The International Journal of Indian Psychology
ISSN 2348-5396 (e) | ISSN: 2349-3429 (p)
Volume 3, Issue 3, No. 10, DIP: 18.01.183/20160303
ISBN: 978-1-365-19879-3
http://www.ijip.in | April - June, 2016
© 2016 I A Sharma; licensee IJIP. This is an Open Access Research distributed under the terms of the Creative
Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use,
distribution, and reproduction in any Medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
‘Not a Boy, Not yet a Man’: Analysing the Development of a Young
Man from Jung’s Standpoint
Aastha Sharma
1
*
ABSTRACT
Adolescence, as we all know, is one of the most complicated stages of one’s life. It is marked by
psychological, cognitive, and physiological changes. The experiences and learning at this stage
forms a soil bed, on which the plant of adulthood grows. However, what it grows into is the
question. Young boys and girls are confused about the changes taking place at every level, and
thus are vulnerable against long term problems like substance abuse, personality and mood
disorders. Therefore, this stage can either ‘make you or break you’.
This research paper looks specifically into the relationships of a young boy who is dealing with
puberty, especially from sexual point of view. He is no longer a boy, but definitely not yet a man.
There is a constant tussle between the two forces. It is during this phase that one’s sexuality,
sexual preferences, sexual confidence etc are developed. Issues like homosexuality, Promiscuity,
masculinity etc in men, have their roots in how an adolescent boy develops and learns in this
crucial stage.
Carl Gustav Jung understood its importance and has explicitly written on this theme. Not only
this, his theories are finding their confirmations in the research that is being undertaken today. It
becomes amply clear that sexual experiences in adolescence have far reaching consequences and
affect our relationships in adulthood in more ways than we thought earlier.
Keywords: Adolescence, Young boy, sexual relationships, Carl Jung.
The word adolescence is coined from the Latin verb ‘adolescere’ which means ‘to grow into
maturity’. Therefore adolescence is a phase wherein an individual grows to be a responsible
adult. Peterson (1988) has described adolescence as a phase of life beginning in biology and
ending in society. This implies that adolescence is that stage wherein an individual faces a
number of physiological, cognitive and psychological changes -- a change in his physical and
1
Research Scholar, Department of Psychology, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India
*Responding Author