formation and improvement of personality;

Gender, age and individual characteristics.

The process of human age-related development is associated with sensitive periods - periods of ontogenetic development in which the developing organism is especially sensitive to certain types of environmental influences; periods of optimal combination of conditions for the development of certain mental properties and processes. The onset of the sensitive period is determined by the functional maturation of brain structures and internal connections necessary for the implementation of the mechanisms of certain functions. For example: 1.5-3 years - speech; 3-6 years - perception, thinking, imagination, etc.; 5-6 years - coordination of movements (ballet, figure skating, etc.), reading, etc.

Training has the greatest impact on those mental functions that are just beginning to develop, but training that is premature or delayed in relation to the sensitive period may not be effective enough, which generally has an adverse effect on the development of the psyche. A number of scientists believe that the untapped potential inherent in the body fades away quite quickly. So, for example, there are cases where children who ended up with animals and remained alive, being returned to human society, practically did not recover as representatives of the human race, since those opportunities that were in the corresponding sensitive periods of their development turned out to be irretrievably lost.

Any age periodization is quite arbitrary (a growing organism develops individually, goes through its own unique path), but it is necessary for a comprehensive analysis of the properties of the body changing during the process of ontogenesis, for the development of a scientifically based system for the protection of mental and physical health, for the creation of techniques and methods adequate to each age stage. training and education, optimal development of physical and mental capabilities.

Periodization of age development (age periods of human development)

Dividing the time distance into unique and unique stages constitutes the problem of periodization of development.

As L. S. Vygotsky noted, most of the proposed ideas for periodization, when carefully analyzed, turn out to be formal and do not affect the essence of development. Criticizing the methods of dividing childhood into age stages that existed at that time, he wrote that periodizations are based on external ones, but almost do not touch upon internal foundations that relate directly to the changes that occur in the child’s psyche.

The question of dividing ontogenesis into separate, age-limited stages, stages or phases has a long tradition, but still remains open. The criteria on the basis of which such division is made, as well as the content, number and temporal extent of the established age periods, are extremely different.

The purpose of any periodization is to identify points on the line of development that separate qualitatively unique periods from each other. The only question is what determines this qualitative originality. At one time, S. Hall, P. Blonsky, A. Gesell, Z. Freud, J. Piaget, L. S. Vygotsky, E. Ericson, D. Elkonin and others identified various bases for constructing periodization.

In psychology, the following most general periodization is used.

1. Infancy - from birth to 1 year.

The process of birth is a difficult, turning point in the life of a child. Psychologists call this period the neonatal crisis. Causes of neonatal crisis:

Physiological (being born, the child is physically separated from the mother. He finds himself in completely different conditions: cold, bright light, an air environment that requires a different type of breathing, the need to change the type of nutrition).

Psychological (the psyche of a newborn child is a set of innate unconditioned reflexes that help the child in the first hours of his life).

The leading activity of this period is the child’s emotional communication with an adult. The child has unconditioned reflexes - breathing and sucking, protective and orientation reflexes. Some reflexes are atavistic (“grasping”). The child sleeps most of the time. By the end of the period, auditory and visual concentration and autonomous speech arise. New formations: elementary forms of perception and thinking.

2. Early childhood - from 1 year to 3 years.

The leading activity is subject-based, the purpose of which is to master the functions of objects and master the methods of operating with them. This period is sensitive to speech acquisition. Autonomous speech disappears and turns into “adult” speech. By the age of 1, a child’s vocabulary consists of 10 words, and by the age of 3 – already 1000-1500 words. Among all mental functions, perception dominates. At this age, elementary forms of imagination, such as anticipation, are observed, but there is no creative imagination yet. A small child is not capable of inventing something or lying. Only towards the end of early childhood does he have the opportunity to say something that is not what he really is.

Attention and memory are involuntary. Thinking is visually effective; it is based on perception and action with objects. The transition period begins - the 3-year-old crisis - one of the most difficult moments in a child’s life. This is negativism, stubbornness, devaluation, and also a crisis of self.

