Introduction
Adolescence is a critical stage in human development. Erikson captures the nature of this stage in his theory on psychosocial development. According to him, individuals go through eight stages of development. Each stage comes with a set of conflicts that one has to manage in order to adjust in the next stage (Ryckman, 2012). Adolescence marks the fifth stage of this process. Individuals at this stage go through the process of self-discovery. The fifth stage summarizes the process of developing individual identity in response to personal assessment and inclinations. The crisis at this stage is identity versus role confusion. Individuals who adjust well during this stage gain the right identity and end up leading productive lives. On the contrary, people who cannot adjust well during this stage end up in a state of confusion (Ryckman, 2012; Goldblat, 2011). Failure to get the right identity results into a character that destabilizes the later stages and roles in life.
Application of Erikson’s Theory: Becca’s Case
Adolescence is a stage that comes with heightened vulnerability about oneself. In essence, most adolescents develop their identity on the basis of what others say in relation to preceding implications. Other sources of identity come from societal affirmations and the prevailing trends within the media (Goldblat, 2011).
Becca’s case is a reflection of the challenges that adolescents go through in the course of life. For instance, Joseph’s suicide is an indication of underlying challenges that adolescents face in life. Due to the need of asserting their maturity, most of them opt not to discuss some of these issues. As a result, they end up taking their lives. Joseph’s death is a big blow to Becca, who was at one time enjoying her teenage life. Becca finds herself assuming roles with the aim of dealing with the death of her brother. Becca feels responsible for not taking adequate measures to help her brother deal with the bullying issues at school. Even though they were close, Becca chose to help her brother by advocating measures that were unsuccessful. Due to this, Becca finds it difficult to handle her brother’s death.
As the adolescent stage ends, the individual starts to make significant life commitments. Some of these commitments include occupational choices, sexual roles, development of religious ideology and taking positions regarding political ideals. These commitments are subject to changes that come later in life. At seventeen years of age, Becca depicts a mature adolescent who is going through the motions of adolescence in a right manner. She seems to be a mature teenager who knows what she wants in life. She has mature relationships with her peers and parents (Goldblat, 2011). However, the sudden demise of her brother brings to the fore a set of emotional challenges.
First, the death of her brother brings with it a sense of transformation that forces Becca to evaluate her values and wishes. She finds it important to adjust her wishes to match her parent’s desires. (Ryckman, 2012). All over sudden, Becca assumes a very mature role of helping her parents to cope with the emotional loss of their son(Goldblat, 2011). Her academic performance reflects the level of maturity. To the delight of her teachers, Becca suddenly becomes a responsible individual and dramatically moves from C’s to A’s. In essence, the guilt surrounding her brother’s death forces Becca to try to make it up for her parents. Becca assumes the responsibility of ensuring that her parents do not suffer any more pain (Goldblat, 2011). Even though she receives praise from her parents, peers and teachers, Becca is not as happy as she used to be. She feels that the death of her brother took away her identity and happiness. Erikson’s theoretical model posits that individuals must learn to handle or cope with the demands of their stage in order to lead a fulfilling later life (Goldblat, 2011). Failure to do this results in a set of challenges that come with the lack of adjustment (Ryckman, 2012; Goldblat, 2011). Becca’s behavior and transformation may have a negative impact in her life. From the preceding events, it is quite evident that she is not happy. As an adolescent, she is handling more than her age can allow. As such, this is developing into a negative cycle that will make Becca to lose her identity.
Becca’s decision not to attend community college gives an indication of the willingness not to pursue her ideal dreams. Such a state breeds confusion as Becca might eventually lose the value of genuine identity. The desire to fulfill her parent’s wishes forces her to define her personal meaning on the ability to keep problems at bay (Goldblat, 2011). She is constantly feeling that what she is doing is not enough because of the inner guilt that she is still harboring. The sense of achieving a clear identity is at the mercy of appeasing her parents. As a result, Becca will become confused since she will not be able to understand her role fully.
Lack of identity and its impact on later life
Carving out the right identity in terms of appropriate personal evaluation is critical to leading a well-adjusted life. According to Erikson, the process of personal evaluation and creation of that identity is an ongoing process (Ryckman, 2012). Individuals who create the right framework at the adolescent stage increase the chances of developing effective approaches in dealing with crises in later life. The development of identity in Becca’s case is not healthy (Goldblat, 2011). The main cause of her current state of life is because of the incoherent perception life between her personal wishes and the desire to fulfill her parent’s wishes.
These inconsistencies will have a major impact on the nature of relationships that she is likely to form later in life. Lack of the ability to form appropriate relationships will interfere with the next stage, intimacy versus isolation. It is important to note that an individual cannot be intimate when one lacks the ability to define the personal ideals. The confusion that ensues will affect her entire outlook of life and consequently incapacitate Becca from achieving her utmost life desires (Goldblat, 2011).
Conclusion
According to Erikson, identity is critical for the realization of goals later in life. One cannot live an optimal life without having the right description of self. In essence, proper self-description is important when it comes to developing meaningful social relations and adjusting to life’s situations. Furthermore, it enables an individual to position oneself in line with their personal strengths and weaknesses. Consequently, this will create the right framework for coping with later stages of life.
References
Goldblat, E. (2011). Development in Crisis: Adolescent Sibling Bereavement. Doctorate in Social Work (DSW). Paper 11. University of Pennsylvania. School of Social Policy and Practice. Web.