Question

List the three psychosocial conflicts that occur in adulthood. Provide an example of each crisis and describe how a person would successfully resolve it.

Answer 1

Ans According to Erikson, a conflict refers to a turning point, wherein each individual faces a struggle to achieve a specific psychological quality. It is often referred to as a psychosocial crisis, and this can be a time of vulnerability, but also strength as people work toward success or failure.

Following are the three psychosocial conflicts that occur in adulthood:-

1.  Identity and role confusion : This occurs during the teen years, when the individual begins to explore new roles as they approach adulthood. Handling this conflict well leads to a strong sense of personal identity. Those who struggle during this time, may be left feeling confused about who they are and what they want to do with their lives. For example, An individual is unable to form his identity and is confused about which career to choose in life. So, in order to resolve this conflict, the individual should seek guidance from parents and teachers.

2. Intimacy versus isolation : This occurs when the individual enters early adulthood, and engages themselves in forming strong bonds with other people, particularly romantic relationships, that plays a vital role in resolving this conflict. So, those who succeed, are able to develop strong and lasting relationships while those who fail can end up feeling isolated and lonely. For example, An individual is very shy and doesn't interact much, this leads him to form lesser bonds, which further causes isolation. So, in order to resolve this conflict, the individual should make an effort to interact with people having shared interest.

3. Generativity versus stagnation: Generally, people want to feel they've contributed something to the world, and so successfully navigating this conflict involves accomplishments like raising a family, succeeding at work, and volunteering in the community. However,during this stage of middle adulthood, people who aren't able to do this often feel disconnected from the rest of the world. For example, An individual has lost his job, and due to this, his motivation to work is reducing. So, in order to resolve this conflict, the individual should make an effort to form SMART goals i.e specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound. Forming goals along with a plan of action would help in resolving the conflict, and thereby achieve success in life.