 Erikson studied Freud’s Psychoanalysis
Theory under Freud’s daughter, Anna
 Expansion of Freud’s concept of ego
 Only developmental theory that extends through adulthood
Sources: London, Ladewig, Ball, Bindler, & Cowen, 2011
McEwen & Wills, 2007

 Eight stages of psychosocial development with an identified challenge to be mastered
 As each challenge is mastered strengths are gained contributing to character and health
 Development is primarily qualitative - occurring in stages
 Also quantitative because one’s identity becomes stronger with mastery of challenges
 Nature determines the sequence of stages
 Must pass through one stage prior to entering next stage
Sources: Sharkey, 1997
Tomey-Marriner, 1989

STAGE (AGE)


I Infancy (0-1 )
II Toddler (2-3)
 III Preschooler (3-6)
 IV School-age
 V Adolescence (12-18)
(7-12)
 VI Young Adult (20’s)
 VII Middle Adult (up to 50)
 VIII Old Adult (≥ 50)
CRISIS
 Trust vs.. Mistrust
 Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt
 Initiative vs. Guilt
 Industry vs. Inferiority
 Ego Identity vs. Role Confusion
 Intimacy vs. Isolation
 Generativity vs. Self-absorption
 Integrity vs. Despair
Source: Boeree, 2006

 Directly applicable to nursing care of children
 Health promotion & maintenance visits help caregivers meet child’s needs
 Educate parents to identify normal tasks
 Educate parents to encourage healthy development
 Provides framework to assess hospitalized child & provide care to ensure progression through the developmental stages
Source: London, et al., 2011

 Integral to holistic nursing
 Essential in assessment to determine age appropriateness or arrested development of patients
 Results of ego strengths evaluation used by nurses for assessment and treatment outcomes
 Ego strengths used by nurses to empower patients to take control of their lives
Source: McEwen & Wills, 2007

Research studies were conducted in the following areas:
 Impact of diabetes on the development of


 psychosocial maturity and the older adult
How school age children deal with disaster
Self-care practices of adolescents
Concept of generativity in middle-aged women attending graduate school
Source: McEwen & Wills, 2007

 I personally use Erickson’s Theory of
Psychosocial Development each time I am in the clinical area with students. A section of the assessment tool that we use is devoted to assessing the psychosocial issues of the assigned patient. I use this information to identify the patient’s strengths & weaknesses. When planning care, I capitalize on the strengths to assist the patient promote recovery/health maintenance and promotion.