how childhood experiences affect adulthood

By M.Farouk Radwan, MSc.

Do childhood experiences affect adulthood

Do Childhood experiences affect adulthood?
Can an adult acquire a certain personality trait just because he passed through a certain experience when he was a little child?

Before i can answer these questions i must first tell you how personality is developed. Contrary to common beliefs we don't inherit our personalities but instead we develop certain traits as a result of the experiences we pass through in life.

If a child was raised by an over protective family then he will develop fears and insecurities because of believing that the world is unsafe. Now when that child becomes an adult he will still have his fears and insecurities but he will display them in a different way.

So Our childhood experiences affects our behavior and personality in adulthood even if we were not aware of the existence of this connection.

How childhood experiences affect adulthood

so the question now is how early childhood experiences affect adulthood?
Back to the previous example, the child who feels insecure might develop fear of strangers and might prefer to stay beside his parents than to be with his friends.

When that person grows up and becomes and adult the culture and his environment might force him to deal with strangers and to stay away from his parents so his fears will take another form. For example that person might fear taking risks, trying something new and might fall in love with routine because it provides him with the security he needs. (see How culture affects personality)

Alfred Adler once said that we develop our desires and drives during our childhood then our whole adulthood becomes affected by these childhood experiences. People keep striving during their adulthood to fulfill the desires they have developed during childhood. (see Understanding people psychology).

In my article the psychology of showing off i explained how a single childhood experience such as being the youngest child can affect the life of that child when he becomes an adult by making him a showy person.

In the Solid Self confidence program i also said that childhood experiences such as being bullied or neglected can result in badly affecting the self esteem of the adult for the rest of his life unless he starts to take corrective actions.

Your adulthood is just an extension of your childhood experiences

Adults with all of their behavior and personality traits are just extensions to the childhood experiences they have been through long ago.

"The difference between men and boys is the size of their toys". This is a very accurate saying when it comes to psychology. A Person will try to fulfill his same childhood desires when he becomes an adult in a way that is acceptable by his society and culture.

So the final conclusion is that childhood experiences doesn't just affect the adulthood but they determine how the adult's personality and behavior will be like.

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