Child development
“Ego Identity is gradually achieved by facing goals and challenges.”
Erik Erikson, German-American child psychoanalyst, developed a theory of human psychosocial development. Development via a series of crises that the individual must face and overcome in order to advance to the next stage. He coined the phrase identity crisis.
First Stage
Developing Hope. 0-18 months - Trust v. Mistrust. The infant learns either to trust or mistrust others based on the quality of caregiving. The infant must experience untrustworthy people to distinguish those whom he can trust. Development of trust is achieved through good enough parenting. The primary caregiver must be attuned to the infant’s individual needs. Must provide SAFETY in the form of CONSISTENT REPSPONSE responding to the infant’s needs.
Second Stage
Developing Will. Autonomy v. Shame/Self-Doubt. 18 months - 3 years.
Third Stage
Developing Purpose. Initiative v. Guilt.
Fourth Stage
Developing Competence. Industry v. Inferiority. Experimentation.
Fifth Stage
Developing Fidelity. Identity v. Identity/Role Confusion (disturbance, diffusion, emotional dysregulation). Identity formation.
Sixth Stage
Love. Intimacy v. Isolation.
Seventh Stage
Care. Generativity v. Stagnation. Work and Family Relationships.
Eighth Stage
Wisdom. Ego Integrity v. Despair
Ninth Stage, added by Erikson’s wife, Joan Erikson in her book “The Life Cycle Completed: Extended Version.” Wrote it at the age of 93.
old age in one's eighties and nineties brings with it new demands, reevaluations, and daily difficulties"
Joan Erikson showed that all the eight stages "are relevant and recurring in the ninth stage".[50]
In the ninth stage, the psychosocial crises of the eight stages are faced again, but with the quotient order reversed. For example, in the first stage (infancy), the psychosocial crisis was "Trust vs. Mistrust" with Trust being the "syntonic quotient" and Mistrust being the "dystonic".[51] Joan Erikson applies the earlier psychosocial crises to the ninth stage as follows:
"Basic Mistrust vs. Trust: Hope"
In the ninth stage, "elders are forced to mistrust their own capabilities" because one's "body inevitably weakens".
"Shame and Doubt vs. Autonomy: Will"
face the "shame of lost control" and doubt "their autonomy over their own bodies". So it is that "shame and doubt challenge cherished autonomy"
"Inferiority vs. Industry: Competence"
Industry as a "driving force" that elders once had is gone. Being incompetent "because of aging is belittling" and makes elders "like unhappy small children of great age".
"Identity confusion vs. Identity: Fidelity"
Elders experience confusion about their "existential identity" in and uncertainty about status and role"
"Isolation vs. Intimacy: Love"
Years of intimacy and love" are often replaced by "isolation and deprivation". Relationships become "overshadowed by new incapacities and dependencies."
"Stagnation vs. Generativity: Care"
The generativity in the seventh stage of "work and family relationships", if it goes satisfactorily, is "a wonderful time to be alive". In one's eighties and nineties, there is less energy for generativity or caretaking. Thus, "a sense of stagnation may well take over".
"Despair and Disgust vs. Integrity: Wisdom"
Integrity imposes "a serious demand on the senses of elders". Wisdom requires capacities that ninth stage elders "do not usually have". The eighth stage includes retrospection that can evoke a "degree of disgust and despair". In the ninth stage, introspection is replaced by the attention demanded to one's "loss of capacities and disintegration"
Living in the ninth stage, Joan Erikson expressed confidence that the psychosocial crisis of the ninth stage can be met as in the first stage with the "basic trust" with which "we are blessed."
SOURCES:
Erik Erikson
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_Erikson
Narcissist’s 8 Life Failures (Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development), Sam Vaknin
https://youtu.be/bmZgzeVa88Y?si=BXRW8xnzH3xFcUkC