3. Preschool age - from 3 to 6-7 years.

The center of the social situation is the adult as the bearer of a social function (adult - mother, doctor, etc.). At the same time, the child is not able to really participate in the lives of adults. This contradiction is resolved in the game, as in a leading activity. This is the only activity that allows you to simulate the life of adults and act in it. Perception in preschool age becomes more perfect, meaningful, purposeful, and analytical. It highlights voluntary actions - observation, examination, search. Children know the primary colors and their shades, and can describe an object by shape and size. They acquire a system of sensory standards. Preschool childhood is the most favorable (sensitive) age for memory development. In younger preschoolers, memory is involuntary. In middle preschool age (between 4 and 5 years), voluntary memory begins to form. Conscious, purposeful memorization and recall appear only sporadically. Usually they are included in other types of activities, since they are needed both in play, and when running errands for adults, and during classes - preparing children for school. Thinking and perception are so closely connected that they speak of visual-figurative thinking, which is most characteristic of preschool age. Despite this peculiar childish logic, preschoolers can reason correctly and solve quite complex problems. The motivational sphere is developing: the most important mechanism is the subordination of motives. The child begins to assimilate the ethical standards accepted in society. By the end of preschool age, self-awareness is formed due to intensive intellectual and personal development; it is usually considered the central new formation of preschool childhood. Self-esteem develops. This period is also characterized by sexual identification and awareness of oneself in time. Based on the emergence of personal consciousness, the crisis of 7 years appears. The main signs: 1) loss of spontaneity (between desire and action, the experience of what significance this action will have for the child is interposed); 2) mannerisms (the child pretends to be something, hides something); 3) the “bitter candy” symptom - the child feels bad, but he tries not to show it. Psychological readiness for school is a complex education that presupposes a fairly high level of development of the motivational, intellectual spheres and the sphere of volition.

4. Junior school age - from 7 to 11 years.

When a child enters school, a new social development situation is established, the center of which becomes the teacher. Leading activity - educational - is a special form of student activity aimed at changing oneself as a subject of learning. The dominant function at primary school age is from visual-figurative to verbal-logical thinking. Analyzing perception becomes synthesizing. Memory develops in two directions - arbitrariness and meaningfulness. The volume of attention increases by 2 times, its stability, switching and distribution increases.

5. Adolescence (adolescence) - from 11 to 17 years.

The main feature of this age is sudden, qualitative changes affecting all aspects of development. The social situation of development represents the transition from dependent childhood to independent and responsible adulthood. The leading activity of a teenager is communication with peers. The central new formation of adolescence is the “sense of adulthood” - the teenager’s attitude towards himself as an adult. There is a development of self-awareness (the formation of the “I-concept” - a system of internally consistent ideas about oneself, images of the “I”). The character becomes accentuated. The puberty crisis (almost the entire teenage period) is manifested by: 1) an identity crisis - parting with one’s “childhood self”, awareness of oneself in the world, philosophical understanding of oneself in the environment - “who am I?”, 2) a crisis of authority - the authority of parents decreases , more often the authority is one of the teenagers, often even a complete denial of authority, 3) a sexual crisis - manifestations associated with sexual metamorphosis are very typical.

6. Youth - from 18 to 22 years.

Educational activities become educational and professional, realizing the professional and personal aspirations of boys and girls. The leading place among high school students is occupied by motives related to self-determination and preparation for independent life, with further education and self-education. These motives acquire personal meaning and become significant. A characteristic acquisition of early youth is the formation of life plans. The central mental process of adolescence is the development of self-awareness. The main psychological acquisition of early youth is the discovery of one’s inner world, awareness of one’s own mental states, and at the same time one’s uniqueness, difference from others, with a feeling of loneliness or fear of loneliness characteristic of early youth. An extremely important component of self-awareness is self-esteem.

7. Growing up - from 23 to 29 years old.

The social situation of development is the work team, the new family, the surrounding society. Features: 1) search for a life partner, 2) acceptance of a soulmate, 3) life in a new family, 4) parental role (beginning), 5) career development, 6) development of a lifestyle, 7) acceptance of obligations. Basic new education: acquisition of knowledge and skills

family budget planning. The crisis of this period is interpersonal negotiations and conflict resolution.

8. Transitional age - from 30 to 35 years.

During this period, there is a change in assessments, attachments and accepted obligations; parental role continues; overestimation of the importance of people. Decisions regarding relationships, careers, and lifestyle are re-evaluated and updated. Women reach the peak in the development of their sexuality, and men, on the contrary, begin to experience the first signs of aging. This period coincides with the beginning of adolescence of their older children, which creates special problems for adult family members. Children have a “life of their own,” which may be little known or not known at all to their parents.

