Erikson's Three Stages That Occur In Adulthood

The middle adulthood period is defined by Erik Erikson as 35 to 55 or 65 years of age. It is during this period, according to Erikson, that creative and meaningful work becomes a central focus (Erikson, 1993). This period is one characterized by generativity, self-absorption, or stagnation (Erikson, 1993). However the basic strengths of people in the middle adulthood years are production and care (Erikson, 1993). The tasks of this period are associated with the transmission of cultural values through the family and through work (Erikson, 1993). The capacity to respond positively to the inherent role changes of this period as children leave home, relationships are discontinued, and goals are recalibrated can produce meaningful new purpose (Erikson, 1993). However, if these inevitable adjustments do not take place, then the result can be stagnation and self-absorption during middle adulthood (Erikson, 1993).

Generativity is an adult’s concern for and commitment to promoting the well-being of youth and future generations through involvement in parenting, teaching, mentoring, and other creative contributions that aim to leave a positive legacy of the self for the future. In Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development, "generativity versus stagnation" marks the seventh of eight stages, the stage typically associated with midlife. Generativity is a complex psychosocial construct that can be expressed through social demand, inner desires, conscious concerns, beliefs, commitments, behaviors, and the overall way in which an adult makes narrative sense of his or her life. Theory and research on generativity are described in detail in a book edited

Generativity versus stagnation, Erikson's seventh developmental stage, occurs during middle adulthood. By generativity Erikson means primarily “a concern for helping the younger generation to develop and lead useful lives. The feeling of having done nothing to help the next generation is stagnation” (Santrock, 2013, p. 23). Both

Joe transitioned the conversation from early adulthood to middle adulthood. He stated that nothing really changed when he transitioned into middle adulthood. He said his health had started to decline and as if his body was betraying him. When asked about the relationship between him and his only son, that is when change appeared. Joe stated that they began to see each other more once he was out of the military. During his son’s early stages in life, Joe was gone for six months in Japan and then once he came home to the United States, he was deployed once again. Like Joe, many middle aged adults find that their relationship with their children improve as they both age. In 2009, the United States Census Bureau found that two-thirds of older adults live close to at least one of their children and often have contact through visits or phone calls.

During this stage one is still exploring into young adulthood and beginning to be more intimate with others. Individuals begin to have relationships with longer commitment with others besides family members. When this stage is successful a person feels a sense of safety and ability to commit in a relationship. If this stage is not accomplished they tend to fear commitment which can lead to loneliness, isolation or depression.

Middle adulthood can be defined by Erikson’s stage of generativity vs. stagnation, being the time in which they would have had children, grandchildren and made the effort to aid them in becoming prosperous or have done nothing, leading to stagnation. Happy families involve interactions between the immediate family, grandparents and parent-sibling relationships, where conjugation and events are held, that foster the ability to share experiences and support one another. Parents that live vicariously through their children may experience the empty nest syndrome, causing a decline in marital satisfaction after the children leave the home, learning how to be independent and develop families of their own. Thus, family events and gatherings can be important not only for the developing children, but the social happiness of the grandparents. Some studies reveal that marital satisfaction increases in middle aged adults (Gorchoff, John & Helson, 2008), and even relationships that had a difficult beginning in early adulthood, improved into middle adulthood.

Check one box and give the textbook definition (with reference) of Erickson’s developmental stage for your patient’s age group:

“Despite ongoing changes in the nature of women’s (and men’s) social clock, one aspect of adulthood still remains a central feature: the development and maintenance of relationships with others,” says Robert Feldman in Development Across the Life Span (Feldman, 456). Erik Erikson developed a theory of social development consisting of eight stages of development from infancy to adulthood. Intimacy-versus-isolation is the sixth stage (young adult, age 18 to 40) and generativity-versus-stagnation is the seventh stage (adulthood, age 40 to 65). Accomplishing these stages takes time but leads to being able to understand and display the characteristics of love and caring.

Generativity versus stagnation is the seventh stage Erikson's theory .During this time, adults strives to create or nurture things that will outlast them; often by having children or commit to positive changes that benefits other people. Contributing to society and doing things to assist future generations are important needs at the generativity versus stagnation stage of development. At the age of thirty- five her husband had become a solicitor and her family had grown from four to five with an addition of a little girl. They have left their house and move back to the country. She was very believed in discipline but never the less she was very strong minded when it comes to education for her kids. She felt that if she could do anything over,

Intimacy vs. Isolation – After a young person has established his or her identity, Erikson proposes that a person now is able to establish intimate relationships with others. Failure to do so can result in long-term feelings of isolation.

Early adulthood is the point in a human 's life where he or she is able to establish intimate relationships as well as friendships. Studies suggest that one is not fully developmentally complete without the formation of intimate relationships, for without them a person would become isolated and develop a fear of commitment, and likely, a mistrust in other people. To be able to form such intimate relationships one must have appropriately progressed through the earlier stages of life successfully.

There are distinct stages that people only experience in early and middle adulthood when it involves social development. People enter into 2 stages of Erikson’s psychosocial stages: intimacy vs isolation and generativity vs stagnation. The main theme of the first mention stage is finding love/companionship and making connections with others. If a person fails to make those connections they encounter loneliness. The second stage is helping others that are younger or misguided on the right path. If a person might feel like his/her life was pointless if this stage is failed.

My stage of development would be young adulthood. According to Erikson, the “crisis” I’m experiencing is intimacy vs. isolation which is learning to make personal commitment to another’s such as a spouse, parent or partner. The Intimacy vs. Isolation conflict is emphasized around the ages of 20 to 34. I’d say this stage is pretty accurate. This stage of development has a bunch stressors and issues. In this stage of being an adult we seek one or more companions and love. As we try to find mutually satisfying relationships, primarily through marriage and friends, we generally also begin to start a family, though this age has been pushed back for many couples who today don't start their families until their late thirties. If this stage is successful, we can experience intimacy on a deep level. If we're not successful, isolation and distance from others may occur. And when we don't find it easy to create satisfying relationships, our world can begin to shrink as, in defense, we can feel superior to others. There’s nothing really highlighting about what I’m going through with this stage of development. Everyone in the world will go through this stage; it’s a part of life. I really don’t have to worry about the next developmental stage just yet; I still

Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development stems from Freud’s psychosexual theory. Unlike Freud Erikson came up with the idea that we are motivated by the need to achieve skills in certain areas of our lives. In the psychosocial theory, we experience eight stages of development over our lifespan, from infancy through late adulthood. At each of the eight stages, there is a task or conflict that needs to be resolved. If each stage is completed successfully, it results in a healthy personality down the road, yet failing to complete the stages successfully can lead to negative consequences as well.

6.Intimacy vs. isolation - This is the first stage of adult development. This development usually happens during young adulthood, which is between the ages of 20 to 24. Dating, marriage, family and friendships are important during the stage in their life. By successfully forming loving relationships with other people, individuals are able to experience love and intimacy. Those who fail to form lasting