Analyzing Erikson's Psychosocial Development

Per Erikson, the first thing a child must learn in infancy is to trust himself and those around him in his environment (Berns, 2013). This is the basis of his personality growth; from here he will conquer many different stages as he grows and develops.
The first person interviewed was a 15-year-old boy. He seems to be confident in himself and is not easily influenced by those around him. He is very comfortable in his friendships which have already lasted for many years. Though he is in the middle of the Identity vs. Identity Diffusion stage, he is happy and unapologetic for who he is becoming and does not rely on the opinion of others for confirmation of who he is (Berns, 2013). The last observation I could make about this boy is that
He would currently be near the middle of the Generativity vs. Stagnation phase of development (Berns, 2013). He is married, has a family, and is settled in the same job he has worked for the last 15 years. He appears to be comfortable and established in his role as well as his development during the stage. From the interview, I gathered that early development was strained due to the parenting style he endured. He was subjected to an authoritarian form of parenting that lead to bouts of anger, mistrust, and a loss of self-confidence and the ability to self-regulate. Though he had great friends that are still great friends, peer influence was not something he succumbed to; he changed very little from then until today. He also stated that he struggled educationally from the time he entered the school system until he graduated high school. From what I could discern, he had a hard time getting close to very many people due to the lack of trust and other social skills he did not fully develop. This interview was the toughest for me to participate in. There were signs of identity crisis as a youth, the inability to fully interact with peers, and difficulty with his educational experiences. Nevertheless, he said his greatest influence was his wife whom he met when he was 16 years old. They dated for five years when he proposed to her, which tells me he successfully completed the Intimacy vs. Isolation phase of development even with the diminished level of self-confidence and regulation (Berns,