9. Maturity - from 36 to 50 years.

This is the time of completion of a critical period in family life, which, as we know, can end in the stabilization of relationships or their significant changes, including divorce. This is a qualitatively new situation of not only mastering new social roles (grandparents, father-in-law, mother-in-law, mother-in-law), but also a new attitude as one’s own

life, and to life in general. Successful resolution of a midlife crisis usually involves a reformulation of goals, then a period of “new stability” begins. At the age of about 50, many people experience a psychological phenomenon that is commonly called an “identity crisis” (a kind of crisis of one’s own self). There is a loss of the sense of the new, a feeling of “lagging behind life,” and a decrease in the level of professionalism. A person who is accustomed to consider himself capable, necessary, a person corresponding to his social status, discovers that he has become different. Doubts and uncertainty arise about one’s capabilities, the joyful feeling of the fullness of life disappears, depression develops, the causes of which are not immediately recognized, but once realized, they are experienced as the exhaustion of one’s capabilities, etc.

10. Old age - 51-65 years.

Old age is the time of retirement, that is, a person’s pre-retirement state, collecting for a “well-deserved rest.” During this period, the hormonal activity of enzymatic processes and the intensity of metabolism decrease. Establishing connections outside the family is experienced by older people as a potential willingness to be useful to other people with their knowledge and experience. Teaching skills and the ability to give practical life advice are a natural consequence of the development of dialogical consciousness in the self-concept, which presupposes the opportunity to take the point of view of another person. Creating a personal attitude towards the frailty of existence is one of the tasks of a person’s personal development at this age. This period is characterized by egoistic stagnation - this is an interrupted connection with the present time, identification of one’s own phantoms with any possible manifestations of life. It sharpens a person’s personal qualities, this is the time and moment of life for the full manifestation of a person’s essential qualities - his love for people and life or the lack thereof. This period is aggravated by emerging ailments that manifest themselves in illness.

11. Old age - over 65 years old.

This period is characterized by reverse development. Changes occur in the anatomical and physiological structure. The mobility and activity of mental processes decreases, the acuity of perception becomes dull, memory deteriorates, primarily for current events, it becomes difficult to comprehend incoming information and mental performance decreases (primarily due to mental fatigue), emotional life becomes impoverished (even people who have lived through a stormy emotional life, become calmer, find joy in an increasingly narrow circle). The life of an old person mainly consists of losses: relatives and friends die, with retirement the usual productive employment disappears, old social ties are weakened and interrupted. Overlapping biological and social changes are accompanied by a gradual transformation of personality: frugality turns into stinginess, thoroughness into rigidity, stiffness and irritability into constant anger. Often infantile traits come to the fore; Motherly protection and attention are expected from those around them (often showing dissatisfaction due to the “carelessness of doctors”, etc.). Old people avoid changes in their lives; their thoughts are increasingly carried away into the past (which is well remembered). The past (where they were young, healthy, and played active social roles) is often contrasted with the present, and this comparison is not in favor of the present, where they are old, sick, and lonely.

However, about 70% of retirees are able to continue working and many find new activities. Keeping older people active improves their well-being, so they should not be overly restricted from the activities available to them. Rich professional and life experience and accompanying wisdom, forbearance and other positive personality traits also serve as compensation for many mental deficiencies in later life. Under good conditions, a person maintains a high level of mental activity for a long time.

Everyone knows that an elderly person is someone who is no longer young, who is beginning to grow old. Then irreversible changes occur in the human body. However, graying hair, wrinkles and shortness of breath do not always indicate the onset of old age. But how to determine the very age when a person can be classified as an elderly person?

Different times - different opinions? It was once believed that old age was when a person was over 20. We remember many striking historical examples when young people got married barely reaching the age of 12–13 years. By the standards of the Middle Ages, a woman of 20 years old was considered an old woman. However, today is not the Middle Ages. Much has changed.

Later, this figure changed several times and twenty-year-old people began to be considered young. It is this age that symbolizes the beginning of independent life, which means blossoming, youth.

Modern views on age

In modern society, everything is somehow changing again. And today, most young people, without hesitation, will classify as elderly those who have barely crossed the thirty-year mark. Proof of this is the fact that employers are quite wary of applicants over 35. And what can we say about those who have crossed 40?

But it would seem that by this age a person acquires a certain self-confidence and life experience, including professional one. At this age, he has a strong position in life and clear goals. This is the age when a person is able to realistically assess his own strengths and be responsible for his own actions. And suddenly, the sentence sounds: “Elderly.” At what age can an individual be considered elderly, we will try to figure it out.

