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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 5 page paper. following a brief introduction to Erikson, the essay describes and discusses Erikson's final stage of development, integrity vs despair, which applies to persons over the age of 60. Terminology is explained and the writer comments on the different events older persons face. Two examples are given that relate to older persons in nursing homes. Bibliography lists 3 sources.
Page Count:
5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: MM12_PGerk8.RTF
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
childhood towards the development of an individuals personality. Like Freud, Erikson believed that an individual must journey through the stages almost sequentially. An individual cannot move through any stage until
they have successfully dealt with the conflict in the last stage. If the objectives at a stage are not successfully accomplished, the individual will not be able to accomplish the
goal at each subsequent stage. For example, a child who is abused at an early age will not form the trust relationships at this early stage and they will most
likely have trouble trusting anyone as an adult. There are eight stages in Eriksons schema, each of which reflects a duality, one thing versus another or two opposing outcomes.
Stage 8 applies to persons over the age of 60 and the duality is integrity versus despair (Boeree, 1997). The goal at this stage is "to develop ego integrity with
a minimal amount of despair" (Boeree, 1997). In an older article, Davis and Clifton (1995) explained that ego integrity "is the egos accumulated assurance of its capacity for order and
meaning." Davis and Clifton (1995) also explained that despair is more than just fearing your own death, it is about "the loss of self-sufficiency, and of loved partners and friends."
Integrity in this sense is about wholeness as opposed to how we often use the term (to mean honesty) (Johansson, 2002). It is about having a unified being while
despair will result in anger, depression and even contempt for self and others (Johansson, 2002). This is a very difficult stage because ones entire life changes after the children leave
home and after retirement. Suddenly, the individual does not have to get up and go to work each day. If the individuals entire ego strength and being were totally entwined
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