Marriages
hurlthepearl
soc103chp9marriageasprocessdevelopmentaltheory.pptDEVELOPMENTAL THEORY
INDIVIDUAL LIFE CYCLES
AND
FAMILY LIFE CYCLES
INDIVIDUAL LIFE CYCLE STAGES
ERIK & JOAN ERICKSON
- Erik Erickson - 1902-1994
- Joan Erickson - 1902-1997
- Married in 1930
ABOUT ERIK ERICKSON
- German-U.S. psychoanalyst, trained in Vienna by Anna Freud.
- In 1933 he immigrated to the U.S., where he practiced child psychoanalysis in Boston and joined the Harvard Medical School faculty even though he was not degreed.
- In 1936 he moved to Yale University, and in 1938 he began his first studies of cultural influences on psychological development, working with Native American children.
- He later taught at UC-Berkeley but left in 1950, during the era of McCarthyism.
- Personality development, in Erikson's view, takes place through a series of identity crises that must be overcome and internalized in preparation for the next developmental stage; he posited eight such stages.
ABOUT JOAN ERICKSON
- Born in Toronto and graduated from Barnard College/Columbia University.
- Authority on human development, with her husband popularized a theory known as the Eriksonian Life Cycle.
- Authored several books solo and several with her husband including Childhood & Society.
- Lived in Cambridge and Cape Cod, MA; had two sons and a daughter.
FOR EACH STAGE DESCRIBE
- Length of each stage
- Description of each stage
- Tasks to be accomplished for each stage
- Hazards preventing task accomplishment
INDIVIDUAL LIFE STAGES
STAGE I
- Trust vs. Mistrust
- Birth to one year
- Task: Sense of security
- Hazards:
- Inconsistency
- Abuse, neglect,
deprivation
STAGE II
- Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt
- 2-4 years old
- Tasks: starting a ‘self,’ independence, control over self and others
- Hazards?
- Doing everything for the child
- Hypercritical parents
STAGE III
- Initiative vs. Guilt
- 4-5 years of age
- Tasks: self-starter
- Hazards?
- Hypercritical parents
- Parents who do everything for their child
- Not accomplishing previous stage tasks
STAGE IV
- Industry vs. Inferiority
- 6-12 years old
- Tasks: learn value of work
- Where?
- School, home
- Hazards?
- Hypercritical parents, failure at school, problems with previous stages
STAGE V
- Identity vs. Role Confusion
- 12-21 years of age (adolescence)
- Tasks: clarification of the self
- Hazards?
- Problem role models, societal non-support, problems in previous stages
STAGE VI
- Intimacy vs. Isolation
- 20s
- Tasks: develop intimate
relationships
- Hazards?
- Problems in previous stages, particularly stage one (trust vs. mistrust) and stage five (identity vs. role confusion)
STAGE VII
- Generativity vs. Stagnation
- 30s-50s
- Tasks: feel productive
- Where?
- Work and family
- Hazards?
- Problems in previous stages (particularly stages 3 and 4)
STAGE VIII
- Integrity vs. Despair
- Old Age
- Tasks: acceptance of one’s life
- Hazards?
- Problems in any of previous stages
CULMINATION
- Wisdom
FAMILY LIFE CYCLE STAGES
DUVALL & MILLER
- Eight stages
- Describe stage
- Length of each stage
- Children or not
- Focus of family members
- Marital satisfaction rate
- Corresponding individual
life stages of family members
STAGE I
BEGINNING FAMILIES
- Married couple with no children
- Average length of stage is 2 to 3 years
- Greatest marital satisfaction experienced
STAGE II
CHILDBEARING FAMILIES
- Childbearing about 30 months
apart
- Childrearing
- Average 2 children/family
- Half of women work outside of the home
- Average length of stage is 2 years
- Marital satisfaction begins to lessen (continues to decline through stage IV or V)
Stage III
FAMILIES WITH PRESCHOOL CHILDREN
- Family’s oldest child is 30 months to 6 years
- Deeply involved in childrearing
- Average length of stage is 3 years
STAGE IV
FAMILIES WITH SCHOOL CHILDREN
- Family’s oldest child is between six and 13 years old
- With children in school, mom has more free time and most enter work force
- Average length of stage is 7 years
STAGE V
FAMILIES WITH ADOLESCENTS
- Oldest child is 13 to 20 years old
- Marital satisfaction reaches its nadir
- Average length of stage is 7 years
STAGE VI
FAMILIES AS LAUNCHING CENTERS
- The first child has been launched into the adult world
- This stage lasts until the last child leaves home, average 8 years
- Marital satisfaction begins to rise
STAGE VII
FAMILIES IN THE MIDDLE YEARS
- This stage lasts from the time the last child has left home to retirement
- Commonly referred to as the “empty nest syndrome”
STAGE VII CONTINUED
- Sometimes adult children return home
- “Sandwich generation”
- Begin caretaking activities for elderly relatives, especially parents and parents-in-law
“Boomerang Generation”
- Adults of any age returning to live w/ their parents
- Different now in that many
expect to remain at home
with their parents for some
years, while maintaining their
own social and professional lives.
- With many of their friends also
living at home, the stigma of living
with parents is reduced.
50 Year Olds “Home”
STAGE VIII
AGING FAMILIES
- Working members of the family have retired
- Chronic illnesses begin to take effect
- Eventually one of the spouses dies
The surviving spouse may move in with other family members or be cared for by them
