Erikson Identity Vs. Role Confusion

Erikson: Identity vs. Role Confusion Erikson developed a theory of psychosocial development that involved eight critical stages. When an individual completes the stage and hopefully masters it then he/she is considered to be developing healthily. Each stage needs to be successfully completed in order to obtain a virtue such as trust, wisdom, hope, purpose, competency etc. After successfully getting through a stage, an individual whom is confronted with a challenge later in life can learn how to fight the problem with one of the virtues, which was gained. Not every one gets through the eight critical stages without a problem. We are only human so some of us can fail to complete any stage which would impair the perception of one’s self. Although
people fail it once throughout their lifetime they are given other opportunities that could allow them to successfully complete they did not the first time. When a crisis is presented to an individual at a certain time in their life that event could impact them in either a constructive or destructive way. Identity vs.
Role confusion is the most important stage that an individual goes through in the adolescence stage. This stage occurs between the ages of 12 to 18 years. During this stage children begin to become more independent and start to look at the future and start to explore their independence and to develop a sense of self. They begin to question themselves “Who am I?” Often during this stage teens are usually rebellious and ignore parents expectations. Friends, social groups, classmates, society trends, and peers can have an affect in the formation of identity. Those who obtain appropriate reinforcement and encouragement throughout one’s personal exploration will successfully come out of this stage with a resilient sense of self and feeling of independence and control which can also be known as Identity achievement. Individuals who are unsure of what they want in life often remain insecure and confused about themselves and their future. Making a commitment to a certain identity at this stage is critical. Making a commitment can mean choosing a career path, what friends to hang out with, and developing a sense of personal style. As an individual grows older they start to realize what one likes and realize things about one self. By the end of this stage one should know who they are, what they like, and what they want to
be.

Personal Story: I was not always the individual everyone looks at now. I remember giving my parents, specifically my mom, the toughest of times. Out of the three children she had I was the most disrespectful one growing up. When my parents told me they wanted something to be done I would go do the complete opposite. For example, when she asked me to go do my homework or do chores I would go play and when she tried to discipline me I would argue back and leave the house to go to play with a group of friends I had. I never liked taking instructions from anybody, I always felt that I could take care of myself and did not need them to baby me. I felt independent. One of my biggest challenges growing up was during this particular stage of my life was choosing who I hung out with and what I spent my time doing.
Soccer was always part of my life but I had extra curricular activities that I look back at, which I am not very proud of. I remember playing cops and robbers and always wanting to be the cop. Funny thing is that during my adolescence age I disliked cops and anything to do with them. The crowd I walked the streets with had the same perspective towards them, cops always stopped us and warned us that they were waiting or us to slip up and do something stupid for them to be able to put us in handcuffs. The crowd I hung around with enjoyed starting fights and I always felt like I had to show them I did too. My soccer friends always told me that they did not picture me hanging out with the crowd I did because they could see my passion and hard work. My parents and sister always encouraged me to stay away from them even though they could only wish I did and knew that the decision was up to me. In the back of my head I always told myself “I like cops, fighting is not good, etc.,” but the little gang I ran around with made me feel that I could not look at the world that way because if I did it would make me feel
weak. The turning point of my rebellious years was when I turned sixteen; I was put in handcuffs and in the back of a police car. The situation that landed me in back of that police car was fighting, which occurred my freshmen year of high school. All charges were dropped so I ended up being released which was something I was so thankful for. Before being let go an officer asked me, “What do you want to be when you are older?” a question that was never brought upon me until then. I responded saying, “I don’t know, but I know I want to make a difference.” I remember my sister and mother crying praying that I got my act together, if it wasn’t for their encouragement I feel like I wouldn’t be attending college today. I started to distant myself from the crew that always got me into trouble and started to hang out with only athletes. Time passed and I was about to graduate high school and the big question was “What do you want to do?” The answer I gave to everyone was a shock to them because of how I was when I came into high school and how rebellious I was before that. “I want to work in Law Enforcement!” and I said it so proudly too. The connection between my story and this is that sometimes in order to be successful you have to hit rock bottom to realize what you have to do to get to the top. Not only did it give me a reality check but also it helped me see that I could be that tough kid still while making a difference for people just like that officer did for me. When I was adolescence I was confused and didn’t know who or what I wanted to do until the end of that stage. The trouble I got into and decisions I made shaped me into the individual I am today and has helped me commit to the career I want and the future I see myself in.