Socialization is the ongoing adaptation to patterns of feeling and thinking within social communities. According to socialization theory, humans are only viable through socialization. Socialization problems can therefore cause mental and psychosomatic illnesses, but can also be a symptom of them.
What is socialization?
Socialization is the ongoing adaptation to patterns of feeling and thinking within social communities. Every person is influenced by emotions and thoughts of his or her environment. The adaptation of human patterns of feeling and thinking to the patterns of the environment occurs through the internalization of social norms. This process is called socialization. Thus, socialization is, on the one hand, social bonding with the environment and, on the other hand, personality development in interaction with the environment. The individual learns, his way of thinking and acting with from his environment. There is no other possibility for him, because he is always in an environment. In this way he also coordinates himself with it. Individuals therefore follow the tendency to behave according to the norms and values that are valid at the time. If socialization is successful, the individual internalizes norms, values, representations and social roles of the environment. Successful socialization corresponds to a symmetry of subjective and objective reality. The conception of reality and one’s own identity is thus not least socially shaped. In the 1970s, an interdisciplinary theory of socialization developed. Many sources distinguish primary from secondary and tertiary socialization depending on the stage of life.
Function and task
Socialization is the totality of socially mediated learning processes and allows the individual to participate in social life and participate in its development. The process is to be understood as a lifelong process. Socialization thus results from human coexistence and expresses itself in the social relationship formation of the individual. For socialization, personal individuation must be brought into harmony with social integration. The ego identity cannot be secured in any other way. The social environment and the respective innate individual factors interact in socialization. Only in the course of socialization does a person develop into a socially capable individual who continues to develop throughout his or her life by coming to terms with his or her own life. Above all, the individual deals with his physical and psychological dispositions throughout his life. He tries to harmonize this inner reality with the social and physical environment and thus with the external reality. Primary socialization takes place on the newborn and denotes the foundations for fitting into the world. A basic equipment with life and world knowledge is conveyed with this first socialization. Only through this basic equipment can the human being gain a foothold in the world. The internalization of ways of looking at things in the social environment initially results above all from the basic trust in parents or caregivers who take care of the upbringing. With secondary socialization, the individual is faced with the task of making something of his or her life. Contact with a world outside the primary socialization environment begins. From this point on, the world is broken down into a multitude of sub-worlds and shaped by knowledge and skill. Secondary socialization begins in something like kindergarten or school. From here, the individual must acquire role-specific skills to navigate the subworlds. Tertiary socialization occurs in adulthood and corresponds to the constant adaptation to the social environment and thus the acquisition of new behaviors and thought patterns. The knowledge and skills thus learned serve survival in society.
Diseases and disorders
Almost all serious physical and mental illnesses can be associated with socialization problems. As a result of an illness, the person is thrown off track and may find it difficult to fit into social contexts. An example of a disease with socialization problems is ADHD. This is a disorder that affects around ten percent of all children and adolescents. The disorder has sometimes serious consequences for behavior and performance.Difficulties with attention retention, restlessness, instability and impulsive behavior characterize the picture. Many of the affected children and adolescents suffer from learning difficulties and social problems such as secondary socialization problems. However, socialization difficulties are not only a symptom of many illnesses, but can also have an original connection, especially with mental illnesses. In particular, difficulties in primary socialization can lead to numerous diseases of the psyche. For example, a disturbed or disappointed primordial trust is often the basis for mental disorders. Due to the disappointed basic trust, individuals find it difficult to find their place in their own family. This makes it all the more difficult for them to find their place in the world within the framework of secondary socialization. Addictions or psychoses can be the result. Ideally, people are happy in the family and find in it a space for self-development and satisfaction of emotional needs. Thus, when children grow up with severe family problems, they often suffer personal and interpersonal difficulties as a result of the dysfunctional family structures.
