Young Adults Using Erikson's Theory Of Psychosocial Development

Child abuse in America is an ongoing problem and something needs to be done. There are approximately one million children abused annually in the United States. (Table 339) Cases of child abuse and neglect are reported every ten seconds, and researchers believe that there’s three times that amount that goes unnoticed. (Child Abuse: Know the Signs and Stop the Violence Against Children.) Something needs to be done for these children who are too weak and too powerless to help themselves.

Child abuse is epidemic in many countries as well as the United States. It is estimated that every thirteen seconds a child is abused in some manner: physically, sexually, emotionally or by neglect (Friedman). Each year, there are over 3 million reports of child abuse in the United States involving more than 6 million children. Child abuse can be reduced with proper education of the parents and with greater public awareness.

Erik Erikson was born in Frankfurt, Germany in 1902. Because his mother was Jewish and his father was not, he was often bullied in school. He had blonde hair and blue eyes, so his Jewish peers mocked him for standing out and being different, and his peers at school teased him simply for being Jewish. His own internal conflict with his identity sparked his interest in identity formation and development. Although he never actually received a degree in medicine or psychology, he became friends with Anna Freud who helped him study psychoanalysis. Erikson supported and was influenced by many of Sigmund Freud’s ideas. Freud had a theory on development, he called it the 5 stages of psychosexual development, this is one of the theories that Erikson

According to the National Child Abuse Statistics, every year in the United States more than three million reports of child abuse are made, involving more than six million children. In 2012, 78.3 % of those abuse reports were for child neglect. “While the number of child maltreatment claims is likely an underestimate of the true prevalence, there are still 3.3 million claims of abuse per year in the US, with approximately 30% being confirmed after

Sexual abuse can be very devastating to an individual both short term and long term. Being a victim of abuse is important to recognize and understand because of the long lasting negative effects of psychological problems and interpersonal distress that are often associated with the abuse (Messman & Long, 2003). Abuse can happen to anyone, young or old, at any time in their life. Childhood abuse, in particular, is believed to increase the likelihood that women will be sexually abused as an adult, because of their vulnerability to form attachments with men who victimize them (Czaja, Dutton, & Spatz, 2008). Some people never experience any kind of abuse, others might be a

Rachel Getting Married is a movie about a drug addict who 's coming home from rehab to attend her sister’s wedding. The main character’s name is Kim. In the movie, she is shown to have many issues going on, ranging from an incomplete stage of Erikson 's to symptoms of depression. Throughout the movie, she goes through many emotional turmoils and drama, which changes her behavior.

For example, it is said that many people who have been abused as children have grown to be dissatisfied with their relationships and are more likely to perform infidelity more than someone who hasn’t been abused. In a large prospective study, it was found that those who had been identified in official court records as having been sexually abused, physically abused, or neglected by caregivers during childhood reported higher rates of separation and divorce 25 years later than did matched controls. In addition, women in their sample expressed greater dissatisfaction with their couple relationships and exhibited significantly more incidents of sexual infidelity than women in the control group who were not abused as children (Coleman & Widom 2004). Many things like separation and infidelity plague a relationship because of all of the years abuse on one side of the relationship. There are many reasons because of this, but no one knows for sure why many people result to these instances. It may be because these people are hurt, or may be because they feel if their relationships are perfect, they need to find something better to cover of all of the years of abuse. Though no one can truly be certain, but it is interesting to read some of these findings because they show that abuse and neglect can be a vicious cycle and be repeated in many different ways over different generations. It’s also interesting to mention how this is primarily women who face these challenges into their adulthood. It is said that the potential for a profound negative impact on relational functioning in adulthood, the prevalence of a history of childhood abuse in intimate relationships is particularly alarming. It has been reported that approximately one fifth of married women have experienced either sexual or physical childhood abuse (Whisman, 2006). This high rate of childhood abuse in married

“In 1996, more than a million victims of alleged abuse were reported to CPS in the United States” (Causes). What if it is that sweet, young child living next door who falls victim? Child abuse an issue society is constantly faced with. Sexual, physical and emotional abuses are three major issues kids face in society today.

