During the storm and stress of adolescent years, the child is confronted with the universally known stage of Erickson's theory 'identity versus identity confusion'. Resolution of the conflict associated with identity marks the end of childhood and the emergence of adult role-taking in society. The remaining three stages continue to deal in a similar vein with issues of role performance and development throughout adulthood. In summary, normative development throughout childhood is generally viewed as an active and complex process. It involves the ongoing maturation of the child and how he or she engages people and events, attachment to significant adults, social relationships with peers, intellectual and emotional development, and the actual world in which he or she lives.
Childhood is the culture in which individual development occurs.
The quality and characteristics of their environment also directly influence the healthy development of children. When a natural or human-caused disaster invades the world of the child, the impact disrupts the normalcy of the environment and normative functioning. Fortunately, most children enjoy successful and normal childhoods surrounded by adults and peers who can help them adjust to the impact of the disaster. Traumatic events can be successfully assimilated into their worlds within the context of their own individual development. For those children who are experiencing childhood as a negative environment and are actively developing maladaptive survival strategies, recovery from traumatic events will be a complex and time-consuming process.