Age limits

Representatives of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences say that recently there have been noticeable changes in determining the biological age of a person. To study these and many other changes occurring in humans, there is the World Health Organization - WHO. Thus, the WHO classification of human age says the following:

in the range from 25 to 44 years - a person is young;

in the range from 44 to 60 - has an average age;

from 60 to 75 - people are considered elderly;

from 75 to 90 - these are already representatives of old age.

All those who are lucky enough to cross this level are considered long-livers. Unfortunately, few live to 90, much less 100. The reason for this is various diseases to which a person is susceptible, the environmental situation, as well as living conditions.

So what happens? That old age according to the WHO classification has become significantly younger?

What sociological research shows

According to sociological surveys conducted annually in different countries, people themselves are not going to age. And they are ready to consider themselves elderly only when they reach the age of 60–65 years. Apparently this is where the bills to increase the retirement age originate.

Older people, however, need to devote more time to their health. In addition, a decrease in attention and speed of information perception does not always allow people over 60 to quickly adapt to changing situations. This is of particular relevance in the context of scientific and technological progress. People who have reached a certain age sometimes find it difficult to master innovative technologies. But few people think about the fact that for many people this is a severe psychological trauma. They suddenly begin to feel worthless and useless. This aggravates the already aggravated situation of age overestimation.

My years are my wealth

The WHO age classification is not an absolute criterion for assigning a person to a certain age category. After all, not only the number of years characterizes a person’s condition. Here it is appropriate to recall the well-known proverb, which says that a person is only as old as he feels himself to be. This expression probably characterizes a person’s age to a greater extent than the WHO age classification. This is connected not only with the psycho-emotional state of a person and with the degree of deterioration of the body.

Unfortunately, the diseases that overcome and exhaust people do not depend on age. Both old people and children are equally susceptible to them. This depends on many factors, including the state of the body, immunity, and living conditions. And, of course, it depends on how the person himself views his health. Once incompletely cured diseases, lack of normal rest, poor nutrition - all this and much more wears out the body quite a lot.

For many, old age means grumbling, poor memory, and a whole bunch of chronic diseases. However, all of the above disadvantages can also characterize a relatively young person. Today this is far from a criterion for classifying a person into a certain age category.

Middle age crisis. What is his threshold today?

Everyone is well aware of the concept of a midlife crisis. And who can answer the question about at what age it most often occurs? Before defining this age, let's understand the concept itself.

Here, a crisis is understood as a moment when a person begins to rethink values, beliefs, evaluates the life he has lived and his actions. Probably, such a period in life begins precisely when a person has lived years, experience, mistakes and disappointments behind him. Therefore, this period of life is often accompanied by emotional instability, even deep and prolonged depression.

The onset of such a crisis is inevitable; it can last from several months to several years. And its duration depends not only on the individual characteristics of a person and on his life lived, but also on his profession, family situation and other factors. Many emerge victorious from this life conflict. And then middle age does not give way to aging. But it also happens that people who have grown old and lost interest in life, who have not yet reached 50 years, emerge from this battle.

What the World Health Organization says

As we have already discussed above, elderly age according to the WHO classification falls in the range from 60 to 75 years. According to the results of sociological research, representatives of this age category are young at heart and are not at all going to consider themselves old people. By the way, according to the same studies conducted ten years ago, everyone who reached the age of 50 or more was considered elderly. The current WHO age classification shows that these are middle-aged people. And it is absolutely possible that this category will only get younger.

Few people in their youth think about what age is considered old. And only over the years, crossing one milestone after another, do people understand that at any age “life is just beginning.” Only after accumulating vast life experience do people begin to think about how to prolong their youth. Sometimes it turns into a real battle with age.

Signs of aging

Old age according to WHO is characterized by the fact that people experience a decrease in vital activity. What does this mean? Elderly people become inactive, acquire a lot of chronic diseases, their attentiveness decreases, and their memory deteriorates.

However, old age according to the WHO classification is not just an age range. Researchers have long come to the conclusion that the aging process occurs in two directions: physiological and psychological.

Physiological aging

As for physiological aging, it is most understandable and noticeable to others. Because certain irreversible changes occur in the human body, which are noticeable to him, as well as to those around him. Everything in the body changes. The skin becomes dry and flabby, which leads to wrinkles appearing. Bones become brittle and this increases the likelihood of fractures. Hair becomes discolored, breaks and often falls out. Of course, for people trying to maintain their youth, many of these problems are solvable. There are various cosmetic preparations and procedures that, when used correctly and regularly, can mask visible changes. But these changes will still become noticeable sooner or later.