Child abuse is the “saddest and most tragic problem” in the United States today (Child Abuse). Every year more than 3 million reports of child abuse are made in the United States involving more than 6 million children. Victims range from ages of a few weeks to late teenage years.

Researchers have determined that approximately one-third of individuals who have been physically abused or neglected in their childhood will later abuse their own children, lending support to theories of intergenerational abuse patterns (Kaufman & Zigler, 1987). However, there are numerous factors that can moderate the perpetration of abuse by these individuals, namely the specific aspects of their childhood maltreatment, cognitive and emotional factors, their interpersonal relationships, as well as the presence of any stressors (Egeland, 1988). One interesting influence of whether an abuse victim in turn victimizes their own child is their perception of the abuse. Many adults who were abused as children do not perceive their parents as abusers, rather thinking that they were just in their actions, and that corporal punishment is necessary to successfully raise a child. As discussed in Whatever it Takes by Paul Tough, some adult abuse victim speak openly of their plans to hit their children, having difficulty comprehending the difference between punishment and discipline. This thought process creates challenges in breaking the cycle of abuse, as the mentality has to change in order to effect change in parenting

Every day, about five children in the United States are murdered by a parent or caretaker. In 2014, more than 3 million reports of child abuse were made in the United States involving more than 6 million children. Child abuse kills more children in America than does accidental falls, choking on food, suffocation, or fires in the home (Newton). As if these statistics weren’t horrifying enough, they are inaccurate in relaying the actual number of children that have fallen victim to child abuse in the United States.

According to Pecora, Sanders, Wilson, English, Puckett & Rudlang-Perman (2014), “Every year in the USA, about 695,000 unique children are confirmed as victims of child maltreatment (US Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau 2011) (p. 321). Such startling statistics suggest that child abuse is not just a public health issue; it is an epidemic. However, research reveals that prevention is possible through a collaborative effort made by parents, schools, the government, social services, and the

Since the development of Erik Erikson’s psychosocial model of development in the 1960s, it has become one of the most widely used measurements for studying emotional and personality development across the human lifespan (Dunkel & Harbke, 2017). Erikson’s model contains eight developmental stages, beginning in infancy and progressing until old age, and as a person ages they begin to pass through the stages, with a new psychological crisis arising at each stage (Svetina, 2014). Whitbourne, Sneed and Sayer (2009) describe how the outcome of each crisis is met with identity attainment and new personal adaptations (positive outcome), or with an incoherent identity (negative outcome). Additionally, each new stage allows for the reassessment of previous achievements, and in some cases, failures (Dunkel & Harbke, 2017). Erikson’s model is commonly recognised as a developmental ladder – each previous stage lays a foundation before an individual can progress toward the next stage (Malone, Liu, Valliant, Rentz & Waldinger, 2016). It is important to note that whilst they are referred to as “stages”, they should be viewed as being on a continuum rather than fixed categories (Dunkel & Harbke, 2017).

Child sexual abuse is a growing epidemic, one that most people would like to think happens in some other town, to some other family, to some other child. While it may seem easier to live in denial, child abuse happens everyday. “Researchers estimate that in our country about one out of six boys and one out of four girls are sexually abused.” (“Child Abuse Statistics”). Sexual assault is a very destructive crime as it can cause psychological, emotional and physical damage on a child. Effects of sexual abuse includes, but is not limited to: depression, flashbacks, post traumatic stress disorder and trust issues. Much of the harm caused to victims become more apparent years after the abuse happened. This

Adolescence is the fifth stage in Erikson's psychosocial development theory. It is posited to last from ages 12 to 18, and the basic conflict inherent in the adolescent stage, which the person must resolve, is between identity and role confusion. This conflict between identity and role confusion especially plays itself out in peer relationships, but the teenager also navigates through identity and role confusion with relationships in the family unit. Identity and role confusion issues can arise with sexuality, as well as worldviews.