Erikson's Psychosocial Theory: A Psychological Analysis

In, 2013, about 1,500 children died from abuse and neglect in the United States. There are also over half a million children reportedly abused yearly. Children who are abused come from many different family dynamics and can be abused at any stage, often times children begin being abused under the age of five. The longer children are abused for the more likely that abuse will translate into stages of their lives as they develop mentally and physically. It is very harmful in the sense where children may experience a range of emotional and psychological issues and trauma as a result of that abuse that effect each child differently.
Children are more physically vulnerable to injury than adults as their bodies are still at the stages of development and when that child is being abused physically, it becomes very apparent. Conversely, there are situations where the abuser is very …show more content…
Erikson’s theory was greatly influenced by Freud’s theory of psychosexual stages, however, he was primarily focused on the role that culture, society and conflicts played on ones ego. This ego supposedly develops as it resolves predicaments that are distinctly social. Through those predicaments, it will establish a sense of trust in other people, establish a sense of identity in society and help develop others in the future. Erikson’s theory mainly focuses on the stages of personality development that includes one’s full life …show more content…
Even though he emphasizes that there is development in adulthood, the majority of development is during the adolescent phase of life. In Erikson’s theory of development, the eight stages are:
1. Trust vs. mistrust, between birth and 18