Question

Which of Erickson's stages of development is Miss Evans experiencing, and how will her accident affect fulfillment of this task?

Answer 1

The answer to this question is very simple. As we know that Linda is just 27 years of age and is pretty much young, she is definitely on the sixth stage of psychosocial development in Erik Erickson's theory. The stage is known as Intimacy Vs Isolation. The typical age interval for this stage is 18 to 40 years.

When a person is going through this stage there are chances of prime conflict in initiating intimate, loving and caring relations with other people. One starts to share themselves more openly with whom they feel close to. People start exploring relationships and look out for life-long commitments. If someone completes this stage successfully, there are fair chances that they will find loving and caring partner for their life which will add a sense of security. For those who avoid such intimacy, relationships or commitment due to some fear or uneasiness can become isolated and alone at the later stages of life.

In Linda's case also she has been engaged with her boyfriend for around six months and was about to get married. This shows that she was in love with him and was looking for a long-term commitment. But her terrible accident has changed the whole scenario and fill affect her relationship badly. She had a traumatic ampuatation of her right leg which shows that she would never be able to lead a normal life again. She has also broken her right hand which adds more trouble to her life. She will have no option but to leave her job. She knows that in these conditions she will be nothing but only a burden to carry for her fiance. She believes that no one would want to marry a gimp. In fact, even if her boyfriend is ready to take all her responsiblities, it will hurt her self-esteem. As a result, there would be no successful relatinship and there are very much chances that she will break up with him, so he won't have to worry about it.