When seen in this light,midlife can
become an almost desperate attempt to
undo the aging process.What a distorted
view of aging! This chapter examines two
adult stages in marriage and family life:
the middle years (midlife) and the later
years.We hopeour developmental lens
will be more realistic and reassuring than
the unrealistic lens of the advertiser.
Setting the Stage
Erickson’s Eight Stages of Life
With the publication ofChildhood and
Society(1950),Erik Erickson offered the
most influential theories of psychosocial
development to date.He viewed human
development as a lifelong process
encompassing the entire life cycle,from
birth to death.Dividing this life cycle into
eight stages,the“stages of man,”Erickson
suggested each stage involved some
psychosocial crisisor challenge which
must be resolved before a person can
move to the next stage.
Illustrated in Figure 8.1,Erickson’s
eightstagespoint out:
The first five stages involve infancy
through adolescence.For our purposes in
this chapter,we will focus on stages six
through eight.
The sixth stage begins in young
adulthood and lasts until about age 40.
The psychosocial crisis involves intimacy
versus isolation.Love and intimacy are the
hallmarks of this stage,the building blocks
necessary for developing loving,intimate
relationships.The inability to achieve
these goals means the person will suffer
from isolation and loneliness.
The seventh stage corresponds to
midlifeor the middle adult years
(approximately ages 40 to 65).The
psychosocial crisis isgenerativityversus
stagnation.During this stage,the
individual develops an interest in others
beyond the immediate family.This
interest includes concern for future
generations and society as a whole.The
inability to achieve generativity results in
self-absorption or narcissism.
The eighth stage corresponds to old age
(older than 65 years).The psychosocial
crisis is integrity versus despair.People in
this stage of life tend to slow down their
productivity as they explore life as a
retired person.During this stage of life,
people contemplate their
accomplishments and are able to develop
integrity if they feel they have led a
successful life.If they view their life as
unproductive,feel guilt about their past,
or feel they did not accomplish their lifeChapter 8
- the time period of the developmental
stage, - the psychosocial crisis of the stage,
- the predominant social setting
during the stage,and - the favorable outcomes of the stage.