-
Identity vs Identity Confusion
Alejandro was a 14year old transgender male, who all throughout his life was called a female because of his physical characteristics. Once Alejandro hit puberty, he became more aware that physically he was female. Because of the conflict between his mental and physical genders, Alejandro had a hard time finding his identity. Erickson would describe this stage as identity vs identity confusion, because Alejandro was conflicted and was unable to firmly understand his identity and cultural place. -
Trust vs Mistrust
Julianna was an infant at the time, who had a mother and father that were drug addicts. It's safe to say that they were not fit parents. All through infancy, Julianna didn't have a trusted adult that looked after her. Julianna faced what Erickson would deem as the "trust vs mistrust" stage. In this stage, Julianna lacked the basic sense of trust in her caregiver, meaning that she would mistrust others throughout her life instead trusting others, based off the initial mistrust of her parents. -
Ego Integrity vs Despair
Upon Gertrude's deathbed, she looked back at her life, and only experienced joy. Gertrude was pleased with how her life had turned out. Erickson would describe this stage as ego integrity vs despair. Because Gertrude was happy with her life, she experienced ego integrity, as opposed to looking back at her life and wishing things had gone differently for her (despair).