Developmental Crisis
A developmental crisis (DC) takes place in the normal flow of human growth and development (e.g., birth of a child, retirement). While there are many developmental theories (including those of Piaget, Maslow, and Kohlberg), those of Erik Erikson figure prominently in the idea of the DC. Erikson, a Danish-German-American psychologist, described eight stages of the human life cycle, from infancy through old age.
According Erikson (1950), each stage has its own unique developmental tasks that may prompt a crisis; resolution of the crisis is necessary to achieve maturity at the next stage of development. Erikson’s eight stages are as shown in Table X-1.
| Table X-1: Erikson’s Eight Stages of Development | ||
|---|---|---|
| Stage | Age (years) | Key Developmental Tasks |
| Infancy | O – 2 | Trust versus mistrust. Failure to develop trust at this stage will affect all future attachments and relationships. |
| Early childhood | 2 – 4 | Autonomy versus shame and doubt. In this critical separation task, the child finds a unique personal space among demands imposed by family and culture. |
| Preschool/kindergarten | 4 – 7 | Initiative versus guilt. The child begins to direct his or her own life. |
| Elementary school | 7 – 12 | Industry versus inferiority. Developing a sense of competence and capability. |
| Adolescence | 12 – 19 | Identity versus role confusion. Finding a separate identity as an individual. |
| Young adulthood | 19 – 30 | Intimacy versus isolation. Finding a sense of closeness with others. |
| Middle adulthood | 30 – 60 | Generativity versus stagnation. The adult at this stage experiences a need to give back to children and society. |
| Later adulthood | 60 + | Ego integrity versus despair. The mature adult is able to accept failures and successes and integrate them into a meaningful life pattern. |
| Source: Yvette Malamud Ozer, based on Erikson, E.H. (1950). Childhood and society. New York: W.W. Norton. | ||
Erikson maintained that a supportive family and cultural environment are necessary to accomplish the developmental tasks of childhood: developing a sense of trust, autonomy, and initiative. Each stage is a process of negotiating a balance between separation and attachment (connection with others).
Stage theories have been criticized as suggesting that the human life span has distinct, sequential, nonoverlapping life stages.
While some tasks are more prominent in certain stages, all developmental tasks exist throughout the life cycle (Ivey, Ivey, Myers, & Sweeney, 2005). The identity crisis—finding an individual identity—is a major task of adolescence that must occur before true intimacy can occur in adult life (Kroger, 1996). During this stage, adolescents may experiment with different identities and roles (e.g., different ways of dressing, listening to different types of music, associating with different groups of peers), experiencing the reactions of peers and family in the process of defining themselves.
A midlife crisis is a period of self-doubt, of reflecting on accomplishments and reevaluating life goals, as adults sense the passing of youth and imminence of old age.
A midlife crisis usually occurs in the forties and fifties and may be associated with stress, depression, sudden changes in lifestyle, career, or relationship (including extramarital affairs or divorce).
The popular conception is that midlife crises usually happen to men; however, it appears that they occur just as often with women. In a study of Americans who described having experienced a midlife crisis, the crisis in some cases was associated with stressful life events (e.g., divorce, job loss; Wethington, 2000).
Another common crisis during midlife is the empty nest syndrome, which describes feelings of emptiness and lack of purposes that may occur in parents after children grow up and move away from home.
Sandwich generation is a term used to describe a phase in the family life cycle, when adults are simultaneously caring and providing for young children and aging parents.
Individuals in the sandwich generation—sandwiched between responsibilities for children and aging parent—experience unique emotional and financial stressors (Lachman, 2004).
Longer life spans and social change have led to delayed parenting, changes in gender roles and expectations, and multiple careers or relationships.
Stressful situations may prompt the onset of a DC. For example, infertility may lead to a DC for people whose life goals include childbearing. Likewise, premature menopause can cause stress because it signals both the end of childbearing potential and the onset of a period of life when a woman may redefine her conceptions of femininity, sexuality, roles, and relationships.
In the 1970s the concept of the biological clock emerged as women became increasingly involved in the workforce and some women decided to postpone childbearing until they were older.
The idea of the biological clock (which describes a woman’s childbearing years) is characterized by the image of women in their thirties and forties anxiously trying to get pregnant before the onset of menopause. Concepts about the biological clock have changed somewhat with the advent of fertility treatments (e.g., in vitro fertilization; Friese, Becker, & Nachtigall, 2006).
As people age, they face changes in the form of retirement, physical decline, loss of relationships (when loved ones die), and death. Awareness of these impending changes may prompt individuals to redefine their self-image and reflect on their life experiences and achievements to find meaning in their lives (Sinnott, 2009).
- Erikson, E. H. (1950). Childhood and society. New York: W.W. Norton.
- Papalia, D., Olds, S., & Feldman, R. (2008). Human development (11th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
- Ivey, A.E., Ivey, M.B., Myers, J.E., & Sweeney, T.J. (2005). Developmental counseling and therapy: Promoting wellness over the lifespan. Boston: Houghton Miffin.
- Kroger, J. (1996). Identity in adolescence: The balance between self and other. Florence, KY: Routledge.
- Lachman, M.E. (2004, February). Developmetn in midlife. Annual Review of Pychology, 55, 305 – 331.
- Wethington, E. (2000). Expecting stress: American and the “midlife crisis.” Motivation and Emotion, 24, 85 – 103.
- Sinnott, J. (2009). Complex thought and construction of the self in the face of aging and death. Journal of Adult Development, 16, 155 – 165.