Psychological aging

Psychological aging may not be so noticeable to others, but this is not always the case. Older people often experience dramatic character changes. They become inattentive, irritable, and get tired quickly. And this often happens precisely because they observe the manifestation of physiological aging. They are unable to influence irreversible processes in the body and because of this they often experience deep spiritual drama.

So what age is considered elderly?

Due to the fact that each person’s body has its own characteristics, such changes occur differently for everyone. And physiological and psychological aging does not always occur simultaneously. Strong-willed people, optimists, are able to accept their age and maintain an active lifestyle, thereby slowing down physiological aging. Therefore, answering the question of what age is considered elderly can sometimes be quite difficult. After all, the number of years lived is not always an indicator of the state of a person’s inner world.

Often people who monitor their health feel the first changes in their body and try to adapt to them and reduce their negative manifestations. If you regularly take care of your health, it is possible to delay the approach of old age. Therefore, those people who fall into the “old age” category according to the WHO classification may not always feel like such. Or, on the contrary, those who overcome the 65-year mark consider themselves ancient old people.

Therefore, it would be useful to once again remember what folk wisdom says: “A person is only as old as he feels.”

The Russian population classification by age provides for the distribution of the population into the following groups:

from 1 day to 7 days – newborns;

from 7 days to 1 year – infants;

from 1 year to 3 years – early childhood;

from 4 years to 7 years – first childhood;

from 8 years to 12 years (boys) and

from 8 years to 11 years (girls) – second childhood;

from 13 years to 16 years (boys) and

from 12 years to 15 years (girls) - teenagers;

from 17 years to 21 years – boys;

from 16 to 20 years – girls;

from 22 years to 35 years (men) and

from 21 to 35 years (women) – I period of maturity;

from 36 years to 60 years (men) and

from 36 years to 55 years (women) – II period of maturity;

from 61 to 74 years (men) and

from 56 years to 74 years (women) - older people;

from 75 to 90 years old people;

over 90 years old are long-livers.

3. Age group.

Age group – a group of people united by two characteristics: age and some socio-economic or other characteristic.

In Russia the following are distinguished: age groups :

1). Nursery (from 0 to 2 years).

2). Preschool (from 3 to 6 years).

3). School (from 7 to 15 years).

4). able-bodied (from 16 to 59 years old - men; from 16 to 54 years old - women).

5). Reproductive (childbearing) (women aged 15 to 49 years).

6). Conscript (men aged 18 to 49 years).

7). Electoral (men and women over 18 years of age).

In Russian statistics, as well as UN statistics, a special place is occupied by enlarged population groups , based on two criteria: age and ability to work. When distributing the population into one of three enlarged groups, the following assessment criteria are used:

1). Young disabled population:

From 0 to 15 years – for Russia;

From 0 to 14 years – for UN countries.

2). Adult working population:

From 16 to 60(55) years – for Russia;

From 15 to 65 years – for UN countries.

3). Elderly disabled population:

Over 60(55) years old – for Russia;

Over 65 years old - for UN countries.

As these data show, the period of working life in the UN countries is much wider than in Russia: the population is involved in work earlier and retires later.

3.3.4. Age accumulation

Annual groups are subject to deformation under the influence of age-related accumulation.

Age accumulation – denser concentration of the population in certain age groups compared to neighboring groups.

Age accumulation is the result of distortions in information about the age composition of the population.

Reasons for distortion of information about the age composition of the population:

1. The use of a survey method in statistical observations (censuses), in which there is no documentary verification of the correctness of the data.

2. The tendency of people to round numbers to "0" at the end (or "5", etc.).

3. Psychological factor: women do not want to be older, old people want to be younger, teenagers are in a hurry to be adults; therefore, when interviewed, these people may deliberately reduce (or increase) their age.

There are various methods for measuring age accumulation . All of them are based on the use of indices (coefficients) characterizing the strength of age-related accumulation. Most common Whipple index (coefficient) , measuring age accumulation at ages ending in "0" and "5":

Where
- population aged 25, 30, ..., 60 years;

- population aged 23, 24, …, 62 years.

The lower the age accumulation, the lower the Whipple index will be.

Methods to reduce age-related accumulation:

1. Record the date of birth of the person being copied, not his age.

2. Methods for smoothing out protrusions and depressions in the age structure (artificial methods):

Graphic method;

Moving average method

and others.

All these methods make it possible to determine the age composition that is more consistent with reality.

In general, the manifestation of age accumulation depends on the level of development of the country. In developed countries its importance is reduced to a minimum.