Examples Of Trust Vs Mistrust

Erikson theorizes that in such a period, adolescents have certain tasks, one of which is identifying who they are. An individual successfully completes the task by staying true to his or her self, whereas when a person fails that stage, it leads to role confusion; consequently creating a weak sense of self. (Block 2011). The stage also entails a variety of personal challenges and limitations faced as well as a series of needs to be met, including: attention, guidance, independence, stability, and acceptance, among other needs. Meeting an adolescent’s needs is fundamental to their healthy development and personal growth. Nevertheless, adolescence remains as puzzling of a period in time for both the teens experiencing it, as well as for the individuals surrounding them, watching them as they navigate through the trials that adolescence brings them.

According to our book the Erikson's Psychosocial Crisis is a theory that is made of 8 stages of development that begin in infancy and continues through late adulthood( Newman and Newman, 2018). Children between the ages of 12 until around 18 are believed to be in the group

This Trust vs. Mistrust crisis occurs during the first year and a half of life with hope being the basic virtue once the stage is successfully completed (McLeod, 2013). When a sense of trust is developed, the infant will know that if a new crises arises, their needs will be met by the outside world. These physical and emotional needs include: being fed when hungry, kept warm and dry, allowed undisturbed sleep, protection from disease and injury, and receive adequate stimulation (Hutchison,

Adolescence describes the transitional stage in a teenager’s life, from childhood to adulthood, where an individual evolves physically, psychologically, emotionally, cognitively and socially. It is a defined social category that is expressed through immaturity and unpredictability and allows an individual to learn and discover their sense of self and identity. The idea of adolescence came into perspective after children were expected to take on adult roles as soon as they were mature enough to, going straight from puberty to adulthood. As society changed and moulded, so did the ideas about life stages, which is evident in Erikson’s theory.

The first stage of Erikson's psychosocial stage is trust vs. mistrust, which is experienced, in the first year of life. Infants learn to trust in order to satisfy their needs thus developing a feeling of self-worth. When infants receive inconsistent care they

The success of this stage is measured by the feeling of safety and security of our world. This will set the child up for success for the rest of their life. The other side is failure that would lead mistrust and the feeling of insecurity of the world around them. This will set them up to have issues especially in relationship. McLeod mentions, “For example, if the care has been harsh or inconsistent, unpredictable and unreliable then the infant will develop a sense of mistrust and will not have confidence in the world around them or in their abilities to influence events” (McLeod 19).

Adolescence is both a social and cultural construct as well as biological one, it is the developmental period where one transition from being a child to adult and face biological, psychological, and social challenges. This challenging, and important time in between childhood and adulthood has caused a lot of interest in the psychological field and a number of theories have been developed in order to try and explain the different stages of development. One of the most significant models of psychosocial development was created by Erikson (1963) and the stage related to adolescents is known as the “Identity vs. Role-Diffusion”, where the one is in constant pursuit of a coherent sense of self during the teenage years. When the teenager is unable to put together aspects of themselves they experience role-diffusion. Later on Elkind (1967) introduced his theory of adolescent egocentrism, explaining the increase in preoccupation with oneself during the teenage years. Kohlberg (1969) quickly followed up with his theory of moral development, in order to examine how adolescents develop their ability to solve ethical dilemmas. Another challenge teenagers need to face is mental health. The psychological part of striving for independence, while still struggling with identity formation and having poor coping strategies can have serious consequences and lead to mental illnesses, such as depression which is a growing concern among youths. This essay will further examine to what extent

Erikson's first psychosocial conflict is trust versus mistrust. This stage begins at birth and continues until about one year of age. The central issue that

For Erikson (1950) adolescence is a period during which individuals seek to avoid dangers of role diffusion and identity confusion by establishing a sense of personal identity. Individuals have to find answers for two major questions “who am I?” and “what is my place in society?” Identity is a “conscious sense of individual uniqueness” and an “unconscious striving for a continuity of experience” (Erikson, 1968, p. 208).

If the individual’s needs are not met in this stage the individual will most likely develop a mistrust that will hamper relationship in the future. The relationship between parent and caregiver is vital. “It is during the first months of life that the baby comes to trust or not, to have faith or not. Whether trust and faith are developed has direct implications for identity formation” (Goodwin, 1998) The goal of this stage is to gain ‘Hope’.

It is in this stage the child learns if they can trust or not. When a baby cries the caregiver must see to it to find out what he or she need, and if the child is frightened will someone give comfort. If the needs are met the child learns how to trust that everything will be alright. On the other hand if the child needs go unmet then you will have a child with serve mistrust issues who will not be able to trust people around him.

Erikson’s first stage was trust verses mistrust and it occurred from zero to 18 months of age. The point of this stage is to establish trust. Erikson believed this was the most important period in a person’s life. Since

The first year of an infant’s life can be a time of great joy and learning, developmental growth physically, mentally and emotionally while providing an opportunity for parents to ensure their infant’s needs are being met. In 1965 Erik Erikson developed eight psychosocial growth stages beginning with Stage 1, ‘trust vs. mistrust’, which occurs from birth and throughout the first year of an infant’s life (Candlin 2008, p.76).

Because of the love and affection they receive, they learn to rely on the caregiver (mother) and to trust her. As they grow they learn by watching and imitating her, as well as by getting instructions and guidance from her. When they manage to do something, their learning is reinforced by her praise and approval. This is a normal scenario. This is the ideal environment for a child to develop his potential to the maximum. Moreover, studies have shown that infants who are abandoned and separated from their mothers become unhappy and depressed, sometimes to the point of panic. After long periods of separation and isolation, they show symptoms of apathy and withdrawal or restlessness, hyperactivity, inability to concentrate, and craving for affection.”

Erikson’s theory of identify versus role confusion, the psychological conflict of adolescence, was evident in my early adolescent years. My parents divorced shortly after I was born and due to a custody agreement, I grew up switching household’s everyday. This meant I had two different school busses, two neighborhoods, two sets of friends, and two very different parents with vastly opposing parenting styles and expectations. My dad was always very authoritative and somewhat forced independence onto me. He worked a well paying but stressful job and wasn’t home often. His absence meant my sisters and