Developmental Interview of 75-year-old Arnold
The developmental interview used as a foundation for this paper was conducted with the consent of the interviewee. To protect his identity, he is identified by a pseudonym, Arnold. Arnold was born in 1940—just moments after his twin sister—into a poor farming family near Saint Cloud, Minnesota. Over the course of his life, Arnold has raised a family with his wife of 51 years, spent 20 years in the Navy and a decade as an electrician prior to retiring, invested in relationships with family and friends, and committed his life to maturing in relationship with God. Arnold’s 75 years are first explored using Erik Erikson’s psychosocial theory of development, followed by analysis using Uri Bronfenbrenner’s …show more content…
In this timeframe, Arnold’s father’s alcoholism escalated. The consequences for Arnold’s life were significant: first, because his father was unable to keep a job, Arnold continued to serve the obligatory role of provider through his teen years; second, he suffered a dearth of friendship owing to the prejudice among his classmates against the family of the “town drunk.” Erikson (1962) writes of the adolescent disposition, “Youth, therefore, is sensitive to any suggestion that it may be hopelessly determined by what went before…[which] would deprive an individual of an identity of his own” (p. 16). Arnold strained against predeterminations of who he was to become; whether it was the common belief among townspeople that he would “turn out just like his dad,” or his parents’ expectation that he, like his older siblings before him, would drop out of high school to find full-time work. The climax of Arnold’s rebellion—graduating high school and enlisting in the Navy—proved to be the gateway to successful completion of this stage and attainment of its associated strength, fidelity to one’s identity. The Navy provided Arnold with an opportunity to escape his father’s reputation and, finding himself well-liked for the first time, Arnold gained the self-confidence to conclude, “I guess I’m okay.” In the Navy, Arnold developed a concrete self-concept as he traveled the world, dedicated himself to …show more content…
Sigelman and Rider (2015) write, “generativity versus stagnation involves adults gaining a sense that they have produced something that will outlive them” (p. 40, italics not added). During this stage of life, Arnold actively pursued legacy and investment in others through his education, family, and faith. By the age of 40, Arnold was already pursuing generativity by acting as a father figure to his young classmates in electrician’s school. Additionally, with more time available to spend at home with his teenage children, Arnold worked hard to ensure that they could enjoy adolescence as he never had, installing a family theater in the basement and hosting their friends for barbecues. After his children moved out and he and his wife moved to Oregon, Arnold recalls being an active church member who volunteered regularly by caring for the homeless population in Portland. From an Eriksonian perspective, it can be observed that Arnold’s middle adulthood saw the successful resolution of the seventh stage, illustrated by his active pursuit of
The developmental interview used as a foundation for this paper was conducted with the consent of the interviewee. To protect his identity, he is identified by a pseudonym, Arnold. Arnold was born in 1940—just moments after his twin sister—into a poor farming family near Saint Cloud, Minnesota. Over the course of his life, Arnold has raised a family with his wife of 51 years, spent 20 years in the Navy and a decade as an electrician prior to retiring, invested in relationships with family and friends, and committed his life to maturing in relationship with God. Arnold’s 75 years are first explored using Erik Erikson’s psychosocial theory of development, followed by analysis using Uri Bronfenbrenner’s …show more content…
In this timeframe, Arnold’s father’s alcoholism escalated. The consequences for Arnold’s life were significant: first, because his father was unable to keep a job, Arnold continued to serve the obligatory role of provider through his teen years; second, he suffered a dearth of friendship owing to the prejudice among his classmates against the family of the “town drunk.” Erikson (1962) writes of the adolescent disposition, “Youth, therefore, is sensitive to any suggestion that it may be hopelessly determined by what went before…[which] would deprive an individual of an identity of his own” (p. 16). Arnold strained against predeterminations of who he was to become; whether it was the common belief among townspeople that he would “turn out just like his dad,” or his parents’ expectation that he, like his older siblings before him, would drop out of high school to find full-time work. The climax of Arnold’s rebellion—graduating high school and enlisting in the Navy—proved to be the gateway to successful completion of this stage and attainment of its associated strength, fidelity to one’s identity. The Navy provided Arnold with an opportunity to escape his father’s reputation and, finding himself well-liked for the first time, Arnold gained the self-confidence to conclude, “I guess I’m okay.” In the Navy, Arnold developed a concrete self-concept as he traveled the world, dedicated himself to …show more content…
Sigelman and Rider (2015) write, “generativity versus stagnation involves adults gaining a sense that they have produced something that will outlive them” (p. 40, italics not added). During this stage of life, Arnold actively pursued legacy and investment in others through his education, family, and faith. By the age of 40, Arnold was already pursuing generativity by acting as a father figure to his young classmates in electrician’s school. Additionally, with more time available to spend at home with his teenage children, Arnold worked hard to ensure that they could enjoy adolescence as he never had, installing a family theater in the basement and hosting their friends for barbecues. After his children moved out and he and his wife moved to Oregon, Arnold recalls being an active church member who volunteered regularly by caring for the homeless population in Portland. From an Eriksonian perspective, it can be observed that Arnold’s middle adulthood saw the successful resolution of the seventh stage, illustrated by his active pursuit of