buyingMidlife as Viewed by E. Erikson and G. Vaillant
In the course of psychology one may trace the multiplicity of views concerning the individuality and its development. In this essay we will dwell upon theoretical framework of Erik Erikson and George Vaillant. According to the majority of theoreticians, the development within adulthood depends on the extent to which the problems of the prior periods were solved (from birth to early adulthood), namely acquisition of trust, autonomy, initiative, and ego-identity. However, there are scholars, in particular previously mentioned Erikson, who consider the problem of ego-identity to remain topical during the entire period of adulthood as far as the process of reaching ego-identity ensures the continuity of adulthood experience.
According to Erikson, middle adulthood (midlife) is the longest stage which covers late 20s – late 50s, a period when a person is relatively settled and bonded with a certain type of activity. Two dominant peculiar qualities are care and productivity. An individual strives to realize his/her full potential and pass it on to the next generation. A desire to make a contribution to the future is natural and it is implemented first and foremost in the relationships with children. Hence, this time span juxtaposes generativity and stagnation (Reid & Willis, 1989, p. 4). Generativity presupposes not only giving birth and raising the infants but also being a part of the social welfare improvement (Staudinger & Bluck, 2001, p. 14). The other side of the coin is stagnation or self-absorption, i. e. when a person stops to develop him-/herself. Consequently, two polar maladies are overextension (an attempt to be too generative which leads to personal loss time for one’s own needs) and rejectivity or middle-crisis (endeavor to find a meaning in your life when stagnation is too strong: what is the sense of my life? Where do I go? What for?).
Vaillant suggested two improvements to Erikson’s theory. Firstly, he proposed to add one more stage before middle adulthood – a stage of relative inner calm. During this period a person is focused on studies, networking, establishing status and starting his/her own family. As soon as career is launched, a person reaches for ego-identity and generativity. Secondly, Vaillant introduced one more transitional stage – so-called “Keepers of the Meaning” which presupposes in a way philosophical need to spread and hand down cultural values (Staudinger & Bluck, 2001, p. 290). This is based on the conflict between an attempt to preserve the meaning of life and inflexibility. On one hand, a person may absorb qualities needed to solve a certain problem taking as an example other people. On the other hand, defense mechanism and age -connected changes or peculiarities form a specific trajectory of individual development. Last but not least, Vaillant emphasized the importance of the proper lifestyle, which one will benefit from in the old adulthood having “examined the maturation, adaptive styles, and external adjustment of the participants” of the research (Staudinger & Bluck, 2001, p. 290).